SANTA CRUZ (November, 2009) -- It was exactly one day prior to a scheduled event where residents were
set to gather downtown to mark the 20th anniversary of the Loma Prieta
earthquake when Tyler Tenorio was senselessly murdered. The anniversary event would memorialize the death and destruction that Santa Cruz suffered two decades earlier as a result of a natural catastrophe. More pointedly, the event would also celebrate the remarkable efforts of residents who tirelessly worked together with a sense of optimism to rebuild a broken city.
It is a tragic coincidence that it has taken the murder of a sixteen-year-old boy to catalyze our community to work together again to find solutions to address an entirely different type of challenge – ensuring that Santa Cruz is a safe and sustainable city for future generations.
Few other towns boast world-class beaches, park lands, and schools and yet still maintain a sense of small town familiarity. We are a town of neighborhoods – a town that defines itself not only by how close you live to our numerous natural landmarks, local bakeries or favorite restaurants but also by the efforts residents have taken to keep their neighborhoods that way – strong, vibrant and safe.
We have much to be proud of.
It isn’t often that you can live in a place where others can only dream to visit – but here we are living in a town which others only know through vacation snapshots. That’s why Tyler Tenorio’s murder, as well as other recent egregious criminal acts, has shaken our community confidence and individual consciousness to its core.
As a parent I cannot imagine the deep grief the Tenorio family must feel for losing a loved one before he even had the chance to truly experience life. I offer my deepest condolences to them and other families who have lost loved ones to criminal violence. As a neighbor, I also feel another entirely different type of pain – a sense that the relative well-being of our city itself has been directly assaulted by these criminal acts.
At times like these we cannot surrender to feelings of anger or despair and instead must rally our combined energies towards something much more meaningful – individual and community action to renew our city.
The great American trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis addressed a crowded assembly of university students in New Orleans in January, 2006 following that city’s devastation by Hurricane Katrina. He made a personal call “to look deeper into ourselves and find possibility” when we see only destruction, anguish and despair.
Marsalis’ lyrical speech is notable because it was delivered on the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday merely five months after Katrina and because it explicitly called on New Orleans residents to extend the legacy of Dr. King’s achievements through community efforts to rebuild their city. As he put it, “Democracy is a can-do form. We always hear about the rights of democracy, but the major responsibility of it is participation.” Participation is a responsibility for healthy communities as well.
And now here in Santa Cruz, we are personally called upon to participate in efforts to help shape long-term objectives to support a safe and sustainable city. City officials have outlined an excellent initial five-point strategy to address recent criminal activity and public safety concerns. These efforts, in addition to earlier community meetings and extensive daily police work, include:
* Initiating direct contact and providing informational resources and tools for neighborhoods to address crime;
* Reviewing existing municipal ordinances and consideration for new legislation to deter and impose liability against business and residential property owners for nuisance properties and related criminal behavior;
* Early intervention to address youth and criminal activities;
* Infrastructure improvements – with better lighting on Pacific Avenue; and
* Increased scrutiny of high-risk alcohol outlets.
Working to ensure that neighborhoods throughout Santa Cruz have the tools and available resources to appropriately respond to egregious criminal activity are important steps to address community safety. Further actions are bound to develop as residents work together to identify unique community needs within their own neighborhoods and at local parks and public spaces.
Other cities have also established successful programs which rely heavily on neighborhood participation to support community safety:
* In Philadelphia, PA police officers work with other city departments to address problems from graffiti to broken street lights or work with city planners to incorporate security features at proposed projects as well as with existing neighborhood businesses;
* In New York City, the police have developed modern programs that use available crime data to effectively respond to criminal activity - especially potentially violent criminals - in partnership with residents to create a more open police presence; and
* In High Point, North Carolina, police took an innovative approach to community policing on the advice of David Kennedy, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, which cut crime through stronger ties with neighborhood leaders and by prioritizing enforcement efforts.
Santa Cruz neighborhoods should be at the forefront of shaping the health and safety of our city’s future through a focus on personal responsibility. Whether it is by creating inviting public spaces, encouraging community through civic events like taking our families downtown or to neighborhood get-togethers, or by working to create safe streets and parks for playing, walking, and biking to spur community interaction, we all have a stake in ensuring the well-being of our city through individual participation and service.
Proclaim our safety by our presence.
As Wynton Marsalis said, “Tough times force us to return to fundamentals. And there is nothing more fundamental than home.” Taking action now to make certain our “home” remains a vibrant place to live, work and raise a family is everyone’s responsibility. Let’s work to ensure that our community honors a heart-breaking tragedy by finding possibility and hope at a time when it may seem like there is only destruction and uncertainty.
David J. Terrazas lives with his wife and two young daughters on the Westside. He is Past Chair of the City Public Works Commission, and currently serves as Chair of the City Transportation Commission.
If you'd like to learn more about ways to increase security and reduce crime, please attend Tuesday's City Council meeting, 7 p.m. November 10 at 809 Center St.
A Good Start written by Neal Aronson , May 01, 2010
David, you make some excellent points. Since you wrote this article one more man was killed and another wounded, both within a mile of my house. It is really hard to share your positive approach when I feel so much anger. We all contributed to this problem by ignoring it for so long. I can't tell you how many times I've heard people say "it's okay as long as they are only killing each other over there". Well, some of the victims are now white and the action is in our neighborhoods. We've allowed it to grow to a point where it is much harder to control. Positive loitering and early education will certainly help, but we need quick and decisive action to stop this problem now. The bulk of the responsibility is ours. The police are doing a good job, but we must be their eyes and their ears. We have to report any and all suspicious activity in our neighborhoods. We have to become better witnesses, noting vehicle descriptions and license numbers and descriptions of the gang members, and we have to supply this information to the police. The police for their part have to respond quickly or the opportunity is lost. Without violating any one's rights, the police can make it very uncomfortable for the gangs just by virtue of their presence. I am opposed to profiling, but I think we need to accept the fact that, by and large, our gang members are hispanic. That doesn't mean the police should interrogate every Chicano they see, but a group of young, tattooed, Hispanic men cruising neighborhoods should expect to draw their attention. Sorry, but there's too much at stake Our teenaged kids also need to be trained how to react when confronted by gang-bangers asking about their affiliation. Is there a right answer? Does ignoring them work? Teenaged boys are known for their high testosterone levels and will often let themselves be goaded into confrontation. We need gang experts to supply answers and training to our children. What better topics can be covered in school than true survival skills. We are at a turning point in society. What we do now will have a serious impact on what our society will look like tomorrow. Our children should not have to live in fear.
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We all contributed to this problem by ignoring it for so long. I can't tell you how many times I've heard people say "it's okay as long as they are only killing each other over there". Well, some of the victims are now white and the action is in our neighborhoods. We've allowed it to grow to a point where it is much harder to control.
Positive loitering and early education will certainly help, but we need quick and decisive action to stop this problem now. The bulk of the responsibility is ours. The police are doing a good job, but we must be their eyes and their ears. We have to report any and all suspicious activity in our neighborhoods. We have to become better witnesses, noting vehicle descriptions and license numbers and descriptions of the gang members, and we have to supply this information to the police. The police for their part have to respond quickly or the opportunity is lost. Without violating any one's rights, the police can make it very uncomfortable for the gangs just by virtue of their presence.
I am opposed to profiling, but I think we need to accept the fact that, by and large, our gang members are hispanic. That doesn't mean the police should interrogate every Chicano they see, but a group of young, tattooed, Hispanic men cruising neighborhoods should expect to draw their attention. Sorry, but there's too much at stake
Our teenaged kids also need to be trained how to react when confronted by gang-bangers asking about their affiliation. Is there a right answer? Does ignoring them work? Teenaged boys are known for their high testosterone levels and will often let themselves be goaded into confrontation. We need gang experts to supply answers and training to our children. What better topics can be covered in school than true survival skills.
We are at a turning point in society. What we do now will have a serious impact on what our society will look like tomorrow. Our children should not have to live in fear.