TulsaNow: The Tour comes to North Tulsa!

[Admin]

How can spending money downtown help my neighborhood?
What is a "Comprehensive Plan" and how does it affect me?
Who needs trains, when we've got potholes to fill?

You've got questions, we've got answers!

In the spirit of community involvement, TulsaNow is bringing its Community Forum Tour "on the road" to a neighborhood near you!

The first in a series of public forums will be held at the TCC Northeast Campus on April 22nd.  Topics will include: downtown development, new forms of transit, PLANiTULSA (Tulsa's citywide Comprehensive Plan)...and how it all relates to north Tulsa!

Informative presentations will be followed by open discussions with local community leaders.

Speakers:
Jack Crowley, Special Advisor to the Mayor on Urban Planning
Theron Warlick, City of Tulsa Planning Department

Panelists:
Reuben Gant, Greenwood Chamber of Commerce
Rose Washington Rentie, TEDC Capital
Reggie Ivey, Tulsa Health Department
Demalda Newsome, Newsome Community Farms

This diverse group of panelists and speakers will field questions and discuss how collaborative efforts can create a brighter future for ALL Tulsans.

Expect an evening that is both exciting and informative!

WHEN: Wed, April 22, 6:00-8:00 PM
WHERE: TCC NE Campus Auditorium
3727 E. Apache
MORE INFO: info@tulsanow.org
COST: Free!

TulsaNow is a grassroots, non-profit organization working to help Tulsa reach its full potential.  We encourage civic participation by providing people with the information they need to get educated, get involved, and make a positive impact on Tulsa.  Our goal?  To help Tulsa become the most vibrant, diverse, sustainable and prosperous city of its size.

[Admin]

Reminder: this is tonight

[Hawkins]

LOL, this made KTUL.com

Anyways, my question is: Would you let your son or daughter work at a grocery store in North Tulsa? 

And secondly, why would the City of Tulsa do anything to make a grocery store open up in this area? Why should city government interfere with the free market?

I don't understand. Is north Tulsa going to be an experiment in state-controlled communist government? Will there be security guards at these state-controlled grocery outlets?

[waterboy]

LOL, this made KTUL.com

Anyways, my question is: Would you let your son or daughter work at a grocery store in North Tulsa? 

And secondly, why would the City of Tulsa do anything to make a grocery store open up in this area? Why should city government interfere with the free market?

I don't understand. Is north Tulsa going to be an experiment in state-controlled communist government? Will there be security guards at these state-controlled grocery outlets?

I get it. You don't like north Tulsa and think its dangerous and undeserving of help. All those drive bys, gangs and stuff.  Might as well include East Tulsa and that festering center of drug crime....Broken Arrow. Crime seems to be happening in South Tulsa as well. In fact, all over town. Desperate times. Better get the kid a job in Sapulpa just to be sure.

How do you feel about government assistance in Jenks/Sand Springs with the proposed low water dam? Does it bother you that their meth operaters shop at the local grocery stores? Or government help in downtown via economic development authorities? We all know how dangerous and communist downtown is.

We are no stronger than our weakest link.

[sgrizzle]

LOL, this made KTUL.com

Anyways, my question is: Would you let your son or daughter work at a grocery store in North Tulsa? 

And secondly, why would the City of Tulsa do anything to make a grocery store open up in this area? Why should city government interfere with the free market?

I don't understand. Is north Tulsa going to be an experiment in state-controlled communist government? Will there be security guards at these state-controlled grocery outlets?

1. The Albertson's in North Tulsa was probably the nicest Albertson's in Tulsa and it was in a suburban retail complex adjacent to a highway. If someone blindfolded you and dropped you in the parking lot, you would have had no idea it was North Tulsa.

2. The City of Tulsa has no responsibility to bring a grocery store or "interfere with the free market" However, when you are dealing with a part of the city that has little access to car and a poor public transit system, Many are getting their groceries from a gas station, if they are getting them at all. It is one of the leading factors that people north of 244 die 14 years younger than those south of I-44. So the City doesn't HAVE to help North Tulsa but in the interests of keeping it's citizen's well fed, it should roll out the red carpet for any potential opportunities.

3. I have no idea what you are talking about with the last question and can only counter with "monkey ninjas."

[Hawkins]

Sorry, I had a few beers before posting that last night.

However, other Albertsons were turned into Food Pyramids, but this one was not. It has to be then, that the sales of this store were lower. Due to the economic conditions of the area, maybe there was more shoplifting here as well, which cut into the bottom line when Food Pyramid looked at the numbers.

I've also been informed that North Tulsans do not have to drive to some far off place called Turley to find groceries. There are Piggly Wiggly's or something to be found on Admiral and North thereof. Is this correct?

[mjchamplin]

The way I see it is that there's kind of a vicious cycle at work in these kind of situations.

No grocery stores leads to a bad quality of life.
Bad quality of life leads to no big-box grocers wanting to put a store there.

When you leave things to the free market, sometimes the little guy gets trampled. The government should be standing up for the disenfranchised. So though I'm not a huge fan of letting the government get directly involved with local commerce, people need a place to buy nutritious food.

[sgrizzle]

Sorry, I had a few beers before posting that last night.

However, other Albertsons were turned into Food Pyramids, but this one was not. It has to be then, that the sales of this store were lower. Due to the economic conditions of the area, maybe there was more shoplifting here as well, which cut into the bottom line when Food Pyramid looked at the numbers.

I've also been informed that North Tulsans do not have to drive to some far off place called Turley to find groceries. There are Piggly Wiggly's or something to be found on Admiral and North thereof. Is this correct?

There are no grocers north of 244. I think there is 1 piggly wiggly on admiral. Between there and turley is a big gap. I know where I live I have 3 grocery stores within a mile. Keep in mind that Albertson's sold some stores to Food Pyramid, one to Reasor's and two closed. While their may have been low sales and theft, keep in mind Albertson's was a pricy store (and according to some rumors, charged higher prices at this store than it's other locations) so that was a huge factor as well. From what I've heard, Albertson's has been in no hurry to sell and is not offering discount prices either.

[rwarn17588]

There are no grocers north of 244. I think there is 1 piggly wiggly on admiral. Between there and turley is a big gap. I know where I live I have 3 grocery stores within a mile. Keep in mind that Albertson's sold some stores to Food Pyramid, one to Reasor's and two closed. While their may have been low sales and theft, keep in mind Albertson's was a pricy store (and according to some rumors, charged higher prices at this store than it's other locations) so that was a huge factor as well. From what I've heard, Albertson's has been in no hurry to sell and is not offering discount prices either.

There's a Sav-A-Lot on North Lewis.

But the point is made: There's an utter dearth of grocery stories north of Admiral. In an area where people are poor and significant number of them, because of this, aren't going to have cars.

[Chicken Little]

Hawkins,

You ARE seeing the free market at work in North Tulsa.  There is demand for services, but NOBODY wants to be the first in.  As a result, there are no comparables on which to evaluate this risk.  "The market" is therefore too skiddish to invest.  And we are stuck in a cycle that won't go away.

It wasn't too long ago that redlining was a fact of life.  Banks simply would not make loans in certain neighborhoods...period.  Even though laws have been passed, and it is no longer bank policy to aggressively discriminate against minority neighborhoods, much of the damage has already been done.  Neighborhoods all over the country have already collapsed decades ago.

If there is no comparable development or business activity nearby, then developers, investors, business owners, appraisers, and others have no basis on which to evaluate their risk.  Not making excuses, mind you.  Most of these same people can look at market studies and see that there are 70,000 people in north Tulsa and enough disposable income to sustain a lot of economic activity, but nobody's willing to take the leap.

In neighborhoods where revitalization is successful and ongoing, government has had to step in as venture capitalist.  They have actively participated on the first handful of projects to help cover risk and close gaps.  Once the free market has a few comps, then skiddishness disappears and money starts flowing.

Like I said, I'm not trying to make excuses and I certainly believe that race and bias has a large role in keeping neighborhoods down.  But in the end, green is everybody's favorite color, and when people have a clear understanding of the risks and rewards, it will happen.