City Officials Will Appear At East Central Meeting

In the wake of two murders in just five weeks, East Central residents will meet tonight to discuss concerns and fears about their community.

The forum actually has been in the works for months, but the gang-related shooting death of 19-year-old Curtis Ricky Jones on Jan. 14 and the death of Samuel Frank McNeal, 38, this past Sunday made the meeting all-the-more relevant.

“I want to know why people are afraid to walk out of their houses in this neighborhood,” said Tom Bernard, an East Central resident and president of the East Central Neighborhood Substation (formerly COPS East Central). Bernard helped organize tonight’s meeting.

He said he hopes to work on what neighbors like and don’t like about their community.

The East Central Neighborhood is one of the oldest and most diverse in the city, but it also battles violence and drug problems.

Mayor John Talbott and officials from the city fire, police and traffic departments will be on hand to answer questions, Bernard said.

“Hopefully, we’ll address all crime concerns,” he said. “Dark streets and improved lighting, traffic, code enforcement.”

Bernard said he first began planning a neighborhood meeting last summer, when residents along East Central’s south bluff complained of prostitutes parking with customers on residential streets.

“I knew we as neighbors needed some way to connect,” he said. “The meeting, I hope, will do that.”

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Forum tonight The East Central Neighborhood Substation and the East Central Neighborhood Council will sponsor a neighborhood forum tonight from 7 to 9 p.m. at the East Central Community Center, 500 S. Stone.