Living in a city as big as Lansing can be overwhelming. What can one concerned citizen really do when the local government, nearby business owners and well over 100,000 other people have a vested interest in either maintaining a status quo you don’t agree with or want to move in a direction you feel is wrong?
Filling the void between get-off-my-lawn fist-shaking and city council-level policymaking are neighborhood associations, largely informal groups run by teams of dedicated volunteers. Lansing has about 45, a number that fluctuates as groups unite, divide or dissolve. Neighborhood associations make it easier to get individual viewpoints across because — guess what — those viewpoints aren’t always strictly individual. By creating a collective, intelligent voice that has the power to rise above the din of contrarians and rabble-rousers, neighborhood associations give people who have a vision for their community’s future a platform to make a difference. And they also make for a nifty de facto social club.
“I worked a lot and didn’t know my neighbors,” says Cathy Bacile Cunningham, President of the Westside Neighborhood Association. “I thought I if I joined the board, I’d have to make the time to meet them, plus I wanted to take active role in my neighborhood. And it worked.”
Bacile Cunningham and her husband bought their house in 2007. Four years later she joined the Westside Neighborhood Association, which goes from Oakland Avenue on the north to the Grand River on south, and from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard on the east to Clare Street (the city boundary) on the west. Founded in 1965, it’s Lansing’s oldest neighborhood association, and with over 2,000 households, it’s also one of the largest. And like the city’s three other big sections — northwest, east and south — it’s further subdivided into even smaller groups.
“The west side is full of communities that are very active and very friendly,” Bacile Cunningham says. “It’s a nice mix. There are lots of other young families like ours, but there are also residents who have been here for decades. And it’s a progressive part of the city, so I really appreciate that.”
Two of Bacile Cunningham’s favorite accomplishments with the Westside Neighborhood Association are a tree-planting initiative last year, where 150 saplings were spread throughout the area to compensate for the loss of trees from last winter’s devastating ice storm, and a successful town hall-style meeting with the city council candidates in 2013.
“There were a lot of council seats open that year, so we hosted an event at Letts Community Center to allow those who were running to meet our neighbors,” Bacile Cunningham says. “And I was amazed — every single candidate showed up, and there was a good show from neighbors as well. It was a great sign that the community and (its elected officials) are very connected.”
She says the west side neighbors take pride in where they live, bolstered by a sense of security and individuality.
“A city is only as strong as its neighborhoods,” she says. “And when you have active neighborhood associations, you have a venue for creating a strong, vibrant space. They breathe life into communities.”
On the other side of Lansing, the Eastside Neighborhood Organization represents residents living roughly between downtown on the west and Frandor Shopping Center to the east, and from Lake Lansing Road on the north to Potter Park on the south. In her nearly 30 years as a member — including 16 as the group’s president — Nancy Mahlow has been involved in issues that have shaped the face of the city.
“When (the city) was going to redevelop the last two parcels of the 200-acre Boys Training School property, we formed a committee to express what we wanted to see built,” Mahlow says. “Now we have a wonderful housing complex (East Village) and a great school (Pattengill Middle School) there. We’re very happy with the results, and it wouldn’t have happened without the hard work of the Eastside Neighborhood Organization.”
Mahlow and her group supported the construction of Cooley Law School Stadium, the Stadium District and the renovation of the Lansing City Market. The Eastside Neighborhood Organization also successfully convinced Sparrow Hospital to build a new park when it transformed the Bingham Elementary School property into a cancer facility.
“I’m always focused on what positives we can bring,” Mahlow says. “We’re all passionate about the same thing — having a great city. And through good communication and working together, our group has succeeded time after time with working out strategies with (development groups) and the city to create solutions that are beneficial for us all.”
Mahlow currently sits on a committee that’s working to save Eastern High School from the wrecking ball. She’s also working to establish a limit to the number of tattoo parlors and medical marihuana dispensaries that can be established on Michigan Avenue, the eastside’s main thoroughfare.
“It’s important to take your personal feelings out of the mix when dealing with neighborhood issues,” she says. “I’m not against (these businesses), but we don’t want that many in one area. Spread them out — we want to see a mixture. Our goal is to always be moving forward but preserving our history. That’s why neighborhood associations are important.”
Nestled between the two groups is the Downtown Neighborhood Association, led by
Kathreen Francis. After less than a year of joining, she was named president in January.
“It was a weird set of circumstances,” Francis laughs. “There was a lot of change as I was coming in, but it’s very much a working group. Everyone is so collegial. It’s been interesting being a fresh set of eyes for this group that’s been around for 30 years.”
The downtown area is technically part of the eastside, bounded by Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Oakland Avenue, St. Joseph Street and the Grand River. Francis says she joined because she was looking for solutions for problems she was seeing.
“We have some fantastic neighbors, homeowners and landlords in the downtown area, but there are some challenges,” she says. “There are lots of vacant house — I was really interested in finding a way to manage that. I’m also supportive of the proposal to re-two-way some of those streets. Those are the kinds of changes I’d like to see.”
Francis says she’d always wanted to live downtown and loves the walkability factor. She also loves the cultural diversity, which is one of the strengths of neighborhood associations — bridging social gaps that would otherwise make strangers of next door neighbors.
“People who live within certain geographic boundaries have more in common than what separates them,” she says. “Whether you’re young or old, a homeowner or a renter, a recent transplant or someone who’s lived here your whole life, you’re concerned about the same things: The cleanliness of the street, the upkeep of nearby houses, the bus systems. And those commonalities create a sense of togetherness.”
Bacile Cunningham takes it one step farther — she thinks neighborhood associations could hold the key to solving some of the problems of disparity that still plague 21
st century society.
“Neighborhood associations facilitate lasting, positive dialogue between people from every level (of society),” she says. “If every neighborhood in every city was part of an active organization, it could go a long way toward eliminating the fear and mistrust that keep us separated. When a community comes together, it benefits every part of the community. And there are so many ways to get involved.”
To find out what neighborhood association represents you, go to lansingmi.gov/neighborhoods.
Photos ©
Dave Trumpie
Dave Trumpie is the managing photographer for Capital Gains. He is a freelance photographer and owner of
Trumpie Photography.