The Pierson Place Association

Who We Are

We formed in 1996 for residents to take an active role in maintaining and improving their neighborhood. The core of our mission is to reduce crime and blight and promote a sense of community among residents. Our activities include general meetings, block watch meetings, a quarterly newsletter, email updates, general improvement projects, crime and blight reporting and monitoring, and providing information and assistance for any type of neighborhood problem. There are 92 members, four officers, sixteen board members, and eight standing committees made up of about 25 members. We are a cohesive and involved group of residents, and we have accomplished dozens of major goals during the past eleven years. We work regularly with our Community Action Officer, Neighborhood Services, Graffiti Busters, our Councilman's office, and the adjacent neighborhood associations.

What We Have Done

• Produced and mailed a quarterly newsletter to residents for 7 years
• Sent neighborhood information weekly to our members via email
• Held general meetings for all residents quarterly for 7 years
• Maintained 8 active committees with chairs and annual goals
• Created a data base of all residents and businesses for our mailing list
• Held hundreds of individual committee meetings
• Trained block watch captains on each street and conduct bw meetings regularly
• Distributed block watch information to all residents dozens of times
• Taken pictures of crimes in progress and graffiti for referral to police
• Regularly conduct neighborhood patrols and report suspicious activity
• Reported hundreds of code violations (blight) over 7 years
• Held clean-up days to clean up blighted properties
• Held dozens of one-on-one meetings with our Councilman
• Taken written surveys of residents to determine what they want
• Created an identity and became known to city officials
• Developed a logo and became visable throughout the city
• Became very involved with the police, Neighborhood Services, our Community Action Officer, Light Rail officials, and our Councilman's office

• Obtained a historic district designation
• Held GAIN night events every year (Nat'l Night Out)
• Created a professional website for the neighborhood
• Initiated a city traffic study and reduced speeding and cut-thru traffic
• Changed interior stop signs to improve traffic flow

• Installed new lighting in all of our alleys and the canal bank
• Installed painted address numbers on alley fences
• Installed painted address numbers on curbs
• Installed speed humps with our own funding
• Installed "no left turn" signs on 7th Ave to mitigate cut-thru traffic
• Installed Block Watch signs throughout the neighborhood
• Installed personalized street sign toppers

• Distributed dead-bolt door locks to our residents
• Distributed and installed porch lights and floodlights on houses
• Distributed and installed locking mailboxes on houses
• Distributed "The Club" to residents to help prevent auto theft
• Distributed flashlights to patrollers and residents
• Distributed digital cameras for referring graffiti pictures to police
• Distributed monogrammed t-shirts and caps to our residents

• Provided a forum for neighborhood concerns and activism
• Given residents a sense of ownership in their community
• Created the opportunity to unite with residents who care about their neighborhood
• And..., we are continually looking for new ways of improving our neighborhood