A Changing Neighborhood

Weekdays and Sunday for the past seven years, the Rev. L. Nelson Foxx has helped conduct services for his congregation at St. Bartholomew's Church, a historic spiritual center that is at the heart of Cambridge's poorest and youngest neighborhood.

"I have probably one of the most culturally diverse churches around," boasts Foxx, the rector of St. Bartholomew's . "They come from South America, Haiti, all of the islands in the Caribbean, the U.S."

St. Bartholomew's congregation--usually between 150 to 180 people, "depending on the weather"--reflects the diversity of Cambridge's Area Four, a rectangular-shaped neighborhood nestled between Central and Kendall Squares.

The most diverse of Cambridge's 13 neighborhoods, Area Four has the city's largest concentrations of Blacks and Hispanics. The neighborhood is a true polyglot; the language spoken on the street is more likely to be Haitian Creole, Spanish or Portuguese that English.

Area Four has the highest concentration of children of any city neighborhood; more than a third of its residents are under 18. Cambridge's poorest neighborhood, more than a fifth of Area Four's families live below the poverty line.

And its residents say families in Area Four are changing too. "It's an epidemic that there is no such thing as a nuclear family anymore," Foxx says. Reflecting a national trend, Area Four's families are headed more and more by single parents, making daily interaction with their children a challenge.

But despite its problems, Area Four's residents say their community is on the move. They point to the new Area Four Youth Center, opened by the city in June 1993 after a 20-year campaign by community residents, andto the efforts of grass-roots activists to getneighborhood dwellers to vote.

"The community feels more cohesive around theneed for parental support and family preservation,and not always in combating the onslaught of crimeand drugs," says Iona Smith Nze, Director of theMargaret Fuller Neighborhood Center.

"The energy is being dispersed much moredifferently than three years ago," Nze adds.

An Image Problem

But Area Four's residents say a negative imageremains one of their biggest problems. "It's seenas a community of people who can't help themselvesand need to be told what they need," says Nancy M.Ryan, co-chair of the Area Four NeighborhoodCoalition.

"We just get tired of getting portrayed asdrug-taking, knife-wielding, gun-toting people,"agrees Jacqueline L. Carroll, who has lived inArea Four for more than 30 years. "We look like abunch of people who don't care about theircommunity. That's far from being true."

The neighborhood's appearance is certainly amarked contrast to the coffee shops and high rentapartments of Harvard Square.

Two sprawling public housing developments,Newtowne Court and Washington Elms, sit at theneighborhood's eastern edge. Tucked among freshlypainted one-and two-family frame houses are otherunits in decaying condition and the occasionalbuilding with boarded-up windows.

Residents must walk to Central Square to findlarge chain stores or supermarkets. The fewbusinesses in Area Four are small, ranging fromthe Latino bodegas to Izzy's Restaurant and SubShop.

The neighborhood's poverty rate remains thehighest in the city but is decreasing. Of the 486households counted in the 1990 U.S. Census, 18.6percent lived below the poverty line, down from26.9 percent in 1980. Area Four also has thecity's highest unemployment rate, more than 10percent in 1990.

And while the city recorded last month itslowest crime rate in a decade, the number ofarrests has been rising in Area Four. Arrests forstreet robberies rose from 48 to 65 and for autothefts from 80 to 108 between 1993 and 1994,according to Cambridge Police crime analyst NettaE. Finch.

"When you see a high level of poverty youusually find a high level of deviant behavior,"says School Committee member E. Denise Simmons,who grew up in Area Four. "I don't think Area Fourcorners the drug market, but it has more than itsfair share of unemployed youth who are going tomake money somehow.

Foxx says neighborhood crime is a recurringissue. "The drug problem in Cambridge tends to bein specific areas of the city," he says. "Whenyou suppress it in one area. it rises in another.It's an evasive problem."

But Simmons notes the majority of kids arelooking for a better life.

"You really need to walk through Area Four tosee the other side of Area Four, the kids that dogo to school," she adds.

And perceptions of safety may be changing too,residents say.

"Three years ago, most of the people Iencountered were afraid to come here after dark,"Nze says. "I don't sense ready fear anymore."

"Because we have crime in our neighborhoods,that's all you heard about Area Four," Simmonsadds. "They're poor about the amount of money thatcomes into their families, but they're rich inethnic pride, they're rich in their families."

A Cultural Mix

Area Four is the most diverse of the City's 13neighborhoods. According to the U.S. Census, 60percent of its residents are minority, 19 percentare Hispanic and more than a third are Black.

Racial tensions once existed among neighborhoodteenagers but have largely subsided, says PatSayers, co-chair of the Area Four Crime TaskForce.

"When there was a problem, it was more aproblem over turf issues than disliking anyone'sethnic backgrounds," she says. "As for adults, Ican't say I've heard of any racial incidentanywhere.

While they laud Area Four's tranquil relations,some residents say a class disparity maycorrespond to race.

"A lot of the new immigrants, particularly theHaitians, have to work and they can't spend thetime that the middle-class people spend at theschools, keeping the teachers accountable," Foxxsays. "The squeaky oil gets the grease."

Although relations are friendly, residents saysome degree of self-segregation exists. Culturaldifferences and language barriers can sometimeshamper social interaction, they add.

"There's the Latino-speaking community, thatsays you don't challenge authority," says Simmons,who is Black. "But American culture upholds andcelebrates parents that come out [to meetings].Because we see that as parental involvement, wedon't acknowledge the minority individual that'shome providing a good meal, putting the child tobed."

But other residents say that reducing racialbarriers has been difficult.

Lois M. Maragioglio moved with her threechildren to Area Four in 1980, when Cambridgeagreed to comply with federal desegregationstandards through school busing.

She preempted the busing plan by sending herdaughter Nancy to the Joseph E. Maynard School,one of Area Four's two public elementary schools.

"When they talked about desegregating theschools, I was in the forefront," saysMaragioglio. "I though it was wonderful to getNancy to meet other kids."

Children

Area Four may become even more diverse as itgrows up. Although the neighborhood is onlyone-third Black, more than half of those under 18are Black. More than a fourth of children in AreaFour are Hispanic, compared with just 19 percentof the total population.

The construction of the three-floor, $2.9million Area Four Youth Center in 1993 has helpedreduce the image problem of youths loitering inthe neighborhood's streets, residents say.

The center's gymnasium, dance studio, computerroom, kitchen, game room and video productioncenter offer a variety of teen classes, rangingfrom college preparation to cooking. The centeralso houses a basketball league and a young men'sand young women's group.

Before the center's opening "there was no whereto go," says George R. Greenidge Jr., the center'sdirector of youth programs. "Families have alwayshad it rough in these communities. A lot offamilies don't have money."

"There's a lot kids there, that play basketballand stuff," agrees Edwin Santiago, 13. Theseventh-grader said he and his friends could onlyplay in lots or around school playgrounds beforethe center opened.

A former settlement house, the Margaret FullerNeighborhood Center, has provided Area Four'sparents with child care for more than 50 years.

The center serves 35 families, and also runs afood pantry which supplies needy residents withvegetables, fruit and canned goods, according toNze, the center's director.

In addition, St. Bartholomew's holds a monthlyfood drive, donating non-perishable items from itsparishioners to the city's Food Pantry Network.

Apathy of Disenfranchisement?

Residents say successes like the youth centerdo not occur often enough.

"If you present an issue and it's going to hitthem in their pocketbook or in their lives, intheir housing, they're going to mobilize," saysMaragioglio, who is the president of the PisaniCenter Tenants Council, the tenants group ofNewtowne Court and Washington Elms.

Simmons, who serves on the school Committee, isthe only elected city official who lives in AreaFour. Some residents believe this lack of directrepresentation makes it easy for officials toignore neighborhood needs.

"Area Four is ignored by city councillors,"says Maragioglio. "It is most evident because alot of public-housing tenants don't go out tovote." Maragioglio says the city has done littleto rehabilitate the vacant buildings on Worcesterand Washington streets.

Working with the Cambridge branch of theNational Association for the Advancement ofColored People and the Neighborhood Coalition, theTenants Council is planning a voter-registrationdrive for the fall city elections, and hopes toeducate public-housing residents about thestructure of city government.

"If there was a serious voter-educationcampaign, the city would certainly become moreresponsible," Foxx says.

Carroll says residents need to reinvigorate theaggressive "grass-roots organizing" of past AreaFour activism.

"I remember times when we would get out with abull horn and work through streets in WashingtonElms and Newtowne Court" to get out the vote, sherecalls.

Inaccessible polling sites and culturalbarriers may bar some of the tenants, especiallyimmigrants, from political participation.

"Some of the community people don't want topick up the phone and call the city," Sayers says.

Where individual residents do not demand actionfrom city officials, community groups may help tofill the gap.

The Crime Task Force, founded by City ManagerRobert W. Healy in 1989, has demanded betterstreet lighting and drug-free school zones andoffers safety walks and self-defense classes. Itsannual Drug-free Fair draws over 600 people,Sayers says.

The Neighborhood Coalition campaigned againstQuestion 9, the state referendum that abolishedrent control, and has held workshops to encouragetenants to buy homes.

Government Assistance

Area Four is one of a handful of Cambridgeneighborhoods recognized by the government aslow-and moderate-income.

"Area Four is one of the few eligible areasleft in the city for federal funding," says JanetL. Reale, administrator of Cambridge's CommunityDevelopment Block Grant (CDBG) program.

Area Four received a Federal Home PartnershipGrant of $817,800 to rehabilitate private houses,and was awarded an Urban Development Action Grant(UDAG) of $1.6 million in 1991. The UDAG pays out$78,000 a year, and residents control where itgoes.

In addition, the CDBG last year allotted$210,000 to refurbish Area Four housing and iscurrently upgrading two playgrounds.

But the city needs to pay greater attention toArea Four than simply applying for federal funds,Ryan says. "I would like to see the neighborhoodused as a resource, not seen as a problem," sheadds.

The Republican's proposed cuts in socialspending in Congress may threaten residents. IfWashington announces across-the-board spendingcuts, the park upgrades might be threatened,according to Reale.

"With welfare reform coming through, thebiggest challenge will be finding creativesolutions to affordable child care and jobtraining," Nze says. Tenant Council meetings onthe proposed down-sizing of the Department ofHousing and Urban Development (HUD) have drawnhundreds, according to Maragioglio.

An Evolving Community

While hopeful about Area Four's future,longtime residents remember the community theygrew up in with nostalgia.

With the influx of new immigrant groups, suchas the Haitians, Brazilians and Chinese, familiesare being headed increasingly by working andsingle parents.

While she was growing up "everybody basicallyknew everyone," says Carroll, who founded theNeighborhood Coalition in the early 1980s. "TheChildren knew they were part of a community. Now,it's a big transitional period."

"In some ways, there's less parentalinvolvement," she adds. "I respect that. I can'tsay that's wrong. For those of us out therefighting the fight, we need to be there, and forthose of us fighting the fight in their own homes,they need to be there."

This is the third in an occasional series ofarticles about Harvard's neighbors.CrimsonJennifer 8. LeeAn Area Four resident walks past anabandoned building.

"The community feels more cohesive around theneed for parental support and family preservation,and not always in combating the onslaught of crimeand drugs," says Iona Smith Nze, Director of theMargaret Fuller Neighborhood Center.

"The energy is being dispersed much moredifferently than three years ago," Nze adds.

An Image Problem

But Area Four's residents say a negative imageremains one of their biggest problems. "It's seenas a community of people who can't help themselvesand need to be told what they need," says Nancy M.Ryan, co-chair of the Area Four NeighborhoodCoalition.

"We just get tired of getting portrayed asdrug-taking, knife-wielding, gun-toting people,"agrees Jacqueline L. Carroll, who has lived inArea Four for more than 30 years. "We look like abunch of people who don't care about theircommunity. That's far from being true."

The neighborhood's appearance is certainly amarked contrast to the coffee shops and high rentapartments of Harvard Square.

Two sprawling public housing developments,Newtowne Court and Washington Elms, sit at theneighborhood's eastern edge. Tucked among freshlypainted one-and two-family frame houses are otherunits in decaying condition and the occasionalbuilding with boarded-up windows.

Residents must walk to Central Square to findlarge chain stores or supermarkets. The fewbusinesses in Area Four are small, ranging fromthe Latino bodegas to Izzy's Restaurant and SubShop.

The neighborhood's poverty rate remains thehighest in the city but is decreasing. Of the 486households counted in the 1990 U.S. Census, 18.6percent lived below the poverty line, down from26.9 percent in 1980. Area Four also has thecity's highest unemployment rate, more than 10percent in 1990.

And while the city recorded last month itslowest crime rate in a decade, the number ofarrests has been rising in Area Four. Arrests forstreet robberies rose from 48 to 65 and for autothefts from 80 to 108 between 1993 and 1994,according to Cambridge Police crime analyst NettaE. Finch.

"When you see a high level of poverty youusually find a high level of deviant behavior,"says School Committee member E. Denise Simmons,who grew up in Area Four. "I don't think Area Fourcorners the drug market, but it has more than itsfair share of unemployed youth who are going tomake money somehow.

Foxx says neighborhood crime is a recurringissue. "The drug problem in Cambridge tends to bein specific areas of the city," he says. "Whenyou suppress it in one area. it rises in another.It's an evasive problem."

But Simmons notes the majority of kids arelooking for a better life.

"You really need to walk through Area Four tosee the other side of Area Four, the kids that dogo to school," she adds.

And perceptions of safety may be changing too,residents say.

"Three years ago, most of the people Iencountered were afraid to come here after dark,"Nze says. "I don't sense ready fear anymore."

"Because we have crime in our neighborhoods,that's all you heard about Area Four," Simmonsadds. "They're poor about the amount of money thatcomes into their families, but they're rich inethnic pride, they're rich in their families."

A Cultural Mix

Area Four is the most diverse of the City's 13neighborhoods. According to the U.S. Census, 60percent of its residents are minority, 19 percentare Hispanic and more than a third are Black.

Racial tensions once existed among neighborhoodteenagers but have largely subsided, says PatSayers, co-chair of the Area Four Crime TaskForce.

"When there was a problem, it was more aproblem over turf issues than disliking anyone'sethnic backgrounds," she says. "As for adults, Ican't say I've heard of any racial incidentanywhere.

While they laud Area Four's tranquil relations,some residents say a class disparity maycorrespond to race.

"A lot of the new immigrants, particularly theHaitians, have to work and they can't spend thetime that the middle-class people spend at theschools, keeping the teachers accountable," Foxxsays. "The squeaky oil gets the grease."

Although relations are friendly, residents saysome degree of self-segregation exists. Culturaldifferences and language barriers can sometimeshamper social interaction, they add.

"There's the Latino-speaking community, thatsays you don't challenge authority," says Simmons,who is Black. "But American culture upholds andcelebrates parents that come out [to meetings].Because we see that as parental involvement, wedon't acknowledge the minority individual that'shome providing a good meal, putting the child tobed."

But other residents say that reducing racialbarriers has been difficult.

Lois M. Maragioglio moved with her threechildren to Area Four in 1980, when Cambridgeagreed to comply with federal desegregationstandards through school busing.

She preempted the busing plan by sending herdaughter Nancy to the Joseph E. Maynard School,one of Area Four's two public elementary schools.

"When they talked about desegregating theschools, I was in the forefront," saysMaragioglio. "I though it was wonderful to getNancy to meet other kids."

Children

Area Four may become even more diverse as itgrows up. Although the neighborhood is onlyone-third Black, more than half of those under 18are Black. More than a fourth of children in AreaFour are Hispanic, compared with just 19 percentof the total population.

The construction of the three-floor, $2.9million Area Four Youth Center in 1993 has helpedreduce the image problem of youths loitering inthe neighborhood's streets, residents say.

The center's gymnasium, dance studio, computerroom, kitchen, game room and video productioncenter offer a variety of teen classes, rangingfrom college preparation to cooking. The centeralso houses a basketball league and a young men'sand young women's group.

Before the center's opening "there was no whereto go," says George R. Greenidge Jr., the center'sdirector of youth programs. "Families have alwayshad it rough in these communities. A lot offamilies don't have money."

"There's a lot kids there, that play basketballand stuff," agrees Edwin Santiago, 13. Theseventh-grader said he and his friends could onlyplay in lots or around school playgrounds beforethe center opened.

A former settlement house, the Margaret FullerNeighborhood Center, has provided Area Four'sparents with child care for more than 50 years.

The center serves 35 families, and also runs afood pantry which supplies needy residents withvegetables, fruit and canned goods, according toNze, the center's director.

In addition, St. Bartholomew's holds a monthlyfood drive, donating non-perishable items from itsparishioners to the city's Food Pantry Network.

Apathy of Disenfranchisement?

Residents say successes like the youth centerdo not occur often enough.

"If you present an issue and it's going to hitthem in their pocketbook or in their lives, intheir housing, they're going to mobilize," saysMaragioglio, who is the president of the PisaniCenter Tenants Council, the tenants group ofNewtowne Court and Washington Elms.

Simmons, who serves on the school Committee, isthe only elected city official who lives in AreaFour. Some residents believe this lack of directrepresentation makes it easy for officials toignore neighborhood needs.

"Area Four is ignored by city councillors,"says Maragioglio. "It is most evident because alot of public-housing tenants don't go out tovote." Maragioglio says the city has done littleto rehabilitate the vacant buildings on Worcesterand Washington streets.

Working with the Cambridge branch of theNational Association for the Advancement ofColored People and the Neighborhood Coalition, theTenants Council is planning a voter-registrationdrive for the fall city elections, and hopes toeducate public-housing residents about thestructure of city government.

"If there was a serious voter-educationcampaign, the city would certainly become moreresponsible," Foxx says.

Carroll says residents need to reinvigorate theaggressive "grass-roots organizing" of past AreaFour activism.

"I remember times when we would get out with abull horn and work through streets in WashingtonElms and Newtowne Court" to get out the vote, sherecalls.

Inaccessible polling sites and culturalbarriers may bar some of the tenants, especiallyimmigrants, from political participation.

"Some of the community people don't want topick up the phone and call the city," Sayers says.

Where individual residents do not demand actionfrom city officials, community groups may help tofill the gap.

The Crime Task Force, founded by City ManagerRobert W. Healy in 1989, has demanded betterstreet lighting and drug-free school zones andoffers safety walks and self-defense classes. Itsannual Drug-free Fair draws over 600 people,Sayers says.

The Neighborhood Coalition campaigned againstQuestion 9, the state referendum that abolishedrent control, and has held workshops to encouragetenants to buy homes.

Government Assistance

Area Four is one of a handful of Cambridgeneighborhoods recognized by the government aslow-and moderate-income.

"Area Four is one of the few eligible areasleft in the city for federal funding," says JanetL. Reale, administrator of Cambridge's CommunityDevelopment Block Grant (CDBG) program.

Area Four received a Federal Home PartnershipGrant of $817,800 to rehabilitate private houses,and was awarded an Urban Development Action Grant(UDAG) of $1.6 million in 1991. The UDAG pays out$78,000 a year, and residents control where itgoes.

In addition, the CDBG last year allotted$210,000 to refurbish Area Four housing and iscurrently upgrading two playgrounds.

But the city needs to pay greater attention toArea Four than simply applying for federal funds,Ryan says. "I would like to see the neighborhoodused as a resource, not seen as a problem," sheadds.

The Republican's proposed cuts in socialspending in Congress may threaten residents. IfWashington announces across-the-board spendingcuts, the park upgrades might be threatened,according to Reale.

"With welfare reform coming through, thebiggest challenge will be finding creativesolutions to affordable child care and jobtraining," Nze says. Tenant Council meetings onthe proposed down-sizing of the Department ofHousing and Urban Development (HUD) have drawnhundreds, according to Maragioglio.

An Evolving Community

While hopeful about Area Four's future,longtime residents remember the community theygrew up in with nostalgia.

With the influx of new immigrant groups, suchas the Haitians, Brazilians and Chinese, familiesare being headed increasingly by working andsingle parents.

While she was growing up "everybody basicallyknew everyone," says Carroll, who founded theNeighborhood Coalition in the early 1980s. "TheChildren knew they were part of a community. Now,it's a big transitional period."

"In some ways, there's less parentalinvolvement," she adds. "I respect that. I can'tsay that's wrong. For those of us out therefighting the fight, we need to be there, and forthose of us fighting the fight in their own homes,they need to be there."

This is the third in an occasional series ofarticles about Harvard's neighbors.CrimsonJennifer 8. LeeAn Area Four resident walks past anabandoned building.