THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 15, 1995 TAG: 9510130659
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A11 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: ELECTION '95
THE CITIZENS' AGENDA
The Virginian-Pilot has asked people around the state what their major
concerns are leading up to the Nov. 7 election. This is one in a
series of in-depth reports on those concerns: Today's topic: Violence
in Public Housing.
SOURCE: BY JON FRANK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
Whenever Kim Aldrich looks at the stoop of a nearby apartment in Oakleaf Forest, she gets an eerie feeling.
It was there that a Chanello's pizza driver was shot in the head two years ago. It was the last time a pizza delivery was made in Oakleaf Forest, a Norfolk public housing project that provides housing for 849 people.
``Actually, when I heard what had happened, I thought to myself, `What is he doing out there anyway?' '' Aldrich recalled. ``I mean, it is hard to get a cab to come in here, you know what I mean. So I couldn't imagine a pizza man coming out here to deliver a pizza.''
Immediately after the shooting, Chanello's deemed Oakleaf Forest off limits, something that Domino's and Pizza Hut already had done.
It was the strongest example for Aldrich of just how much the public housing communities of Norfolk had changed since her childhood.
Aldrich, 31, and her four siblings grew up in Roberts Village, Moton Circle and Calvert Square. They lived with their mother, who ran a tight ship.
``When the lights came on at night, you were right there on the porch,'' Aldrich recalled. ``To my mother, it didn't matter where anyone else was. Her children were always going to be at home when it was dark.
``There really wasn't crime when I was growing up. Back in those days, it was fistfights. You might get beat up, but you didn't have to worry about getting shot or stabbed. The most you were going to come home with was maybe a black eye or a busted lip. But nowadays they are carrying guns. And I'm talking about young kids. There is a big difference.''
That isn't all that has changed. Aldrich said there is also a big difference in the way outsiders look at the projects, once referred to as ``parks.''
``When I was growing up, if you said you lived in the `park' it wasn't a bad thing.'' Aldrich remembered. ``It was like any other apartment complex. But nowadays, when you say the park, it's like, ooooooh, it's a bad word. Because a lot of people know that a lot of crime is related to the parks.''
Some of that image is well-earned. When Aldrich first moved to Oakleaf Forest in 1993, she would drive her car up on the grass and park it next to her apartment window each night. She did it for two reasons. One, she didn't want her car windows broken by vandals. And two, she was afraid to walk from the parking lot to the front door.
``The rental office man used to come and knock on my door every morning,'' she said. ``I didn't mind getting up to move my car. If they want to write me a ticket that's all fine and well. I'd rather pay $25 for the ticket than $40 to fix the window and another $25 to have somebody put it in.''
After the pizza delivery shooting, the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority began issuing identification cards to Oakleaf Forest residents. Police officers followed with arrests for trespassing.
Almost immediately, conditions improved, Aldrich said. In 1994, Oakleaf Forest had a violent crime rate slightly higher than the city's.
``It is so much nicer now,'' Aldrich said. ``I used to go out to my car constantly watching my back," Alrich said. ``I don't feel that way now. It is a much better atmosphere. I don't have that fear anymore.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
CHRISTOPHER REDDICK/Staff
Kim Aldrich, 31, center front, lives in the Oakleaf Forest housing
project with her three children; Katrina, 12, left, Brian, 9, and
Latasha, 14, right.
KEYWORDS: COMMUNITY CONVERSATION CRIME PUBLIC HOUSING
HAMPTON ROADS STATISTICS
by CNB