Editorial: The good and bad of the town hall meeting

Only about 100 residents showed up at Highbridge's so-called 'town hall' meeting on May 2, but those 100 people signaled what we hope will be a change in Highbridge's long-time political neglect.

The town hall meeting, which the Horizon helped organize, was designed to give residents a microphone with which they could discuss the problems they face on a daily basis - their children's poor educations, their rising rents and their terrible mail service, among others.

Our elected officials were invited - everyone who represents us from the City Council up to the U.S. Senate - but only two showed up. We appreciate that City Councilmember Helen Foster and State Assemblywoman Aurelia Greene came out and listened to what we had to say. The borough president sent an aide, which we also appreciate. It was disappointing that some people, like State Senator Olga Mendez. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Governor George Pataki, blew us off.

If the people who attended the town hall meeting left it feeling even a little bit more empowered than when they went in, the meeting was a success.

Community unity in advocacy gets results. Period. In the last two weeks we have seen two victories for Highbridge that simply would not have happened had the community not rallied together. District 9 agreed to renovate the kitchen in C.E.S. 73 and the United States Postal Service agreed to station one of its mobile units in Southern Highbridge.

Neither of these would have happened if we left the advocacy to our politicians. Our neighborhood is getting better because Highbridge residents made it better.