From the Comment Section: The Daily Item/The Daily Item Facebook Page

In the September 13 edition of The Daily Item, there was an article highlighting some of the developments in the works for the city of Lynn as presented by Lynn EDIC Executive Director Jim Cowdell.

Here is one comment left on the web version of the paper by user TamLee:

"Unfortunately, until this city cleans up it's major issues with gangs, drugs, prostitution and violent crimes?  Build it all you want - no one will come.  That thinking was proved wrong with the gorgeous artists lofts built...it didn't draw the urban city dweller as was originally thought.  Why? Because people are still afraid to buy here because of the above issues we have with crime.  Which is truly, truly sad.  Spend some money on more police presence throughout this city at all times in ALL areas.  Get ICE in here - we need a major clean up that way FIRST!!"

The Daily Item's Facebook page posed the following question in regard to the same article: Do you think Lynn will ever be redeveloped into a thriving destination city? Here's what some commenters said:

"Not unless you're cchanging [sic] the name to Little Puerto Rico....What's the point of patronizing the businesses if you can't speak the same language???"

 "I hope so, thay [sic] way someone will buy my house when it goes up for sale so I can get far far away from here"

 "Not in this lifetime!"

In a second article, also in the September 13 edition, Dr. Barry Bluestone, director of the Dukakis Center of Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University and founding dean of Northeastern's School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs laid out a strategy for successful growth in Lynn's economic development. This story sparked some debate as well with commenters saying the following:

"Uh .. right ! Not buying this at all ! Infrastructure Infrastructure Infrastructure ! Lynn is a dump site and not one person has turned it around ! Time to stop talking and start doing ! forget about this ferry stuff and extend rapid transit to Lynn ! Folks are not just paying high prices for their living quarters, but also quality of living ! LYNN LACKS JUST THAT .. QUALITY OF LIVING ! drugs .. prostitution .. trash .. no quality retail .. no upscale dining .. no upscale entertainment [tired of the Lynn Arts] .. etc ! Give me rapid transit in and out of Lynn to Boston and quality living and maybe I will spend my Boston earnings in Lynn ! Until then .. stop the jokes "

"Mr Bluestone misses some of the obvious reasons why Lynn is dying including not only high crime, bad schools and a waterfront that has not been developed for over 30 years. Here,s [sic] another rhetorical question. If the answer to improving Lynn is so obvious why has it taken so long to make these changes?"

"All very good points and kudos to Lynn area Chamber of Commerce for requesting this study, however what we need to do first is get rid of the crime,get rid of the drug dealers, get rid of the gang bangers, and get rid of people who throw their garbage all over our streets. I doubt that Mr Bluestone ever walked the streets  of downtown Lynn (alone) after dark. Make downtown Lynn safe to shop in (it was once) and people will return. As far as GE goes, most of the people making the top wages move out of Lynn, and don't shop here or have any interest here either. If you take a look at any photos or videos of parts of Detroit it looks like post WWII Germany with nothing but wreckage of it's proud past still standing. If we don't do something now, that's where Lynn is heading very rapidly."

Why all the negativity from Lynners about the city's prospects?

From the Comment Section: The Daily Item

The Daily Item seems to have a never ending supply of interesting comments to highlight here. On the August 16th article 'Lynn's plan for a new middle school advances,' a discussion in the comment section ensued about the lack of attention directed at Pickering Middle School which, like Marshall, is also falling apart structurally. One commenter remarked rebuilding Marshall was not fair while his/her children, "who live in the ward that pays the majority of the city's taxes [Ward One] will have to sit in the windowless basement rooms of the moldy Pickering Middle School." This sparked debate about some who continue to note the amount of taxes that the residents of Ward One pay compared to the rest of the city with the particular belief that this entitles them to more services or benefits. Some noted that other areas of the city are more densely populated than Ward One and may in fact contribute more in property tax; others were not buying this as some of these areas largely consist of renters as opposed to homeowners. User 'reggiecleveland' remarked:

The landlords pass their tax expense to the tenants, who are on sec 8, which gets paid by the working class, which is all of Ward 1. So they get to pay for the schools twice.

Just an FYI 'reggiecleveland' - not all renters in the city of Lynn are on Section 8 or other forms of assistance. Furthermore, there are multi-family units in Ward One which may very well be occupied by some Section 8 recipients.

This commentary is not all that surprising given some of the negative sentiment some Lynners have expressed toward renters who, apparently in their opinion, do not contribute as much to their communities as homeowners. See:

• Developer changes Lynn plan from housing to industrial
• Zoning board nixes Parrot Street condos

 Is this a common opinion among home owning Lynners? Do renters contribute less to the city?

Part of the Solution or Part of the Problem

In today's edition of the Daily Item, there was an editorial written in support of Lynn Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy's decision to spend nearly $20,000 on a TV promo for the city. While some news reports have questioned the Mayor's decision (see here and here), the writer of this editorial believes that there are plenty of good things to showcase about Lynn and that the funding allocated for the ad will be money well spent.

http://itemlive.com/articles/2012/08/10/updates/updates24.txt

Though the decision to spend that amount of money on an ad is debatable, there is one statement in the editorial I agree with:

It’s 2012 — high time for critics within city limits to become part of the solution, to tell or show someone who is not aware about Lynn what’s great about it. It’s time for all to work to shed the unflattering ditty that has been attached to the city for too long.

It seems that some of Lynn's biggest detractors live within the city's boundaries and too often resort to complaining (most notably under anonymous names on online forums) without ever taking any sort of positive action. At last week's school department budget hearing, there were just 6 speakers (a record high compared to previous years) and approximately 20 people in the room. Other types of public hearings as well as school committee and city council meetings in the city tend to see the same kind of turnout. Voter participation in the 2011 local election was just 23% overall and as low as 12% in a few ward precincts. In the face of all of the negative criticism about the schools or the crime or the untidy streets from a sizeable proportion of Lynn residents, where are all the people speaking out about issues that concern them in the appropriate venues? It is important imperative that more residents become involved in whatever manner they choose - whether it be through a community organization, with the school system, voter participation, city cleanliness, mentoring or some other Lynn-related cause in order to affect the kind of tangible change Lynners are seeking. While it is the city officials' jobs to manage the city, it is all of our responsibility to make Lynn the city that it could and should be.

From the Comment Section: The Daily Item

In the August 7th edition, of The Daily Item there was an article entitled "Mayor: Cable TV spot touting Lynn to air nationally." In it, the article describes how the Discovery Channel and Cable News Network will broadcast promotions featuring Lynn this fall and will describe how Lynn "has evolved into a great place to live, work and play.” The TV advertisement were paid for with $19,800 in taxpayer funds. As of early August 8th, there were already 43, mostly negative, comments on the story with many noting the amount of money spent on this advertisement when there are perhaps more important things on which the city could potentially be spending its funds. Below is just one example from user Thomas61:

So she is just going to go on national TV and lie about what Lynn has to offer? I wonder is she going to be truthful about the smelly beach, the woods where dog owners let their dogs lose to crap all over and jeopardize people's safety because the owner has deemed their dog friendly, the opposition to any development, the stabbings and shootings that plague downtown even during the day or the many other wonderful things Lynn has to offer? So just more people getting deceived to waste their time and their hard earned vacation? I just believe she is more interested in getting her face on national TV. We need a Mayor not a celebrity perhaps she should change her profession. Funny we can't rid the city of rats because it costs too much yet we have enough for this bull .

Is nearly $20,000 too much to spend on promotional TV spots for the city? Given that they are advertisements, will the promos give a true sense of the current state of Lynn or will viewers be deceived even in the slightest bit?