Alderwoman April Ford-Griffin is running unopposed in the upcoming Democratic primary on March 3, giving her more time to serve the people of the 5th Ward.
“She’s very caring, and she shares a lot of resources and wonderful things for the people,” said 74-year-old Margaret Dean, an 18-year resident of the Cochran Gardens Center on North 9th Street, near Downtown.
Griffin held one of her monthly forums for the seniors in Carr Square there on Tuesday afternoon.
“She’s doing a tremendous job,” said 54-year-old Rebecca Applewhite, another resident at the center, who attended the function on Tuesday.
“She’s good for our community – we need an alderman like her because she helps with stuff like housing.”
The center will soon become Cambridge Heights, thanks to a federal Hope 6 grant and City tax credits. The area adjacent to the center and nestled just two blocks north of Downtown is also up for new residential development – $70 million worth.
There will be 250 mixed-income units, 16 of which are townhomes and will be for sale.
“People’s mentalities change when they are around people with different economic situations, because they start to realize that they are much different and they can still learn from one another,” Ford-Griffin said of mixed-income housing.
Ford-Griffin said that mixed-income housing also protects residents from being slighted in the delivery of City services, such as policing and trash pickup.
“In the past, low-income people have been concentrated in one area, which makes it easy to target them for maltreatment and unequal services,” Ford-Griffin said.
She said North St. Louis aldermen need to think differently and think big, because the needs of the community are so dire.
For instance, when Ford-Griffin became alderperson of the 5th Ward in 1997, she said there was an abundance of vacant land in the area. But because it was right next to Downtown, which was slated for development, it afforded her community the opportunity to attract developers.
Since Ford-Griffin has been alderperson in the 5th Ward, she said, nearly $1 billion in development has come to the area.
Ford-Griffin said when development is proposed, she sees what is in it for the community.
When BJC was looking at land Ford-Griffin’s ward, she said, she and two other alderpersons went to ask about details.
“We had to see what we could get for a community that’s underserved,” she said.
“The legislation sometimes affords you the opportunity to sit at the table with companies or developers and use your influence to bring something back for your people.”
While negotiating with BJC, Ford-Griffin said, she and the other two alderpersons were able to get $1.2 million earmarked for neighborhood parks.
“There’s enough information out there to know how important it is to use green space instead of dirt lots in our community,” she said.
She said they also walked away with $300,000 per year dedicated to scholarships for low-income kids who want memberships at city recreational centers.
“It may not seem like a lot when you look at all the things our community needs, but I think it’s all relevant when you’re trying to provide something for your community,” she said.
She said BJC is also helping city alderpersons with the formation of the Black Caucus Foundation. Ford-Griffin serves on a health-care committee for the foundation.
The group, Ford-Griffin said, has also asked BJC about building an urgent care center in North St. Louis and has had a consultant come in and address the health needs of the area and make suggestions. The urgent care center was recommended, she said, and a full disclosure will be available at a press conference in about a month.
She said, “If our kids are unhealthy, how can they go to school and learn and go to work and be productive?”