WEST SIDERS FIGHT TO CURB CRIME

The East End is getting an $86 million arts center, $3 million landscaping
project and maybe even a $20 million ballpark, while the West Side has been
known more for shootings than streetscapes.

Recently the West Side has received a lot of negative attention for the
several shootings that have riddled the neighborhood, including a case
where a man was shot standing in his living room.

But residents are fighting to both curb the crime rate and improve the
image of their neighborhood -- starting with fights to bring safety and
development projects to their area.

Annually, the West Side does not see any more crime than the East End. Both
areas of town usually average 40 percent of the city's crime, with
neighborhoods on the South Side of the Kanawha River bringing in the other
20 percent.

"Crime is nothing but peaks and valleys, and the West Side right now is
having a peak," said Police Chief Jerry Riffe.

Drugs -- mainly crack cocaine and marijuana -- are the root of many of the
crimes. Hot spots like the intersection of 3rd Avenue and Bream Street are
known for drug dealing and heavy police patrols.

"The bad part is that there are decent, law-abiding citizens that live in
these hot areas," Riffe said. "They are the true victims of this. They have
to put up with the shootings and the cuttings and the crimes going on and
are sometimes afraid to come out of their house."

The West Side police detachment currently tucked away on Florida Street
could soon move to the Tiskelwah Center -- one of the few shining jewels
West Side neighbors point to when showing off their area.

Tiskelwah, an old elementary school being turned into a community center,
could offer a more visible place for police officers to go on breaks or
when they need to fill out reports.

It would be similar to the East End's detachment in the old Roosevelt
Junior High School, which Riffe said sometimes deters crime in the
immediate area.

Like Roosevelt, Tiskelwah would not be staffed at all times, only used as a
stop-off point.

"When someone wants to do a drug deal and they meet on the corner and
there's five police officers near by, it certainly works as a deterrent,"
Riffe said.

Getting crime under control is a priority for West Side residents.

"We need to address this reality," said Mike Stajduhar, president of the
West Side Neighborhood Association. "Then the image will follow."

A lack of development also gives the West Side a bad name.

The East End, wedged between a downtown commercial district and the state
Capitol, is a prime location.

The Charleston Urban Renewal Authority has been more active in the East End
and downtown areas -- helping create projects like Capitol Market and the
Town Center Mall.

"Obviously a lot of companies and people got disrupted or moved out
(through urban renewal), but I think the city's much stronger for it
today," Mayor Jay Goldman said. "You've never had the depth of commerce on
the West Side that you've got on the East End."

East End projects, some already realized and some in planning, abound:
Capitol Market, CAMC, the Clay Center, a proposed ballpark, a gateway park,
a Washington Street makeover and maybe even a library and grocery store.

The West Side doesn't have that level of investment, but it does have
several areas of smaller growth.

The Schoenbaum Family Enrichment Center, which opened earlier this year,
provides low-income services.

Tiskelwah currently houses two community organizations, but more groups are
scheduled to move in as renovations spruce up the old school.

A streetscaping projects along Pennsylvania Avenue will act as the West
Side's "gateway," and streetscaping along Florida Street could make the
area friendly to walkers.

The neighborhood association is planning a yet-to-be-named $2 million
economic project near the Five Corners area.

The West Side also has almost half a dozen grocery stores -- something East
End residents envy -- and historic, brick-lined streets in the West Side
hill area.

But getting projects on the West Side can be significantly more difficult.

The urban renewal authority hasn't been heavily involved with the Tiskelwah
project, for example, because the school is outside authority boundaries.
Plans for a Florida Street streetscape are also out of bounds.

That means the money has to come from somewhere else.

Other West Side projects are still in the planning stages, while East End
projects have moved on to implementation.

"The loudest wheel gets the most grease," said Urban Renewal Authority
Director Pat Brown. "Both (neighborhoods) have been very busy. They've just
made different accomplishments."

The neighborhood association will keep fighting to plan and then implement
its development ideas, Stajduhar said. With projects like Tiskelwah and the
Schoenbaum Center, the community should be well served, and neighbors are
hoping to improve their image.

"We are going to expect some positive attention in the year ahead,"
Stajduhar said. "Our turn in the sun is coming."