NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS

NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS. Neighborhood associations were evidence of the "people power" movement in Dubuque in the early 1970s. Neighborhood groups were important agencies through which hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal development funds were distributed. The groups were once so common that in 1975 a twenty-nine member Community Development Commission, with neighborhood group membership, was created.

The perceived need of these association had many causes. Where once neighbors sat on their front porches and monitored the activity in the streets, people had moved inside with the advent of air-conditioning. Society became more permissive, the birth rate had soared, parental neglect was on the rise, and there was a civic failure to enforce reasonable laws. (1)

At the height of the power of neighborhood organizations, four groups existed: North Dubuque Improvement Association (NDIA), 11th Street Neighborhood Association, Fourth Street Neighborhood Association, and Washington Street Neighborhood Association. These operated with the association of John Grau, a community development specialist.

Typical of the organizations, the 11th Street Neighborhood Association was established in 1972 to solve local problems and encourage people to socialize. Efforts were also made to secure federal money to improve the area. Decisions made by the associations were taken by representatives to meetings of the commission where citizens attempted to convince department officials in attendance to take their concerns to the City Council.

The oldest of the associations, Washington Street, was led by (Monsignor) Anthony SIGWARTH. (2) Successes of the organizations included the WASHINGTON STREET DIVERTERS to slow traffic, rehabilitation of many older homes with low-interest loans, and the establishment of a tool library. The NDIA renovated COMISKEY PARK with basketball and volleyball courts, obtained tennis court lighting, and began preschool and senior citizen classes. (2)

There was some push-back from the city council. In 1976 the council members withheld their endorsement of the Hill Street Neighborhood Association until organizers had obtained signatures of at least fifty percent of the eligible voters in the neighborhood on petitions stating they wished to be represented. The concern was expressed that associations could wield strong power while only representing a minority of the people living in an area. Each formal neighborhood was entitled to two seats on the Community Development Commission which reviewed proposals on spending the city's federal community development block grants. Neighborhood associations currently held eight of the 29 seats on the commission. The size of the Hill Street Association was also a concern. Each of the four officially recognized neighborhood associations represented an area at least twice the size of the proposed group. (3)

By the late 1970s the power of neighborhood organizations had begun to ebb. Federal programs shifted their emphasis to economic development resulting in less money for community projects and rehabilitation. In 1986 the 11th Street Neighborhood Association was one group still in existence, and the Washington Neighborhood Council had been re-organized.

In 2023 neighborhood associations began a resurgence. With the aim of enabling residents within the area to work together and know each other better, these associations met to discuss safety concerns, community events, and/or beautification projects. Aid for these associations came from the Dubuque Office of Shared Prosperity and Neighborhood Support which provided a 'toolkit.' This material helped interested parties understand what an association was, what residents could do, and how to gain members.

Since neighborhood associations earliest days, the Point Association had been established on the city's north end. It had received grants from the Office of Shared Prosperity for their annual National Night Out event which fostered police and community partnerships. Efforts to restart the Fenelon-Hill and Bluff Street associations were underway in 2023 as well as the establishment of the Mount Pleasant Home Association. (4)

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Source:

1. Buckley, E.A. "Neighborhood Association, Anybody?" Telegraph-Herald, August 24, 1975, p. 4

2. Ibid.

3. "Council Balks at Proposed Neighborhood Groups' Power," Telegraph Herald, March 22, 1976, p. 1

4. Bond, Maia, "City Aids Formation of Neighborhood Associations," Telegraph Herald, August 6, 2023, p. 1