Batavia, Batavia, Batavia.
Where to even begin?! My brain is numb and my eyes are bleeding after spending the last 3 hours pouring after report after report suggesting the same exact things, year after year after year. It all sounds great on paper, but the recommendations are supposed to be implemented if you desire the changes you so fervently throw into a new report every year or 2.
I’m no professional Master Plan writer but I do know that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.
A recurring theme to all of these reports is the notion that getting the community involved is #1. “Community” needs to actualy BE the community…not the same ole usual people who are generally involved. Batavia is made up of a whole bunch of different people. Spending some time getting fresh eyes and ideas might actually propel something positive and good to happen.
One of these reports states that one of the problems is the negativity the flows pretty freely. Again, I’m no professional, but if you actually want this to change, then you need to get A LOT of the community involved so that they actually feel like they are IN a community. Most people I have chatted with don’t feel like they have any say in anything. The general consensus is that its the same few people making all of the decisions.
If Batavia is ever going to succeed with the hopes and dreams these reports speak of, then MORE of the community needs to be allowed to be involved and have confidence that their voice matters.
We don’t need a report to figure out how to make that happen either. Please, put the reports down for a bit and think outside of the box. In this day and age it isn’t difficult to get the word out about anything. Do something NEW and unexpected and the news will spread itself.
I had idea after idea for different ways to go about finding solutions. Again, I’m just a regular City of Batavia, NY resident, but I think things are being over-thought to the nth degree. Fresh eyes, fresh blood, fresh ideas are whats needed…not some report that no one but probably me and a few others are going to read.
From my understanding, the problems that pop up constantly have to do with:
1.) Getting more businesses in the important areas, for example, the nightmare of wasted space that is the MALL.
2.) Neighborhood Revitalization
3.) Getting the community involved in a positive way
Near and dear to my heart is Neighborhood Revitalization. IF ONLY *someone*, *anyone* would follow the recommendations and actually give some of them a shot, we might actually get somewhere. From the 2014-2015 City of Batavia Final Strategic Plan it is suggested:
1.) Provide support to homeowners and business owners that will lead to an increase in property values.
2.) Pay particular attention to ways to encourage landlords to increase property values, the safety of their property and the aesthetics regarding their rental properties.
3.) Support our neighborhoods with proactive code enforcement and partnerships with neighborhood/homeowner associations, homeowners, tenants and residents that ensure healthy and vital neighborhoods, free of crime, blight, and decline.
If ONLY that could ACTUALLY be how things are. What I’ve seen, and dealt with, A LOT, is selective code enforcement, bullying behavior, and absolutely NO proactive support. Their own reports suggest talking with homeowners and making them aware of programs that could help, but I’ve yet to see that happen. These reports (and I will link them up soon) flat out state that a good portion of houses in the city of Batavia are OLD. Not like 20 years old…more like 100+ years old.
Houses that old are going to take some work. What seems to happen tho is someone purchases one of these old homes in the hopes of fixing it up and making it a home end up buying the house and immediately start getting violation notices for things that the previous owner never got any notices for. And the idea that you will be “proactively worked with” goes out the window when the multi thousand dollar violation isn’t immediately taken care of and you’re taken to court and threatened with jail.
I wish that that was an isolated incident, but its not. It’s the reason I started this site to begin with. It’s the reason I’ve read report after report and statute after statute. We bought an older house (and knew the previous owner for years and years) with the hopes of fixing it up, updating it…making it something we’d be proud of. Instead, we are now looking to get the hell out of Batavia all together.
I couldn’t in good conscience tell anyone that I recommended purchasing an older home in Batavia because even if you do a FOIL request to see the amount of code violations/problems before you buy….chances are, once you buy it, you’re screwed.
Now, if we had any inkling that the city was actually TRYING to help or offering suggestions or ANYTHING of a positive, proactive nature…I wouldn’t be sitting here.
We don’t feel part of a community, or that the city wants to get more involvement from our fellow Batavians. I don’t think it would be hard AT ALL to get landlords and homeowners involved in solutions that raised their property values. I think when someone buys a home, they WANT to make it nice and turn it into something they can be proud of. That’s where we started…now, we have no confidence in the city at all.
If the City REALLY wanted to have a positive impact on neighborhood revitalization, they’d be best served by starting a conversation to see what would help move things in a direction that would be a positive for Batavia, not a negative.
How? By being positive and proactive and getting landlords and homeowners discussing ways to solve the problems we face. I’m sure there are a bunch who would jump at the chance to bounce ideas and suggestions around with others who are in the same boat. And the more people talking about it, working together, and sharing solutions…the better for everyone, including BATAVIA.
Check out the Blog section to find out what idiotic things have happened lately.