Hi Neighbors,

We started 2018 out with a bang with a jam-packed January agenda. Our guests included our state rep, Mary Keefe, and our District 2 city councilor, Candy Mero-Carlson, joined by city councilors Gary Rosen and Kate Toomey. The City Manager’s Office was represented, as was the city’s Human Rights Commission. Guests from Worcester East Side Development Corp. and the Bridge of Central Mass. joined us as well. Our voices are being heard!

We are excited about our newest endeavor, the GHNA website. The website will allow us to be better connected to neighbors but also provide much-needed links to information and services. It will also share projects, alerts, photos and other community information. Steven Jones-D’Agostino, a Rotary Club of Nashoba Valley volunteer, has spent countless hours working on building the best website for what we need. We know he worked on this over his recent vacation, so thanks, Steve!

This week, we enjoyed enough snow to shovel, record-breaking temps in the 70s, and some freezing rain. Only in New England can we enjoy four seasons in a week! But winter is on its way out, Daylight Savings is a couple of weeks away, and spring will be here before we know it. As the snow melts, it is disheartening to see the amount of litter on our neighborhood streets. It is an issue we address at every meeting, and we have plans to spring clean our area. Earth Day is April 7 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, and we need tons of volunteers. Last year, GHNA manned five sites from Rodney Street to Lincoln Street.

We are in the midst of fundraising and planning to introduce a series of free summer concerts at Green Hill Park this summer in conjunction with Park Spirit Worcester. We are looking forward to this fun project, and have received some financial support - but need more. We will publish the donors’ names when we are done.

We continue to work to get Grant Square Park lit, and will update you as we get information.

We continue to work closely with our Worcester Police Department officer, Mike Higgins, and recent concerns have been not only crime statistics but also speeding on neighborhood roads. The Worcester Inspectional Services Department has been vigilant about our complaints.

In the spirit of always looking at the positives, we continue to work toward bringing neighbors together. Earth Day is a fun day, and our sixth annual Community Picnic will once again be a great community get-together. The Summer Concert Series will be a wonderful opportunity to experience the beauty of Green Hill Park, and listen to music – all, for free!

We are only as strong as our members. So come join us, get involved, and get to know your neighbors and your community!

Thanks always to St. Bernard’s Church for offering us a home for our meetings.

Your Leadership Team