"Area Four is one of the few eligible areasleft in the city for federal funding," says JanetL. Reale, administrator of Cambridge's CommunityDevelopment Block Grant (CDBG) program.
Area Four received a Federal Home PartnershipGrant of $817,800 to rehabilitate private houses,and was awarded an Urban Development Action Grant(UDAG) of $1.6 million in 1991. The UDAG pays out$78,000 a year, and residents control where itgoes.
In addition, the CDBG last year allotted$210,000 to refurbish Area Four housing and iscurrently upgrading two playgrounds.
But the city needs to pay greater attention toArea Four than simply applying for federal funds,Ryan says. "I would like to see the neighborhoodused as a resource, not seen as a problem," sheadds.
The Republican's proposed cuts in socialspending in Congress may threaten residents. IfWashington announces across-the-board spendingcuts, the park upgrades might be threatened,according to Reale.
"With welfare reform coming through, thebiggest challenge will be finding creativesolutions to affordable child care and jobtraining," Nze says. Tenant Council meetings onthe proposed down-sizing of the Department ofHousing and Urban Development (HUD) have drawnhundreds, according to Maragioglio.
An Evolving Community
While hopeful about Area Four's future,longtime residents remember the community theygrew up in with nostalgia.
With the influx of new immigrant groups, suchas the Haitians, Brazilians and Chinese, familiesare being headed increasingly by working andsingle parents.
While she was growing up "everybody basicallyknew everyone," says Carroll, who founded theNeighborhood Coalition in the early 1980s. "TheChildren knew they were part of a community. Now,it's a big transitional period."
"In some ways, there's less parentalinvolvement," she adds. "I respect that. I can'tsay that's wrong. For those of us out therefighting the fight, we need to be there, and forthose of us fighting the fight in their own homes,they need to be there."
This is the third in an occasional series ofarticles about Harvard's neighbors.