February 2015
The Bark
Connecting the Communities North of 45th
Night Walk The Husky Neighborhood Intern Night Walk is set for February 10th at 7pm. Please join us at the median of 17th between 45th and 47th streets. What is a Night Walk, you might ask? The Night Walk is an effort run by the HNI team and the ASUW Safety Committee in order to see physical improvements done to the neighborhood. Participants will spend around an hour or so walking the streets assessing things such as: burnt out lights, overgrown bushes, and damaged infrastructure. The main focus this year is on LIGHTING Improvement, as members of the HNI team, Lighting Design Lab, and community members have identified to be a persistent problem. The current system not only fosters a lack of a perceived sense of safety, thus causing people to not want to walk, but the poor visibility, spacing, and design appears to also foster pockets of darkness where crime can (and frequently does) take place. If you are passionate about seeing this problem alleviated, and improving the quality of life in your neighborhood, please lend your support; it can only be done via action from members like you. We will be tackling the streets from 45th-Ravenna, and 16th-21st, making note of burnt out lights and assessing other damaged infrastructure. Lighting will be an ongoing project in the HNI team this year, in addition to the ASUW Safety Committee: so please, if you can spare an hour of your day, come out at 7pm on the 10th to help if possible, and let’s get this problem fixed!
Events
North 45th Community Meeting February 3rd, 4pm
Husky Night Walk— February 10th, 7pm
Presidents’ Day—February 16th (Holiday)
Martin Luther King JR. Day of Service- Reflection This past MLK Day, the HNI team partnered with United Way and the UW Carlson Center to carry out our annual North of 45th Neighborhood clean-up. On the morning of January 19th, a group of 18 enthusiastic and dedicated students and residents braved the chilly weather and helped collect enough trash to fill 20 garbage bags! Armed with garbage grabbers, gloves, bags, and vests, the group worked our way from NE 45th St to Ravenna Blvd, and covered 16th Ave NE to 22nd Ave NE. We certainly had some interesting finds-ranging from shoes to abandoned umbrellas. During the event, group members had the chance to talk and get to know one another; perhaps people who they otherwise would not have met. More than just a clean-up to make the neighborhood healthier, this day of service was a community-building activity! Thank you to all the volunteers who helped make the event successful; we hope to see even more at the upcoming Spring Clean!
Truck Hill– A Public Space Opportunity You all know of it: that blackberry infested, garbage hill on 22nd Ave and 47th Street . Well, the HNI team is proud to let you know that there is a project currently underway to design the space for you, assisted by you, and for the bettering of the North of 45th Community.
What do you want this space to be?
Through establishing partnerships with the city, UW community, and local residents we can create a new legacy for the neighborhood by turning a blemish into beauty. This is a great chance to become an active participant in shaping the local built environment. If you are interested in getting involved or to learn more about the project, visit our website: www.universityhill.wordpress.com.
Communal Garbage Issue If it wasn’t obvious before, after the MLK Day of Service, the community really noticed the issue with miscellaneous garbage dumped...everywhere . Even if placed next to trash facilities, if garbage is not properly put into the specified containers, it will sit, rot, and leave an unpleasant sight and atmosphere for all who live in the neighborhood. Is this the community standard of living you want? If you live in a large establishment, and have garbage not stored properly, sitting creating an undesirable situation for extended periods of time, you could be subject to a fine from the city. Furthermore, with the new Compost Law put in place by Seattle, there will be trash inspection. In case you are unfamiliar, the law states that: starting January 1, 2015, the City of Seattle will no longer allow food and compostable paper, including food-soiled pizza boxes, paper napkins and paper towels, in the garbage. After July 1, 2015 fines will be issued to businesses and residents whose garbage containers contain too much food or recyclables. and anything specified as compost, that is put in garbage, will subject one to a fine. The city is really pushing to elevate the standard of living and diminish the footprint we are leaving on the environment; so please, do your share, and help preserve the community.