Troy Teasures: North Central Weed 'n Seed
Troy Record, August 31, 2003

Drive down Ninth Street, between Hoosick and Middleburgh and enjoy the flower pots that brightly enliven porches and sidewalks.

Residents met over the summer and decided that bettering the neighborhood starts with greatly increasing voter turnout. Registering as many eligible voters in the neighborhood as is possible, and doing it before the Oct. 10 deadline, is one imperative goal residents set for the neighborhood's improvement plan.

Active civic participation is a long-standing neighborhood tradition with Ninth Street resident William Thomas. This fall, Thomas is working with other Ninth Street residents by knocking on doors and registering as many eligible voters as they can. "Everybody should vote," Thomas insists. "Tenants should vote too. You got that right to vote, so you should do it. At least when you vote, you care about things. When you don't vote, that's a person who cares about nothing. My neighbors who don't vote need to get involved more.

"When you live in a neighborhood you're supposed to care about it; it's your home. I kept my rented place up way before I ever owned a home. I was renting and I'd care for that home just like it was my own."

Holding community meetings and gatherings are traditions on Ninth Street. Problems among neighbors do crop up; neighbors work things out by talking to each other directly: "People want to do right by each other here," says Thomas. "The majority of people here do what we can, we pick up after ourselves, keep the grass cut, and we do manage to keep this block looking nice."

Thomas points out, "If more people would keep doing these right things, it will be a nicer neighborhood, and it's been in my experience that most people want to do right."

Occasionally the need arises to turn to city officials for help with resolving an issue beyond neighbors' capacities. Thomas decided to meet with and urge his non-voting neighbors to register and to vote, because he recognizes the impact of elections on issues of direct and personal concern. "I call and talk with the city because I have that right because I voted," states Thomas. "And they listen to me when I ask to speak with a city official, because they know I do vote."

Respect, says Thomas, goes both ways. "Why are you going to ask the city for their help if you didn't even vote in the last election? My own granddaughter Natasha Thomas holds a position at City Hall."

Thomas speaks with great pride on his family's deep Troy roots. "In 1964, I bought this house here on Ninth Street. I'm a homeowner here."

Thomas has a vested interest beyond the house in which he resides: "I bought another house here, on Ninth Street and then sold it to my daughter and now my grandson lives there. I do care about my neighborhood, this neighborhood, more than anything."

Thomas says he always recognized the importance of the vote, on a local, even personal level. "I voted ever since I was old enough to vote and I still vote. I am 71 years old and just celebrated my 52nd wedding anniversary Aug. 8 this year."

Voting is a civic responsibility that Maurice Branch,17, takes seriously. Branch took a lead role this summer when he helped organize the neighborhood's kids, met with city officials, and campaigned to improve and overhaul the Dark Angels Park on 10th Street.

Branch turns 18 in late November of this year, which means he cannot vote in this 2003 election and must wait. Even so, he willingly offered his Saturday afternoon to help register voters alongside his neighbor, Thomas. "This, for me, is really important," explains Branch.

Branch suggests one way to get registered voters to show up at the polls November 4: "Increase voter turnout in my neighborhood by holding a candidate's debate at Public School #2. I'd like to see the candidates up here too, and listen to them, find out what they stand for."

Co-authored by Rachel Rothstein, TRIP's Community Organizer, and William Thomas, resident leader of Ninth Street Block Club.