The paper mentions snow, ice, black ice, slippery ice, sleds, sleets, and “slip, slide, and slosh.”

A lovely Park Place house. | pic: NNEC Facebook

Really, that last bit is an actual Pilot headline. It doesn’t mention (anywhere prominent where I can see, anyway) that this weekend is New Year’s Eve, and AAA is giving away FREE rides to tipsy people every night through year end, and you don’t have to be a AAA member!

It was mentioned weeks ago, so now I’m reiterating: if you’re partying, don’t drive. Call this number for a free ride: 757-631-1700.

As this is the end of the year and all, and the snow has pushed many a headline (and contributor, I might add) into a slack-like, relaxed pace, I’m not going to rehash a slow news day this morning. Instead, I’d like to share with you my “If You Read the Paper” 2011 resolution: more Park Place coverage. Here’s why:

AltDaily meetings and greetings often include a mix of hope and grit. Not unlike a puppy–cute, yet hawkeyed, circling near an occupied stovetop or dining table, AltDaily contributors want lots from our city, and spend time dreaming of and striving toward future Norfolk’s where bike lanes transport its citizens from farmer’s market to busker’s festival and, in my personal vision, through a thriving and bustling Park Place.

One of the first “wants” I mentioned upon joining up with these AltDaily folks wasn’t, as one would now probably think, music. Instead, it was to get Park Place a fair(er) share. I had just moved from Virginia Beach to Norfolk–Colonial Place–and was excited about my proximity to ODU and Ghent, about the walking and biking about to become available to me.

2011 is going to rock for Park Place.

Friends from suburban Virginia Beach and Suffolk were concerned about my new relationship with Park Place, feeling I was too close to something scary or dangerous. Before settling in Norfolk, I scoffed and told them their ideas were ridiculous. Yet, upon arrival, some preconceived notion of “ghetto” or “hood” sprouted up anyway. So much so, I found myself pedaling fast past strangers on 26th Street, or not making eye contact in the 7-11. I behaved this way for a week or two, felt terrible about myself, and resolved to get over these foreign stereotypes I didn’t even have upon arrival–stereotypes pushed into my mind’s eye by others who didn’t even live in Norfolk.

Park Place is not a “hood.” It’s a neighborhood, and a culturally rich, diverse, beautiful one at that.

Yes, it has crime, but that’s minimal compared to places like New York or Chicago. It’s good to use caution anywhere, which includes Park Place. It’s not good to assume crossing the railroad tracks after 22nd Street will get you mugged or shot, as that’s just ridiculously untrue. I read Mark Harris’s November account of his move to Park Place with such kinship. There must be more like us. People who want Park Place to grow without gentrifying the crap out of it.

My observations on this last year in the neighborhood are just that: observations. Beyond highlighting it online, and only occasionally, and my part in O’Connor’s Norfology Night, I’ve done little in terms of revitalization or awareness, a stat I’d like to change in 2011. However, just because I wasn’t out in the trenches every weekend doesn’t mean I wasn’t paying attention. I subscribed to the Virginian-Pilot‘s Park Place blog and was disappointed when it abruptly ended mid-year. I read every civic-minded or city-backed proposal (the YMCA, the community center), I joined Facebook groups like Norfolk Neighborhood’s Envisioning Change because I couldn’t join in real life (I’m not an actual resident).

The GreenBuildIt LEED house | pic: Eric Fadden

These efforts have led to my witnessing the extensive and (still beginning) neighborhood renaissance. Local, successful businesses have opened. Norfolk’s first eco-friendly home was erected by GreenBuildIt, and its sister house is currently being built next door. Kevin O’Connor opened Norfolk’s only brewery on 25th Street to great fanfare. These two boons to Norfolk, shining like beacons to future entrepreneurs or forward thinkers, are thriving, and they are thriving in Park Place!

They were also home to two of the best parties of 2010–DJ Cornbread spinning while people from all over showed up to tour the GreenBuildIt house–to ooh and aah over its pool, its massive master bath, its modern, spacious vibe. And, later in the year, Cornbread again gracing nearly 800 residents at O’Connor’s Norfology Night, where most of us tasted their latest Black IPA for the first (and certainly not the last) time.

I attended both of these parties, and saw downtowners, Ghenters, Virginia Beachers(!) relaxed, smiling, happy…in Park Place. More than once people came up to me saying “I can’t believe this is Norfolk!” Park Place was making Norfolk look hip. Score!

2010 also brought the neighborhood a presence in civic pride and resident involvement. The Norfolk Neighborhoods Envisioning Change project got residents involved in the revitalization of their community and was an inspiration to me every time I saw it covered in the press or in person. Riding my bike down to Ghent, seeing a group of children outside the imposing beauty of Colonial Ave’s Park Place Methodist Church, picking up garbage while reciting silly songs, it was soul warming.

Art and culture flourished as well. Realizing one of our most promising and talented local bands rehearses in that neighborhood, recognizing the Venue on 35th’s creative contribution to Norfolk, and now, opening the paper yesterday to see 35th Street will also be home to our newest coffee shop, Kerouac’s, a 24/7 haunt hoping to attract writers and other creatives.

This is what progress looks like.

Around the world, for as long as cities and art have existed, there have been areas low in cost, medium on reputation and crime, and high in potential. These areas grow up to be called Chelsea or Williamsburg. Park Place has this potential. It’s affordable and has space galore for artists or bands or rehearsals of whatever vein. It’s historic, with inspiring architecture and interesting people walking about. It’s located very close to a large majority of other creative Norfolk hangouts.

It’s time to make it a go of it, Park Place.