Neighbors Opposed to the Neighborhood “Expectations Statement”

From KpcaWiki

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: 
Marcus Dunn
Kings Park Civic Association (KPCA)
Immediate Past-President
Current KPCA Board Member
marcus.dunn@verizon.net
202-416-1638

21 FEB 08

Kings Park Neighbors Question the “Expectations Statement”

KINGS PARK, VA − Residents of Kings Park will have their identity and values defined in an Expectations Statement, which will be published in the March edition of the Kings Park Gazette.

The board of the Kings Park Civic Association (KPCA) approved the document 11 – 2 at a meeting held last week.

“The mission of speaking for all members of the KPCA is at the least daunting, but to presume (as the document does) to speak for all residents is over the top,” said one resident.

Marcus Dunn, former KPCA president, board member and one of two votes against the proposal said the expectations statement was never suppose to preach to neighbors or to address sensitive matters such as values.

“During last Fall’s debate on the Revitalization Plan, the KPCA leadership sought to issue a set of social norms to new residents as a way to meet what they called the challenge of our diversifying neighborhood,” Dunn said. “Thankfully, a majority of the KPCA board opposed a list of norms and the premise that diversity was a 'challenge.' We instead requested that the document be an of outline of expectations – What can new neighbors expect when moving into Kings Park?”

“Instead, the Expectations Statement, to be voted on by the entire neighborhood at the April KPCA meeting, retreated to a social norms statement that many neighbors find offensive, presumptuous and demeaning, said Dunn.” As residents will see, once the statement is made available, values for the entire neighborhood are defined.”

“For many people, values are considered personal social decisions that are determined by way of family, friends, church and other individual relationships. People do not join the KPCA to be told how they should live their lives,” said Dunn.

Many neighbors have reacted to the use of “we,” which appears more than 75 times throughout the document. One neighbor, who wished to remain anonymous, said the documents sounded snobby and assumes that new neighbors need to be spoken to about drugs and alcohol use as well as how they raise their children.

According to KPCA leadership, the motive behind the revitalization plan and the expectations statement is that of our neighborhood becoming more diverse.

One neighbor asks, “Who are they expecting to move in? Apparently someone thinks new neighbors need to be told about values and what is expected of them when living in Kings Park, said another Kings Park resident. “If this is not the case, then someone needs to ask: who is the audience?”

Residents interested in re-working the current Expectations Statement are encouraged to contact Marcus Dunn at marcus.dunn@verizon.net.

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