Plaza Midwood Neighborhood

Save The Date - National Night Out 2010
             Tuesday, August 3, 2010
                  6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
                        Kilgo UMC
              2101 Belvedere Avenue

Lots of Activities for Children

Community Resources

Carolinas Healthcare
Presbyterian Hospital
Charlotte Fire Department
Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department

Great Raffle Items

Treats for Sale

Neighborhood Walk to VanLandingham Estate for Social (cash bar)

We will also be doing a brief memorial service for Officer Todd Kanipe and Mayor Pro-Tem Susan Burgess.

More details to come. Check this site frequently for updates.

It is great to see so many of you out and about in the neighborhood. We have great restaurants and tons of events within walking distance. I would like to keep them all here and busy. It is good for them, good for us and bad for the criminals. Especially, as we head into the summer season, it is imperative that you are Out and About on the streets. The more observant you are, the more the criminals hate it. We are suppose to be barracked up in our homes and scared, so they can take advantage of us without witnesses. Stay diligent, observant and out and about. The Out and About class was developed by working closely with CMPD to develop information about being observant and knowing what is suspicious. It is a one on one class with our great neighborhood officers listening to us and them sharing information about criminals in our area. We talk about what is suspicious behavior, when to call 911, and what to do after calling 911. It is all about WHAT to look out for and not just WHO to look out for. We will have more classes scheduled in the coming months. Look for information in your email, or on the message board.

Last fall, stakeholders walked the area and were stunned by how dark the streets are at night. The city was approached about adding the lights and there was little resistance to the upgrade. Our Identify the Dark spots campaign was approaching the end of the first phase. Lights were to be added to existing poles in Grid 1 (Thomas Ave, Pecan Ave, Hamorton Ave) now. Unfortunately, the city budget has halted our project. The delay of getting signatures for authority to place a couple of poles put us under the time line to get it completed before the new budget. We are exploring some grant opportunities with hopes of getting additional lights to the park to increase visibility.

The business district is moving forward with their reorganization of the business owners group. I have been to several of their meetings and PMNWatch plans to work with them and share information. This partnership should be very beneficial for them and us. Look for upcoming business district events; we will be sending information through email and the message board. They have also hired off duty officers to patrol the area. I have talked with the group and we have exchanged contact information so we can keep each other up to date on trends we are seeing in crime.

We still have plenty of PMNWatch yard signs and will have them at most PMNA and PMNW upcoming events for $5, or contact me and I will deliver, pmnwatch@aol.com.

Look for us at MAYNIA we will have an informational table, and support 2 of our community officers as they run in the 5K race that morning. They will be wearing PMNW stickers and yard signs, so they should be easy to find!

If you have any ideas, events or need information about security of your home, please let me know, pmnwatch@aol.com

Thanks for all your support and participation in our great neighborhood.

Get to Know Your Neighbors and Keep PM Safe!

We are looking for other events, to add to our schedule, too. The idea is to help get the word out about Neighborhood Watch and our local events, and to get the neighbors together to meet each other. If we know our neighbors and have more of a sense of community we are more aware of strangers and observant of suspicious behavior. It takes everyone getting involved to keep our neighborhood safe.

Please send me any events you would like to be added to our schedule and I will include as many as possible. We will advertise through our email trees that we will be attending and ask all those interested in joining us to come out as well. I think it will be a good way to help support you as well as give us the opportunity to engage the neighborhood in our sense of community.

If you have information on other events, please contact Rob Willis.

National Night Out 2009 - What a Great Night!

Thanks to all our neighbors, the NW Grid Captains, CMPD, Mecklenburg County Park and Rec, our local businesses, and other sponsors who helped us have a great night. Over 200 of us got together to mingle, get to know each other, and show solidarity against crime in our neighborhood and celebrate a year of lowering crime rates. (Check out the pictures from the evening) Coverage of our event by WBTV was wonderful. Mayor Pat McCrory came out and spent his last National NightOUT as mayor of Charlotte with us. He, along with most of our neighbors enjoyed hamburgers and hot dogs from Kilgo United Methodist Church. Snow cones, cotton candy, and popsicles were also favorites of the hot evening.

Our local businesses were more than generous with giving us items to raffle. Thanks to all of you who bought raffle tickets. You helped keep our Text message group going another year. Text messages are a great way to keep everyone informed when information needs to be distributed quickly. We even have enough left over to buy some Neighborhood Watch signs.

Here is a list of our GREAT sponsors. Please think of them the next time you need a service they provide. Help them, they helped us!

KILGO UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
PLAZA MIDWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION
CMPD
MECKLENBURG CNTY SHERIFF
FOSKOSKIES
AMERICAN EXPRESS
GEORGETOWN SPA
MCGILL ROSE GARDEN
JEFF BYERS
COMMON HOUSE
STARPOINT ACUPUNCTURE/WENDY SWANSON
MECKLENBURG COUNTY PARK AND REC
HARRIS TEETER
COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR CO/REVMAN
US NATIONAL WHITE WATER CENTER
CAROLINA’S MEDICAL
REMAX
CAROLINA CIVILIAN SAFETY
CHARLOTTE PARTY RENTALS

What is a Neighborhood Watch?

The Plaza Midwood Neighborhood Association actively pursues a safe, responsibile living environment by supporting our law enforcement officers and their efforts. To put as many “eyes on the street” as possible, we also support and facilitate an active Neighborhood Watch effort. Anchored by grid-captains, the network sets up phone trees and email lists that help Plaza Midwood stay better in touch with each other and get the word out about suspicious activity.

Three Goals of a Neighborhood Watch Program

Build a partnership with the community to reduce crime and improve livability.
Instill a greater sense of security while reducing the fear of crime.
Create a strong sense of community and put the “neighbor” back in neighborhood.

Neighborhood Watch Meetings

The neighborhood-wide watch meetings and crime updates are held prior to each Quarterly Association Meeting, which are on the 4th Thursday of the month in January, April, July and October in the basement of the Kilgo Church. The Neighborhood Watch meeting is at 6:30pm and the Quarterly Association Meeting begins at 7pm.

In addition, Block Captains organize monthly meetings to exchange ideas and information among the group.

How can I help?

An organized Neighborhood Watch program is a big step towards making Plaza Midwood a safer place to live and work. However, these efforts require a commitment from the entire community – businesses and residents. If you are interested in helping your neighbors to control crime in our area, please e-mail pmnwatch@aol.com to get in touch with your neighborhood watch officers and your grid captain. In addtion, it is important that everyone follow these simple rules and responsibilities:

Don’t be a victim.

Protect yourself, your home, your property, and your vehicle.
Have a security inspection done by law enforcement professionals.
Upgrade doors, locks, hardware and outdoor lighting.
Keep valuables secure.
Lock doors and windows and set your security system when leaving.
Mark valuable property and record serial numbers.

Be a good neighbor.

Get to know the people who live near you.
Have a way to contact neighbors and one for them to get back in touch with you.
Watch out for suspicious activity at neighbors’ homes and ask them to do likewise for you.
Attend the quarterly Neighborhood Watch meetings.

Report any and all suspicious activity.

Call 911.
Call 311.
Share information with your neighbors and block captain.
Calling your block captain is NOT calling 911. 911 should always be the first call!

Report street light outages.

Criminals like shadows so, if you see a light out, take note of the closest intersection or residence address and do one or more of the following:

Grid Captains’ Responsibilities

Contact your grid captain

Serve as a liaison between your neighbors and the Neighborhood Watch coordinators.
Establish a phone or email “communication chain” for neighbors on your block/in your grid.
Create and maintain a block map with current contact information for your neighbors.
Share information such as safety and security guidelines and reports of suspicious or criminal activity.
Visit new neighbors and encourage them to participate in the Neighborhood Watch Program.
Serve as a resource or point of contact for your neighbors.*

*From “Neighborhood Watch: A Manual for Citizens and Law Enforcement” by the National Sheriffs Association and “Establishing a Neighborhood Watch in Your Community” by CMPD.