The wrong side of the tracks

Before you read any further, I have to admit something to you. I’ve been paying penance for this and I hope you can come to forgive me. I must be honest with you - I’m from the wrong side of the tracks. No, I am not impoverished - quite the contrary. Far worse than that, I’m afraid:

I’m not from here.

And I’m sorry, I hate to be the bearer of bad news if this comes as a surprise - but you, my friend, are not from here either. Unless of course you happen to be Indigenous, in which case my deepest condolences for the atrocities you’ve been forced to silently endure.

So there you have it. I have not lived here since the ‘70s. In fact, I have not lived anywhere since the ‘70s, since I wasn’t born until the ‘80s! The fact that I’ve lived in Aptos for only a year and a half is, frankly, irrelevant. Wouldn’t matter if it was ten years - I still wouldn’t be a “local”.

I draw these distinctions not with bitterness or a drive to overturn our town’s local pride. No, our deep-rooted community is something we ought to cherish! I fell so fast & deeply in love with Santa Cruz County that I’m fully confident I will be here for fifty years to come.

Maybe then I’ll reflect back on the “good old days” when we fought bitterly over the future of the Coastal Rail Trail rather than enjoy it. Ok, maybe not…

But I’ve gotta admit something to you - I love this stuff. All of it. Community is maddeningly messy. It is very unlike the electronics I design. It is not deterministic, and its current does not flow based on electromagnetic fields.

This here town we have is a diamond-in-the-rough with a massive leadership void. In fact, this here town we have is not actually a town at all! It is merely an unincorporated community. Maybe that’s fine. But the distinction is extremely relevant in addressing the issues we face.

The sense I get here is that some within the community wish to keep this dusty jewel safely in their private possession. Some are unhappy with highlighting the incredible historical, ecological, recreational, and economic value of lil’ ol’ Aptos. Some of them very fiercely do not want its glory on public display.

Every individual is entitled to their own opinion & perspectives, and there is definitively no right or wrong there. But the opinions & perspective of an individual or small minority group of individuals is not representative of the community as a whole. In a leadership void, there is little to stop fringe groups from dominating public policy. In a leadership void, there is scant means of accurately assessing collective community interests. Instead, lottery tickets get tossed away because a few poorly informed people are worried about paying taxes on the winnings…

I know what you’re thinking…

“Yea but you’re just pushing your own agenda!” You’re probably right. The safety of my young children within their community is definitely at the forefront of my mind here. But the day I stop advocating in accordance with NRG’s Mission will be either the day we fulfill our ambitious Vision, the day the community clearly & collectively rejects that Vision, or the day I die.

I didn’t found NRG as a business or even as a nonprofit. I founded it as a redwood roots community group. It started on Facebook (actually, it first truly started in Aptos Times), and it retains the inclusive, respectful, challenging, and messy vibe in which it began. This, I believe, is an appropriate mirror of the Vibe of Aptos.

NRG has been dismissed & attacked by community members unhappy with Barry Scott being on our Board of Directors. Ironically, NRG has been dismissed & attacked with equal ferocity as a shell for Greenway. I have been personally attacked by people like Sam Bahu & Carlos Hernandez with disrespectful and false claims. These are people, I believe, that don’t even live in Aptos! I have, believe it or not, thus far successfully resisted the urge to boot either of them from NRG’s Forum. Why? Well, although I will uphold the forum rules confidently when directed towards members of the community, I feel that some level of aggression towards me is to be tolerated on my part. After all, the absolute worst way to improve a community is to remove the sour players. A preferred approach? Squeeze the juice, add some sugar, and enjoy a nice glass of lemonade together.

I need to be honest with you…

I’m flying fast & loose here. A bull in a china shop. Stomping on eggshells.

I’m definitely not the first one to try to help Aptos develop safer streets & pathways. But it’s certainly possible that I’m among the most brash. I have absolutely no intention of letting 5 years pass only to find that I’ve accomplished nothing here.

The community has been patient long enough, long before I got here. Maybe now it’s time to move fast, break the china, and stop walking on eggshells.

I’ve been told on numerous occasions that (to paraphrase) “if you don’t like the unsafe streets, don’t live here.” Well, you know what - if you don’t like safe streets, you can move. NIMBYs don’t own this town. It’s not even a town, remember? 😉

What we need now is a significantly larger mass of support. NRG has just started ramping fundraising efforts for our first tangible project - Rio Flats Mural. This project will be a showpiece for the community and a demonstration of NRG’s ability to execute. It will not be a violent execution, but it will be a successful execution. The Age of the NIMBY in Santa Cruz County is over. No longer will we tolerate unsafe streets, polluted waterways, maddening congestion, and ecosystem decimation by invasive species.

Let me be clear - your backyard is your backyard. But across that property line, riddled with ivy and debris and contamination and broken glass… across that property line is public property. It is not yours!