Thanks--I hope the discussion here will get more attention for the park and those who care for it!
Melanie Lamond did ask for your name, but having posted your email address, that's probably enough for her to look it up, and you needn't post it in public here anyway. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, May 27, 2007 4:31 PM To: Univcity Subject: [UC] Clearing the air a little There have been a couple of concerns raised on the list about two websites that I administer--malcolmxpark.org and malcolmxpark.info-- so I thought it would probably behoove me to dispel any misconceptions. I have lived on 51st St. facing Malcolm X Park since 2003, and I've been a member of the Friends of Malcolm X Park since late 2005. In that time, I've gotten more involved in the neighborhood and more interested in the activities going on in the park. During the winter, I proposed starting a website at one of the Friends meetings, but since I am the only member with regular computer access, the inclination and the ability to put such a thing together, the group left it up to me entirely. Initially I registered malcolmxpark.org and planned to use it as an official site for the Friends group, and in fact, in its earliest iteration, the static pages currently on the .info site were on the .org site. Subsequently, over the last month, I've found that I wanted to write about a much broader range of topics, some of which would be of little or no interest to the Friends group. I had already grown somewhat uncomfortable with the way the .org site mixed my own editorializing with official Friends content, and I had resolved to distinguish the two by establishing the .info site as the official site. When the UCD/Fenton/Rally story broke, that took on a new urgency, especially when malcolmxpark.org was described by ABCnews as "the park's own site." I hastily, and partially, re-assembled the official site at .info and put the disclaimer on the .org site that it was a personal site. Since the .org site is my own creation and includes some editorial content, it is unfair to hang my judgments on the Friends group as a whole, but it is entirely my fault that readers got a mistaken impression of the site. I inadvertantly represented MY views as those of the group. Thus, the only conspiracy is one hatched on my own behalf to save myself the embarrassment of purporting to represent the entire Friends organization. And now, all ham-fisted, I've gone and messed that up too. Regarding the controversial events, here's what I wrote in a post on the .org site: "As to the original post in question, I wrote it and posted the video just one day after the event transpired and before any subsequent questions were raised. I described the event as a political rally because, as an observer in the park that day, it appeared to me to be a political rally. But that was my judgment as an observer and mine alone." Beyond this opinion based on my attendance at the event, I have no inside information from the Friends group, and I have no connection to the councilwoman or UCD. I certainly wish that I could resolve, one way or the other, the question of whether there was wrongdoing on the part of anyone involved with this event, but without more information, I simply cannot. Anyway, on the positive side, malcolmxpark.org has been getting a lot more attention and seems to have developed a regular readership. If you know of a story that you'd like to see get more attention, let me know. This weekend, I've got a brief story and a video interview with members of the Eastwick Bike Patrol. Talk about an organization that needs more exposure! I hope you'll check it out. http://malcolmxpark.org/?p=101 Andrew ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>. ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>.
