January 2024 HNY!!

Hello Neighbors,

Happy New Year!! Please join us for the ECC NPCT general meeting on Wednesday, January 17, in a HYBRID format:

• In-person at KMFA Studio located at 41 Navasota St, AND 

• Virtually via this Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85746914611.

The meeting agenda, which includes a retrospective and 2024 priorities discussion, is available here.

Announcements

Crime & Safety Update

Background: On October 16, one of our ECC neighbors facilitated and hosted a meeting with Council Member Jose Valasquez and Charles Loosen, Austin Public Health, to discuss concerns with unpoliced criminal activity and unsafe conditions caused by hundreds of individuals that migrate into the ECC neighborhood for services at the Austin Baptist Chapel Angel House Soup Kitchen. See additional details in November’s announcements. There have been three subsequent meetings with APD and HSO.

Update: On January 16, there was a follow-up meeting with the newly formed Homeless Strategy Office (HSO). Here are the key takeaways:

• HEAL initiative will be launched at IBC Bank encampment from Jan 30 - Feb 1 to move ~30 people into the bridge shelter.

• The HSO will increase outreach efforts around Angel House starting Feb 19 to offer bridge shelter and housing resources.

• The Goal is to reduce congregation and improve public safety in the area.

• New Homeless Strategy Office: Consolidates outreach efforts from various City of Austin departments under central leadership; improves coordination of cleanups, enforcement, and resource allocation.

Hybrid Parking Initiative Update

Background: The ECC Team is working with the City to develop a “hybrid” parking zone to help alleviate parking challenges for several blocks of the ECC neighborhood. For more details on the initiative, please see the presentation here.

Update: City staff is working to develop a holistic parking solution for ECC. We don’t have details yet but will share them when we do, which should hopefully be sometime in Q1.

As always, thanks for participating in our community, and I look forward to seeing everyone! -ep

Eric Pace, Chair
ECCNA/NPCT