Br Albert

2006-12-01T09:14:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Br Albert Brings Light to the Darkness
A nice article by Kevin Sieff of the Brownsville Herald
(published August 8, 2006)

Cameron Park residents tired of being left in the dark
By Kevin Sieff
Brownsville Herald

Jorge Alejandro and Camilo Hernandez, both 13, have spent much of the summer playing in the streets of Cameron Park. When the sun sets, however, the boys don’t waste any time getting home; they know how dangerous their games would be in total darkness.

In its 50-year existence, not a single public streetlight has been placed in Cameron Park. The unincor-porated colonia within Brownsville’s city limits is the United States’ poorest neighborhood, according to the 2000 Census.

Brother Albert Phillipp, a pastoral associate at San Felipe de Jesus Catholic Church, hopes to change that. This morning, he plans to join other Cameron Park residents and local activists at the Cameron County Commissioners Court to present a plan to bring streetlights to the colonia.

“It’s a peculiar feeling to drive into a community in absolute darkness,” Phillipp said. “It’s also unsafe. These lights need to be here for security reasons.”

Vehicles have struck several pedestrians in the past five years. Two years ago a young woman was hit as she walked to her home; she was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

Despite the project’s urgency, Phillipp is conscious of the difficulty of its implementation. “We tried this in 2000 and nothing happened,” he said. “I just don’t know how we can make a good plan for monthly payments.”

The heart of Cameron Park’s problem is its unincorporated status. As such, it cannot make demands of the Brownsville city government — even for needs as basic as paved roads or streetlights.

Instead, the colonia must rely largely on state funding, which isn’t always easy to come by. After to-day’s presentation, Cameron County officials will review many applications for state funds before they decide if Cameron Park’s proposal warrants the $70,000 cost of installing 150 streetlights.

Recently, the dilemma over who should bear the responsibility of Cameron Park has become more complex. The city annexed two streets on the edge of the community. Like the rest of Cameron Park, however, those two streets remain unlit at night.

“When will these streets get street lights?” Brother Phillipp asked. “These people are already paying taxes to the city.”

Before the sun sets, it appears as if most of Cameron Park’s residents are outside. Children jump on trampolines and chase soccer balls along the streets. Women carry bags from the local grocery store. Men hover over the popped hoods of revamped cars, some of which are parked inches from the narrow asphalt of Cameron Park’s roads.

When night falls, the scene quickly changes.

“No one walks around here at night,” resident Telo Angelo said. Looking out from Angelo’s porch, it isn’t hard to understand why. A stop sign, bent almost beyond recognition, lies on the busy street corner across from his house.

“Someone hit that at night,” he said.

During the day, the intersection is a hazard for even the most defensive drivers. In the obscurity of a Cameron Park night, it’s a disaster waiting to happen, residents say, a disaster they are looking to avoid.

Go here to see the post on Immigrant Dreams: http://immigrant-dreams.blogspot.com/