AFS Cinema
Same Old Story
RECEIVED Fri., Aug. 21, 2015
Dear Editor,
I must express my profound disappointment in the tone of Nina Hernandez’s recent piece regarding the Grove at Bull Creek [“Frenemies of the Grove,” News, Aug. 21], specifically with regard to her miscategorizing of the Friends of the Grove.
I do not presume to know whether Ms. Hernandez knowingly slighted the valid perspective of this group or if she simply failed to perform due diligence in reaching them for comment for the piece. Regardless, it is disappointing that a group of active and affected Austinites cannot organize in support of development that will bring needed housing and vibrancy without being summarily dismissed as a bankrolled sideshow.
The Friends of the Grove is very much a grassroots neighborhood organization, formed this year by neighbors supporting the Grove at Bull Creek proposal and finding themselves ostracized from discussions already firmly set against the project. Its members are unequivocally independent of ARG Bull Creek and its development team, comprised overwhelmingly of young Austinites endeavoring to help craft the city in which they will live.
Instead of honoring this viewpoint, Ms. Hernandez chooses to deride their engagement with editorial jabs. She insinuates motives, for example, when she writes, “[ARG consultant Jason] Meeker is an active commenter on [their Facebook] page,” while simultaneously failing to record that myriad others, including members of the ideologically obverse Bull Creek Road Coalition, also participate regularly in the same public forum they have provided.
There are many neighborhood voices, not just one. They are all valid, engaged, worthwhile voices. And it is profoundly disappointing that the Chronicle has not given them all recognition and instead continues to pander to a “neighborhoods against developers” narrative that is tired, binary, and regressive. This oversimplification does our rich city a disservice and the Friends of the Grove, for their heartfelt efforts, deserve better recognition than this.
I must express my profound disappointment in the tone of Nina Hernandez’s recent piece regarding the Grove at Bull Creek [“Frenemies of the Grove,” News, Aug. 21], specifically with regard to her miscategorizing of the Friends of the Grove.
I do not presume to know whether Ms. Hernandez knowingly slighted the valid perspective of this group or if she simply failed to perform due diligence in reaching them for comment for the piece. Regardless, it is disappointing that a group of active and affected Austinites cannot organize in support of development that will bring needed housing and vibrancy without being summarily dismissed as a bankrolled sideshow.
The Friends of the Grove is very much a grassroots neighborhood organization, formed this year by neighbors supporting the Grove at Bull Creek proposal and finding themselves ostracized from discussions already firmly set against the project. Its members are unequivocally independent of ARG Bull Creek and its development team, comprised overwhelmingly of young Austinites endeavoring to help craft the city in which they will live.
Instead of honoring this viewpoint, Ms. Hernandez chooses to deride their engagement with editorial jabs. She insinuates motives, for example, when she writes, “[ARG consultant Jason] Meeker is an active commenter on [their Facebook] page,” while simultaneously failing to record that myriad others, including members of the ideologically obverse Bull Creek Road Coalition, also participate regularly in the same public forum they have provided.
There are many neighborhood voices, not just one. They are all valid, engaged, worthwhile voices. And it is profoundly disappointing that the Chronicle has not given them all recognition and instead continues to pander to a “neighborhoods against developers” narrative that is tired, binary, and regressive. This oversimplification does our rich city a disservice and the Friends of the Grove, for their heartfelt efforts, deserve better recognition than this.
Brendan Wittstruck