District J: The Pollard Press

Mayor Sylvester Turner unveiled a new comprehensive plan to combat violent crime in our city. The initiative, called One Safe Houston, will use $44 million in federal relief funds in several ways to address underlying issues contributing to the uptick of violent crime in Houston. Included in the plan is funding for overtime for HPD officers, mental health and domestic violence services, as well as crisis intervention. Click here to read a more detailed description of the One Safe Houston.

To help supplement the work of Houston’s Solid Waste Department, the District J office created Private Trash Day. This initiative is a two-tier program that provided door-to-door pickup of heavy trash and tree waste and made available several monitored large dumpsters, where residents were able to discard select items. The Private Trash Day initiative was funded through the District J Council District Service Funds. Through third party vendor Nexus Disposal, hundreds of residents who registered for the program had their items picked up from the curb or they were able to discard heavy trash at one of four large dumpsters stationed throughout the district.

 

Council Member Edward Pollard looks forward to building upon this initial event in hopes of offering it again later within the year. Special thanks to the Houston Police Department for providing security at the monitored dumpsters. We also want to acknowledge the great work by the vendor, Nexus Disposal as well as the City of Houston Solid Waste Department.

Three streets in the Sharpstown and Alief areas now have new asphalt overlays. The specific roads are Marinette Dr. between Clarewood Dr. and Bellaire Blvd., Braeburn Glen Blvd. between S. Braeswood Blvd. and Bissonnet St., and Brae Acres Rd between Beechnut St. and Bissonnet St. These streets were weathered and had cracked asphalt but retained a good base structure. The work was a surface treatment and does not change the road elevation or grade.

 

A new Xpress COVID-19 testing center has opened in District J at the former site of Dave & Buster’s, located at 6010 Richmond Ave.

 

All city of Houston COVID testing sites are free and many, such as this one, do not require any registration. This site accommodates drive-up and walk-ups. It will be open 7 days a week between 8 am and 3:30 pm. You can check online at this link to find a location near you within the city of Houston.

If you know a young person looking for a summer job, the City of Houston Hire Houston Youth Summer Jobs Program is now accepting applications. The online application period is now through March 11^th. Let’s get our youth working!

Council Member Edward Pollard spoke to members of the Afro American Police Officers League (AAPOL) after new officers were recently sworn in. Council Member Pollard also presented immediate past president, HPD Sgt. Deandre Hutchison, a proclamation at the Midwest station in District J. AAPOL serves as a collective voice for Black law enforcement officers, who provide perspective on the dynamics of communities of color from personal perspectives. AAPOL strongly believes in the concept of “community policing,” a concept which calls for a cooperative partnership between the community and police officers.

Council Member Edward Pollard was on site for the groundbreaking of the Asian City Center development in District J, located near Bellaire Blvd. and Sam Houston Pkwy. This will be the last mixed-use space in Asia Town. Mayor Turner and other city dignitaries were also in attendance for the event. Special thanks to Steve Hsu, Landmark Development and Southwest Management District.

 

The HOT Team assists with picking up scattered debris, removing heavy trash, tree waste and illegal dumping, and handling specific landscaping issues. All requests for assistance from the HOT Team should be submitted via 311. The HOT Team makes pickups according to the following schedule:

 

1st Thursday – Sharpstown

2nd Thursday – St. George, Gulfton and Richmond Plaza South

3rd Thursday – Braeburn Area

4th Thursday – Alief/Westwood

 

There are many organizations in District J that are beneficial to our community. Each month, we will include some of those events in this newsletter.