Summer has always been the time when Astor comes to life. People are cutting their lawns, sitting on their porches, and enjoying the parks. There are some days where it seems difficult to walk around the block without having a conversation with a neighbor—or three—or find the neighbor’s children have stopped by “just to see what you’re doing.” It is at this time of year that I feel lucky to live in a neighborhood that enjoys such a strong sense of community. It is one of the reasons that after growing up here, my husband and I decided to stay. This April I was elected as the Astor Neighborhood Association’s new President. Our past President, Andrew Higgins, was a wonderful representative for the neighborhood, and deserves our sincere appreciation. It is his leadership that has allowed us to continue to have such a strong, vibrant organization —and a correspondingly robust neighborhood community. The strength and the longevity of our district have brought the Association to an exciting point in time. As part of our thirty-fifth year, the board will be taking some time to examine its place in the neighborhood by reevaluating its mission and priorities to better serve the area as a whole. Over the next few months we will develop a three-year strategic plan and redevelop the mission, giving future boards direction and allowing us to continually progress as an organization. We will also look towards the needs of a changing community. As a child, and now as an adult, I would often hear about how some people viewed the Association as pretentious, contributing very little value to the Astor neighborhood. Our board hopes to change that, but we will need your help. As we make changes, reevaluating events and priorities, we will need your ideas and time. What would you like to see our neighborhood do? What is important to our community? How can you help? John F. Kennedy once told America that it is not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. It is the same for our neighborhood community. We need more board members to help guide us, and more volunteers to help keep the vision of our tightly-knit, friendly neighborhood alive. So, give us a call—or email. Give us ideas; give us your time. It will make your home, your children’s childhood, and your neighborhood a better place.

Sincerely,

Jacqueline Frank
Jacqueline_2 d_frank[AT]hotmail.com