CAN YOU HELP?

chca

CHCA is excited to be planning a community wide Town Hall meeting in March.

We see this as a visioning opportunity for the future of our community and we want everyone's voice to be heard. One of our challenges is to reach the community beyond our email list.

We are looking for people who can give 5-20 hours of time over the next 7 weeks.

We will be putting together snail mailings, distributing fliers and placing posters to get the word out.

In addition we will need help with the event itself. This will include preparing materials to present and to distribute, serving food and providing daycare.

We need many hands (& feet) to pull this off. Please reply to this email if you are able to give some time to make this important and exciting project a success (and let us know if you have any special skills: power point, design, writing, child care etc).

Thanks & Happy 2013

(You can respond here or send an email to [email protected] )

whynot_31

I have to admit, I am interested in seeing if this event is a success, and want to know how success is going to be defined.

When I have attended similar events, success is mostly defined in terms of attendance. For example, I have seen events deemed "successful" because a large number of people come together, and (after some arguing) conclude that the real opponents are not each other, but are the ones not present. ....There is little, if any, constructive follow up.

Likewise, I have attended events that are nothing but scream fests, because someone dares to state that they have an opinion and aren't going to change it, despite it being unpopular.

This event will need a skilled moderator and clear goals to avoid such pitfalls. Good intentions must be met with excellent implementation to avoid being in a worse place than we started.

whynot_31

They seem to be having a planning meeting tonight.

http://crowhillcommunity.org/

If they seem to be attempting something possible and well conceived, I'll volunteer.

If not, I'll try to steer them in what I consider to be the right direction.

whynot_31

Step 1:

Realize that you'll never have a meeting that includes everyone.

Step 2:

Decide whether to have second meeting, which isn't on a Saturday, and therefore allows observant Jews to attend.

DNA.info wrote: "They say they want all voices to be heard, but in order to achieve that, everybody needs to be there or at least have the opportunity to be there. They can’t do that when it’s on [the Jewish Sabbath]," said Rabbi Ari Kirschenbaum of Congregation Kol Israel, a large and growing Orthodox synagogue near the intersection of St. Johns Place and Franklin Avenue in the heart of the Crow Hill corridor.

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130221/crown-heights/meeting-meant-unify-excludes-large-part-of-crow-hill-community

Step 3:

Realize that if you have a meeting which attempts to discuss topics that have been wrestled with since the beginning of time, you run the risk of having meetings until the end of time.

Step 4:

Have 4 mtgs. Max

chloeroyale

I agree the Jewish community must be included

whynot_31

CHCA's best move is probably to announce that they are going to have a series of meetings, the first of which happens on March 23.

I would attempt to keep people on topic, by giving each meeting a theme.

I would also structure the meetings in terms of 5 min per person, form a line (or take a number), and explain that the purpose is not to have everyone agree on anything.

The community is too diverse for anyone to be told that (as a result of these meetings) we will share common goals, or methods.

While some may state that having multiple meetings is kowtowing to the Jewish community, I'd argue there was no way this topic was going to be adequately discussed in one mtg anyway.

...having multiple mtgs would be key to its success, even if we lived in an area in which everyone could attend on a Saturday.

chloeroyale

Why not I agree! I truly hope that they will have a timer at the event instead of having a human being cutting you off or making the cut throat sign...

whynot_31

I fear the article in today's NYT is going to bring out an excess of people, who will crash any hope of a productive mtg.

whynot_31 said:

The NYT has run a piece on the bike corral today:

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/bike-corral-debate-exposes-tension-in-a-brooklyn-community/

I am becoming less and less optimistic about this mtg in March:

http://www.brooklynian.com/forums/topic/can-you-help

chloeroyale

Well Whynot what are your expectations for this town hall meeting? Do u want certain topics off the table (not to be discussed)! Why are u upset that they ran another article on the bike corral?

chloeroyale

Whynot what do u mean u fear an excess of people isn't that what we want a lot of people verbalizing their views now u have me confused.

whynot_31

When you have too much publicity about a mtg, people tend to have expectations that are not realistic. A packed house is often a grumpy house.

People feel cheated when their favorite issue is not given more time, not realizing that the more people who are there, the less time everyone has. I'd have about 3 mtgs, each advertised to the degree that I anticipated 40 people.

People would be encouraged to go to one, and only one, to avoiding hogging. The meeting would be at different times, days and locations to maximize opportunity to attend.

A packed meeting is more often a scream fest, than a functional meeting. High attendance is not always correlated to success.

chloeroyale

Tell big sue . And Whynot we have more than 120 people in our community so how would we accommodate the other people who would be interested in attending.

whynot_31

You may need to consult Step 1

whynot_31 said:

Step 1:

Realize that you'll never have a meeting that includes everyone.

Step 2:

Decide whether to have second meeting, which isn't on a Saturday, and therefore allows observant Jews to attend.

DNA.info wrote: "They say they want all voices to be heard, but in order to achieve that, everybody needs to be there or at least have the opportunity to be there. They can’t do that when it’s on [the Jewish Sabbath]," said Rabbi Ari Kirschenbaum of Congregation Kol Israel, a large and growing Orthodox synagogue near the intersection of St. Johns Place and Franklin Avenue in the heart of the Crow Hill corridor.

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130221/crown-heights/meeting-meant-unify-excludes-large-part-of-crow-hill-community

Step 3:

Realize that if you have a meeting which attempts to discuss topics that have been wrestled with since the beginning of time, you run the risk of having meetings until the end of time.

Step 4:

Have 4 mtgs. Max

chloeroyale

The next meeting will not be on a sat. I bet u. I have the feeling it will be more than two meeting

whynot_31

I have found that a key to happiness is to never try to reach Consensus. Another key is avoiding those who pursue it.

I have concluded that whenever a group believes it has reached consensus, it is because some interested people are not in the room. Therefore, consensus is not achievable.

http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/treatment/consens.htm

whynot_31

whynot_31 said:

CHCA's best move is probably to announce that they are going to have a series of meetings, the first of which happens on March 23.

I would attempt to keep people on topic, by giving each meeting a theme.

I would also structure the meetings in terms of 5 min per person, form a line (or take a number), and explain that the purpose is not to have everyone agree on anything.

The community is too diverse for anyone to be told that (as a result of these meetings) we will share common goals, or methods.

While some may state that having multiple meetings is kowtowing to the Jewish community, I'd argue there was no way this topic was going to be adequately discussed in one mtg anyway.

...having multiple mtgs would be key to its success, even if we lived in an area in which everyone could attend on a Saturday.

I am pleased to report that the path detailed in the above quote, is the path CHCA is now on.