By Tim O’Brien
Columnist
The North-Oak neighborhood is home to a lot of good, generous, sincere people – people who work together for the good of everyone.
The neighborhood has been blessed for years by the leadership of the North-Oak Neighborhood Revitalization Zone (NRZ) and the core dedicated community activists who volunteer their time in it. The NRZ has good leaders, like President Yvette Ghannam and one of New Britain’s most dedicated activists, Vicky Ramos. Both do a tremendous job in bringing people together for work that lifts up people’s lives. The NRZ was previously and very ably led by Briggitte Brown, who along with Ghannam, Ramos and others, breathed life back into the NRZ, making it the most active in the entire city.
A good example, and only one example, of the NRZ’s work was a recent neighborhood clean-up. Together with the leadership of Chief James Wardwell and the dedicated work of the New Britain Police, the clean-up brought together people of all ages to pitch-in and help make the Willow Street Park a clean place for children and families to enjoy, and also to clean up sidewalks on surrounding streets.
While there are challenges that need addressing and a lot of work ahead, I have always been proud of the dedication of the North-Oak neighborhood’s community activists and neighborhood leaders. May their dedication be the foundation for the work ahead to build a prosperous and better future for the good people of such a vibrant part of our city.
