W-b Police Owe Public Answers About Shotgun

Angelo C. Pignatone, 74, Of 4 Benedict Street,

By JOLYN RESNICK jolynr@leader.net
 Thursday, February 15, 2001 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 9A 





WILKES-BARRE - Guy Izzo and a new neighborhood association plan to
transform South Wilkes-Barre into a jewel of the city - with or without help
from City Hall. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Izzo, the dynamo who formed the city's Crime Watch Coalition, is the
president of the newly formed South Wilkes-Barre Neighborhood Association. The
association looks to beautify the neighborhood and make it safer. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The association evolved from the Target Area Local Leadership team, which
was part of the city's defunct Weed and Seed program. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The state curtailed Weed and Seed funding in December after Mayor Tom
McGroarty refused to hire two police officers as mandated by the program. The
city lost nearly $600,000 in grants and became the first and only municipality
to be kicked out of the program. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Proponents argued that the Weed and Seed target area - South Wilkes-Barre -
had just begun to derive the benefits of the crime-fighting program. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Weed and Seed's demise threatened to end the TALL team, a prospect neither
Izzo nor state Weed and Seed Director Carl Anderson said they would accept.
Anderson met with the team and promised to help the group continue its work. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For now, the group of 14 South Wilkes-Barre residents and business people
is operating with money ``out of our own pockets,'' Izzo said. The group has
also received donations from area businesses. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``We're serious,'' Izzo said. ``We have people asking what we need.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The association is forging ahead without input from the city, Izzo said.
Last month, the group conducted its inaugural meeting at the former Boris Bar,
17 Carey Avenue. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Anybody who would like to participate is invited to attend the next meeting
at 7 p.m. on March 8 at the former Boris Bar. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 LuAnn Boris, widow of the late Councilman Al Boris, said her hairdresser
told her the association was looking for a place to meet because their old
headquarters had no heat. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I told them I was renovating, I took the bar out and all the
appliances,'' she said. ``It was available the night they were going to have
their first meeting, and I had heat and light.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Boris said her husband would have been happy with the association and that
his place could have helped with its work. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``We lived here 55 years,'' she said. ``It's not as bad as everybody would
lead you to believe. The group is trying to remove the stigma that came with
the area recently.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Boris' hairdresser, Donna Kowalczyk, the group's vice president, said that
when she moved her shop to her South River Street home, customers were afraid
to follow, fearful of crime. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I want to fight that,'' she said. ``We have a good thing going here. I
want to see it spread to the whole South Wilkes-Barre.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Izzo said the association will incorporate as a nonprofit entity, in part
to qualify for grants. Its main focus is a portion of South Wilkes-Barre, but
the boundaries will expand in the future. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The group plans to convert a recreational vehicle into a welcome wagon to
provide residents with resource information. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Members also are working to put together visiting nurse and after-school
programs. The association also wants to organize youngsters to help elderly
residents with house work, Izzo said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He'd also like to get a large screen television to show movies once a week
at the association's headquarters. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Jolyn Resnick, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7210. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Activist Hopes To Transform South W-b New Group Arises From A Defunct City Effort That Lost Its Federal Funding. Meeting Planned For March 9.