Secretary Pete Buttigieg in Birmingham to announce $14.5 million federal grant to revitalize Alabama’s ‘Black Main Street’
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg came to Birmingham on Wednesday to celebrate a $14.5 million federal grant that will restore two-way traffic to Fourth Avenue North in the city’s historic Black business district. “We’re here because everybody recognizes all the ways in which infrastructure shapes our lives, and we feel it when something goes wrong,” he said. “Sometimes we don’t pay attention to it when everything goes right, but a lot of work goes into making sure that it goes right. And that’s what today is about.” The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Neighborhood Access and Equity Grant Program, which is designed in part to help reconnect underserved communities that were adversely affected by past transportation projects. Buttigieg was joined by Congresswoman Terri Sewell, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, community leaders, and Fourth Avenue business owners for an event outside the historic Carver Theatre, home to the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame and near the Birmingham Civil Rights District. The transportation secretary said his visit was “about better infrastructure for the future” and “about putting right things that have been done wrong in the past.” “Part of what brings me to Birmingham today is recognizing the consequences of infrastructure decisions that were made generations ago and our regard for a community’s vision,” Buttigieg said. The grant will restore two-way traffic along 15 blocks of Fourth Avenue and add additional features designed to revitalize the commercial district and help reconnect the important corridor to the broader neighborhood. “People are going to find it easier and more comfortable and safer to move on this quarter, whether walking, biking, riding the bus, or driving,” Buttigieg said. Sewell said many past infrastructure projects created barriers between people and adversely impacted neighborhoods, especially in African American communities. She said what happened to the Fourth Avenue business district – the city’s “Black Main Street” – is a prime example. “We know that the historic Fourth Avenue business district has a very rich legacy of African American ingenuity and entrepreneurship. We also know that we’ve seen the crippling effects of infrastructure policy that has sought to divide us,” she said. “Our people deserve better,” Sewell added, saying the project will “… help us right these wrongs and level the playing field for Fourth Avenue business district.” Woodfin said that to create a thriving downtown and thriving neighborhoods, “we need streets where a mother can safely push a stroller across a crosswalk.” “Our vision is to create a truly multimodal, model city, a city where people can walk, ride public transportation or ride a bike to get to their destination.” He said some of the changes won’t happen overnight, with many in the community still “trapped in a culture of car dependency.” “It will take us some time to undo this infrastructure and redesign our streets and systems,” Woodfin said, calling the Fourth Avenue project a “major step” in creating safer streets. Republished with permission from Alabama News Center. A version of this story originally appeared in The Birmingham Times.
A rose by any other name: Randall Woodfin rejects “sanctuary city” label for “welcoming city” instead
Advocates for sanctuary cities have been trying for several years to get Birmingham officials to officially designate the city as such. Last year, Birmingham City Councilman Jonathan Austin led the city council in passing a resolution declaring the city a sanctuary city and then there was a tweet from the city that received a lot of attention but formally it’s never been on the list of cities kept by immigration groups. At the end of July, Alabama Today reported, that “the Alabama chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Alabama), the state’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization, and Adelante Alabama Workers Center, which unites day laborers, domestic workers, and other low-wage and immigrant workers and their families in the Birmingham area, along with other coalition partners, faith and civic leaders, met outside of the Birmingham City Hall where they called on Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin to honor his commitment to be on the front lines of resistance to President Donald Trump‘s polices. There they endeavored to hold the Mayor to the progressive mandate he was elected on by calling him to take action on the proposed “Trust and Public Safety” order.” This was not the first time Woodfin has been asked to commit to giving Birmingham the sanctuary city title, even as a candidate he was asked to commit to making Birmingham one. At a filming of NPR’s “Code Switch” it seems he has finally publicly closed the door on that according to transcripts saying, “I think sanctuary city is narrowly tailored and isolated towards don’t have your police enforce certain things of rounding up and hurting people, which I agree with. We’re not going to do that. But welcoming cities is more broad about, how do we help our immigrant community? And as I go to Birmingham city schools, I can tell you our immigrant community continues to grow. So it’s – for me it has a broader positive impact, whereas sanctuary is don’t do this. Welcoming is, this is what we’re going to do.” What exactly is a “Welcoming City?” Well according to their website, “Welcoming Cities are guided by the principles of inclusion and creating communities that prosper because everyone feels welcome, including immigrants and refugees.” According to the group promoting welcoming cities pledge some cities choose to be both sanctuary-cities and welcoming but not all. There you have it. He’s not going to make Birmingham a “sanctuary city.” Does that mean that residents can rest easy knowing that the police will be making sure that illegal immigrants who may be committing additional crimes besides just residing in our nation illegally are properly checked out? No. Woodfin was clear that police would not be checking the status of immigrants with ICE or reporting immigrant arrest or crimes to them. After all, that wouldn’t be very welcoming would it? So what happens when a member of a foreign gang here illegally is arrested or pulled over in Birmingham? Well they can get bailed out and disappear into the night because heaven knows we that’s the kind thing to do. What happens when the immigrant who has overstayed their work or school visa and is stopped and police recognize that they’re not here legally? Nothing more than would happen to someone here legally. Pesky law makers and federal law enforcement can’t expect the Birmingham Police to be bothered helping them catch human traffickers, identity thieves or drug smugglers that would just be downright inhospitable. Woodfin and illegal immigration proponents would say that’s kind and compassionate but how is that kind to those waiting to get into the country legally? How is it compassionate towards those who have lost their lives or their identities to illegal immigrants? It’s out of fairness for the doctor at UAB from out of the country or engineer at one of the new high-tech companies who went through the legal avenues for citizenship that the illegal folks get to stay too. Just this week in Jasper an illegal immigrant attempted to abduct a woman. If that happened here in Birmingham then Mayor Woodfin says his police department wouldn’t alert ICE to the immigrants arrest and location. How’s that for ridding our city of crime or making it more enticing to businesses? It’s a logical cop-out to accuse those who are opposed to illegal immigration of being against immigrants. Leave it to those who support open borders and blanket mass amnesty to say that those who did things the right way should be lumped in with those who are breaking the law. Many who are here and working are using fake or stole identities. Don’t believe this is an issue for cities all over the nation, just read some of the latest cases brought by ICE. So Woodfin would have you believe all immigrants deserve the same level of respect and protections regardless of legal status at least he’s stopped hedging his bets. He may get to say he’s not for sanctuary cities but so long as he has his police department turn a blind eye towards illegal immigrants and their presence here he might as well be. Full immigration section of NPR transcript below: MERAJI: President Trump has a zero-tolerance policy on illegal immigration. We know this. And we also know that here in Birmingham, you’ve gotten a little bit of criticism from the immigrants’ rights community… WOODFIN: I have. MERAJI: …Because they really want you to sign an executive order to basically put in writing that you won’t use your city’s resources for immigration enforcement, that you won’t use your city’s resources to surveil Muslim residents. Can you respond to that criticism? WOODFIN: First thing is this – is that I’m not. Like, we’re not going to use our police to do anything around what I call rounding up people. We just don’t believe in that. I don’t believe in that as mayor. I’ve had a clear, direct conversation with my police chief. I’ve had a clear and direct conversation with my chief of our city jail. We’re not in that business.
Mayor Randall Woodfin talks economic and other benefits to city as “Live” wraps up filming
Helicopters buzzing over downtown Birmingham provided a climactic end Friday to filming for the action film “Live!” that brought a month’s worth of Hollywood stars and heart-stopping stunts to the Magic City. Filming for the police thriller starring Aaron Eckhart officially wraps today. Eckhart is best known for his dual role as “Harvey Dent” and “Two-Face” in 2008’s “The Dark Knight.” For “Live!” Eckhart teams up with director Steven C. Miller, a Georgia native who developed a bit of a cult following for his horror films before branching out. “Live!” tells the story of a disgraced cop’s pursuit of the police commissioner’s kidnapped daughter with help from an online reporter. Filming started May 15 and has included flying cars, explosions, pyrotechnics and other stunts. [Film uses Alabama Power’s helipad] Miller says the city of Birmingham and local businesses have been great to work with, adding there’s been “100 percent flexibility” from the community. The filming required numerous street closings over the past few weeks. “Birmingham allowed us to come in and shoot the movie I wanted to shoot,” Miller said. “The people are really chill. Everyone is really nice to me, really accommodating and hospitable.” Producers chose Birmingham because the city’s downtown had an urban look Miller wanted for the nonstop action that takes place mostly outdoors. “I wanted something that had a little bit of grit but also felt like it was up and coming,” Miller said, noting the numerous construction projects happening downtown. “I really like Birmingham because Birmingham still feels like a city.” The city’s emerging food scene has also left an impression with Miller and the crew. “To be honest, I like the food. I’m a food guy. If there are some good burgers and barbecue, that’s my spot, and this definitely has that,” Miller said. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said the relationship between the production company and the city has been mutually beneficial. The movie hired locals as cast members and extras, and the multi-week production was a boost for local service industries. “They’ve eaten in our restaurants. They’ve attended musical events and Birmingham Barons games,” Woodfin said. “They’ve enjoyed all the amenities in Birmingham. They’ve also rented apartments or stayed in hotels while making this movie. They love Birmingham.” In addition to the economic boost for the city, Woodfin said the crew donated leftover food to Birmingham shelters every day. One crew member even adopted a homeless dog, the mayor said. “The great thing about this particular production company is that they are not only filming an action movie in Birmingham and hiring residents, but they are also giving back to the community,” Woodfin said. “Live!” is the latest example of the expanding film-making scene in Birmingham, which has a look many directors want. “Film companies have selected Birmingham so many times simply because we are Birmingham. We have fabulous architecture. We have wide streets. We have interesting corners,” said Don Lupo, director of the city’s Office of Citizens Assistance. “We have tight alleys that avail themselves to the chase scenes in ‘Live!’ We have what is necessary to make a movie. And we are inviting. The growing interest shows just how far Southern hospitality goes.” To that end, Film Birmingham, an initiative of Create Birmingham that started two and a half years ago, works to recruit movies to the Magic City. The Alabama Legislature approved an updated film tax-incentive program in 2009, which “Live!” took advantage of when choosing Birmingham. Each year, the state sets aside $20 million to attract movies, commercials and documentaries to Alabama. The most well-known film to qualify for tax incentives was 2017’s “Get Out,” which was shot in Mobile and grossed more than $157 million. The film was nominated for Best Picture at the 90th Academy Awards. Helicopter scenes were shot Friday using Alabama Power’s helipad. (Phil Free/Alabama NewsCenter) Create Birmingham President and CEO Buddy Palmer said the incentives make Alabama much more competitive, especially for smaller films with budgets between $500,000 and $14 million. If approved for tax incentives, producers can be reimbursed 25 percent of their qualified expenses. That reimbursement jumps to 35 percent for the salaries of local cast and crew. “We are really as competitive as anyone can be for that size budget,” Palmer said. In 2017, Film Birmingham assisted with eight feature films and more than 50 projects, ranging from commercials to music videos and everything in between. Just six months into 2018, the organization has already matched its production budget from last year. Producers are beginning to return to Birmingham with repeat business. According to Palmer, two producers of “Live!” will return in the fall to shoot another film. “They now have a familiarity with the community,” Palmer said. “The Los Angeles film community is small enough that word-of-mouth really is powerful. When directors’, cinematographers’ and art directors’ Instagram feeds suddenly get filled up with downtown Birmingham, Bessemer, Fairfield or the Cahaba River … we could not pay for that kind of marketing.” Republished with permission from Alabama News Center.
Birmingham wins 2018 Smart Cities Readiness Challenge Grant
The City of Birmingham has been selected as one of five winners in the 2018 Smart Cities Readiness Challenge Grant competition. Announcement of the grant award came Thursday. In awarding the grant, the Smart Cities Council called Birmingham “an inspiring example of how a mid-size city can lead the way toward livability, workability and sustainability,” and said that the city “works diligently to ensure that its initiatives benefit multiple departments and multiple populations.” The council also noted that Birmingham will use the grant to provide a collaborative framework for projects under way including an open data portal, smart street lighting, community Wi-Fi, bus rapid transit and the city’s recently announced crime reduction initiative Operation Step Up. “It’s important to acknowledge the good work that’s already being done as it relates to having an inclusive economy and government that infuses technology and innovation to provide better and more effective and efficient services to our citizens and small business owners throughout the city,” said Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin. “This grant shows that we are a city not only on the move, but making the right investments.” Woodfin reacts to the Magic City winning a Smart Cities Readiness Challenge from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo. The Readiness Challenge Grant is intended to help cities use technology and data to tackle local challenges, and improve services and connectivity. Winners will receive on-site Readiness Workshops provided by the Smart Cities Council. In addition, to help accelerate the initiatives funded by the grant, Birmingham and the other winners will receive mentoring, and tailored products and services from the council’s technology partners. The Council will also bring to each winning city some of the world’s experts from the private, philanthropic, academic and research sectors to offer advice to advance smart city initiatives. Birmingham’s winning application emphasized the city’s plans for accelerating ongoing progress in advancing innovation, particularly in the areas of public safety, energy and transportation. Alabama Power, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority, Jefferson County and the City of Hoover all provided input and support for the strategies outlined in the successful submission. “Awarding this grant to Birmingham demonstrates the growing national awareness of the progress our city is making,” said John O. Hudson III, senior vice president for marketing and business development for Alabama Power. “And that progress is gaining momentum every day. We look forward to continuing to work with the collaborators for this successful grant application and others to make Birmingham a national leader in creating the jobs and opportunities of the future. The Readiness Challenge Grant will boost those efforts.” In addition to Birmingham, 2018 Readiness Challenge Grants were awarded to Cary, N.C.; Las Vegas, Nev. ; Louisville-Jefferson County, Ky.; and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Birmingham also was a finalist in last year’s inaugural competition, in which grants were awarded to Austin, TX.; Indianapolis Ind.; Miami and Orlando Fla.; and Philadelphia, Pa. The Smart Cities Council is an industry coalition formed to accelerate the move to smart, sustainable cities. The council seeks to lower the barriers to adoption of technology and data as tools for enhancing livability, workability and the expansion of economic opportunity. Comprising more than 120 partners and advisers around the world, the council has contributed money and resources to more than 11,000 projects that incorporate smart cities principles. “The five winners had three important things in common, including a focus on uncovering synergies and cost-efficiencies between departments,” Smart Cities Council Chairman Jesse Berst said of the 2018 winners in a news release. “They also fostered coordinated collaboration between internal departments, external stakeholders and nearby regions. Finally, they exhibited a determination to include underserved and vulnerable populations.” This story originally appeared on Alabama News Center.
