An effort that the Mayor is extremely proud of is our Strong Neighborhoods Initiative. Our redevelopment investment plans for the next five years will put nearly 30 percent of our redevelopment dollars into neighborhoods –About $120 million will be used to fix up neighborhoods, repair buildings and parks, and prevent deterioration of our neighborhoods.  Although the funding is very important to SNI, the grassroots partnership we have built with neighborhood residents may be even more important.  We have over 20 SNI neighborhoods that have been identified for improvements.  But rather than City Hall telling neighborhoods what they should be doing, we organized the people who lived there to tell us what they wanted first. We created neighborhood advisory councils, we enlisted neighborhood associations where they existed, and helped form associations where they did not previously exist.  These neighborhood groups have spent the past two years developing their priorities for building stronger neighborhoods. They have identified additional neighborhood resources and community assets to help get funding and results.  They have learned to work with City Hall and we have continued to listen to them. SNI has been an outstanding experience for all of us. We have been successful in creating a much better understanding of what redevelopment can do, and should do, to build communities. We have achieved a remarkable level of mutual respect and trust between City Hall and our neighborhoods. Please click here to find out more about the Strong Neighborhoods Initiative.