Today, May 24th, we sent a letter to the YMCA of Greater Charlotte to formally expressing our concerns over the sale of the Johnston YMCA and the potential negative impact that will have on our community (read the full letter here).
We urge you all to start sending your own letters! Now is the time to have a strong voice and advocate for the protection of our green space.
Don't know what to write? No worries, we wrote a script for you! See below for the letter script as well as email address to send your letter to (update areas that are written in bold). We also encourage you to share your own personal stories about the importance of this green space and it's spectacular tree canopy. Thank you for your loyal support!
In tree solidarity,
NoDa Tree Save
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Dear YMCA of Greater Charlotte,
I am writing to you as a resident of the NoDa neighborhood/citizen of Charlotte/friend of NoDa to express my concern over the sale of the Johnston YMCA. Myself and many of my neighbors and fellow citizens are concerned about the potential negative impact this sale will have on community green spaces and diversity in our neighborhood. I am urging you to please consider protecting the front lawn space and mature trees of your site by transforming it into a public park before it is sold to a private developer. This centrally located green space is the heart of our community and belongs to be given back to its community members regardless of the ability to afford to live, or patronize businesses in NoDa. Furthermore, you can see my support on this petition, urging the same.
For generations, the Johnston YMCA has been an important community space that has brought people from all over Charlotte together. The front lawn has also been enjoyed by all who come to sit under the giant willow oak heritage tree, have a picnic, enjoy a movie on the lawn, or play with their children and pets in the grass. In NoDa, we are witnessing rapid development and with that, we’re seeing a steady decline in the amount of public green spaces and a similar decline in diversity. The loss of the Johnston YMCA furthers those troubling trends.
You state in your mission that you are focused on these areas of impact:
- “For Healthy Living: Improving individual and community well-being.
- For Social Responsibility: Providing support and inspiring action in our communities.”
If you believe in your own areas of impact, you will understand that this space is needed in our community to promote healthy living and that you have a social responsibility to give this land back to its community.
The YMCA of Greater Charlotte also claims to have a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion and you have followed through on that commitment at the Johnston YMCA. It was one of the few places remaining in NoDa whose clientele was truly representative of the great diversity of our city. By selling the lot to a private developer you also abandon part of your commitment to diversity here. It is very doubtful that a private company will subsidize lower income clientele as you had. What part can you play in ensuring NoDa remains a diverse place? One thing you can do is to make part of your lot a public green space. This will ensure that the space will not be patronized solely by those who can afford the rising price per square foot in NoDa, a price your organization is greatly benefiting from.
NoDa is about to see a population increase of around 12,000+ residents from all the new development that is already set in motion, which is an increase of 250%. Even before we hit that density, we severely lack community green spaces. Help us see that this land is protected from development so that we can protect a vital portion of our tree canopy and ensure that a vital green space in the heart of our neighborhood is free and available for all Charlotteans to use.
Sincerely,
NAME
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Email Addresses:
jon.bontrager@ymcacharlotte.org
Steve.Bowers@ymcacharlotte.org
rachel.damone@ymcacharlotte.org