By NICK SLEPKO

For quite awhile there has been a concern with the way many areas of the Roosevelt Neighborhood are declining. A group of residents, business people, and members of the local church have gotten tired of the buck-passing and the complaining.

"We don't care who's fault it is. We just want a better neighborhood and its time to move forward," says Elizabeth Tudor, co-organizer of the Roosevelt Renaissance urban renewal project.

Some neighborhood activists have tried to get the City's Department of Construction and Land Use (DCLU) involved and have ended up getting fined for their own code violations.

Meanwhile Tudor, owner of Funtiques, has begun assisting elderly in the area who are unable to maintain their properties. For the last several months, she has been doing everything from procuring dumpster space and getting abandoned vehicles removed to organizing professional landscapers and carpenters to help out around the area.

The situation has been made even more difficult due to the lopsided reporting done by local media. Despite several attempts to share what Tudor's group has been doing to effect change and build community, "the media has focused exclusively on one landlord in particular and has consistently failed to cover the good that's been going on."

On May 15, members of Calvary Temple Seattle organized by their youth group, joined Tudor and neighbors to assist in a big push. They have begun working on clearing a couple of the vacant, overgrown lots. Right now negotiations with the owner of the properties are taking place and by the end of summer Roosevelt may in fact have a neighborhood P-Patch.

It is hoped that other groups in the church will be able to make some time later in the summer to finish up the job-especially as the amount of sun-breaks increases as the July and August weather rolls in.

The project was a great way to involve the neighborhood in sponsoring their trip and do good in their neighborhood and abroad. TRF, a major commercial property owner and Definitive Audio helped sponsor the event. The next weekend, the youth prepared and served a Neighborhood Spaghetti Feed "Fun-Raiser" which brought in over 300 people. QFC, Safeway, and Costco provided most of the groceries necessary.

Nick Slepko can be reached at 517-4925, nick@pacaccess.com.