UIA LOC action in New Bedford

June 10, 2010 12:00 AM

NEW BEDFORD - Bruno Borges is tired of the fights outside his Ashley Street home.

Borges, a 25-year-old construction worker, rises before dawn during the work week. He says his sleep is often broken by the noise of street scuffles.

At this point, he says he could not imagine establishing a family in his neighborhood. He says he's considering moving to Onset.

Maria Terra sweeps the sidewalk in front of her Roosevelt Street home daily. Sometimes, she feels it's to no avail. Despite her fastidiousness, Dunkin' Donuts cups and burger wrappers often litter the area. At times, she says she is too embarrassed to invite people over and thinks about moving because of the street trash.

Terra and Borges were among those to read testimonials highlighting neighborhood problems at a community forum Wednesday in the basement of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church on Bonney Street. The meeting was organized by United Interfaith Action, an organization consisting of 16 church congregations in New Bedford and Fall River. About 200 neighborhood residents attended. Mayor Scott Lang and Police Chief Ronald Teachman were also in attendance, and listened to two main neighborhood grievances: dirty streets and crime.

"It's ongoing, almost every day, all different times of the day," said Borges of crime in the neighborhood.

Jovita Cabral said some people will not go to the church at night because they are afraid to walk the streets.

"We're concerned about our neighborhoods," said Tony Texiera.

Teachman agreed to meet with community leaders by the end of July to give a progress report on "crime hot spots" and to discuss his strategy for community-based policing in the high crime areas in the neighborhoods around Mount Carmel.

Teachman stressed the importance of timely and accurate communication and boiled his community policing philosophy down to one word: trust.

On the trash front, the mayor agreed to instruct a representative from the city to meet with the group to present a street cleaning plan. He also agreed to crack down on trash and litter code violations in the area and instruct the representative from the city's inspectional services to meet with the community members with a progress report.