By Gillian Graham

Staff Writer

Residents of the South Street neighborhood in Biddeford say they are ready for change as city officials stand poised and ready to help.

The neighborhood was thrown into the spotlight when South Street resident Rory Holland allegedly shot and killed brothers Derek Greene, 21, and Gage Greene, 19, in the early morning hours of June 30. Holland, who has pleaded not guilty, continues to be held without bail at York County Jail. 

Nearly 30 residents and city leaders turned out for a community watch meeting to talk about the area as concerns about safety in the neighborhood increased following the shootings. The meeting at Christ Episcopal Church last week was scheduled prior to the incident and was not intended to address the criminal case involving Holland or the behavior of specific individuals, according to police.

Bil Moriarty, an area resident and volunteer at In A Pinch Nonfood Pantry, said the group met for the first time in June and will continue to meet on the third Thursday of each month to address concerns about crime, drugs, graffiti and domestic violence. City Councilor Bob Mills said he had worked with Moriarty for a year to start a group to “take back the neighborhood.”

Many who attended the meeting for the first time said they came simply to show support for the neighborhood and its residents. State Rep. Nancy Sullivan, who represents part of Biddeford, said she thinks it is time to focus on making the South Street neighborhood stronger.

Ward 4 City Councilor Sue Deschambault said she wants to show support for her neighbors. Her neighborhood, which includes the former Emery School building on Hill Street, had a watch group in years past that successfully addressed problems, she said.

“You’ve identified domestic violence and drugs. That’s not unique to this neighborhood,” she said. “Just by saying it you’re owning up to it.”

Deputy Police Chief JoAnne Fisk, a lifelong resident of Biddeford, said she cares about the neighborhood and the police department is willing to continue working with residents.

“I care about the community and I care about what happens here,” she said.

Mayor Joanne Twomey said she is concerned about youth in the neighborhood who are grieving the loss of two friends. Prior to the meeting, she said she has come to know people in the South Street neighborhood she hadn’t met before the June 30 incident.

“I got to know these kids who live on my streets in a different way. I saw their hearts,” she said. “ I saw their compassion, I saw their love of friends. They need the community to support them.”

Mother speaks out 

Tammy Cole, the mother of Derek and Gage Greene, said she plans to move to Biddeford and work with her sons’ friends and other youth to put them back on the right track.

“I would give anything to live in Biddeford. You’ll see my face all the time,” she said. “These are my kids now and every other kid who wants to turn their life around.”

The meeting largely focused on graffiti and neighborhood cleanups, with discussions of how police and young adults in the area can work together.

Laura Kimball, a close friend of Cole, said she is working with a group of more than a dozen friends of Derek and Gage Greene. They are motivated to make changes in the way they live and their interactions with police, she said. Cole said they’ve changed their outlooks on life after losing their friends.

Kimball said it is “no secret” the youth have banded together – some with street affiliations – to protect and support each other. She said they are aware they have wasted the time and effort of police with some of their actions and are ready to work with officers. While some residents may be scared of the way the young adults look with tattoos, Kimball said it is never their intention to scare people.

“We’re just asking for opportunities in the community,” she said. “These kids are aching, hurting and have aspirations.”

Kimball said many of the youth are willing to accept responsibility for tagging they have done throughout the city and will help remove it as much as possible. Their long-term goal is to find a way to show their “artwork” without being a nuisance to the city and find other ways to help their neighbors, she said. 

Cole, who said Derek Greene was one of the city’s biggest taggers, said it is best to remove tags instead of covering them up to avoid retaliation, a suggestion supported by  Derek Greene’s close friend Casey Goldthwait.

Biddeford Community Development Coordinator Linda Hardacker said it is important to remember “graffiti is done at night and is a crime and art is done in the day in front of people.” 

She said cleaning up graffiti is an important part of revitalizing neighborhoods.

Police Chief Roger Beaupre said his department is always willing to work closely with youth, regardless of trouble they may have had in the past. He said officers are already trying to make contact with those in the area, but people have to be willing to take responsibility and be accountable for their behavior. 

“I think we can work very closely with the neighborhood youth,” he said. “We’re here to help you, we’re here to work with you.”

Sgt. Steve Gorton, a shift supervisor working with the community watch group, said officers are willing to engage with people in the area and focus on moving forward.

“The tone of our interactions over the past week has drastically changed,” he said.

Watch groups date to 1995

Beaupre said his department has focused on community policing for years, working with community watch groups since around 1995. An officer is assigned to work with a community group to gather information and provide direction. Members of watch groups are assigned a number for reporting crimes to ensure their anonymity, he said. 

Beaupre said community watch groups generally focus on eliminating drug activity, vandalism and domestic violence. Beaupre and Fisk said community involvement is essential to making changes in troubled neighborhoods.

“We can’t do this alone,” Fisk said.

There have been no dramatic increases in calls from the South Street area since the June 30 shooting and no change in police presence there, Beaupre said. He said officers were well aware of the issues before the last few weeks and have been “saturating that area for a while.”

Throughout the meeting, the South Street neighborhood drew comparisons to the Bacon Street area, where revitalization efforts in recent years have yielded positive results, according to city leaders.

Beaupre said the Bacon Street neighborhood surfaced as an area of concern following a fatal shooting in the late 1980s. 

“That incident sparked news and drew attention outside of the Bacon Street area, making it reputation wise a dangerous place,” he said, noting the neighborhood is now considered a much safer area.

Hardacker began working on revitalizing Bacon Street in 2005 when former Economic Development Director Bob Dodge showed her the area and said it needed her help. Now known as the “Bacon Street Fairy,” she began meeting with neighborhood residents to talk about “what’s good and not good.”

Hardacker scheduled neighborhood meetings twice yearly and said neighbors identified what they wanted to change and how to accomplish their goals. The neighborhood also hosts cleanups, barbecues and an annual Bacon Street Festival. A community garden, park and playground have been added in recent years and are maintained by people in the neighborhood.

“People told me I was crazy to go into that neighborhood,” she said. “You can’t do this by yourself – the neighborhood has to be behind itself.”

A time to involve youth

Hardacker said there are similarities between the two neighborhoods, including a large number of transient residents and concerns about violence, drugs and vandalism. The key to making change, she said, is to get people involved and show them what they can do.

“It’s really important to have the young people involved,” she said. “You have to want to change your neighborhood and move forward.”

Hardacker said the city is in the process of using federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds to buy two foreclosed and vacant buildings on Williams Court, a small dead-end street off South Street. She said buildings in that area are close together and the two vacant buildings are a dangerous fire hazard standing in the way of other redevelopment.

Hardacker said the city will likely raze the buildings to create open space. The city is waiting on reports from outside assessors and final city council approval before plans move forward.

After the second annual Bacon Street Festival on Aug. 2, Hardacker plans to schedule meetings in the South Street area to begin planning for revitalization efforts. She will also help schedule neighborhood cleanups and other events to introduce neighbors to each other and create a sense of community. Hardacker said the meetings will include city officials, social service agencies, Bacon Street residents and will show the city supports the neighborhood.

“They’ll get to see the people they don’t think would even come to that neighborhood,” she said. “They find out a lot of what can be done and what they have rights to do as citizens.”

Hardacker said the South Street neighborhood is a “gateway” to the city full of beautiful historic homes. She said both the South and Bacon street areas were home to mill workers who moved to the city in search of work.  

In light of recent violence in the South Street area, Hardacker said now is as good a time as any to look at how to address concerns and make change.

“I think it’s a good time to move forward,” she said. “We won’t forget, but we can move forward and show it’s a better neighborhood.”

Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.