The road to a safer street

The road to a safer street - The Boston Globe

Nice community event in Dorchester on Saturday:

In Dorchester, Ridgewood Street is a residential sliver of mixed signals.

Attached to gates, and above the doors of the shingled three-deckers, signs say ``Keep Off' and ``Private Property.' But yesterday afternoon neighbors sat on one another's porches and left their gates open listening to reggae music and munching on chicken, macaroni and cheese, and Cape Verdean dishes.
It was the street's second annual block party. Almost 100 people, including Mayor Thomas M. Menino, came out for the food and stayed for the fellowship, taking pride in the positive aspects of a community historically plagued with gangs and violence. Children danced, drummed on overturned buckets, and created Father's Day cards and glittery butterflies, while adults soaked up the sun.