Iron Triangle/Belding Woods residents say it’s a ‘struggle to flourish’

The Belding Woods and Iron Triangle neighborhoods, which comprise District 1 on the Richmond City Council, are located in what’s considered downtown Richmond, in the center of the city on the western side of 23rd Street.

The BART tracks split through it, and Richmond Parkway sits at the west. Macdonald Avenue cuts through the district’s southern border. The area, once a bustling business district prior to the development of Hilltop Mall in the 1970s, is now an economically struggling corridor with some bright anchor spots, including the Kaiser Permanente Richmond Medical Center and the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts.

On a recent Thursday, this reporter walked through these neighborhoods to ask residents, both voters and nonvoters, to share their concerns as they prepare to elect a city council representative.

Richmond City Council D1 candidates: Jamelia Brown, Mark Wassberg, Melvin Willis (incumbent) Use arrows to scroll through pictures

Melvin Willis, a longtime member of the Richmond Progressive Alliance, was initially elected in 2016, when voters selected candidates at-large. In 2020 — after the city established district races for council seats — he  was re-elected to represent District 1, where he lives.

Jamelia Brown, a longtime resident of the Iron Triangle and an educator and social worker, has never held an elected office.

Mark Wassberg enters the race after finishing last in the 2022 mayoral race which was won by Eduardo Martinez.

The quality of life in the neighborhoods, affordable housing and public safety were the most frequently mentioned issues by residents who spoke with Richmondside. Richmondside also asked their opinions on the election process.

Iron Triangle streets need cleaning up, resident says

Walking just north of the Nevin Community Center near Fifth Street and Nevin Avenue, Martin Regales said that although the city has had some success cleaning up streets in the Iron Triangle, more remains to be done.

“Especially around the community center area, they could clean it up a bit better,” he said, adding that he recently moved into the Iron Triangle area for affordable rent but lived in south Richmond on Ohio Avenue for a handful of years.

Another issue he hopes is addressed is the lack of affordable food and community gathering spaces, pointing out that the only large grocery store is the FoodsCo at the Richmond City Center near Macdonald Avenue and Marina Way.

“We need a better shopping center, and everyone talks about it,” he said. “We need something where people can come together and get to know each other a little better.”

Regales said that he doesn’t follow what happens at city council meetings nor does he know who his council member is, but he finds himself wanting to be more civically engaged and more educated about how to make his vote count.

“I just don’t know where I need to go to vote,” he said. “It used to be that I would just go to my local school to vote. I would vote if I knew where to go.”

He would also like to know more about the city budget and how it is spent.

Recently, the Richmond City Council negotiated a $550 million deal with Chevron to remove a proposed oil refining tax from the November ballot.

Regales hopes that the money Chevron will give the city is used not just for community needs but with community input.

“They should make sure that what they are spending the money on is useful and not just something that is a good idea at the time. Make sure that the good idea can stand the test of time,” he said.

Resident says most people just trying to make a living

A few blocks north at Lucas Park near 10th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, Carlos Gomez was watching his daughter ride her bike. Gomez, who used to live in the Iron Triangle but now lives in Belding Woods, came to the area five years ago with his girlfriend after growing up in the Pittsburg area.

Gomez said he has noticed an improvement in the Iron Triangle — specifically at Lucas Park where he said trash used to be scattered around and many unhoused people would gather.

“I used to take her (his youngest daughter) here when she was as young as 2 years old,” Gomez said. “It used to be bad. I’ve noticed it has gotten better though. I like what they’ve done for this park because it used to be all torn up.”

Outside of quality of life issues, Gomez said he believes that poverty, public safety and impromptu sideshows are the most pressing issues in District 1.

Gomez described himself as “not a political person” and admitted he held some reservations about voting and whether his vote matters. He also mentioned that the increasing divide between national political ideologies has turned him off to civic participation though he would like to be more involved with it on the local level.

He added that the most substantial changes that happen in his neighborhood are the ones that are grassroots-led, though he feels that most of the residents are struggling to just make a living.

“At the same time how do you get everyone to do that? I’d be open to do stuff like that, but you start talking to the Latino community and a lot of people don’t want to deal with it,” he said, adding that the disconnect between the area’s Spanish- speaking community and available city services is vast. 

Gomez said he usually doubts elected officials who say they’ll make changes.

Longtime resident, a bus driver, feels police abuse their power

A few miles away, at the Richmond City Center shopping plaza, Olivia Edwards was on her way into FoodsCo to get some groceries for her family.

For Edwards, a bus driver and 20-plus-year resident of Richmond, the biggest issues for her is the distrust between the community and elected officials as well as police harassment.

“I feel like if they (police) have a position of power they feel like they are entitled to abuse that power,” she said, adding that her family members have sued the Richmond police due to issues they’ve had. “It’s one of those things people here have to live with on a regular basis.”

The economic disparity in the area also has contributed to a lack of affordable food options, she added, saying the FoodsCo is the main source of groceries for most residents.

According to 2022 U.S. Census statistics, more than 35% of the population in zip code 94801 makes $50,000 or less. The median income in the area is just above $72,000.

“When things don’t get better for the poor, what happens?” Edwards said. “They’ll run in these stores and steal, then the business decides to close down. It’s a lack of opportunity for people here to flourish.”

Edwards doesn’t know who her council member is but says she votes regularly and, as one of 16 siblings, she feels that her vote counts because she votes in conjunction with her family. She said she plans on voting in this election.

“I would feel differently if it was just me voting by myself, but I have a tribe with me,” she said.

Senior resident lives with three others to afford apartment

Shelley Keesling, a senior who has lived in the Belding Woods neighborhood on 15th Street and Roosevelt Avenue for 13 years, told Richmondside that affordable housing, food accessibility and public safety are the top issues affecting her and her neighbors.

She moved into the area after a stint at the Concord Homeless Shelter and then at Richmond’s Brookside Adult Shelter in the early-2010s. Initially, she said, she didn’t want to live in Richmond due to prior misconceptions about the neighborhood and city as a whole.

Since moving into her two-bedroom apartment, she said that her rent has almost doubled, going from $1,500 to $2,800. She was only able to get that apartment, which she and her partner share with another couple, with the help of a shelter counselor and because they have roommates.

“I asked another couple there (at the shelter), and we’ve been together ever since,” she said, adding that the city could do better in getting unhoused residents the information they need to navigate finding permanent housing. “People just don’t know where to start.”

Aside from housing, she says sideshows present a safety risk in the neighborhood.

“Sometimes there will be people (in cars) doing donuts. It’s not like in other places, but it’s one of those things where someone’s car or home could be hit,” she said. “I don’t really mind it, but if you’re walking around the neighborhood it gets annoying.”

Another public nuisance issue, she said, is illegal fireworks in the neighborhood, especially around the Fourth of July.

“Oh my god, especially the M-80s and M-1000s,” she said. “It feels like my whole house shakes.”

Keesling said that she votes in every election and plans to vote in November, but she wishes that she had more insight into city politics, which she admittingly follows sporadically.

“It’s when it directly affects me, that’s when I’ll take note of it,” she said. “Like anything housing-related, I try to keep up with.”