Conversation with Miki Fiegel Picinich

This morning I had a long discussion with Miki Fiegel Picinich, President of West Siders for Responsible Development (see my previous posting for background on this organization). I called Miki because I hadn’t gotten a response from the email I sent last week explaining my interest in using social software to help stop Extell’s development project. The person who receives the emails has been out of town.

Miki was pleased that I’m using the issue entrepreneurship project as a way to get involved with their organization. She said that their most active advocates are elderly community members. This likely explains why they haven’t developed much of a Web presence- Miki explained that many members do not have access to the internet. Posters, handouts, and mailers are the dominant means by which they spread the word about meetings and protests. It is quite possible that the organization is not reaching more tech-savvy individuals who would get involved if news delivery and communication were facilitated online.

I told Miki that I would like to help them create more of a web presence and link them to more Upper West Side residents, community groups, advocates for affordable housing. She agreed when I suggested that their blog could benefit from more background information on the development issue. I said I would provide this information on my blog and link it to theirs (I may ultimately decide to post that information directly to their blog if that makes more sense). I also said I would round up recent articles about West Siders’ struggle with Extell and make links available from my blog.

Miki mentioned that there’s a community group in Park West Village (Columbia Ave. between 97 & 100^th St.) that is protesting a similar development plan and has expressed interest in joining forces with West Siders for Responsible Development. It seems that communication between these organizations has been predominantly face-to-face. I would like to help facilitate online communication and news sharing.

Miki said she would put me in touch with Toni Cindrich, the Treasurer and tech person. Hopefully Toni will give me some details about their current online communication strategies and efforts. In the meantime, I continue to gather news about the organization and brainstorm ways to maximize the value of my contributions.