City of Houston looking to remedy 'empty promises' at Kashmere Gardens-Fifth Ward resilience hub

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Fifth Ward-Kashmere Gardens activist Sandra Edwards had come to view the rebranding of her neighborhood's multipurpose center to a so-called resilience hub as another empty promise from the City of Houston.

"Whatever happens, we get told one thing, and something else happens," she said.

In 2021, former mayor Sylvester Turner's administration designated the space a "resilience hub," promising to provide resources during severe weather.

However, residents like Edwards told ABC13 they quickly discovered the space was not made resilient enough to withstand such storms.

"It wasn't resilient," Houston Mayor John Whitmire said.

The building has no backup power, and city officials say surrounding streets are prone to flooding. Yet, Edwards was instructed by city officials to help direct her distraught neighbors to the center after storms.

"We were getting calls back, 'It has no power here, I could have stayed home,'" she explained.

More often than not, Edwards said residents who ventured to the site in dangerous conditions found it lacked the same services as their home. There was no electricity, air conditioning, heat, or Wi-Fi.

"You send people there to charge their phones, got there, and no backup systems," Whitmire said.

The site is plastered with signs labeling it a "resilience hub." However, several officials involved in or with deep knowledge of the project told ABC13 that "nothing" was done to render it such. For years, solar panels installed in the building's parking lot through the initiative were touted as progress. However, officials said they were inoperable until recent weeks. Even now, officials have said they are searching for a use for the panels. They explained that there are seemingly too few to generate enough electricity for anything meaningful.

One official told ABC13 they felt the Turner administration had installed the panels to feel as though they "did something."

In 2017, the Turner administration released a "Resilient Houston" plan. Officials told ABC13 they failed to execute the plan, pushing out the "not resilient" Kashmere Gardens - Fifth Ward "Resilient Hub" as its lone victory. To date, the hub remains the only one in the city despite the plan promising to place hubs in other vulnerable neighborhoods.

"Kashmere has been neglected for too long, particularly when there was spin coming out of this building that things were okay. It's not OK," Whitmire said.

In an effort to change that, Houston City Council signed off on purchasing a generator for the space Tuesday.

The project is estimated to take about a year and approximately $900,000 to complete.

"The very fundamental element of resilience is power protection," said City of Houston Chief Recovery and Resilience Officer Angela Blanchard.

Edwards told ABC13 she views the move as a baby step in the right direction for a neighborhood she feels has been historically overlooked by the city.

Council Member Dr. Leticia Plummer, who helped push the funding through, pointed out that the average life expectancy in the neighborhood is just 67, despite the countywide average being approximately 87.

"We always get passed over, and this here looks like it's the beginning of a partnership," Edwards said.

City officials said they are looking to utilize non-profit partnerships to provide services at the center, as the 2017 plan initially promised. They also intend to use the site as a blueprint to roll out other sites per that plan.

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