Paulson says she's pulled it out a couple of times. Though its streets are considered safe by day, the Regrade like any urban neighborhood has drug dealers, panhandlers, and right now suffers from a rash of auto break-ins. Yet many who live there say it is mellowing and improving with age. As a volunteer on the Regrade's neighborhood planning committee, Paulson and others are drafting a list of neighborhood needs, as well as their likes and dislikes.
More green space is high on everybody's list.
But residents and businesses are leery of adding parks. The drug dealing, prostitution and drinking at Regrade Park at Third and Bell remains a problem. The neighborhood sent a petition signed by more than 600 people to City Hall earlier this year. Jan Davies-Cloonan, who lives in a condo, said drug dealing continues to plague the neighborhood. The police have tried to clamp down.