Leslie Richardson Talks About Tucker to Creative Loafing

Leslie Richardson, who just completed her stint as president of the Tucker Civic Association, gave an interview to Creative Loafing for their current Neighborhood Guide issue.

"Tucker's the best-kept secret in Atlanta," she said. "It's unincorporated, so we manage everything with all of our groups. We've got all of these community groups and a real sense of community because of that. We're not expecting anyone to do anything for us. We're doing it ourselves."

Richardson talked about a partnership that began last year with the Atlanta Regional Commission to start a Lifelong Communities program designed to help senior citizens stay in their homes rather than move to assisted living.

"(We) put together a survey. It asks things like what do you feel about mobility and accessibility here, diversity, social interaction, access to services, access to health and wellness," she said, adding that there was "an overwhelming response." 

The Give-an-Hour program was another topic. "Every month, come by for an hour and give your time to a worthy cause. It might be a blood drive. We've got toy drives. At Johns Homestead Park, they've got a sort of dilapidated building that we're renovating because it's a very historical place. People come out and help paint, knock down, rebuild, whatever."

On the cityhood issue, Richardson said, "We did a feasibility study (in 2006). We have a business base, but we don't have a strong enough, deep enough base to support incorporation. We enjoy all of the services from DeKalb County, and the rest of it we do ourselves.... We're an oasis, and we're doing things through volunteer efforts. We've got over $30,000 in grants. We're doing things like getting MARTA bus stop seats, lots of transportation initiatives, sidewalks, parks, community gardens, farmers markets, better intersection crossings for the elderly."

Personally, what would she like to see happen in Tucker? "I would love to see a couple of fine-dining institutions here... I'd like to see more festivals... I would love to see a community center, more places where people can gather and hang out... A structure anchored by a couple of core businesses."

Related content on Tucker Patch:

Tucker Lifelong Community Begins Thursday

Citizen Academy Launches in Tucker

Johns' Homestead 'Give-An-Hour' on Saturday

Tucker Cityhood Survey Shows Interesting Results