Early April Fools Joke?

Life is ironic.

If first noticed this because of a post on the Madison Area Bus Advocates List:

Dave Cieslewicz will be giving a lecture on neighborhood revitalization focusing on the Greenbush-Vilas neighborhoods here in Madison to the Wisconsin chapter of the Congress for the New Urbanism — 7 p.m. in Rm. 121 of the Pyle Center on the UW Campus (702 Langdon St.) A flyer announcing his talk is attached.

As you know, the #4 was cut to hourly service on weekends and after 6:00 p.m. during the week, the bus fare was raised, and the TPC was purged of opponents, when he was mayor.

Here’s the official explanation:

New Urbanism in Old Neighborhoods: Revitalizing Urban Living
Dave Cieslewicz, Former Madison Mayor and Current Community Director, Greenbush-Vilas Revitalization Project
Monday, March 12, 2012, 7:00 p.m. Program
Pyle Center, Room 121
702 Langdon Street, Madison

The challenges facing many of Madison’s older neighborhoods are the same as the challenges facing many older neighborhoods in communities around Wisconsin and the nation: an aging housing stock in need of reinvestment, conversion of single-family homes into rental housing, the flight of families to newer suburban neighborhoods, and a lack of affordable housing for workers employed in surrounding areas. Entities with a stake in the future of Madison’s near west side, including Meriter Hospital, UW-Madison, St. Mary’s Hospital, and Madison Gas & Electric, have banded together to form a nonprofit community development corporation that will explore ways to breathe new life into some of Madison’s oldest neighborhoods. Former Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz is leading the effort. Come hear more about this exciting initiative.

The bus advocate had one criticism, I nearly choked on the word “affordable housing”. Tho, he means “affordable” housing for people who are working at the hospital – mostly making more money than the people in the city who need the affordable housing, he doesn’t mean truly affordable housing.

If you live in a downtown neighborhood that might be the target of another one of Dave’s great ideas like sticking the Edgewater Hotel in your neighborhood or killing the Gorman project on E. Washington Ave., I’d be nervous. And taxpayers, hold on to your wallets, I’m sure it’ll involve huge taxpayer subsidies to private developers.