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Friday, Mar 12, 2004, 1:56 pm EST
S.J. library name debated
San Jose Mercury News
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The skeleton of a new library is taking shape on Tully Road while a debate over the building`s name has pitted longtime residents against their newer, Vietnamese-American neighbors.
A diverse mix of older, largely white and Latino residents in the south central enclave see the $11 million city library as a proud achievement and want the building`s name to reflect the agricultural history of the area and its geographic location.
Vietnamese-Americans in recent years have transformed the area bordered by highways 87, 280 and 101 into a bustling business and residential district. They now account for one in five residents, and some want the library`s name to recognize their contributions.
The San Jose Library Commission has come up with a compromise: Tully-New Saigon Library.
But that compromise hasn`t been embraced by everyone in the community, because the dispute is not just about a name. It is about the growing pains of a once bucolic bedroom community near downtown San Jose amid dramatic growth and demographic change. And complicating the issue is a pattern of cultural misunderstanding that has stirred frustration for everyone involved.
Creating division
Luz Mrdutt, a 26-year resident and member of the McLaughlin Corridor Neighborhood Association, wants the name to be Tully Library.
"The really unfortunate thing is that this is going to divide us and create ill feelings when we`ve been trying for so long to improve our neighborhood and create a sense of community," she said.
Vietnamese-Americans contend that including their heritage in the library`s name will go a long way toward building that sense of community.
"This will give us a sense of belonging by recognizing what we`ve contributed to the area over the last 30 years," said Arthur Bao, who doesn`t live in the neighborhood, but rallied 150 Vietnamese-Americans to push for the proposed name at a library hearing in February.
If the city council votes to adopt the compromise name later this month, the library would be the second public monument recognizing the 146,000 Vietnamese-Americans in Santa Clara County. When completed, the Vietnam Heritage Garden in San Jose`s Kelley Park will be the first.
But the neighborhood association, which represents 2,000 homes near the library, opposes the Tully-New Saigon name. Members argue that no one ethnic group should get special recognition.
"It will create a different flavor of the neighborhood," said Helen Bliven, a 38-year resident and president of the group.
In fact, the area has traditionally been diverse. While the white and black populations have decreased since 1990, Asians now make up one-third of the district`s residents -- a dramatic increase in that same amount of time.
In the March edition of its newsletter, the association called for residents to speak out against the proposed name, saying business interests "envision this wonderful little neighborhood as the cornerstone of a larger `Little Saigon.` " A meeting will be held next Thursday on the issue.
Some leaders in the Vietnamese-American community do believe that instead of fighting for the library name, aiming higher is a more productive goal. They say the community deserves a concentrated destination of shops and restaurants special place, similar to San Jose`s Japantown, or Little Saigon, San Francisco`s new district for Vietnamese culture and community.
Some Vietnamese-Americans say they have felt unwelcome since they began opening businesses and settling into the modest but spacious homes in the area 20 years ago. Bao said some Vietnamese-Americans feel that city ordinances -- which block residents from parking on their lawns or paving over their lawns to expand driveways -- were pushed by the neighborhood association.
The regulations seemed to be directly aimed at the newer Vietnamese-American residents, who often live in multi-generational households with more than two cars per family, Bao said. And the annual dumpster day organized by the group has been perceived as a not-so-subtle hint to Vietnamese-Americans to clean up their homes and yards, he said.
Keeping area clean
Mrdutt, 75, helped form the neighborhood association eight years ago to battle graffiti and traffic along McLaughlin Avenue. Members urged the city to clean up mattresses and furniture dumped in an empty lot on Umbarger Road. And they`ve planted 20,000 daffodils in its place.
So when the city approved plans for the new library as part of a historic $212 million library bond in 2000, Mrdutt and others in the neighborhood group dove into the project. They helped make design decisions, pushing for a corrugated metal roof that would hark back to when fruit sheds dotted the landscape.
When Vietnamese-Americans who live outside the area -- lobbying on behalf of those in the neighborhood -- submitted Saigon Library as their proposed name, it took Mrdutt by surprise.
"Not a single Vietnamese had come to any of the meetings on planning and design, and then suddenly when things were under way, there they were, wanting their name on it," Mrdutt said. "It felt like they were homesteading the whole thing."
Madison Nguyen, a member of the Franklin-McKinley School District board, said she can see both sides, but as a Vietnamese-American, supports the proposed name as a symbol of pride.
"There is so much talk within each group but never to each other and with each other," said Nguyen, who lives in the area.
Relationships hurt
Missteps have widened the gap between the largely white and Latino association members and Vietnamese residents.
Association members tried to mend relations by recruiting Vietnamese-Americans at the Perfect Virtue Buddhist temple on McLaughlin Avenue. But that solicitation was viewed as culturally insensitive because the temple is a spiritual oasis.
Mrdutt bristles at that characterization.
"This has nothing to do with race," said Mrdutt, who is Mexican-American, wiping away the tears from under her wire-framed glasses. "This is simply about preserving the heritage of the area."
Copyright ©2004 San Jose Mercury News. All Rights Reserved.
S.J. library name debated
San Jose Mercury News
-----------------------------
The skeleton of a new library is taking shape on Tully Road while a debate over the building`s name has pitted longtime residents against their newer, Vietnamese-American neighbors.
A diverse mix of older, largely white and Latino residents in the south central enclave see the $11 million city library as a proud achievement and want the building`s name to reflect the agricultural history of the area and its geographic location.
Vietnamese-Americans in recent years have transformed the area bordered by highways 87, 280 and 101 into a bustling business and residential district. They now account for one in five residents, and some want the library`s name to recognize their contributions.
The San Jose Library Commission has come up with a compromise: Tully-New Saigon Library.
But that compromise hasn`t been embraced by everyone in the community, because the dispute is not just about a name. It is about the growing pains of a once bucolic bedroom community near downtown San Jose amid dramatic growth and demographic change. And complicating the issue is a pattern of cultural misunderstanding that has stirred frustration for everyone involved.
Creating division
Luz Mrdutt, a 26-year resident and member of the McLaughlin Corridor Neighborhood Association, wants the name to be Tully Library.
"The really unfortunate thing is that this is going to divide us and create ill feelings when we`ve been trying for so long to improve our neighborhood and create a sense of community," she said.
Vietnamese-Americans contend that including their heritage in the library`s name will go a long way toward building that sense of community.
"This will give us a sense of belonging by recognizing what we`ve contributed to the area over the last 30 years," said Arthur Bao, who doesn`t live in the neighborhood, but rallied 150 Vietnamese-Americans to push for the proposed name at a library hearing in February.
If the city council votes to adopt the compromise name later this month, the library would be the second public monument recognizing the 146,000 Vietnamese-Americans in Santa Clara County. When completed, the Vietnam Heritage Garden in San Jose`s Kelley Park will be the first.
But the neighborhood association, which represents 2,000 homes near the library, opposes the Tully-New Saigon name. Members argue that no one ethnic group should get special recognition.
"It will create a different flavor of the neighborhood," said Helen Bliven, a 38-year resident and president of the group.
In fact, the area has traditionally been diverse. While the white and black populations have decreased since 1990, Asians now make up one-third of the district`s residents -- a dramatic increase in that same amount of time.
In the March edition of its newsletter, the association called for residents to speak out against the proposed name, saying business interests "envision this wonderful little neighborhood as the cornerstone of a larger `Little Saigon.` " A meeting will be held next Thursday on the issue.
Some leaders in the Vietnamese-American community do believe that instead of fighting for the library name, aiming higher is a more productive goal. They say the community deserves a concentrated destination of shops and restaurants special place, similar to San Jose`s Japantown, or Little Saigon, San Francisco`s new district for Vietnamese culture and community.
Some Vietnamese-Americans say they have felt unwelcome since they began opening businesses and settling into the modest but spacious homes in the area 20 years ago. Bao said some Vietnamese-Americans feel that city ordinances -- which block residents from parking on their lawns or paving over their lawns to expand driveways -- were pushed by the neighborhood association.
The regulations seemed to be directly aimed at the newer Vietnamese-American residents, who often live in multi-generational households with more than two cars per family, Bao said. And the annual dumpster day organized by the group has been perceived as a not-so-subtle hint to Vietnamese-Americans to clean up their homes and yards, he said.
Keeping area clean
Mrdutt, 75, helped form the neighborhood association eight years ago to battle graffiti and traffic along McLaughlin Avenue. Members urged the city to clean up mattresses and furniture dumped in an empty lot on Umbarger Road. And they`ve planted 20,000 daffodils in its place.
So when the city approved plans for the new library as part of a historic $212 million library bond in 2000, Mrdutt and others in the neighborhood group dove into the project. They helped make design decisions, pushing for a corrugated metal roof that would hark back to when fruit sheds dotted the landscape.
When Vietnamese-Americans who live outside the area -- lobbying on behalf of those in the neighborhood -- submitted Saigon Library as their proposed name, it took Mrdutt by surprise.
"Not a single Vietnamese had come to any of the meetings on planning and design, and then suddenly when things were under way, there they were, wanting their name on it," Mrdutt said. "It felt like they were homesteading the whole thing."
Madison Nguyen, a member of the Franklin-McKinley School District board, said she can see both sides, but as a Vietnamese-American, supports the proposed name as a symbol of pride.
"There is so much talk within each group but never to each other and with each other," said Nguyen, who lives in the area.
Relationships hurt
Missteps have widened the gap between the largely white and Latino association members and Vietnamese residents.
Association members tried to mend relations by recruiting Vietnamese-Americans at the Perfect Virtue Buddhist temple on McLaughlin Avenue. But that solicitation was viewed as culturally insensitive because the temple is a spiritual oasis.
Mrdutt bristles at that characterization.
"This has nothing to do with race," said Mrdutt, who is Mexican-American, wiping away the tears from under her wire-framed glasses. "This is simply about preserving the heritage of the area."
Copyright ©2004 San Jose Mercury News. All Rights Reserved.
Yes but it wouldn't be fair, I mean we just came and the whole city is Vietnamized, it's not really promoting anything you know, I think Vietnamese awareness is well established, no need for a library name to express that. Wow, I haven't heard anything about the news though, you're very ahead of me my friend. 
