Brookhaven Reporter
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NOV. 13 — NOV. 26, 2015 • VOL. 7— NO. 23
Permit needed to sell door-to-door PUBLIC SAFETY 28
‘We Love BuHi’ promotes, protects Buford corridor
AROUND TOWN 9
Mayor-elect Ernst seeks better public input BY JOHN RUCH
johnruch@reporternewspapers.net
Marian Liou, founder of We Love BuHi, walks along Buford Highway in Brookhaven. Liou says her mission is to encourage revitalization of the area.
JOHN RUCH
BY JOHN RUCH
johnruch@reporternewspapers.net
We Love BuHi began this year as Brookhaven resident Marian Liou’s Instagram account, a photo album of her Buford Highway neighborhood. Now it’s her business, selling T-shirts, staging bike rides and advocating for immigrant communities to have a say on the rapidly changing corridor. “My mission really is encouraging the revitalization of Buford Highway…[but] in a way reflective of diversity and that involves the community,” said Liou during a recent lunch at Havana Sandwich Shop in Brookhaven’s section of the road. “This cultural diversity is a huge asset we need to protect and promote,” she said. Otherwise, “the forces of gentrification could happen because this area is so convenient and affordable right now.” The 36-year-old attorney is taking a break from practicing law to focus on We Love BuHi. She calls it a “social enterprise”—a for-profit business, but with a socially conscious mission. Its biggest event so far was Buford Highway Bikes and Bites in September, which drew 75 people pedaling 4.5 miles of the street and stopping at local restaurants.
Brookhaven City Councilman Bates Mattison joined the Bikes and Bites tour. He praised We Love BuHi for highlighting local businesses and creating opportunities for collaboration—including when he found himself biking alongside a Chamblee city councilman. “Buford Highway is an absolute treasure for all three of our cities,” Mattison said. “I applaud her efforts because she’s a champion for a treasure for our community.” Liou said she enjoys exploring the hundreds of Buford Highway businesses, but We Love BuHi has some personal motivations as well. As a second-generation Chinese American from California, Liou said she recently reconnected with her cultural heritage and wonders about passing it on to her two children. She’s now a board member of Norcross-based Asian Americans Advancing Justice Atlanta, which works with Buford’s immigrant communities. “The future of Buford Highway is important to me because it’s my future,” Liou said. Another spark for Liou’s interest was curiosity about urban planning and the impact of pending redevelopments, such SEE WE LOVE BUHI, PAGE 26
Two days after his landslide victory, Brookhaven mayor-elect John Ernst was mostly catching up on rest after a long campaign. But he also was preparing to put his promises of transparency and city unity into practice when he takes office on Jan. 4. “Communicate with me when you have a problem,” Ernst said, summing up his message to Brookhaven residents. “Ideas…cannot come from just the top down. I need to hear from citizens. It’s a two-way street. That’s the way we can unify and bring the city together.” Ernst took 88 percent of the vote on Nov. 3 in defeating Dale Boone for the mayor’s seat left open when incumbent Rebecca Chase Williams dropped out of the race. A former chair of the DeKalb County Board of Ethics, Ernst ran as a reformer, and some of his plans for his administration retain his campaign’s flavor, like when he says he’ll be “taking the politics out of the paving schedule.” Town hall forums are one way Ernst said he will seek citizen input and ideas. Brookhaven officials have held town halls before, but he said they’ve often been at inconvenient times and with a format “more about preaching what they’ve done and how great they are.” Despite such lingering criticisms, both Ernst and Williams say they will be working together to ensure a “smooth transition” of leadership. “John is a bright fellow and I look forward to working with him…I look SEE MAYOR-ELECT, PAGE 6
JOE EARLE
Brookhaven mayor-elect John Ernst promises transparency and city unity. He will take office on Jan. 4.