Northside Crusader

RECLAIMING A NEIGHBORHOOD FROM DEALERS

Stefanie Sunderland looks Northside's drug dealers right in the eye
when she yanks the welcome mat out from under them.

She swears she's not brave.

"Just sassy."

And dedicated to her neighborhood.

Stefanie punctuated her sassiness with a wicked laugh Tuesday. Then
she sipped her morning orange juice at a corner table inside the C&D
Cafe.

Over the weekend, she invited some fellow Northsiders to drive to the
C&D.

They made sure their cars took every parking space outside the corner
cafe. Vehicles lined the intersection of Witler and Hanfield, a
high-traffic spot for drug dealers.

One thoughtful dealer warned Stefanie that she'd get a ticket if she
left her car in that no-parking zone. Then he went back to selling
crack.

Some of the Northsiders stood with Stephanie on the intersection's
corners.

This disrupted the dealers' routine. They typically stand and wait.
Cell phone glued to one ear. A car rolls up. Dealer hops in back.
Money and drugs change hands.

Last weekend, the lack of parking shut down the dealers' drive-through
business. The crowded street corners caused the walk-in trade to vamoose.

Stefanie knows drug dealers always return to the scene of their
crime.

On Tuesday morning, as she pointed out the places where dealers stand
at night, a man slowly walked by a woman. She handed him some cash. He
gave her a plastic bag.

Stefanie shook her head and mentioned the need for a return
engagement.

The woman behind the weekend's protest is not physically imposing.
Stefanie stands a thin, 5 feet, 4 inches and bears a slight
resemblance to crusading scientist Dr. Jane Goodall.

Through her crusade, Stefanie hopes to save Northside, her home since
1982.

Since 1998, she's fought block by block to spruce up the place. She's
set up block watches, organized litter patrols with her husband and
made countless calls to the police.

Reflecting on the conflict between City Hall and Hamilton County
officials over drug arrests, she believes her fight against the
dealers is hindered by a shortage - not enough undercover cops - and
an excess. Too many convicted drug dealers receive short jail
sentences or none at all.

"This is a neighborhood worth fighting for," she said, "because of its
diversity."

In Northside, people come in an assortment of colors with a variety of
lifestyles, an array of accents and vastly different amounts of money
in the bank.

Yet everyone shares the same goal. It's emblazoned above the entrance to
Northside's Bonomini Bakery: "Enjoy the sweet things in life."

Stefanie wants to enjoy them in Northside. That's why she stands and
fights the dealers.

When she's on the streets, she's unarmed. She has no martial arts
training. Her only weapons are the truth and knowing what's right.

So she uses a passive-aggressive approach.

"I go up to dealers. Look them in the eye and say, 'hello.' Then, I
just stand there."

The dealers fall silent or move on. But they don't deal drugs. At
least not while Stefanie and her friends are around.

As much as she hates what drug dealers do to a community, Stefanie
does not get in their faces and call them names.

"That's confrontation," she explained.

"I'm into reclamation."

She wants to reclaim Northside, take it from the criminals and give it
to decent people so they can enjoy the sweet things in life.