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Morning, gang.
Last week Greensboro Mayor Pro Tempore Marikay Abuzuaiter officially announced her widely assumed candidacy for mayor. She joins former mayor Robbie Perkins in what’s now a real race. We caught up with Abuzuaiter to talk about her political history and her hopes for the future.
This week, reporter Gale Melcher also brings you a look at the city’s plans for the Pallet shelters used by those experiencing homelessness as we transition into spring and summer.
Finally, reporter Sayaka Matsuoka has the story of Greensboro’s only Black-owned bookstore, its origins, and where it’s going.
Let’s get into it.
– Joe Killian
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Marikay Abuzuaiter Announces Run for Greensboro Mayor
After 14 years on council and plenty of speculation, the current mayor pro tem made it official.
Greensboro Mayor Pro Tempore Marikay Abuzuaiter officially announced her run for mayor last week, confirming an ambition many across the city have suspected for years.
Abuzuaiter, 70, has been a constant on the council since her first election in 2011—but getting there in the first place wasn’t easy.
“If you don’t remember, I lost twice!” she told The Assembly this week. “It’s okay if you don’t, really.”
This year, as a number of long-time council members step down and long-serving members face strong challenges, a historic shift could be coming to the council.
The Thread talked to Abuzuaiter about why she believes now is the time for her to make her bid for mayor.
Read the full story here.
– Joe Killian
Read this newsletter online or contact The Thread team with tips and feedback at greensboro@theassemblync.com.
Temporary Shelters for the Unhoused Moving for Spring—But Program Will Continue
The city of Greensboro first bought temporary shelters two years ago to house people without homes during the coldest months. The 64-square-foot aluminum Pallet shelters can be assembled quickly and have weathered three winters, housing hundreds of people at Pomona Park’s ballfield. Once baseball season begins and the temperatures warm, the shelters are taken down.
Over the years, the city has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the initial shelter purchase and subsequent costs of the Doorway Project. But once spring rolls around, the Pallets go into storage for the majority of the year. But this year, the city is taking the project a step further.
During the summer heat, the city will make the temporary shelters available at the city-owned site where the Regency Inn once stood. The city has long-term plans to develop affordable housing on the land, but those won’t be affected by the program’s stay over the summer.
The Doorway Project housed 75 people in its first year from December 2022 to March 2023 and has returned each year since. According to the city, 77 people were housed during the 2023-24 season and 108 in 2024-25.
“We know that we have a real need for shelter beds in our community,” said Assistant City Manager Andrea Harrell. Instead of lying dormant for the summer, those beds will be filled.
The shelters will move to the site during the second week of April, Greensboro Communications and Marketing Director Carla Banks told The Thread in an email. They will remain there until October before returning to the ballfield for the winter.
The 30 shelters offer a total of 56 beds. Last year’s addition of two RV units bumped that up to 83. The RVs won’t be used during the summer, Banks said.
City leaders unanimously voted to increase the Nussbaum Housing Partnership Revolving Fund by $570,950 to support the Doorway Project during a March 18 city council meeting. The added funding will go toward covering the costs of security, water and power hookups, and case management, Harrell said during the meeting.”
This year’s program helped 17 people move into permanent housing, Harrell said.
Pallet residents will have a place to stay while the structures are being reset, Banks said. The city continues to work with the Greensboro Urban Ministry and the Interactive Resource Center, two local support and shelter agencies helping unhoused people.
Greensboro’s biggest challenges are housing, homelessness, and public safety, Mayor Nancy Vaughan told The Thread. The city could have temporary shelters in a number of different locations, she said.
Approximately 665 people were experiencing homelessness in Greensboro in January of 2024, according to Guilford County’s annual Point-In-Time Count. That number includes children and older adults.
“The needs of the unhoused do not go away when the weather gets warm,” the city’s Community Safety Department Director Latisha McNeil wrote in a March 19 press release.
In November 2024, McNeil’s department was given custody of the project—which was previously overseen by the Housing and Neighborhood Development Department. Previously known as the Office of Community Safety, the Community Safety Department got a new name and was restructured in January. Now it’s in charge of Homeless Prevention Services.
City Manager Trey Davis instituted these changes “as part of a realignment of department function,” Banks said.
The department also manages the Behavioral Health Response Team, a unit of mental health specialists and police officers, as well as the Greensboro Violence Prevention and Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion teams.
Offering a lifeline even for a few short months can help people find permanent housing, some council members said, but the city needs to be sure this project is meeting that goal.
“I think that’s an important number for us to look at,” said Councilmember Tammi Thurm. “Are we moving people into a state of housing and shelter?”
— Gale Melcher
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‘Unapologetically Who We Are’
Situated within Ben’s Boyz, a popular soul-food restaurant at Friendly Center, Next Chapter Bookstore and Gift Shop is Greensboro’s only Black-owned traditional bookstore.
“I felt like I was a book sitting on a shelf that had been dog-eared,” owner Sherricka Carpenter Stanley said of how the store’s name came to be. “And now it’s time to take that book off the shelf. It’s time to take it off and turn to the next chapter.”
Next Chapter focuses on books written by Black authors or ones that tell Black stories, especially books for children.
“If a child’s exposure to a Black bookstore and Black ownership is walking through those doors, I’ve done my part,” Stanley said.
Around the Region
Longtime Greensboro Baker Opens French Bakery Downtown: Julien Vicard, a French native, opened Breakfast in Paris at 227-B S. Elm St. earlier this month. The News & Record has the story.
Joy is a Cardboard Robot Parade: The Cardboard Robot Parade invites students, children, and other community members to design their own cardboard creations to wear. The walking art installation is part of UNC Greensboro’s Science Everywhere Festival. Read all about it on the university’s website.
Around the State
Voices in the Wilderness
A traditionalist religious order is building a new home in the woods of Western N.C. Not everyone is happy to see them.
What Are Trump’s Plans for FEMA? Depends Who You Ask.
The head of Homeland Security says she’s going to “eliminate” the agency. N.C. lawmakers say they’re working on reforms.
Hot-Headed Art Heyman and the Birth of a Rivalry
N.C.’s biggest basketball rivalry wasn’t always Carolina-Duke. A new book brings us the backstory on the battle of the blues.
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