When The Stranger sat down with Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis May 2, we asked him to answer neighbors' questions about Mayor Greg Nickels' sweeping proposals for South Lake Union, the University District, and Northgate. ["Ceis Fire," May 8.] We also asked whether he was surprised by the neighborhood outbursts--a citywide ad hoc group of neighbors held an anti-Nickels press conference on May 1. Ceis coolly portrayed the irate neighbors--like Matt Fox, Jeannie Hale, Jan Brucker, and Christine Lea--as lone cranks who were drawing the conversation away from regular residents. "We are reaching out to more than just... those activists. There's a lot of voices in those communities that should be heard as well," the deputy mayor retorted.

Well, Tim, those activists are reaching out too! The ad hoc group, now named the Cross Town Coalition, is hosting a get-together on Saturday, May 31. At the "Neighborhood Planning Community Summit," in the South Lake Union Armory (860 Terry Avenue North) from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., folks can grouse about Nickels' proposals, find out how to get involved, and hear from the mayor's main opposition--City Council Members Nick Licata and Richard Conlin.

Within hours of announcing the summit, the activists' e-mail had made it to dozens of groups, from business owners on Aurora angry about losing parking, to residents upset over the decline of Capitol Hill's Broadway--not to mention folks in the U-District, Northgate, and South Lake Union.

amy@thestranger.com