Clark Avenue Planning Process Underway

Council President Kevin Kelley has allocated the funding to street improvements that will cover length that spans Brooklyn CENTRE and Old Brooklyn - there are folks trying to push for a street car and, of course, bike lanes.   There should be no parking on W. 25th-Pearl, but that will definitely affect Old Brooklyn  businesses before Brooklyn Centre (we barely have any businesses left, BUT We do have off-street parking).

Credit to Behnke - for their presentation last night - they have already shown themselves to be far more design-savvy than City Architecture.  They presented overlays (parking, green space, residential etc.) BASIC design process not included in City Architecture's 2007 TLCI...

The outstanding comeback Cleveland neighborhoods are blessed with visionary hard working APPROACHABLE ACCOUNTABLE engaged councilman and show amazing positive results. They have effective well connected CDCs. They become destination spots for their night life, their independent restaurants and bars, their eclectic locally operated retail.  Neighborhoods like Old Brooklyn (Kevin Kelley), Detroit Shoreway (Matt Zone), Tremont/Ohio City (JOE CIMPERMAN!!) St. Clair-Superior (Jeff Johnson, TJ Dow, Kevin Conwell, JOE CIMPERMAN). These councilmen are concerned with neighborhood economic development and safety and positive branding. The main things that SHOULD concern an elected representative. They are genuinely concerned about their residents and it shows. WE in Brooklyn Centre have the misfortune to be "represented" by the 2 worst so called councilmen in city hall. Cummins and Brancatelli are only concerned with their own personal agendas which mostly involve trolling for properties to demolish through the LAND BANK. Then large areas of realestate with massive tax breaks are secretly handed over to suburban developers who erase the character and personality of our quirky historic little corner of Cleveland. They have succeeded in destroying WC Reed Field our beautiful park, they have driven out all the retail. We are left with free lance pharmeceutical sales people who distribute their wares without fear from cars in the back lanes from West 14th to West 25th. We are accused of "always complaining" by both of them when we question either of them about crime or deteriorating housing stock, they do NOT respond to emails and we are told that we should be grateful for a CDC which does nothing but open a shabby computer "center" one block from a public library full of computers. We plan to fight back. Just like we did when Brancatelli said, "All the trees in WC Reed Field WILL be cut down." 

Watching the transformation of the entire City of Cleveland, especially the West Side over the 40 years has been extraordinary.

As children of the West Side; we were not allowed to walk on the neighbor's front yards without getting our hind ends handed to us on a silver platter by that owner ---with our parents' approval... So, we as children-knew better than to disrespect the "hood" we lived in... Meanwhile; vested homeowners were concurrently vested business owners...of small businesses which lined the corridors of our community and they maintained their businesses well. Back then; leadership was vibrant with precinct leaders, block clubs, and councilman that KNEW that the citizens were ALL REGISTERED VOTERS... But then again; those were the days BEFORE THE CDC world came into existence. Our families enjoyed a sense of Community---before CDC effectuators portrayed gentrification upon the little city people...

When the CDC's began trying to steer out the elderly, to steer out the homeowners, and to eradicate small businesses in the community.... to allow big box stores come into our world, to allow for corruption of federal funds to be steered into projects, and to control the public input---they did it in such underhanded ways as to really send a message to vested persons...long ago.. Inspectors had their hands in people's pockets for generations. The crooked river was lined with crooked cops, crooked inspectors, crooked judges, crooked councilmen, and crooked people..... The back room deals flourished throughout the 70's, 80's and 90's... which disturbed, disrupted, and disempowered the populace at large while disenfranchising enough to run them clear to the burbs and leave only remnants in their wake of their vicious tornado effect on the public at large. The unreal circumstances which engulfed this city were beyond most people's desire to redres.... You either were corrupt or not... and the non corrupt fought to the death in countless cases... to gain bare minimum footings in survival. This City turned into a pay to play warzone for too long. Gangs, Mobsters, Unions, Politicians... divide and conquer.

We don't have parks for kids being built; we have parks for dogs being built. We don't have schools being built up; we have clubs being built up. We don't have families being built up; we have the gentrified being built up. When you put the core concept of "FAMILY BUILDING" at the bottom of your agenda; you leave room for nonstop corruption in every aspect. No one cares about the drunks pissing on elder people's lawns in Tremont....for they all want the elders' homes for the next development strategy. The entire spectrum and analysis of development transformations is done unscrupulously and without regard for the statistical proof of failures upon failures for historical actions. Small businesses drive an our economy. Hardworking tax paying vested Americans transform the entire American culture. Our leaders see small business owners almost as adversaries. Families and children are like doormats or stepping stones for these development plans....as the leadership uses them as the baseline quotas to get the federal funding ---but then the benefits go to the host of "PLAYERS" to expedite all kinds of development that totally steers out the exact same families or is too high dollar for them to afford.  It's all an infinite joke upon anyone who wishes to DISRUPT it... We, the citizens, are nothing more than pawns in this pay to play realm of ceaseless corruption. Anyone who speaks up--- is labeled "CRAZY"... Well, I guess that's what most of the remnants are... and they sure do remain quotas for the game to continue. We simply live in a very greedy world. But; blame the little pawns-street pharmacists driven by the debacle of Metro Health administration seeking to strategically ingulf perimeters for more development... it's so blatant. My heavens; kickbacks to the doctors, disease exploited and all of it driving quotas.... big big business for the leaders.... but then again; the stupid pawns are in survival mode and cannot see past their noses of basic needs and living....

All of which makes it easier for the public leaders to laugh, chuckle, and continue to spin the quota wheel and gain more and more federal funds... More crime-more federal dollars for more cops. More addicts means more medical and social work and welfare programs for families and kids... the system flourishes; the pawns get intwined.  I no longer look down my nose at the garbage society who has fallen into the pit of disasterous survival mode...the homeless, the drug addicts, felons, prostitutes, poor folks, elderly... simply surviving against the grain of the societal pimp job that our leaders have perpetuated upon them. I wish we could unite all these pawns against the regime... but; divisive practices forever keep them at odds.

Ultimately; I think about the USA FLAG. UNITED WE STAND AND DIVIDED WE FALL. The complete recklessness of ANY AND ALL Corrupt people makes me sick. I don't give a flower how they feel nor do I feel pity for their benefactors and family members...they are ALL GUILTY. Their corruption is one of the top ten reasons veterans simply blow their fucking brains all over... Corruption is divisive. It's ugly. It's REAL... and it continues in America. SO, with that said...I say the blood of every person who ever fought to defend and uphold democracy globally----is on the hands of the corrupt.

When you are a pawn---- you don't have the energy leftover to fight the regime. Unadulterated, unincumbered, and uninvolved adults-who are not PAWNS or PIMPS---need to unite to lead the way out of this nightmare....behold and do not continue to allow pimp leaders to devoid the truth, to minimize their wrongs, and to hide from the wrath of the real citizens. Keep on standing up for the weak, vulnerable, and afraid folks. They truly need your unification, YOUR RIGHTFUL LEADERSHIP, and YOUR DESIRE TO RIGHT GENERATIONS OF WRONGS...................... GOD BLESS ALL WHO FACE THE WRATH OF THE PIMPS AND TAKE A BEAT DOWN.... YOU STAND FOR THE COUNTLESS WHO DIED BEFORE YOU! :) 

Always Appreciative, "ANGELnWard14"

I met Dr. Boutros at Metrohealth's first Music Festival - an arts outreach to the neighborhood coordinated w/ help of visionary Alonzo Mitchell III.  Dr. Boutros has foundation at Metrohealth to build on assets of our community- rich cultural diversity, musical talent, artists, designers and the most established art therapy program in the country. See link:

http://www.metrohealth.org/our-services/art-therapy

I am encouraged by his youthful demeanor - he has the enthusiasm we need to build the neighborhoods.  I only hope that the BS artists in this town don't manipulate the Metrohealth design process. Artificial boundaries and CDC territories do not correspond to our neighborhoods.   There are three distinct neighborhoods immediately adjacent to Metrohealth - Tremont, Brooklyn Centre, and the Jones Home District which includes Daisy, Trowbridge, Woodbridge.  

There are amazing language bank and talents at Lincoln West HS - and connections that can be made with the local libraries and schools.  Art House is on Denison Ave. and Metroparks Zoo Education Director Vicki Searles @zooeducator can bring all of these cultural resources together to make Cleveland next Hive Learning Network community. See these links:

http://hivelearningnetworks.org/

http://www.connectingcleveland.net/

Sadly - the community development corporations w/ their power-play boundaries could derail the entire Metrohealth expansion.  Brooklyn Centre neighborhood is oldest west side neighborhood (1812) with historic ties to the community hospital --and since inception of CDC process, affliated with Old Brooklyn CDC (which is also home to the second Metrohealth campus at Deaconness).

If this project is to move forward Metrohealth should operate w/established CDCs - Tremont West Development Corporation and Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation.  Very unpopular Ward 14 Councilman Brian Cummins  (only maintained his seat w/19 votes) has artificially lumped Brooklyn Centre with Clark-Fulton and Stockyards.  This threatens to derail everything that could catalyze development along W. 25th/Pearl and Denison crossroads.  

Denison will have beautiful completed bike lanes in 2015- connecting east and west side and linking Metroparks Washington Park First Tee Golf, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Metroparks Zoo, Metroparks Brookside Park to W. 65th Bike way and connection to Metroparks Lakefront Park.  Rotary has pioneered the Redline bike lane that will follow buried Walworth Run from downtown to W. 65th.  

Thank Dr. Boutros for starting this conversation. 

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We'll see how long Litt lets the comment stay at http://www.cleveland.com/arts/index.ssf/2014/11/metrohealth_ceo_boutros_vows_t.html