Thank you for the info.

Dear Brian,

Wow, did we change the number to the Ward 14 office???? It's been a 3706 extension for years... Apparently that is why no one has been answering that line. Thanks for the public notice... guess we are all supposed to "leave voicemails" on the old line....

Apparently you read, keep abreast of it all...and decide to rsvp what works for you.... nice...but no answers to the basics... and avoiding the deeper questions that have been presented is only transparent of your deeper seated plans with our ward.

Once again, you fail to publicly notify the residents (particularly the civic activists) of uncountable community forums (Block club meetings, planning meetings regarding the rest)  that you are dog and pony'ing-including plans to redevelop the CDC's...which are as you put it: UNDERPERFORMING... So, you are off on your tangent-sending our HUD money over to Tremont (TWCDC) and failing to keep that stuff transparent...at least here on RN.

I am glad that a councilman is finally making time to assist a small business entity in this community. That's all wonderful that you had time to do all that work for that family. Kudos to you...

I see the bulldozers tearing down houses all over the ward too...so obviously your staff is pushing those through. Nice work. I'd just like to know what alternatives, options, and opportunities were exhausted to assist owners devastated by the rampant vandalism and predatory lending scenarios which have raped our residents over the past decade? What options are available to those who are being targeted by YOUR OFFICE who is directly going out with CODE ENFORCERS to conduct code enforcement in our ward? Where can the residents go for assistance when they trust you-but don't know that your leadership is the one filing the majority of the complaints with building and housing? Nice trick bag for the residents...intimidation, retaliation, and abuse...more of the same old thing.

So, now that we have your attention-when are you going to stop avoiding answering what your plans are with Ward 14's HUD funding allotments for now and the future??? 

Why should anyone waste their time trying to get proactive if you already have your game plan predetermined but refuse to allow the public the opportunity to support or speak up about your plans that are allegedly representing the citizen's best interests? 

Supporting your office/administration upon taking office was supposed to be a breath of fresh air with all kinds of new and positive future considerations. However, supporting agencies that do not represent the majority of our Ward 14 citizens is questionable and contemptuous.

This is exactly why I fought all of you politicians and your choices to be "SNEAKY"....

You need to figure out how you can communicate with the low income families (majority) that need assistance and who are NOT gentrified yet...the brute, pissed off, and disgusted citizens who are fed up with corruption that only hurts their existence and steps all over their lives. You need to figure out how to work with those folks and help them to save their homes or get assistance to fix them. You need to be the one to stop sending funding outside of our community and to inspire involvement in this community... perhaps to folks who ARE willing to promote and build it up... who do care-perhaps offer incentives to small businesses through the funding made available by Obama.  But, it's already slated that you are working to disenfranchise those who've already been stepped on beyond words...

You need to remember that the MAJORITY of the citizens in this community are NOT MEMBERS of those CDC's and they deserve to get PUBLIC notices about what's upcoming so that they can participate... and not in the plain press and plain dealer...because most of them don't read them anyway-that's already been established. What happened to the newsletter from the councilman? Are you going to publish and distribute one for Ward 14 with all this stuff in it for EVERY HOUSEHOLD to see? Maybe you should collaborate with the all of the local schools and grocery stores like Aldi's, SaveALot, and most importantly-the Salvation Army/Merrick House/Brooklyn Center regarding upcoming meetings. Maybe a mailing with long term planning agendas would be reasonable-empower the citizens to be a part of this process... But I guess that's asking too much in DEMOCRACY....

It's not like you're going to answer my challenging questions publicly... You might have to be held accountable for those answers.

Our community can respect and appreciate a leader who keeps it real.... who really does offer them the opportunities which trickle down through his office and who respects their demographics without looking down his nose at their tattered clothes... But after the abuses of Santiago at uncountable levels... you have your work cut out for you... and I am not backing down from standing up for that accountability on behalf of the citizens who won't vote for anything...

Your silence, failure to return calls, and to field them with Johanna and much more--is not ceasing our quest to get accountability. If you want to promote positive things-then promote them openly-not in backroom deals with CDC's outside of our ward. When I know you'll be at an event-I'll work to be there...so I can confront you publicly in those arenas if necessary. However, the transparent-internet approach which you have for so long advocated with those who have participated-seems to have dissolved since you took office in Ward 14.

I am busting my rear to survive against a lot of dynamics, to deal with auto repairs which I do feel are triggered by poor road maintenance in this community and I have yelped about many times before you all stopped answering the phones...and I am disgusted by other events which we shall be discussing in the immediate future as you really do not want me to publicly denounce you about them as of this date. But most importantly, I remain steadfast about challenging your administration about how it treats, reacts, and uses its resources for the best interests of our residents or to abuse them...

Quit the business as usual model which disenfranchises lifelong residents in this community. You may not like dealing with the uneducated, informally educated, and less than desirable citizens who live in this community-but they are your constituents and you have an obligation to REPRESENT THEIR needs and desires...not to use their demographics against them.

Even if I move across the sea to serve our military again-I shall remain steadfast about upholding the democracy that so many of our military served to uphold around the world. Thanks for manning up and recognizing your humanity.

I see you are doing your 'homework" angelnward14!

I am certainly not anti-business, but this place operated illegally for four or five years, and that was o.k.,and now the city can change the zoning to accomodate this.

I have some friends that have tried everything they could to operate their business "legally" but were screwed with by the city every step they took, from the beginning.

Their business was locked down by the city and court system and now they will probably lose their building and business any day now.

Their well documented and video taped story will probably make national headlines soon.

When they first started experiencing these problems a few years ago, I warned them about the city and building and housing dept. since they are not from around this area.

They took my advice way back then and have kept a journal and everything is on videotape.

Should get very interesting soon. It is a small world.

Cleveland = Anti-business to most people

This is EXACTLY what happened with the Bosak Dairy family who had been doing business on Fulton Road since like 1909! The started outgrowing their location with semi-trucks and instead of Helen Smith working to collaborate a positive resolve-she pushed them out of the city with daily fines of upwards of $1,000/per day...and endless menacing.

Linking the source of exactly what Brian Cummins is referring to....

This is taken from a response to Brian's blog about Ward 14 funding before he took office....another distraction from present day activities....

City Bankruptcy....????

Our leaders want things exactly this way... polluted shithole... we call it a beautiful view, build expensive condos next-door, and jog in the toxic air... the Sustainabillies want to build a bike lane for a better view

Disrupt IT

You did not mention that both of the Devers, the owner of this property, and the son, live in Rocky River.  You are failing the transparency rules here.

Changing the zoning from residential to industry impacts the neighborhood in many ways. Can you say that you have discussed this in a meeting with residents as a group so everyone is receiving the same information? This change, along with the expansion of the business, without forward thinking restrictions, will impact the quality of life for people who have lived there for many years. This will also impact their property values.

Have you done your homework here? There are reasons that Zoning laws exist, and plopping this kind of business down smack in the middle of a residential neighborhood, is a good example. 

And a BTW, are these Devers related to the Devers of the West Side Market?

......or the political Dever(s).........on Bill Mason's staff?

But when you change the zoning to accommodate an already improper use of land, and those that you are accommodating live in the suburbs, and the accommodation is to expand an improper use of an industry, in a neighborhood where those residents are minorities and the poorest among the poor, well, you are going to deal with questions. 

Andrew Dever owns the lots on Seymour and W. 30th. He is also the "owner" of a Rocky River property (in addition to his own home) that list Annette at the secondary owner. Steve Dever, Rocky River Ward leader, lives at that address.  Is this Steve the same as the Steve in Bill Masons' office? Dever of the County Prosecutors office was a Rocky River Ward leader when he ran against Mason, before he became an employee of Mason.

Oh, geez, someone will have to go out and talk to people on Seymour and see what they were told so that we don't end up with the royal shafting of another part of our neighborhood.

Yes it is.  Steve Dever was in private practice back in the nineties before he went to Mason's office.  He now works for the county Prosecutor's office. 

It is suprising (not really) how many of these businesses taking over neighborhoods are "connected" to the downtown curruptahoga clique.

Rosemary Vinci - left Tremont West Board Presidency and went straight to the team of Russo and Dimora.

Rosemary sold Sammy Catania (who replaced her as TWDC's Board President) a commercial lot on West 19th at a "City LandBank Price."

Bart Leneghan (brother of Tom and NOW - as of last summer) is part owner of the Tree House is also an employee in the Russo-Dimora organization.

Steve Dever (Mason's employee) connected to Andrew on Seymour......just to name a few..

jump in any time and say that the Dever's that own the property are not the ones in Rocky River, and are not related to the Chief Trial Prosecutor for Bill Mason. Please clear this up if there is a misunderstanding.

Tell us that you are smarter than this. 

And welcome to Ward 14.

And..... if I am not mistaken once upon a time, Andrew Dever ran for City Council in Rocky River and somewhere I heard that he had a job with a county agency?   I have to look up the list of names again in the Russo-Dimora investigation - see if his name was on the list.

What are the chances that TWO Andrew S. Devers  live in Rocky River?

OR....is Steve Dever Andrew?   Andrew S. Dever.  If we do a little investigating, we might find out that these are one in the same although could be father and son or just kin.

I see an Andrew and Margaret Dever - Owners of the property on Seymour as well as property in Rocky River and an Andrew and Annette Dever with property in Rocky River.   Got to be some connection there somewhere. 

One connection is that the property owner by Andrew and Annette Dever is the residence of Steve Dever. My guess would be that Andrew is the father of Steve.   

But Andrew and Margaret Dever own the property on Seymour.  Either way, there are dots connected. 

This is a house owned by a man who appears to be up there in years (about 78 years old, unless there is a Junior). On the east side of his house is a large ( or two) vacant lots. On the  west side is the Dever property. 2810, according to Mr. Cummins, is part of the rezoning. I sure hope that if the owner is 78 years old, that someone is looking out for his interest and that it is not one of these interested parties.

If this zoning is allowed to go through as is, there will not be constraints on  the industry there. Again, why in a residential area when there are some many acres of vacant, abandoned  property throughout Cleveland?

And why reward an illegal operation by making it legit at the expense of the neighborhood? 

As a matter of fact, why cut special deals for political buds when the focus needs to be on jobs, jobs and jobs for the Clark Fulton community? 

The link to the post that Brian Cummins responded to here in his own blog. I see that the answers are selective.

I have not seen this before on the auditors' site (Xxxxxx in lieu of a name). Does anyone know what it is about?

Grantee(s) Grantor(s) 

I have never run across this before either  so it might not mean anything but in cross checking

I did find that a Jack Stanley is listed as the owner of 2810 Seymour as well as listed as part owner of the properties in question  titled to Andrew and Margaret Dever.

Age wise, in recollecting from my working days downtown, Prosecutor Steve Dever would be in his early fifties.  Annette Dever is also the owner of a residential vacant lot in Rocky river.  These individuals are without a doubt related. 

  See comments above

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From: Joe Cimperman <joecimperman [at] gmail [dot] com>

Date: August 5, 2013, 11:44:43 AM EDT

To: Timothy McGinty <tmcginty [at] prosecutor [dot] cuyahogacounty [dot] us>, Cory Riordan <CoryRiordan [at] tremontwest [dot] org>

Cc: Zone Matt <mattzone [at] sbcglobal [dot] net>, Sultzer Commander Keith <ksulzer [at] city [dot] cleveland [dot] oh [dot] us>, Calvin Williams <cwilliams3 [at] city [dot] cleveland [dot] oh [dot] us>, "bcummins [at] clevelandcitycouncil [dot] org" <bcummins [at] clevelandcitycouncil [dot] org>, Mary Ann Sharkey <masharkey [at] aol [dot] com>, Jim Kopinske <jkopinske [at] clevelandcitycouncil [dot] org>, Gus Frangos <gfrangos [at] cuyahogalandbank [dot] org>, Bill Whitney <bwhitney [at] cuyahogalandbank [dot] org>, Zolar Anne <AZoller [at] LAND-Studio [dot] org>, Gregory Peckham <gpeckham [at] LAND-Studio [dot] org>, Cory Riordan <CoryRiordan [at] tremontwest [dot] org>, Dennis Ancell <DAncell [at] city [dot] cleveland [dot] oh [dot] us>, Wolley Jim <jrwooley [at] jonesday [dot] com>, Joseph Frolik <jfrolik [at] prosecutor [dot] cuyahogacounty [dot] us>, Blaise Thomas <blaisethomas [at] prosecutor [dot] cuyahogacounty [dot] us>, Anna Faraglia <afaraglia [at] prosecutor [dot] cuyahogacounty [dot] us>, Maxwell Martin <mmartin [at] prosecutor [dot] cuyahogacounty [dot] us>, Adrienne Linnick <alinnick [at] prosecutor [dot] cuyahogacounty [dot] us>, Majeski Colleen <cannmajeski [at] gmail [dot] com>, Keane Marty <keane [dot] ward19 [at] Gmail [dot] com>, Saleh Awadallah <sawadallah [at] prosecutor [dot] cuyahogacounty [dot] us>, Jane Platten <jplatten [at] prosecutor [dot] cuyahogacounty [dot] us>, Angela Williamson <awilliamson [at] prosecutor [dot] cuyahogacounty [dot] us>, "McGinty. Tim Home" <TJMcGinty [at] aol [dot] com>, Zayac <jmzayac [at] theprojectgroup [dot] net>

Subject: Re: Meeting Monday at 3PM at The County Prosecutors Office 9th floor Justice Center for Park(?) at 2207 Seymour



Prosecutor McGinty



Thank you for your most gracious invitation. I am working hard to make it but may not be there this time. 



Mr Cory Riordan will be there as my representative.



Thank you.

I look forward to the ongoing dialogue.

We cannot thank you enough for all your great work.



Joe Cimperman



Sent from my iPhone



On Aug 4, 2013, at 3:12 PM, Timothy McGinty <tmcginty [at] prosecutor [dot] cuyahogacounty [dot] us> wrote:



Good afternoon! 

Mr. Castro has been delivered to the penitentiary to serve life without parole plus a millennium. His plea also required he sign over the deed to his home to Cuyahoga County. He reluctantly did so. 

We have given the property to the Cuyahoga County Land Bank and Director Gus Frangos has seen to it that it is freed of all encumbrances (including a tax foreclosure lien) and conducted all the necessary inspections. It is ready to be torn down.



Mr.Castro's plea (with full approval of the victims who could have taken the defendants money as restitution) also required the the $22k cash found hidden in the home be used to pay for the demolition of his own house. We anticipated a $12k cost. The remainder of the defendants moneys was to be used towards repaying the $10k cost to each the County Prosecutors Office and the City of Cleveland for fencing the Seymour property to preserve the crime scene. 

It turns out we may be able to use that forfeited money, with the approval of the victims and the City of Cleveland, for better purposes.

I have asked that the home be demolished this Wednesday August 7 and everyone at the Cuyahoga Land Bank has worked very hard to make this happen with unprecedented speed.

Fortunately Bob DeGeronimo of Independence Excavating Co. and others have volunteered to do the work gratis just for the healing effect it will have on the victims, their families, and the community.

Independence Excavating has also volunteered to knock down the two long abandoned and dangerous homes immediately to the West of Castro's former 2207 Seymour Ave property--just soon as we can obtain title. And we are jumping through all the hoops to do that also in record speed.

Independence Excavating trucks will also properly dispose of it in landfills so that nothing is taken by ghoulish souvenir hawkers. 

My goal is to tear down all three homes (Castro's and the two adjoining abandoned properties). Then obtain ownership of two additional already empty lots to the West and take this now clear 200' plus stretch (120' deep) of Seymour Ave. and give it back to the community to create something that represents all of our appreciation for the hope and courage these victims demonstrated.



Because of his close ties to the victims families, I have asked Councilman Matt Zone to Chair this committee, and Councilman Cimperman and Cummings to serve as Co-Chairs, to work with the victims families and representatives. 

I am asking you to attend this meeting and become part of this committee that decides the future use of these properties in a way that honors the victims strength, helps everyone heal, and inspires the community. 

I have asked the victims families or representatives, the City of Cleveland, Police Commander Keith Sultzer, local development corporations on behalf of the residents of Seymour Ave, the Cuyahoga Land Bank, and Land Studio for expert advise in the event the objective includes a park, art, community garden, or a playground. 

I apologize in advance for the short notice, but this all came together very quickly. We thought a rapid tear down would have a cathartic effect on everyone. It also send a positive message that Cleveland is a great and caring city. 

The spirit and generosity of the people of Cleveland has been amply demonstrated by the volunteers who have given of themselves to help these brave women, the donated medical care, housing, prayers, counseling, financial endowment, a restrained and responsible media, and the best legal counsel anywhere. They have set a new gold standard for how victims should be aided and protected by a caring community.

Thanks also to all the hard work of the Cleveland Police, Sheriff, FBI, BCI, and all the agencies who made the 88 days from the escape/rescue to conviction & delivery of this psychopath to the penitentiary with a record number of convictions possible. now we can destroy this monsters crime scene and the evil it represents by day 93! 

Thank you! Looking forward to seeing you or your representative at the meeting; 3:00pm Monday August 5, 2013 at 9th floor Justice Center County Prosecutors Office. For call in information please call Angela Williamson at 216-443-7747.

Tim McGinty

Photo by Dianna Hill

http://realneo.us/content/police-visited-ariel-castros-section-seymour-ave-tremont-often-while-women-were-captives-160

http://realneo.us/content/see-more-seymour-avenue-nightmare-revealed

From 2010 

http://realneo.us/content/cleveland-ward-14-zoning-info-2810-2914-seymour-ave

Kevin took initiative on his own and applied to the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) in late 2009 to seek a zoning variance.  That was a mistake as the property is zoned multi-family and an appellant cannot seek a zoning change beyond the next eligible use.  Kevin was unaware and not informed about this.

I picked up the case in January and after meeting with the Dever’s it was evident that they have been very good neighbors in terms of their general maintenance and investments in their property as well as assisting with some of their neighbors.

Through the BZA process, there were 11 – notices sent out to neighboring properties. There were no objections to the BZA application. Once it was understood that the property was not eligible for a variance I did additional outreach to include residents and the hair salon on the street. Everyone we discussed the issue with supports the Dever’s and their business. 

I began discussions regarding the proposed re-zoning in February and folded those discussions in with a review of a re-zoning plan for W. 25th Street that a Planning Commission staffer had begun in 2009. We decided to move forward with the Dever property as a stand alone case to expedite the ability for the Dever’s to proceed with their building expansion.

The more comprehensive zoning plan for W. 25th Street will be picked-up by the Tremont West Development Corporation likely during this summer and is intended to clean-up the zoning regulations as well as consider the use of a Pedestrian Retail Overlay Zone for the local retail portions of W. 25th Street. There will be public meeting to discuss these proposed changes that will take into consideration existing use patterns, i.e., general retail closer to the freeways (I-90 and I71) and local retail (the more restrictive use) in the center portions by metro and Clark Avenue.

For descriptive purposes, here is the BZA description of what is being proposed and which will be carried out once the re-zoning is approved.

When: Monday, January 25, 2010 9:30 AM-10:30 AM (GMT-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada).

9:30            Ward 14 
Calendar No. 09-267:        2810-2914 Seymour Avenue     Brian Cummins    11 Notices      


Andrew Dever, owner, appeals to erect a 22’4” x 32’10” addition and a 14’8” x 32’10” addition to an existing one-story 40’ x 32’10” masonry, reverse gable garage, proposed to be on corner parcels located in a B1 Two-Family District; subject to the limitations of Section 337.23(a) no main building is provided and storage of a one ton commercial truck, contractor equipment and tools is first allowed in a Semi-Industry District according to Section 345.03; and the existing nonconforming use garage on a vacant lot requires the Board of Zoning Appeals approval as stated in Section 359.01 of the Cleveland Codified Ordinances.  The maximum square footage allowed for an accessory garage on the 196.25’ x 139’ lot is 2,523 square feet and 2,478 square feet is proposed. (Filed 12-30-09)

If anyone has any specific questions pertaining to activities in the ward, feel free to contact me at 216-664-4238 or at bcummins [at] clevelandcitycouncil [dot] org
Sincerely,

Councilman Brian Cummins, Ward 14

REF: