Submitted by 4HsgCt on Mon, 01/11/2010 - 23:43.
Cleveland Housing Court is offering a informational meeting on
Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 10:00 AM in the Housing Court,
at the Justice Center, 13th floor, courtroom 13-B.
Information will be available on the Housing Court’s role in criminal and civil cases; how cases arrive at Housing Court; what the City of Cleveland Prosecutor’s office’s role is in Housing cases; what the City Inspector’s role is in cases; search warrants and criteria used to determine their validity; search warrant data base; Housing Court programs and initiatives that have been developed over the court’s history; the roles of Housing Specialists, Magistrates and Bailiffs; the outlook for 2010 and additional topics.
Please attend this informational meeting to see what happens in Cleveland Housing Court.
Please RSVP with number of attendees to: www [dot] mooredi [at] clevelandmunicipalcourt [dot] org
Housing Court Meeting
Thank you for the invitation and willingness to open the court to concerned citizens.
Would it be possible to also include information on the demolition process and provide attendees with a list of properties that are scheduled for demolition? The demos are a concern to many members of RealNeo and always a topic on this site.
It is good to know that REALNEO is attracting the attention of the PD, Housing Court, Councilpersons, etc.
And it is good to know that Housing Court is willing to inform us on what is going on in our neighborhoods.
Demolition records are kept
Demolition records are kept and developed by the City of Cleveland administration. The demolition process is usually independant of Housing Court proceedings. It is possible to condemn and demolish a building without bringing it to Housing Court . This is the case the majority of demolitions. When the court is involved, it is on an independent track, unless a stay is ordered as a result of a filing at the Board of Building Standards. We want to provide whatever information needed that we may have. The only exception would be information about pending or impending cases. We will have our data base on search warrants available as well as information about the criteria used to determine the validity of search warrants. We want to be able to help make any and all of these roles clear to the attendees as part of the meeting.
Housing Court
Thank you for the response.
I am aware that the condemnations/demolitions are often independent of Housing Court. I was actually hoping that Housing Court would extend another courtesy and attempt to get us a list of the houses that are slated for demolition. While I understand that you have absolutely no obligation to do so, this information would be beneficial to those attending the meeting, and you appear to be interested in helping the community or you would not have this meeting to inform the community of housing issues. In fact, since I am a former employee, I know that you are interested in the community, Judge Pianka.
The majority of the housing complaints posted on REALNEO are relative to the mysterious condemnations/demolitions that appear to happen in select areas of Cleveland.
When we have the ability to actually find the demolished property's information on the Auditor's website ( the property's history often disappears after the demolition as if the home never existed), most of the cases that I have researched never had cases filed in Housing Court.
I have called the phone number listed for City of Cleveland Demolition Dept. that is listed in the phonebook (664-2857) in an attempt to get REALNEO members and myself a list of the homes that are slated for demolition. When I called that number, there was a busy signal for hours. When I tried calling the number again, the recording stated that the number is disconnected. I then called 664-2000, City of Cleveland's main operator number, and they transferred me to the demolition dept. I explained that I was looking for a list of potential demolitions, and was told that someone would call me back. They have not. Today I again called the demolition dept and left a voice mail with "Damion?"
The community and REALNEO members are concerned about the recent and selective demolitions.
Although Cleveland Housing Court is separate from the demolition dept, a possible courtesy call from the court requesting the demo list to have available for the meeting would be greatly appreciated.
Or maybe City of Cleveland Demolition Department will respond to my phone calls.
4HsgCt: Thanks for posting Housing Court info meeting.
I have taken the liberty to ad the event to the Realneo Event calendar on the LH side of the web page.
best, jeffb
The City of Cleveland
The City of Cleveland contains many properties that have been condemned by the Building Department. The majority of these properties never end up in Housing Court. Most condemned properties are not on any demolition list. In order for the condemned property to arrive at the demolition stage, they must go through a review by the city's Law Department. The Law Department then sends them on to the Demolition Bureau. Since public dollars fund the competitive bid process for most demolitions, information of that type is usually available from the City of Cleveland, at least through a public records request. The Demolition Bureau has a Chief, Damian Borkowski. The City has a contact for the public information - here is the link for the forms and the process - http://portal.cleveland-oh.gov/CityofCleveland/Home/Government/CityAgencies/Law/Public_Records_Request. Here is the link that has Building & Housing contact information, (including Demolition Bureau): http://portal.cleveland-oh.gov/CityofCleveland/Home/Government/CityAgencies/BuildingHousing/ContactList
Hopefully this information will help.
Please remember January 30, 2010 at 10:00 AM for the Informational Meeting at Housing Court.
Housing Court
Thank you for the info, quick response and willingness to assist the community.
Hopefully you will continue to visit REALNEO and keep the members informed of issues that affect our community.
I hope your meeting is well attended.
Brian Cummins--Who determines demo priority list?
See above. Thanks for the links. I will try to make the Housing Court meeting, but frankly--my time is limited and most residents can't make these meetings--the process in NEO is so broken. Thank you for trying to make it transparent, but I think that this all confusing by design.
Lily--I called Damian Borkowski and he called back and left a phone message on two houses slated in Ward 14, I googled them and they are south of Clark. The condition of these houses looks bad, but still it seems the overall priority for demolitions is random to say the least.
The latest demo on Willowdale over here in Brooklyn Centre was another hush-hush suspicious, overnight job of a not so bad looking structure...so, who determines the priority for demolitions???
Brian Cummins...are you ever going to respond here or anywhere?
Please post your promised Neighborhood Development Allocations. BTW--Stockyards is having a meeting tonight. How much money are you allocating to them now?? Did you allocate money to Spanish American Committee, too.
Is any money allocated to fixing anything??? Our streets?
Hi Laura, I am glad that
Hi Laura,
I am glad that Damian Borkowski returned your phone call. I still have not received a call from Damian Borkowski or anyone else in the demo dept.
Of course they are going to give you the addresses of the houses that are in bad shape and should be demolished, but we need to see the REAL list of properties that are scheduled for demo.
I will fill out the public records request and keep everyone advised.....
Don't hold your breath.
Records request and Councilman Cummins
I am filing my second records request for the City of Cleveland Neighborhood Development Activity funds for all wards July 2009-June 2010.
Brian--it would be nice if you just made this information available without the hassle. It would be nice if the City of Cleveland just made the information available without a hassle. I am entitled to know how my money is being spent.
I will send the request on Tuesday, Jan 19th--via certified mail. It seems my original fax request was lost.
Thanks lmcshane. This is
Thanks lmcshane. This is informatiion that we all need to know.
Did anyone attend the Stockyard meeting on Thursday? I wasn't there. I mailed for my license stickers and I didn't get them until Friday so I was grounded on Thursday except for my trip to the sleep lab with my husband, who, by the way, didn't sleep all night anyway. He asks, who can sleep with all those wires on your head and a mask over your face?
If anyone attended I am interested in what was discussed. Thanks.
W14R
I went to this meeting. It was a meeting to solicit community input for a proposal tp submit to the City to fund SRO in an expansion of the service area. The area now being served by TWDC would remain with TWDC, and the Brooklyn Centre area would remain with BCA. The rest of ward 14, and then some in 3 other wards, would be served by SRO under this proposal. Cummins, Zone, and Westbrook were there in support of the proposal. The facilitator was from the City. She said that the City is reducing the number of CDC's being funded from 26 to either 19 or 21, probably 19, but that number will not be announced until the end of March.
People were asked to set priorities for the area. Of special interest to me are the number of small businesses in existence, especially in the Clark Fulton neighborhood and the interest in trying to get the word out about them. Organizing, weatherization, lease-purchase, and housing stuff and more of discussed.
SRO will mail out the minutes (if they are typed up) and confirm the date of the next meeting (2/25/10) so call them if you'd like that information.
Thanks dwebb. I am
Thanks dwebb. I am uncertain if I am still a part of Brooklyn Centre, or if I am part of Clark Fulton. Someone from the other side of I71, the South side, thought the neighborhoods would remain the same and I would still be in Brooklyn Centre even though I am now part of Ward 14, instead of Ward 15.
Does anyone know the boundaries for the CDC's?
So the money would be given to fewer CDC's and each one would cover a larger area?
What were some of the priorities that were suggested?
I'm glad you were able to attend. Was the attendance good?
Thanks for the info.
Meetinged out
Thanks DWebb for attending and reporting back...I was going to go to the Harshaw meeting tonight, but I couldn't do it...I am so sick of meetings.
I hear you.
Plus it is January and gray. Time to read a book (or catch up with realneo).