GCP partnership and City of CLE pimps Opportunity Corridor - tell ODOT NO!

Submitted by lmcshane on Sat, 05/11/2013 - 07:44.
06/06/2013 - 06:43
Etc/GMT-4

 Forest City has been in Columbus pimping the Opportunity Corridor and quietly staging the money train -through Robert Brown at the City of Cleveland:

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/trac/Pages/2013-TRAC-Public-Hearings-and-Applications.aspx

 

There is is public hearing in Akron on June 6. NEO falls under ODOT District 12

 

Northeast Ohio - June 6, 2013

  

ODOT Districts 3, 4, 11 and 12

9:00 AM - 3:30 PM 
 
Akron-Summit County Public Library
 
60 South High Street
 
Akron, Ohio

 

 

 

 

Please google "Opportunity Corridor" and REALNEO and see most recent discussion at The Civic Commons

http://theciviccommons.com/conversations/what-is-the-opportunity-cost-of-the-corridor

 

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Stop the Opportunity Corridor - Sign the Petition

Submitted by lmcshane on Tue, 11/12/2013 - 10:47.

http://www.change.org/petitions/ne-ohio-elected-leaders-opportunity-corridor-gets-it-wrong

How will our future look with this insane plan?

http://realneo.us/events/buffalo-versus-cle-smackdown

http://realneo.us/content/how-can-joe-roman-sleep-night

Joe Bialek on Opportunity Corridor

Submitted by lmcshane on Sun, 01/05/2014 - 18:55.

Thanks Joe for your tireless exercise of FREE SPEECH - with his permission:

Subject: Letter to the Editor--Opportunity Corridor
 
 
This letter is in response to the article covering the Opportunity Corridor
written by Alison Grant.  As a friend of mine once said: “this one is really
rich.”  The best way to shed any light on this topic is to share my own
experience of witnessing the waste of public dollars.
 
Per the article: "Advocates say the $331 million Opportunity Corridor will
meet three needs: Smooth the drive for residents south and west of downtown
Cleveland who now must twist and turn through local streets to reach
University Circle; spark office and light industry development by cleaning
up and reusing brownfield sites; and help rejuvenate impoverished
neighborhoods by creating jobs for residents."
 
Hmmm...where have we seen/heard this before?  During my time living in Slavic
Village {Saint Hyacinth Neighborhood 1993-1999} I witnessed at least three
events that have proven to be a complete waste of public tax dollars because
{quite frankly} none of them have been shown to benefit the residents and
business owners living and working nearby.  The developments are the Hyacinth
Lofts, Mill Creek and the Bessemer Extension.  There are in all likelihood other
developments but it has been over 14 years since I’ve lived there and no longer
pay attention to the Neighborhood News website.  I’ll let the readers connect
the dots in terms of politicians, CDCs and Developer and suggest you take a
tour of the two neighborhoods and street extension and draw your own conclusions.
In my opinion the two neighborhoods resemble a "demilitarized zone" similar to
Manhattan in the movie "Escape from New York".  The only thing missing is
Snake Plissken.
 
It has been documented that Slavic Village was at the epicenter of the real
estate melt down.  Was this all coincidence or part of some plan to stuff
people's pockets while at the same driving out residents and business owners
leaving the remaining people defenseless against these hidden agenda
schemes?  The support of those residents and business owners for these projects
was questionable at best.
 
Per the article: "The (statement) does not clearly describe how the project will
benefit the intervening neighborhoods," the EPA said in a letter to the Federal
Highway Administration. (See letter in document viewer below.) The EPA also
said ODOT should be specific about how the corridor would enhance connections
to rail and bus stops, and whether any would be eliminated.”
 
So much for full disclosure with a "hurry up offense" to boot.  The modus operandi
is always the same.  Catch the residents and business owners off guard by ramming
a development plan into place before anyone has any real time to consider it. 
A "boon"?  More like a boondoggle.
 
Per the article: "Leading the push for the corridor are the city and the Greater
Cleveland Partnership, the area's chamber of commerce. Terrance C.Z. Egger,
publisher of The Plain Dealer, co-chairs the project's 21-member civic steering
committee with Jamie Ireland, managing partner of Early Stage Partners." 
 
Well, talk about getting your ducks in line with very convenient relationships.
As “Deep Throat” said to Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward: “follow the money.”
 
This whole article reminds me of the Twilight Zone Episode “To Serve Man”
whereby the alien visitors come to earth speaking of a benevolent plan for
humanity by taking earthlings back to their planet.  They present a book
titled “To Serve Man.”  Humans start boarding the alien craft immediately but
finally someone deciphers the alien language and discovers “To Serve Man”
is a cook book.   Beware of grandiose plans such as these my friends because
in this case the road to hell may in fact be paved with not-so-good intentions.
 
Joe Bialek
Cleveland, OH
 
PS:  A City Council of a major American city that sells out it’s constituents needs
in favor of “business as usual” {i.e. the $120 million stadium renovation and
financing the Cleveland Convention Center Hotel} ought to be ashamed of itself.
Have you no shame ladies and gentlemen?
 
 
"Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was
once eccentric." Bertrand Russell