Today was a devastating blow to residents who want to see accountability in government. It has been known for some time that the "Community Development Corporation" known as Detroit Shoreway Development Corporation is a fraud and a front for shady real estate deals [1] - but the extent of corruption was assumed to be strictly local and not necessarily state-wide. Now, it is apparent that the unchecked FUNNELING of federal monies to greedy local "developers" also extends to the operation of the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA).
Residents who clamor for services in our neighborhood--like me in Brooklyn Centre, like Diane Morgan in Stockyards, like Fay Harris in Ohio City -- are intentionally kept in the dark about the applications to Ohio Housing Finance Agency. There is no way to actually block the funneling of federal money to these set-ups known as CDCs and the fake social service agencies, like Cleveland Housing Network and EDEN, that have been created to PRETEND to serve the public with their front of "caring" for the homeless and the indigent. Detroit Shoreway cares too little about actual affordable housing and cares way too much about catering to the construction of tax-abated shoddy housing aka Marous townhouses along the lakefront. [2]
The backstory: Cleveland Housing Network applied- and with apparently NO SCRUTINY by Ohio Housing Finance Agency was awarded - for two low-income tax credit projects: International Village and Emerald Alliance XI.
International Village was first trotted out to residents as the "Dream Neighborhood," chronicled as a fraudulent scheme here at REALNEO [3] and, NEVER presented as an OHFA application for community input.
Diane Morgan explains:
Well, it looks like Joe [Cimperman] finally is getting his way. OHFA is awarding $5 million dollars to CHN with Metro West [ latest fake incarnation of Detroit Shoreway Development Corporation] to develop 22 infill houses.
If I am reading this right, each house will cost $265,252 to build. A total of $1.2 million in professional fees,
Rent $640 plus utilities with a maximum rent of $1,039.
"International Villiage is a 22-unit scattered site single family infill project that will be available to families at or below 60% of the area median income (AMI).
This project is a crucial component of the City of Cleveland's and the Metro Wes Community Development
Organizations' revitalization plan "International Village: Cleveland's Dream Neighborhood."
This plan seeks to build on the neghboorhoods history of welcoming Puerto Rican migrants and immigrants. Centrered on the Thomas Jefferson Newcomers Acadamy, a CMSD school that serves non-English speaking students, this project will provide housing and services to
allow newcomers to the City of Cleveland to thrive in their new home."
(BTW, the typos are on the official document)
Now here are a couple of issues around this:
There has been no community engagement
What median income is this based on? Last I looked it was, $27,000.
Who are they renting to? It doesn't specify. When they tried to shove this program down our throats over the past two years, it was for refugees.
At least the rendering is reflective of the houses here in the community and not the crap they build in OC or Tremont
It is going to be interesting to see how this unfolds, how much money Metro West gets from it and shuffles to DSCDO, not our community and if my friends who live there and have worked hard maintaining their community gardens are going to lose the spaces. Kat Ledger
Emerald Alliance XI aka the demolition and give-away of the vacant YMCA and commercial property at 3873-3881 Pearl Rd - has also been chronicled extensively at REALNEO. [5] Our neighborhood was only made aware of this "project" -in the works for YEARS- because two residents (Michael Minich and Michael Lance) were accidentally told by Tony Bango at Detroit Shoreway Development Corporation during "neighborhood" planning meetings held to address the abyssmal state of our "gateways" to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.
https://ohiohome.org/ppd/proposals/2017/PermanentSupportiveHousing/17-0003-EmeraldAllianceXI.pdf [6]
Despite protest letters, calls and web postings - including the still "under construction" status of Emerald Alliance X (10!) (how many goddamn Permanent Supportive Housing units do you need in a city like Cleveland - that is losing population by the minute??)
At all levels - residents have been intentionally shut out of the "development" of these "low-income" projects meant to enrich the pockets of the contractors steered to these projects. Nothing seems to dissuade OHFA to examine the real "outcomes" of these funding requests- not even, the federal indictment of a Cleveland Housing Network official for accepting bribes.
Ohio Housing Finance Agency must, therefore, be in collusion with Cleveland Housing Network and the applicants for these funds. There is no other conclusion. We are screwed.
Links:
[1] http://realneo.us/search/node/detroit+shoreway
[2] http://realneo.us/content/marous-construction-edgewater-cuyahoga-county-corruption
[3] http://realneo.us/search/node/dream+neighborhood
[4] https://ohiohome.org/ppd/proposals/2017/Single-FamilyInfillDevelopment/17-0001-InternationalVillage.pdf
[5] http://realneo.us/search/node/emerald+alliance
[6] https://ohiohome.org/ppd/proposals/2017/PermanentSupportiveHousing/17-0003-EmeraldAllianceXI.pdf
[7] https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndoh/pr/charges-filed-regarding-cash-bribes-and-kickbacks-between-contractors-and-cleveland