Comments on: My state of the city http://wendellrobinson.com/wenBLOG/2007/02/28/my-state-of-the-city/ ...what I think and why Sun, 12 Oct 2008 13:32:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.2 by: Roz McAllister http://wendellrobinson.com/wenBLOG/2007/02/28/my-state-of-the-city/#comment-91 Fri, 02 Mar 2007 01:47:37 +0000 http://wendellrobinson.com/wenBLOG/2007/02/28/my-state-of-the-city/#comment-91 State of My Neighborhood: Gangs roam the streets, and it takes 30 minutes for a response to "shots fired". My car was stolen 2/13/07 and there was, and will be, no investigation as to who took it and raped it around a pole. My license plate was left lying in the street. I've been all the way to the mayor's office and NO ONE can tell me why we are not investigating crime in Cleveland. The building inspector came through and unboarded the vacant houses to find code violations AND LEFT THE HOUSES OPEN! (Took me a week to get them to come out and fix THEIR error) One arson last week in a vacant, be well kept rental property. Speaking of housing, why is it that we are building houses that most Clevelanders cannot afford, and low quality houses at that! REHAB! Oh, wait! We can't because we let houses stand vacant for years instead of rehabbing quickly. So, tear down 2 sturdy, real wood houses and put up one chip board house and sell it for $125,000+ without taxes. Now THAT'S the way to make a neighborhood better! Over prices, substandardly built homes that no one can afford. Heck, the windows are broken out before they can even be sold! Let's build more storefronts! Been down Broadway, or Euclid, or Superior lately? Empty storefronts! So, let's build more storefronts on the old St. Michael Hospital property! I can only believe that common sense is dead, buried and fully rotted in Cleveland! State of My Neighborhood:

Gangs roam the streets, and it takes 30 minutes for a response to “shots fired”. My car was stolen 2/13/07 and there was, and will be, no investigation as to who took it and raped it around a pole. My license plate was left lying in the street. I’ve been all the way to the mayor’s office and NO ONE can tell me why we are not investigating crime in Cleveland.

The building inspector came through and unboarded the vacant houses to find code violations AND LEFT THE HOUSES OPEN! (Took me a week to get them to come out and fix THEIR error) One arson last week in a vacant, be well kept rental property.

Speaking of housing, why is it that we are building houses that most Clevelanders cannot afford, and low quality houses at that! REHAB! Oh, wait! We can’t because we let houses stand vacant for years instead of rehabbing quickly. So, tear down 2 sturdy, real wood houses and put up one chip board house and sell it for $125,000+ without taxes. Now THAT’S the way to make a neighborhood better! Over prices, substandardly built homes that no one can afford. Heck, the windows are broken out before they can even be sold!

Let’s build more storefronts! Been down Broadway, or Euclid, or Superior lately? Empty storefronts! So, let’s build more storefronts on the old St. Michael Hospital property!

I can only believe that common sense is dead, buried and fully rotted in Cleveland!

]]> by: Josh L http://wendellrobinson.com/wenBLOG/2007/02/28/my-state-of-the-city/#comment-89 Thu, 01 Mar 2007 07:14:21 +0000 http://wendellrobinson.com/wenBLOG/2007/02/28/my-state-of-the-city/#comment-89 You are correct that Cleveland, especially downtown proper, can use some serious economic activity- an economic engine to bring in business from around the country. I am from Chicago, and have relatives in Cleveland whom I have visited several times over the last few years. I was shocked to see the lack of activity downtown; vacant lots are abundant and waiting to be built on. The city should give developers every incentive (TIFs, etc) to get them to build residential buildings, which will then bring in more retailers, more tax dollars and more life. The last thing Cleveland should do is even think about closing Burke Lakefront Airport. I've flown into Burke on several occassions, and its packed with executive jets, each filled with deal makers and big spenders. Leave BKL alone- it is an absolute economic engine and very conveniently located as a releiver airport. If you close Burke, you make Clevaland a harder place to get to, for the people you need most- developers, financers, bankers, architects, etc. We've seen an absolute decline in general avaition traffic coming to Chicago after Meigs was closed; some of the lost traffic goes to Midway (already congested and at capacity), in your case it would be Hopkins- which is not a releiver airport by any stretch of the imagination. More planes at Hopkins means more delays, more fuel being wasted while waiting for take off, and most importantly, logic says that if you make a city harder to get to, less people will come. I agree that Cleveland needs a boost of activity- go see for yourself the activity @ Burke Lakefront: 80,000 operations a year. If each plane had 5 people on board, and they each spent $400 on food, hotel etc, thats $160 Million in direct spending, every year. An economic engine, indeed. Your leaders should focus on building on those vacant lots, and let the spenders continue to have easy access to Downtown Cleveland. Build where its needed, do not destroy what is a city asset. You are correct that Cleveland, especially downtown proper, can use some serious economic activity- an economic engine to bring in business from around the country. I am from Chicago, and have relatives in Cleveland whom I have visited several times over the last few years. I was shocked to see the lack of activity downtown; vacant lots are abundant and waiting to be built on. The city should give developers every incentive (TIFs, etc) to get them to build residential buildings, which will then bring in more retailers, more tax dollars and more life. The last thing Cleveland should do is even think about closing Burke Lakefront Airport. I’ve flown into Burke on several occassions, and its packed with executive jets, each filled with deal makers and big spenders. Leave BKL alone- it is an absolute economic engine and very conveniently located as a releiver airport. If you close Burke, you make Clevaland a harder place to get to, for the people you need most- developers, financers, bankers, architects, etc. We’ve seen an absolute decline in general avaition traffic coming to Chicago after Meigs was closed; some of the lost traffic goes to Midway (already congested and at capacity), in your case it would be Hopkins- which is not a releiver airport by any stretch of the imagination. More planes at Hopkins means more delays, more fuel being wasted while waiting for take off, and most importantly, logic says that if you make a city harder to get to, less people will come. I agree that Cleveland needs a boost of activity- go see for yourself the activity @ Burke Lakefront: 80,000 operations a year. If each plane had 5 people on board, and they each spent $400 on food, hotel etc, thats $160 Million in direct spending, every year. An economic engine, indeed. Your leaders should focus on building on those vacant lots, and let the spenders continue to have easy access to Downtown Cleveland. Build where its needed, do not destroy what is a city asset.

]]> by: jeff buster http://wendellrobinson.com/wenBLOG/2007/02/28/my-state-of-the-city/#comment-88 Wed, 28 Feb 2007 20:07:47 +0000 http://wendellrobinson.com/wenBLOG/2007/02/28/my-state-of-the-city/#comment-88 Your observation that improved schools would elliminate the need for tax abatement on new homes should be broken down financially: which costs less in the big final picture 10 years from now - spending a bundle to improve schools and improve housing market, or losing a bundle of real estate taxes, while still having inferior schools and an inferior housing market. I think hitting the school issue head on is less expensive. Your observation that improved schools would elliminate the need for tax abatement on new homes should be broken down financially: which costs less in the big final picture 10 years from now - spending a bundle to improve schools and improve housing market, or losing a bundle of real estate taxes, while still having inferior schools and an inferior housing market. I think hitting the school issue head on is less expensive.

]]> by: Brewed Fresh Daily » Some choice words for Mayor Jackson from Wendell Robinson http://wendellrobinson.com/wenBLOG/2007/02/28/my-state-of-the-city/#comment-87 Wed, 28 Feb 2007 18:52:25 +0000 http://wendellrobinson.com/wenBLOG/2007/02/28/my-state-of-the-city/#comment-87 [...] wenBLOG » My state of the city Bookmark to: 202d Posted in BFD | [...] […] wenBLOG » My state of the city Bookmark to: 202d Posted in BFD | […]

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