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Keeping it REALSubmitted by lmcshane on Wed, 06/15/2011 - 21:32.
Do you plan on staying here? If so, what are the reasons keeping you here in NEO?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Save Our Community Garden --- Garden vs Parking LotSubmitted by huntress58 on Fri, 08/05/2011 - 11:01.
We really need help with saving our community garden. We had the support of CM Zone and then when the Sunoco wanted it he did a 180. He is adamant and has told us there is nothing we can say that will change his mind. The question is why?
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Here is more information:Submitted by huntress58 on Fri, 08/05/2011 - 11:07.
Please follow the link to get more information: http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/209812549066907/
Posting help for huntress58Submitted by Jeff Buster on Fri, 08/05/2011 - 11:12.
Anyone know who this is so they can give them a little help posting their issue to Realneo? I tried and tried to cut andSubmitted by huntress58 on Fri, 08/05/2011 - 11:08.
I tried and tried to cut and past into this but it wouldn't take it and am running out of time, so please follow the link I posted, we need all the support we can get! Thanks! FB Groups--Community Garden StorySubmitted by lmcshane on Fri, 08/05/2011 - 11:15.
Last year we moved to the Stockyards area of Cleveland. We fell in love with our new home, the double lot for a market garden and the section of our street had some great neighbors, including children. We love having children around, they bring so much life to a community, so we were excited about that.
There was one drawback to our block. There was a vacant lot next to a gas station. We had observed every time we visited the street, people sitting out under the trees at the back of the lot, on milk crates drinking from paper bags. This was occurring no matter what time of the day or what day of the week we drove past. Leaving our old neighborhood, we were leaving behind a wonderful new community garden that we helped plan and build. It was gorgeous! Our councilman thought it was one of the most beautiful in the city. The idea was not so much to build a vegetable garden, but more of a space for community activities, learning and year round growing. They loved the idea and supported our grant application. They also began working on getting the lot with the back taxes into the land bank for us to use. In addition they were researching the liability insurance for us to see if we community gardeners could be added to their liability. The application for the lease wanted $1 million in liability insurance. We proceeded to get two letters of support from our councilman for the two grants we were applying for. We decided to go for the two different ones in case we didn’t get the one that would help pay for the hoop house learning center. We held our first member drive and clean up in March, to create awareness about the project. As the weather warmed, we got to talking to more of our neighbors and found there was quite a lot of support for the idea. In April, we found out that we were approved for the Summer Sprouts Program through OSU Extension and the City of Cleveland. They would do soil testing and if there were unacceptable levels of lead , they would supply us with the materials to build raised beds. We were ecstatic. At least we knew we would have help with that if we didn’t get the Neighborhood Connections grant and would be able to plant a simple veggie garden if that was all we had. It was a great beginning. We put homemade signs at the garden to show it was going to be a community garden and encourage people to join us. Then we heard we received the Neighborhood Connections grant! It was very exciting. Now we could do an orchard/fruit grove, a get the hoop house learning center. Well, things started to change after our first big workday was planned for April 30. Our neighbor adjacent to the second lot that has the taxes due on it came over to talk to me. He appeared aggravated and confrontational. As he approached he asked, “So how does one go about getting a community garden?” I asked him, to explain what he meant. Here it turned out he wanted the second lot for yard expansion. I had assumed they had no interest since there was no movement on the property and the community development organization was working with me to obtain it. I assured him that if that was the case, we would only work on using the one lot, not a problem, it is great to see vacant land being maintained, and with the right use of land. We went back to the drawing board. So now, we had to scale down what we were going to do. We had the materials coming Memorial Day weekend for the beds and we had the plants, but we needed to leave room for the hoop house learning center. Okay, we can make this work was our attitude. We had to get the land filled before the materials arrived since the land was caving in where the old house had been. Through the community development organization we were able to get fill dirt delivered and mulch for the paths. As we were working, I was told by the man who arranged the fill dirt delivery that the deliveryman was told by the owner of Sunoco that he can’t leave that there, he owns this land and we don’t need any more community gardens. During the day, when I went to get pizza for lunch, he came out and offered to “buy us a case of tomatoes”. The next day when we were getting ready to plant the beds, a member of the garden went into the gas station store and was told we really worked hard, shame it was all going to be torn down. The next Monday I contacted the community development organization and they checked on the status of our application for the lease. It was lost! But the owner of the Sunoco had one in. So we got ours submitted again. So here you have a business owner, who has never lifted a finger to clean the property that was vacant for 12 years. Who’s customers would sit outside in the corner and drink, urinate, defecate and litter, but never tried to stop this behavior, who had his fence break down during the winter and never fixed it, we did, who was all of the sudden going to try to get the land. We were assured that he would have to go through the same hoops we did to either get it or not. There are three parties that have to participate in the application process, the city planning commission, the community development organization and the councilman. We thought they were all on our side. But not so. It appears that he is hell bent on doing this. He had met with him and finally when one of our members started to raise a real fuss, agreed to meet with us. The outcome of the meeting was: Our response to the councilman: So the status of the garden is still in limbo. We have the funding, we have the fencing and we are ready to complete our work, but we have been stopped dead in our tracks and haven’t even begun to beautify the space or complete our work. The plan for the fencing is going to be so much fun, we have a donated picket fence that we are going to paint to look like crayons. It will be such a great group project. Things are growing and we would like to get the hoop house up before the fall. We need as much support as we can get. If you can call the councilman, email him and sign our petition, it would be great before it goes to the land bank committee. If we can change his mind or at least let him know this is supported throughout the community, it will help. Matt Zone--needs to help this Garden Effort 939-1717Submitted by lmcshane on Fri, 08/05/2011 - 11:34.
FB groups are unfortunately limited to FB users. Facebook Pages can be seen by anyone. It looks like Diane Morgan and Russ Morgan have created a beautiful garden on a vacant lot and they are threatened to lose it after investing their time there in their neighborhood represented by Matt Zone. The photos are lovely. http://www.localfoodcleveland.org/forum/topics/please-help?xg_source=activity Save our Community Garden -- Garden vs Parking Lot CM Zone has done a 180 and is now planning on having our community garden torn down to put in a parking lot for a gas station, please read below to get the facts and contact him in support of the garden: 216) 939-1717 Community Garden Land Bank hocus pocusSubmitted by lmcshane on Fri, 08/05/2011 - 11:43.
The situation these folks find themselves in is happening all over NEO--the terms of the "community garden" lease are shifting depending on where developers have an interest and this does not allow folks vested in communities to pick up vacant lots. http://www.localfoodcleveland.org/forum/topics/please-help?xg_source=activity The Land Bank and the whole fake "Reimagining Cleveland" ruse are just intended to put a pretty picture on a developer land grab...it's sad, but how it goes here in NEO. But, I will reserve my complete cynicism, because Matt Zone might come through for you folks...it is my sincere hope for you. Thank you for your supportSubmitted by huntress58 on Fri, 08/05/2011 - 11:40.
This project has brought so many neighbors together. Watching the flow of positive energy and seeing how in a few short months the bonds have been strengthened by something so simple as a unified committment to a garden is wonderful. The outrage of people who don't even belong to the garden but support it who live in our neighborhood is amazing. They love it, they walk past it, keep an eye on it, give gardening tips and more. I just can't imagine the heartbreak for the children who have spent so much time building it and maintaining the garden will be like. They were so excited in the spring at the prospect of the garden. The whole idea of picking their own food for dinner and more, the pride in a job well done and beautiful. It will break my heart. Again, thank you for supporting us. The girls from Maximum Consumption will be talking about it on their show at WRUW tonight 5 -7, tune in. Community Garden - a Social Capital test for Mr. ZoneSubmitted by Jeff Buster on Fri, 08/05/2011 - 12:08.
This community garden appears to me to be another social capital asset of the neighborhood. Will the very real but perhaps hard to understand concept of social capital be well understood by Mr. Zone? or will he miss the point and allow business capital to prevail? I encourage Mr. Zone to compare this situation to the situation faced a few years ago by Mr. Cimperman relative to Frank Giglio's house demolition. What willl be the real cost to the community of eradication of this little garden? The physical garden isn't the real value here though, the real value is the networking of the community around and because of the litttle garden. Chop up the social network with a machete....over and over around the community. What have you got left then? Asphalt, Matt. Keep in mind Matt Zone failed the AMP OHIO testSubmitted by Jeff Buster on Sat, 08/06/2011 - 09:02.
Councilman Zone not only was sucked in by the Lehman Brothers schemed/financed AMP OHIO plan, but on top of that ignorance Mr. Zone led the public on a hypocritial multi day "hearing" charade which you can read about here on Realneo.
A quote from the 2.28.08 AMP report: "Mr. Zone’s fraudulent and phony performance – acting as if he were earnestly listening to the public and then asking AMP and CPP to respond to the public comments, is particularly egregious because he was abusing the public’s trust in what at the time seemed like Mr. Zones’ earnestness and fairness, while in fact Mr. Zone knew that the audience had already been sold down the river. Mr. Zone perpetrated a mean abuse of the public’s trust – knowingly giving the audience the false hope that they could make a difference, when Mr. Zone knew the deal was done. Not surprisingly, I won’t trust Mr. Zone with anything in the future."
Our representative form of government is obsolute. Too many career politicians (and career family politicians) who see their own dinner as the primary objective. The "representation" they work for is the representation of self interest. Note: the only reason that the City of Cleveland is (luckily) not bound by the AMP OHIO contract is that Lehman Brothers went bankrupt in 2008 during the credit mess.
Take Action to SAVE A COMMUNITY GARDEN in Matt Zone's WardSubmitted by ANGELnWard14 on Sat, 08/06/2011 - 13:59.
Huntress asked us to make calls, email the councilman, and sign a petition.... BEFORE it goes to landbank committee... 1) PLEASE ANSWER THESE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS SO WE CAN SUPPORT YOUR GROUP: A) Which exact lot(s) are we supporting and what is the address(es)? B) Who are the Points of Contact with the Community Garden Group and contact info? Who do we contact to sign a petition to save the community garden? What is the direct contact, email, fax, and phone number for the people leading the efforts to Save the Community Garden? (They should get a copy of whatever is sent to Matt Zone so that it doesn't "disappear!) C) Is there an alternative site/location of interest? D) When is the date of the landbank committee meeting? ...................To take action; we need specific info like the above. Please provide it. 2) Then we can take the following Actions: A) CONTACT THE COUNCILMAN: Here is the contact info for Matt Zone:
City Hall: Ward Office: Home: Email:
B) CONTACT THE COUNTY COUNCIL REP :Remember, you now have "DAN BRADY" on the County Council and he's serving this area too...So contact him too!
District 3 - Dan BradyContact InformationCounty Administration Building If you can call the councilman, email him and sign our petition, it would be great before it goes to the land bank committee. If we can change his mind or at least let him know this is supported throughout the community, it will help. Make sure that if you support the Community Garden; that you send copies to their membership of any faxes, letters, emails, or communications you share with the Reps. Always Appreciative, "ANGELnWard14" Conact InfoSubmitted by huntress58 on Sat, 08/06/2011 - 19:25.
Diane Morgan _ Garden Leader 216-659-1010 Will get fax number email: huntress58 [at] att [dot] net Online petition: http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/NxGenPreserve63
We will have a hard copy one soon for gathering signatures. Thanks everyone for your support! Conact InfoSubmitted by huntress58 on Sat, 08/06/2011 - 19:25.
Diane Morgan _ Garden Leader 216-659-1010 Will get fax number email: huntress58 [at] att [dot] net Online petition: http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/NxGenPreserve63
We will have a hard copy one soon for gathering signatures. Thanks everyone for your support! Does your group have NFP Status independently?Submitted by ANGELnWard14 on Sun, 08/07/2011 - 00:58.
As it stands; unless you are a Not for Profit....the odds of them "negotiating" with you are limited...>That is why they would landbank it first....it can be a "TOTAL WRITE OFF" for the players and a profit for the Landbank....
The City of Cleveland Landbank predominantly deals in vacant lots... The Cuyahoga County Landbank predominantly deals in Residential lots...
YES; There are 2 LANDBANKS to consider in this amazing nightmare.... You wouldn't think that the City or County would have "LISTED" any of these properties with a "REALTOR" on a bidding basis....where they could be recycled legitimately; do you? They don't want any "FOR PROFIT" entities keeping our property in Cleveland rehabbed, rentable, or recycled...>They want to clear all the land and make parks....Your goal should be ""part of their plan"...but it appears to undermine their way of thinking...profit under the not for profit umbrella...underhanded to say the least!
Without proper support; you could look at being discouraged by the games they play on your life when you are trying to do the right thing.... pay to play! Always Appreciative, "ANGELnWard14" Total wite-out for the investorsSubmitted by lmcshane on Sun, 08/07/2011 - 10:52.
We lost a lot of documentation on the BOR "wite-out" scandals here. I hope that these efforts resurface at REALNEO, so folks will have a point of reference. NFPSubmitted by huntress58 on Mon, 08/08/2011 - 09:53.
St. Paul's Community Church on W. 45th and Franklin is our Fiscal Agent. They have been extremely supportive. Pastor Horner even spoke to CM Zone on our behalf to no avail. We do a lot of volunteer work there and are the ones who started Ohio City Near West Food Group. We have the hoop house built on the side of the church to help grow food for the food pantry and we hold workshops on growing, local food, gardening and more, plus the most fun is the canning workshops and use of the kitchen as a community kitchen. Yesterday we had a pickling workshop that was a blast. The extra food we can goes to the food pantry and community meals. This is all volunteer work. One of the things we feel that is a missing piece of the puzzle in local food is preserving. You can visit our website: http://www.ohiocitynearwestfoodgroup.org The website for NxGen Preserve is still in development stages but can be viewed at http://www.nxgenpreserve.org
NFPSubmitted by huntress58 on Mon, 08/08/2011 - 09:53.
St. Paul's Community Church on W. 45th and Franklin is our Fiscal Agent. They have been extremely supportive. Pastor Horner even spoke to CM Zone on our behalf to no avail. We do a lot of volunteer work there and are the ones who started Ohio City Near West Food Group. We have the hoop house built on the side of the church to help grow food for the food pantry and we hold workshops on growing, local food, gardening and more, plus the most fun is the canning workshops and use of the kitchen as a community kitchen. Yesterday we had a pickling workshop that was a blast. The extra food we can goes to the food pantry and community meals. This is all volunteer work. One of the things we feel that is a missing piece of the puzzle in local food is preserving. You can visit our website: http://www.ohiocitynearwestfoodgroup.org The website for NxGen Preserve is still in development stages but can be viewed at http://www.nxgenpreserve.org
Is your neighborhood name slated for being ERASED Off Map?Submitted by ANGELnWard14 on Sun, 08/07/2011 - 01:39.
Is your neighborhood name slated for being ERASED Off Map? THIS IS A MUST READ ARTICLE ABOVE FROM THE PD ABOUT CDC's...THE POSTERS to the article are eloquent....I really like the first poster! Always Appreciative, "ANGELnWard14" Understanding CDC objectives...like Detroit Shoreway...Submitted by ANGELnWard14 on Sun, 08/07/2011 - 02:08.
Always Appreciative, "ANGELnWard14" Owner of property is possibly deceased...Submitted by ANGELnWard14 on Sun, 08/07/2011 - 02:35.
Case notes about 3395 West 63rd...tax history...foreclosure case by Rokakis...
Always Appreciative, "ANGELnWard14" Sign the Petition! SAVE the GARDENSubmitted by lmcshane on Sun, 08/07/2011 - 17:22.
Diane has posted a link to an online petition http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/NxGenPreserve63 A great way to make yourselves heard :)
Here's the Google shot of the lots before they were converted to community gardens--see streetview The couple who have LABORED to put in a community garden note that for twelve years these have been vacant and not well maintained with problem folks congregating on these lots. ONLY now, when the community has claimed the lots, does the adjacent Sunoco find it so important to expand their parking capacity. BTW-the street address of the lot is 3395 West 63rd St. and it is near the intersection of Storer and W. 63 just north of Denison.
hi all you hereos the garden petition email button doesn't workSubmitted by Quest-News-Serv... on Mon, 08/08/2011 - 12:03.
yogi and guy - http://www.disclosureproject.com TRUTH - EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL http://www.nationalwardogsmonument.org A breakthroughSubmitted by huntress58 on Mon, 08/08/2011 - 09:43.
The owner of Sunoco has indicated that he is no longer interested in the property, I don't have anything definite, but he posted signs throughout the neighborhood after we flyered the neighborhood asking for support.
His signs stated that he is no longer interested in the lot ( I have a copy and will scan it later) and if there is anything he can do to help he will, he is a businessman and hates politics, and wants to keep the friendships he has built.
That does not negate the fact the CM Zone did a 180 on us. There is lots more I will share later.
The fat lady hasn't sung. We don't have any formal notification that he has backed down. I did notify the Stockyard Dev group that he indicated that he is no longer interested, to please verify. I will only believe it when his application for the lot is withdrawn. I did ask that if that is the case to please move this along so we can get our fence permit and the building permit for the hoop house before it gets cold (it is the city, could take till Christmas). I do feel that it would be a good faith effort on their part and CM Zone's to expedite the process.
I appreciate everyone's support this has been so encouraging.
Diane
some Social Capital for Sunoco next to community gardenSubmitted by Jeff Buster on Mon, 08/08/2011 - 14:36.
Hello Diane, On what type of automotive work does the Sunoco concentrate? Do they do transmission repair, brakes, and shocks, or are they a gas only type station? Tell us about the skills and positive qualities which Sunoco possess. The Sunoco would, I am sure, appreciate a little more business and perhaps this discussion about preserving the community garden could result in a new customer or two doing business with the Sunoco. The customer might verbalize "Thanks for your support of the community garden" while they are getting some gas. Spread the social capital around among the neighbors. Knowing that social capital is produced for you by your neighbor's faith in you is a key community building block. Just a suggestion.... Best, Jeff b SunocoSubmitted by huntress58 on Mon, 08/08/2011 - 15:04.
They don't do automotive work. They sell gas and have a convenience store. I am hoping to meet with the owner today after work. I really would like to see them become a partner in the garden and a supporter rather than an adversary and they have indicated that they would be more interested in that also. So we shall see. I called last week to talk to him but he was out and having been keeping my eyes open for him over the weekend. I would like to share our vision of the garden with him. I also don't think he realizes that at this point we are not looking at buying the property, just leasing it from the city, maybe in the future but not now. I will keep everyone posted about the progress. Diane leasing vacant lots for gardensSubmitted by dw on Mon, 08/08/2011 - 16:58.
The permitting process for using the lots as gardens has the fine print warning to the effect of this: even though the lot is being leased for a community garden, it can be sold at any time. The advisory goes on to caution that permanent items, such as fences, should not be erected, as this is a lease and the lot can be sold to another buyer. I bring this up because having the rug pulled out from under community gardeners has happened through out the City. It seems that the City needs to review this process, and find a way to let the community buy the lot. DW
Wise dw advice - legal right to the garden firstSubmitted by Jeff Buster on Mon, 08/08/2011 - 20:18.
What about the Ohio Department of Agriculture - don't they sponsor community gardens and provide training? Perhaps the Dept. of Ag could buy the lots and then lease them to organizations or individuals. If the state owned the lots they would be tax exempt - which they need to be in order to accommodate agriculture. Alternatively, the county could own the lots, also avoiding taxes. Then, pursuant to a license to utilize the lot as a community garden, the state or the county could provide liability insurance covering those who work on the lot in a certified agricultural operation. Who has any info on how the Dept of Ag presently works with community groups? Good PointSubmitted by huntress58 on Tue, 08/09/2011 - 10:19.
That is a good point and it is something we will keep in mind, it has been suggested that we purchase it, and we are going to look into it. Good PointSubmitted by huntress58 on Tue, 08/09/2011 - 10:19.
That is a good point and it is something we will keep in mind, it has been suggested that we purchase it, and we are going to look into it. UpdateSubmitted by huntress58 on Tue, 08/09/2011 - 10:27.
Here is what is happening now. The owner of the Sunoco has decided he does not want the lot. I met with him yesterday and showed him our plans, and we discussed the whole project, agreed that we should have talked before this time.
I emailed CM Zone and the people I have been meeting with at Stockyard asking for help expediting the lease so we can get the permits for the hoop house learning center and the fence. The response I received was that there will be no movement until we sit down and have a conversation.
Below is what I sent out:
"Hi everyone, last night when we had our block club meeting I had a chance to talk to Scott. It was a very good discussion. I showed him the plans for the hoop house and explained how we want to finish beautifying the lot. He seemed to be impressed by what we want to do and told me he no longer wants the lot, that whatever he can do to help to let him know. The conversation was more extensive then that but that is the gist of it.
I also told him that he should try to get to the block club meetings or send someone from him company, he wants to be involved. He did say we can hang flyers at the store when we have our next one to try to get more people out.
I know there has to be a formal withdrawal of the application. Is there anyway to expedite the lease process? We would really like to get the hoop house built before it gets cold and we are having our garden opening celebration (pig roast) Septermber 3, and would like to get the fencing up.
If there is any way to get the permits in a timely fashion that would help. Please let me know when and what needs to be done.
Thank you for all your help and support.
Diane"
So, as of now, there should be no reason to not to move forward with the lot, I am not sure what to expect from Zone, he might be a bit angry at all the steps I have taken to drum up support for the garden, and if so, good, I will not be bullied by him.
You should see the lot they tried to offer us instead of the one we are using. It is on the corner of W. 60th and Storer. I told them we are not interested in it, that as a parent, I wouldn't want my kids going off to other streets with all the registered sex offenders in the neighborhood. And on top of it one of our neighbors brother who is in a wheelchair was held up at gun point there on Wednesday of last week, literally had the gun pointed at his head by two thugs. Robbed of a couple of dollars. That street is like the wild wild west.
I will let you know what happens and I plan on recording the meeting as I have been advised by other activists in the region. I will of course make them aware it is being recorded. I did let them know about the days I have off coming up this week in the hope we can get this over with, and resolved soon.
Can't wait till this is over, I am having visions of blackeyed susans and purple cone flowers outside the fence, strawberry beds and raspberry bushes..... Sounds good... Praying for 2012 crops!Submitted by ANGELnWard14 on Wed, 08/10/2011 - 00:06.
Sounds like you are getting ready to join the "POLITICAL RANKS" and learn how to "PLAY POLITICS" with the COUNCILMAN..... Truly interesting... Be prepared for every angle....taping just puts them in an awkward position... Will they want to spank you for proactively engaging REALNEO? Will they want to treat you with respect? Or will they try and walk on you and hush you up with ultimatums? Will they discourage your efforts or promote them? It's power play time...with the Councilman.....
ALL THE BEST TO YOU ALL!
Always Appreciative, "ANGELnWard14"
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Ward 15 Councilman Matt Zone
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