Ray of Sunshine

Submitted by DesireeSchmitt on Wed, 02/04/2009 - 20:17.

Todays experience was intense with the Cleveland Board of Building and Housing.

Pictures really do tell a thousand words... at least.

Presented before and after pics... the letters, emails, and petition of support...  landed a six month extention.  

Now one tired me is resting with one tired puppy and kitty to gear up to hit the ground running tomorrow... now is where the fun part starts...

Thank you everyone for your support.  This wouldn't have gone through without the grassroot effort of the masses.  It's by no means over... but it is a win for the people by the people!

 

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congratulations, Desiree

I'm sure you'll sleep better tonight!

Like you it ain't over

Like you said it ain't over yet.  But you can breath for a bit.  At least gear up for the next round and gain more support. 

I'm so glad you were able to get more time.

Jerleen

Six months?

  They should have dropped the whole charade. What a nightmare. 

yep

I agree it should have been dropped.  But with this going on everywhere, dropping it could mean admitting wrong which opens the door to massive lawsuits.

Which jumps a topic to my irk about America's legal system.  Akin to an attorney who advises you to never utter the words "I'm sorry" immediately following an accident.  Too bad if you feel bad, are neurotic or just felt like it seems the thing to say.  Even if it was clearly not your fault - you've made an admission of guilt??

Or the whole landlords shovelling for their renters.  I still don't understand it even though Prosecutor Reali has explained the double edged sword.  Sue me I guess, I shovel anyway.

So while I get the need to bow out gracefully, and I'm not complaining, I'm all for the out, it shouldn't have happened to begin with...

well..  at least not in the manner it did.  or as aggressively as it did.

Due process and starting with the warning hangtag and inspector visit would have been appropriate and less drama.

I see another "Condemned" sign has made its way to W. 11th on Lincoln Park.  It is a beautiful home with a charming, not many left in Tremont, wrap around porch.  I hope it doesn't get Giglio'd.

And, two of my fellow neighbors have just been sighted - in the midst of the coldest winter - 

I'm all for code enforcement, but when I talk to other CDCs who are begging for these actions to help with blocks and blocks of properties that have been abandoned and blighted for years..

I don't understand why Cleveland has such a difficult time...

 

one more "condemned"

one more "condemned" across from the APL, on Wiley as you go down the hill....

You know, one of my husband's co-workers saw my statement in the Scene last week. He commented to my husband "We have lots of crappy neighborhoods in Cleveland - cant we have just one nice one?" as justification for TWDC driving out unwanted residents. Of course, there's no recognition of the human faces behind it. Its a stone cold attitude - as one poster on tremonter.com had put it: "If you can't afford to keep up a house you dont deserve to have one."

Cleveland gets a spotlight in The Nation this month as one of the cities in the nation with the highest spike in homeless school children, a 150% jump from last year. And it links this to federal policy:

"Even as the Bush administration made a show of doling out small increases to the homeless services budget (though never enough to meet the need), it hacked away at public housing, Section 8 vouchers and other housing programs, undermining any attempt at reducing family homelessness. Indeed, since 2004 funding for affordable housing programs has declined by $2.2 billion. The result is a country in which only one in four eligible low-income households receives federal housing assistance while those forced to go it alone, without any government assistance, face an increasingly harsh landscape of rising rents and declining wages. It's no wonder the number of poor renters paying more than half their income for rent rose by more than 1 million households, or 29 percent, between 2001 and 2007. "

Tremont Residents

I have lived in tremont most of my life.I think the problem with the neighborhood is so many new residents are running tremont west and the old residents feel left out,It is so strange to go to the meetings their are only a handful old residents and the rest are new and it would help if the new people would be more friendly.Also we walk thru this life only once .And about putting residents police records on here it is not right because he who has no sin never did something wrong once in their life let them cast the first stone.Do not judge someone unless you have walked in their shoes life has not been a bed of roses for eveyone.I have a cousin in prison right now i helped raise him i cried,he got with the wrong crowd and got into trouble,he had a hell of a childhood no teaching about anything at home.His mother did not care where he was and many times he would come to my house hungry, dirty clothes he more or less raised his self.Be careful of stoned that we throw.Their is no perfect in this neighborhood

By the grace

By the Grace of GOD.  Thanks for the reminder.

Cast no stones

had a uncle who wa a preacher and he had a in  the old gospel press building, I am trying to look for pictures.He also had a church on professor beside tonys pizza it has law offices in it now.He once said when you told a story on someone it could never be repaired so any times more is added on to the story.Take a feather pillow and shake it,then try to gather them up .

I never heard it put that

I never heard it put that way but I like the pillow story.  The other day my sister and I were discussing and remembering all the places and things that once was her in the neighborhood and are hoping to bring back some of the feel of the old neighborhood.  We plan to do that through our block club.

My brother was talking about a yard he used to cut through - he said it reminded him of the "secret garden"  - said there was lots of plants and vines, sort of like a park, and a big tree with an old tire swing and the nicest people - he said that even though he cut through the yard, the lady that live there was never cruel or mean, even though she could have been.  Said he would always remember that family and never forget that back yard. 

How wonderful it is to have neighbors like that.  Tire swings in the back yard, big shady trees, kids playing.  I think this summer we'll have free ice cream days for the kids - maybe it would be fun to put up some of those ole tire swings again.