Cleveland's Ward 14 community is making great strides in reacting to years of Community Development and Neighborhood Stabilization deprivation... Grassroots efforts, citizen participation, and proactive people are uniting to revitalize our community spirit.
The Spring of 2011 is showing promise with block clubs uniting again, community gardeners planting seeds, citizens participating in Safety Committees & Housing Committees, Public Servants being held to standards, advocates inspiring folks to fight for their rights in a United front, and communications being shared in multiple directions. Stakeholders at countless levels are speaking up too by notifying the political regimes that have violated our citizens that we are a vested community at large and we will no longer tolerate abusive practices.
To drive along the streets of our community; you might see business investment beginning to grow too. I have seen real estate investors doing major projects that will revitalize vacant buildings along corridors. I have spoken to lenders who are keeping their eyes on our neighorhood as it begins to transform.
The "Master Plans" are pending....fragments are out there and being worked by various players at CDC's. The housing code enforcers driven by CDC's (which are driven by Councilmen) are out there too writing up houses for city inspectors to cite and send to housing court. Vacant properties are being targeted for demolition; particularly arson properties. Blight is looking at being erased....but this all will take years....This big not for profit business is at a point that really needs to remember who the "people" are that live here and wish to invest... Prayerfully, tactics to steer out investors will not continue.
Today, next to Dollar Bank on West 25th Street near Clark, an Oppossum was trapped on a fence, somehow befuddled as to what to do next....Passers by were at eye level with this long tailed, cat sized, animal...foaming at the mouth. Development is evicting varment tenants from once vacant buildings. Time will tell how everyone works through these changes to Cleveland's Near West Side Ward 14...
If you see or hear about ongoing projects in Ward 14, will you post them here, please? Thanks for helping to track 2011 progress along the way!