A handful of folks who actually live in and around Clark Ave. (I counted MAYBE 10) showed up last night at the old Gruss Hall across from St. Michael's to attend a Transportation for Livable Communities meeting.  Four council reps are part of this "planning" exercise - including from west to east : Matt Zone, Joe Cimperman, Brian Cummins and Anthony Brancatelli.  Zone and Cimperman were no shows.  Brancatelli spoke briefly then Cummins put on his lame En Español [1] routine for the non-existent Hispanic families in attendance. 

From Tremont West Development Corporation's website:

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Clark Avenue Planning Process Underway [2]

October 29, 2014

Clark Avenue Planning Project

October 29th: 6pm TLCI Public Meeting #1. Gruss Hall (3115 Scranton Road)
November 1st:  9-11am Walking and Biking Audit. Meet at Clark/ Fulton intersection.
December 11th:  6pm TLCI Public Meeting #2. Clark Recreation Center (5706 Clark Ave.)

Your input is needed.  Please fill out the online survey 

here [3].

  Tremont West Development Corporation, in partnership with Stockyard-Clark-Fulton-Brooklyn Centre Development Office has received a grant from the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) to hire a consultant and complete a Transportation for Livable Communities Initiative (TLCI) plan for the Clark Avenue corridor. The plan will include Clark Avenue from West 3rd Street to West 65th Street. Tremont West and our partners from Stockyard and the City have come together to hire Behnke, Inc. as the consultant to complete the plan.
  This TLCI plan will help guide future development plans for the Clark corridor while creating a more livable, pedestrian-friendly way of life.
  You may contact us with any questions by email or phone: Cory Riordan, coryriordan [at] tremontwest [dot] org, 216-575-0920x101, or  Meredith Baumgartner, meredithbaumgartner [at] tremontwest [dot] org, 216-575-0920x109.

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My editorial: Tremont West Development Corporation applied for the funding (supposedly along with) the non-descript and useless Stockyard, Clark-Fulton, Brooklyn Centre CDC - started up by Brian Cummins, because his ego is to big to work with Kevin Kelley at Old Brooklyn Development Corporation. Now all three neighborhoods get sub-service treatment.  

While I have no use for CDCs - they are sometimes and unfortunately a necessary evil--SO as a resident of Brooklyn Centre in Ward 14, I would much rather throw our lot in with the much more competent Tremont West under Cory Riordan or Old Brooklyn's CDC under Jeff Verespej, neighborhoods which have more of a historic connection to Brooklyn Centre than Stockyards or Clark-Fulton.  I am looking at my options to contest Cummins' decision to  lump Brooklyn Centre in with Clark-Fulton and Stockyards.

I have also attached the survey url, which you may fill out on line (thank you TWDC) https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ClarkAveSurvey [3]

The outcome will no doubt be another plan sitting on a shelf gathering dust like the Old Brooklyn Brooklyn Centre W. 25th TLCI completed in 2007, back when, the Old Brooklyn CDC [4] actually represented my neighborhood (they haven't gotten around to updating their website).  Now, since all of the council folks have to kick in money to the useless SCFBC - those of us in Brooklyn Centre - have no identity that will connect them to Old Brooklyn and the historic Brooklyn Township that NEVER included Clark-Fulton or Stockyards--another bonehead move by our GREEN Councilman Brian Cummins, who wants his own little baby CDC to control.  

Old Brooklyn W. 25th TLCI completed by City Architecture [5]

Clark Ave TLCI is contracted to Behnke Associates [6] 

You will eventually see a story on this in the Plain Press, which has sadly been commandeered by Cummins and Brancatelli, who are in collusion with their Thieving Communities guru - Jim Rokakis.  I guess the Ohio City Argus is officially dead. [7]

 

If you have any questions, call Ryan Nole at NOACA - he is very nice. [8]

  [8]