Last weekend I had the pleasure of being at the finish line of the 5k Pierogi Dash, serving food to the runners who had just crossed the finish line.
"Are you Rebecca?" people kept asking.
"I sure am!" I would reply as I handed them sour-cream covered pierogi and a smokie. I loved what people said next:
"You helped me get a garbage can!"
"I always appreciate it, you returned my call so quickly."
"You got the handicap parking spot on my street. Thank you!"
It was great to put so many names to faces of the people who interact with the office. As always, if you see me out at a summer event, I love meeting residents in person. Please feel to come up and say hello.
The summer months are heating up with lots of events and activities. Read on for what's coming up in the neighborhood.
All the best,
Councilwoman Rebecca Maurer
Grass and Potholes
For all the positive comments like the ones at the Pierogi Dash, there are also lots of negative ones -- calls where our office is limited in what we can offer
Our two biggest issues this time of year are lots that need to be mowed and streets that need to be repaved. We want to mow every lot every other week, and we want to repave all the streets. But, as we're often explaining to people on the phone, the resources are limited.
I'm a big believe that even if we cannot do something, government should be in the business of transparently explaining why. That's why I've set up two special community meetings with the administration to explain how the city mows lots and how the pavement management system works.
We are hoping to improve both systems in the years ahead, so I'm looking forward to sharing with you where we are and where we are going.
Here's the information one more time:
Community Meeting: Grass & Lot Mowing
Wednesday, June 21
6:00-7:30pm
Polish American Cultural Center
6501 Lansing Avenue
Community Meeting: Road Repaving
Thursday, July 27
6:00-7:30pm
Pearl Road United Methodist Church
4200 Pearl Road
See you there!
Calgary Park
For residents in Brooklyn Centre, we were thrilled to kick off the Calgary Park redesign and neighborhood engagement process last month. We had a great turnout of neighbors meeting up at Calgary Park to conduct a walk-through.
We are keeping the conversation going, both about the park and the surrounding neighborhood. If you live in the area, we would love you to participate:
Join us on June 14th at 6pm at Quisqueya La Bella on Denison Avenue for a community design conversation.
Air Quality
Neighborhoods in Ward 12 have some of the highest asthma rates in the city[7]. Our chronic exposure to highway exhaust and industrial uses like the steel mill already make us an epicenter for these chronic lung issues.
That's why this week's news about wildfire smoke[8] causing bad air quality has affected many of our residents.
If you are looking local updates, go to https://www.airnow.gov/[9] or add the IQ Air as an app on your phone.
As of right now, here is the rating in the 44109 and 44105 zip codes.
I know I really felt it on Wednesday after spending a lot of time outside. If you or your children have asthma or other lung issues, take care for any AQI index above 100.
Above 150 AQI and the air is unsafe for everybody! Stay inside as much as you can, keep the windows closed, and use air purifiers if you have them.
Outside of this smoke event, if you ever experience odd smells or have air quality issues from our industrial neighbors, call the Cleveland Division of Air Quality. They are very responsive to messages left on their 24/7 hotline: (216) 664-7442
Upcoming Events
We have a lot of events coming up in the neighborhood.
On Tuesday, June 13th I will be at the Forest City Block Club to talk about the redesign of the Forest City Park. The meeting is 7pm at the church at 3589 Kimmel Rd.
