Public Comment

I am a Hindu Priest Superior of my Ashram by the name of "The Gandhian Brahminical Oder of Krishna Consciousness", In the world of Hindu Ashrams, any priest so motivated may form his own denomination and ashram at will, if Gods spirit motivates such a person, the correct path is one of bold action by faith. There is no "Mother" Church in the Hindu faith, all ashrams are individualistic founded by small orders of priests, and "initiates" (those who are in training and studying to become priests). The fact that you have probably never heard of me or my order is not surprising, it is the nature of our faith to remain as local as possible to address the humanistic needs of those in need, whether they are Hindu or not. Each Ashram, selects a social agenda within their means to address, social activism and charity to those in need is a requirement of the Hindu Faith and the people who become engaged in a particular agenda of a specific ashram. Our agenda is homelessness, we have come up with a project plan which we would like to share with yu for your consideration. Homeless persons often camp on public or even private property, where they are promptly run out back into the streets, many times these persons are families with children, a heartbreaking situation to be sure. The goal of our ashram is to establish a legal and safe "Sanctuary Village, RV, Car, and tent "city" where any homeless person may camp and stay indefinitely, we will supply al utilities and sanitation facilities at our cost. Of course we must have a few rules, no criminal activity can be tolerated, no intolerance or bullying or stalking can be tolerated, certain basic humanistic rules must be in place. But beyond that, there are few other rules at all, other than common sense. The Priests will interface with every available community resource that is willing to contribute to the welfare of the residents of the sanctuary village, food banks, volunteer medical assistance, job training and placement, substance abuse assistance, anything we can possibly locate to assist in this effort and become a part of the project personally, our goal being for the community at large to be encouraged to take a personal interest in the project and become personally involved with the people suffering from the devastating plague of homelessness. Our second goal is to humanize the problem, putting the smudged faces of the children of homeless families, giving the problem a human perspective to motivate the communities all across America to take a direct responsibility to pitch in and make this problem, their problem, and not the problem of an overtaxed government, not the problem of the overburdened welfare system, but the problem of every decent caring person in the community to take under their consciousness and help in any way they can. this is our goal as a small unheard of band of rather idealistic h=Hindu Priests and initiates. We would like you to table this project in your chambers, and hopefully to adopt a similar project of your own design, secular or religious based, it doesn't matter, funded by public dollars or private grants, it doesn't matter, design it and run it any way that best suites your abilities and resources. We hope, this idea will spread, from city to city, state to state, all across America, and each community comes together to create "Sanctuary Cities" of their own, their way. Please consider this project carefullly Sincerely Father Frater, Priest Superior, The Gandhian Brahminical Oder of Krishna Consciousness

Committing war crimes, genocide, ethnic cleansing is being carried in Gaza and Palestine by the Zionist regime so called Israel, approved, supported, and backed the free world, and developed countries,

Gaza and Palestine are living in CONCENTRATION CAMPS, ran by the Zionist regime called Israel, that is blindly draining the whole Free world, and developed countries financial economics and resources. It's shameful that these well developed countries blindfolded by a whole bunch of lies about being antiemetic if you don't support the war crimes being committed against women and children in Gaza and Palestine.

I am ashamed to see that the Cleveland City Council Members have ignored the cries of their own constituents who have been requesting a resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza for around a month now. They continue to ignore and remain silent on this issue. Why is that? Do they not agree with trying to prevent the loss of thousands of innocent lives? Do they not think the people in Gaza deserve a chance to live? Do they support the mass bombings that Israel continues to drop on civilians? What ever the reason is, I am disgusted by the lack of action. Cities like Akron and Detriot have already passed resolution asking our country to push for a ceasefire in Gaza. If these cities can stand up for what is right, then so can/should Cleveland. Silence makes you complicit with the genocide of a people who deserve to live.

Hello, I work as a tenant-landlord mediation advocate for a local nonprofit. Over the past several months, we have seen a significant increase in the number of residents facing eviction. Rental assistance resources are dried up; the shelters are all full; landlords have a stranglehold on the housing court system; people have nobody to turn to for assistance. The landlord- and developer-driven housing agenda has left Clevelanders, literally, out in the cold. Rents go up while wages stay stagnant. Housing voucher programs are inadequate, and the process for obtaining Section 8 housing takes so long that many people are thrown onto the street before they even have a chance to find a home. We need more public programs. We need to stop the privatization of public social services. The City of Cleveland has a responsibility to each and every citizen to ensure their basic human needs are met and their human rights upheld. There is absolutely no excuse for people to be sleeping on the street. We are witnessing a humanitarian crisis in our city, and as winter approaches, the horror and suffering will only increase. The City of Cleveland must introduce emergency programs for housing every citizen and must stop landlords, many of whom do not even reside in this city, from evicting tenants. We need more public housing, and in the meantime, a moratorium on evictions is crucial. Thank you. Adam Barrington

I do not come here to read about Palestine and Israel. City Council members are literal no bodies in and out of Cleveland. Why are we expecting them to do something? Do you people know how the actual Government works?

I truly do not have the words to describe what is happening in Palestine. More than 11,200 people have been killed, nothing can justify this. Please stop supporting Israel.

I’ve been feeling heartbroken by the city I came to love. Please call for a ceasefire to prevent this horrifying death toll in escalating throughout the region.

I don't use internet that often. However, out of town protestors are distracting City Hall. I'm going to briefly restate my Public Comment from Oct. 16. My goal is to become a household name with all members of City Council. Eight years ago, Galleria Security told me that I was banned for life from entering the Galleria/Erieview Tower/YMCA complex. Galleria Security wrongly accused me of masturbating in the restrooms-something I did not do. I am a victim of rumors and corporate conspiracy. I am writing monthly letters to James Kassouf, who owns the Erieview Tower. 'Revitalizing the Erieview Tower' is currently going through City Council, so it's important for council members to know about the controversial procedures at the Erieview Tower, owned by James Kassouf. Once again, I am wrongly banned at the Galleria/Erieview Tower/YMCA complex. I previously spoke on Oct. 16 about this. I am a 49 year old man.

City council and the mayor's office has a duty to respond to the voices of its citizens calling daily for an end to the genocide in Gaza. We refuse to let you use public dollars to fuel mass murder in our names. I ask city council and the mayor's office to publicly condemn the genocidal actions of the Israeli state, to call for an immediate ceasefire, and to refuse to fund Israel's "war." The loss of human life---10,000 human lives lost and growing---is not a partisan issue. If you cannot make a firm stand against blatant moral wrongs for fear of political unpopularity, if you actively oppose a ceasefire in Gaza knowing you are enshrining the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians not dissimilar to your own constituents, you have no business holding public office, and I call on you to step down.