Public Comment

I do not want my tax dollars to go toward the killing of Palestinians. There is plenty of causes here in Ohio that need financial support rather than the genocide of a group of people. I am deeply saddened.

The city of Cleveland must condemn the genocide happening in Palestine and call for an immediate ceasefire. Cleveland should speak against the violence Israel is responsible for.

Please condemn the genocide of Palestinian people and condemn the US military support of Israel. The United States backs Israel because they need a military power in the Middle East to bully nearby countries into submission for resources like oil. It's not about justice for Israeli people-- many of them are also against the genocide of Palestinian people.

Cleveland City Council needs to divest from Israel and denounce the blatant and disgusting genocide happening in Gaza. The people of Palestine should not be suffering, and these acts supported by our government are disgusting.

Let there be NO public funding for professional soccer facilities or operations in Cleveland. Proponents are already setting the table for taxpayer handouts. Mayor Bibb and City Council are joining in the exuberance, as if any new entertainment, development or construction will actually benefit residents. As entertaining as these diversions can be, they DON'T necessarily bring a significant number of full-time, living-wage, family-sustaining jobs with benefits here. If these types of developments were truly economically beneficial to all residents, Cleveland wouldn't remain one of the poorest big cities in the United States. Our county, city and civic "leaders" need to get a grip on priorities: 1) poverty, 2) poverty and 3) poverty. Make progress there, and many other good things will fall into place. When everything is a priority, nothing is a priority. Our "leaders" are too scattered and running in six directions at once, and wasting time and money flitting around country and world pretending to be working. Professional soccer is a seductive distraction. Let its fans, boosters and investors carry the ball, and foot the bill. So, no taxpayer subsidies and no free or cheap land, no city backed low interest loans, no tax abatement and no TIF to private money-making schemes that just end up keep our poor people poor.

The landlords do not live in Cleveland. They are hiring management companies to collect the rent. The management companies are not keeping the properties up, the tenants are allowed to do what they want to do. People like myself and numerous amount of other home owners have to suffer. We are part of the solution not the problem. We have been living in Slovac Village for a long time and we would like to live peaceably and clean. These people move in and wreak havoc for a short period time and then move and wreak havoc somewhere else. Meanwhile, anyone who is descent they will move if they are renting. Myself and plenty other home owners can not afford to move. We do not want try to move somewhere else and pay a whole lot of rent for something that is not as solid as our properties. These out-of-town landlords need to be more responsible for their properties. It is so hard to contact the real owners that is why they leave it up to the so-called management companies who truly do not care. Thank you Jackie Beckette

Mayor Bibb and other city council reps or officials that publicly support Israel and its war crimes are way off base. Stop supporting Apartheid Israel and what is described as genocide on the Palestinian people.

It is archiac, cumbersome, and mind boggling that individuals who work in Cleveland but reside in another city cannot efile their CCA taxes like residents of Cleveland can. While it's a small example, it's representative of how challenging it is to do business in Cleveland. I voluntarily come to my office in downtown Cleveland but it's headaches and barriers like this that make working from home seem much more attractive (and cheaper, given I also pay income tax to my city of residence).

I read about the new rules being approved, including the increase to parking costs and possibility that parking may no longer be free on the weekends. The increase in costs is necessary, however, no longer offering free parking weekends is counterintuitive. Visiting downtown Cleveland is more accessible when there is available free parking on weekends. I disagree with Councilperson McCormack's comments that residents of downtown park their vehicles for the entire weekend, clogging up spaces. As a downtown resident, I can assure this council that a vast majority of downtown residents pay for a garage space. I feel that the benefit of free parking on weekends, such as offering accessible access to downtown Cleveland for outweighs the possible benefits. Respectfully Submitted, Josh Friedman W 9th Street Resident

I moved into my property on June 14, 2023 to discover a number of health and safety violations. On June 15, a City Inspector with the Housing Departments Program conducted a complaints inspection; found numerous violations which he detailed in his report; and set a compliance deadline for July 6, 2023. During the City Inspector's reinspection on July 7, 2023, he found that many attempted repairs were unsatisfactory, if they were even attempted at all. Moreover, during this second inspection, even more health and safety violations were identified and a new compliance deadline was set for July 24, 2023. During the City Inspector's third inspection of the property on July 24, 2023 (for which I was not present), several items identified in the second inspection were removed even though no repair was attempted. Some violations persisted, and another new compliance deadline was set for August 14, 2023. I brought this to the City Inspector's attention on August 7, 2023, but I received no immediate response. However, no final inspection was completed and per the City Inspector's response on August 14, 2023: "the complaint has been closed due to the fact that all health and safety violations have been addressed." When I asked how this was determined, especially since no final inspection actually occurred, I eventually learned from the City Inspector: "Property manager emailed me pictures of repairs to remaining violations, pictures are in the complaint file #: [edited] as well as the emails I received from property manager. After receiving the pictures the complaint was closed, there were no other health and safety issues." On August 24, 2023 I asked Chief Housing Inspector Messina for a copy of the photos, as I could prove that these repairs were either not attempted or unsatisfactory, and that the violations still persisted, as well as new ones which we had discovered. Chief Housing Inspector Messina replied to me on August 24, 2023, "The inspector was recently there. [...] we will not come back out." The Complaint Inspections page of the City of Cleveland website states, "Complaint Inspections are an integral part of the housing program. It is the policy of the Inspectional Services Division to investigate all citizen complaints regarding potential violations of the Housing Code." As I have reported several times, there are outstanding and compounding violations that were identified during these complaint inspections, which include: 1. Original inspection date 6/15/23: #4 - Properly repair. OVEN DOOR INSULATION IS LOOSE AND FALLING OFF AND BOTTOM BAKE TRAY IS NOT SECURED AND UNLEVEL Section: 1351.23, 1369.02 Current concern - the oven door is not properly insulated and the exterior surfaces exceed 250 degrees F. Property manager informed us to replace it at our own cost on August 10, 2023. 2. Original inspection date 6/15/23: #11 - Properly caulk/seal at:. WINDOW UNIT SASH AT WINDOW FRAME AND PROVIDE SCREEN Section: 1351.23, 1369.02 Current concern - the window no longer closes to catch the lock latch, and we have an unsecured window on our first floor. 3. Original inspection date 6/15/23: #12 - Properly repair. LOOSE STEP TREADS, DAMAGED RISERS (REPAIRS ALREADY MADE ARE UNSATISFACTORY), AND FLOOR BOARDS AT TOP LANDING Section: 1351.23, 1369.02 Current concern - the second step tread is still broken and is getting worse. 4. Original inspection date 6/15/23: #15 - Repair/replace door to properly close. REPAIR DOOR JAMB AND REPLACE MISSING STRIKE PLATE Section: 1351.23, 1369.02 Current concern - the door jamb was never repaired as instructed 5. Original inspection date 7/7/23: #3 - Replace missing pull chain to light fixture. 's Section: 1351.20, 1369.09 Current concern - this work was not completed, there are still lights we can't turn off 6. Original inspection date 7/7/23: #7 - Replace damaged/missing area(s) of ceiling in a workmanlike manner. Area to be finished and painted to match existing ceiling.. CLOSE OFF OPEN SECTIONS WHERE 1ST FLOOR CAN BE SEEN Section: 1351.27, 1369.06 Current concern - this work was not completed, not all open sections were closed. 7. Original inspection date 7/7/23: #8 - Secure loose floor covering. CARPET Section: 1351.27, 1369.06 Current concern - no repair attempt was made, and problem is getting worse 8. Original inspection date 7/723: #15 - Replace damaged floor covering. OR REFINISH FLOOR (REPLACE MISSING FINISH TO FLOOR AT BARE WOOD) Section: 1351.27, 1369.06 Current concern - We keep cutting our feet on the floors. No repair attempted, informed by property manager on July 20, 2023 they will not repair at this time. 9. Original inspection date 7/7/23: #19 - Replace damaged floor covering. OR REFINISH FLOOR (REPLACE FINISH TO BARE WOOD) Section: 1351.27, 1369.06 Current concern - We keep cutting our feet on the floors. No repair attempted, informed by property manager on July 20, 2023 they will not repair at this time. 10. Originally identified on point of sale inspection - Garage. No work to address the garage has been completed since the removal of the tree on July 11, 2023. In addition to the outstanding violations, there are a few new concerns that we have: 1. The sink in the downstairs bathroom is about to collapse off the wall. We believe it was damaged by the property manager during the attempted repairs to the window in the same room. 2. The handrail to the basement is positioned too low to be effective, and it does not extend the full length of the stairs. 3. The floor in the 3rd floor bedroom south is in worse condition than the other rooms identified. Long splinters, broken boards, and large holes in the floor. 4. There is an active leak in the master bedroom ceiling. I am very frustrated by Chief Housing Inspector Messina's response that these issues are "aesthetic" when they clearly are far, far worse than that. Moreover, the taking as satisfactory evidence of the property manager's word that these repairs were complete and now the refusal to perform an inspection does not speak highly of the commitment "to investigate all citizen complaints regarding potential violations of the Housing Code." Moreover, as a result of these ongoing violations, the property managers are engaging in increasingly retaliatory behaviors, some of which are verbally and physically aggressive, which make us feel even more unsafe in our home. We reached out to the Housing Department to help us address these issues, but by ignoring them, it is contributing to this ongoing behavior.