Public Comment

I would like to see improved traffic enforcement on Lake Avenue. Drivers on Lake Avenue regularly reach speeds of >45mph coming off of the Shoreway. This poses a significant risk to the safety and well-being of our neighborhood's children. The speeding on Lake Avenue is out of control. The lack of enforcement created a frightful scenario for our children during the annual Edgewater 'Trick-or-Treat', when the neighborhood hosted 100's of pedestrians and drivers were flying down Lake Avenue at unsafe speeds. To keep our children safe, I would urge City Council and the City of Cleveland to consider finding a way to calm traffic on Lake Avenue. Perhaps lowering the speed limit? The pedestrian death rate in >30mph zones is 3x higher than in 25mph traffic zones.

Stop housing court and housing inspectors from attacking seniors, low and moderate working poor in our Clark Fulton neighborhood. The SIP Selective Intervention Program misleads homeowners when this is nothing more than a “probation” office not a “clinic” and Housing Specialists are nothing more than “probation officers” making defendants “criminals” there is abuse of authority under the color of the law for code enforcement which is compromising your Constitutional rights including your 14th, 4th amendment rights. There’s another to handle this problem rather than bankrupt citizens of Cleveland. We are not the ones you should be going after in court!

The state of the Amtrak station in Cleveland is pretty abysmal. The station is small and old, and parking is incredibly confusing and poorly marked. I was shocked at the state this city allowed such an important pathway in and out of Cleveland to be in.

I write in strong support for the Zaclon River Landing project on the Cuyahoga River. As one of the project’s volunteers, I am excited to encourage City Council to support the application by West Creek Conservancy to the Clean Ohio Fund program by the Ohio Department of Public Works. The funds being applied for will make an accessible, ADA compliant ramp system which will allow members of the community to access the Cuyahoga River. The group organizing the creation of this park are not seeking funds from the City of Cleveland, and have amassed funds to date from private donors and the Brownfields Fund to “green” the space. In addition to river access, the plans call for expanded greenspace, an historical information kiosk, and public restrooms for cyclists and runners. This project has been highlighted enthusiastically by the Vision for the Valley, and has also obtained the support of Cuyahoga County (through the Brownfields Grant), Cuyahoga Soil and Water (through a recent ODNR application), Flats Forward, and several other waterway stakeholders. Additionally, there is a budding relationship with CWRU, as one of the University’s student organizations will maintain the site. This park is the lone project currently in development in Jefferson Link Zone of the Vision for the Valley plan. The support of City Council will help transform this industrial area of the Cuyahoga River into a mixed-use area, so that human-powered watercraft can safely transit the Cuyahoga Water Trail. There are no “safe harbors” for recreational river users between the southern City Limits and the Flats entertainment area, and the Zaclon River Landing solves for that public safety concern. This concept has been applauded by industrial river stakeholders and shippers’ organizations as being a very positive thing. Additionally, any river infrastructure will be outside of the Federal Channel, and the project has been vetted in a preliminary way by the Army Corps of Engineers twice as being sheltered and unobtrusive to commercial traffic. This project is the collaboration of several greenspace & river stakeholders, who have come together as a nonprofit collaborative to put this former industrial site to good use. City Council’s support in the Clean Ohio Fund application will significantly assist in making yet another part of Cleveland great.

OFFICIAL LGBT COMMUNITY CENTER OF GREATER CLEVELAND STATEMENT CITING SUPPORT OF UPCOMING CITY OF CLEVELAND ANTI-CONVERSION THERAPY ORIDINANCE Since 1975, the mission of the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland has been to provide the vital resource, care and support for members of Northeast Ohio’s LGBTQ+ community. Over the course of the organization’s history, we have proudly advocated and celebrated major steps forward in a long-standing movement that began with a brick at 53 Christopher Street, New York City in June 1969. In the last decade alone, we had realized some of the most progressive societal shifts towards the equitable treatment of LGBTQ+ individuals leading to the recognition of same-sex marriages in all corners of the United States. But as any student of history may have been taught, the historical and political landscapes of this country have swung like a pendulum, back and forth between social progression and more conservative ideology. We have without question experienced a swing to the latter in recent years and it has shown through a national movement to censor literature and speech within our schools. It has shown through legislation prohibiting youth from enjoying the comfort of their own identity within the realms of sport as well as seeking gender affirming medical care. And with this swing has seen the resurgence of a harmful practice that today we proudly take a stance against. Conversion therapy is an aggressive tactic to suppress an individual’s own naturally occurring instincts and has time and again proven to lead to more serious long-term damage to the mental health of LGBTQIA+ individuals, especially youth. This practice has widely been condemned as having no scientific basis and often incorporates verbal, physical and even sexual abuse [1]. Numerous studies have shown that this practice, which often aims to coerce an individual to alter their sexual preference or gender identity through the aforementioned abusive behavior, is generally unsuccessful and has widely been discredited by health professionals and even past practitioners [2]. The LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland firmly supports any action that helps improve the quality of life and promotes equality for every individual here in Cleveland, Ohio. For too long this practice has damaged LGBTQ+ youth’s mental well-being and has hindered an individual’s ability to accept one’s identity without guilt or shame. With this ordinance, we call for support from City of Cleveland leadership, who have the ability to take a step in swinging the pendulum away from this destructive practice and back towards one of unity, acceptance and love. We thank our leaders in council for hearing this ordinance and hope for a resolution that promotes the respect and dignity each individual within our Cleveland community so justly deserves. [1]Collins, Donald. “The Damaging Mental Health Effects of LGBTQ+ Conversion Therapy.” Psych Central, 25 June 2021, psychcentral.com/news/conversion-therapy-for-lgbt-kids-linked-to-higher-risks-of-depression-suicide. [2]Cheers, Hannah. Proposal of Alternative Solutions to Address Children’s Rights Violation: Conversion Therapy | Social Work and Policy Studies: Social Justice, Practice and Theory. 2019, openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/index.php/SWPS/article/view/14075.

Holy wow, I just learned about what ShotSpotter is. This is chilling. Please, we do NOT need more surveillance in our communities. In addition, ShotSpotter is NOT shown to actually reduce crime. Furthermore, ShotSpotter has led to false convictions. It is shown to cause drain on police resources. ShotSpotter also erodes trust in a community and enhances the horrifying effects of racist policing. This will not only be harmful to our communities, but it will be a waste of money and result in more lawsuits for misconduct. We say NO to ShotSpotter, and YES to investments in programming and the environment that enrich and support our community and our neighbors.

Dear Cleveland City Council, I’m writing with regards to Ordinance 895-2022 Transformative Public Art Projects Fund Program, on the agenda for the City Council meeting on Oct. 3rd. The amended Ordinance reads: “That the Director of City Planning is authorized to create and administer the “Transformative Public Art Projects Fund Program” to provide financial assistance to provide grants to Community Development Corporations and other public and private entities for publicly accessible art programs in the estimated amount of $3,000,000. Artist participation in the projects funded by this program shall include 50% local artist participation.” I would like to ask that you please do not vote in favor of this Ordinance until it reads “Artist participation in the projects funded by this program shall include 100% Cleveland artist participation.” Please support Cleveland artists. Thank you, Laura Cyrocki 11303 Hessler Road, Ward 6 216-288-9587

I would like to ask that this Ordinance regarding partnership with ShotSpotter is NOT passed. The technology does not work (watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL6qkaYpekI if you have not) and the placement of the detectors promotes discriminatory policing. Thank you, Deborah Kohn 44120

The greed of people who own homes for rent . How are people going to be able to afford to rent a decent place to live when every landlord wants so much money. We are being made to move by a new owner and we have been looking for a month a half. There is nothing out there below 900 to1500 dollars. Social security only goes so far. This unacceptable and unexcusable . Something must be done now . NOW! So as council members of the city of Cleveland if you people can't do nothing to make this right or remedy this then you need to be fired and get out of office right now so somebody else that can take care of it this this is ridiculous

These two projects are a colossal waste of public money and I could not be more unsupportive of either of them. Use our taxes to fight poverty not arrest and jail the impoverished