Presort Standard U.S. Postage PAID Cleveland, Ohio Permit No. 2893 fice, (216) 664-4236 s of OR AND VOLUNTEERS. [email protected] Call Mary Louise in Help make our For more information: John Copic at (216) 531-6790 Email Collinwood newspaper Call
Councilman Michael D. Polensek WRITERS and our neighborhood better!
Cleveland City Council - Ward 11 Councilman Polensek’ Cleveland City Hall, Room 220 The Ward 11 Citizen The Collinwood Observer is in need of 601 Lakeside Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44114 Keep Ward 11 Strong Phone: (216) 664-4236 Email: [email protected] UPCOMING ater any artment artment
Mark Your t.) District
Calendar COMMUNITY Alive on th MEETINGS Affairs
East 185 T&T Collinwood Homeowners’ & Tenants’ Association A 1st Wednesday of the Month at 7 pm Parade & Sidewalk Sale Dominion Gas (216) 664-3130 (216) 881-8247 (216) 664-4600 (216) 664-2910 (216) 623-5500 (216) 664-4529 1-800-288-2020 1-800-362-7557 1-800-589-3101
St. Mary’s School, 15519 Holmes Ave. (881 East 152 S of Consumer Illuminating Comp of Building & Housing East 185th Street Area Block Watch ayne Drummond / (216) 623-5505
May 21, 2011 Cleveland Police 5 City of Cleveland Dep nd City of Cleveland Dep . W 2 Tuesday of the Month at 6 pm Cleveland Public Power (CPP) Numbers to Know:
th Numbers to Know: Lithuanian Village Hall, 877 East 185 St. (Rear Entrance) Parade Sidewalk City of Cleveland Division of W Utility & City Contact Utility & City Contact Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District Starts at 11 am Sale Cmdr Nottingham Civic Club The parade kicks off this Starts immediately Community Service Unit (CSU) / (216) 623-5522 rd 3 Tuesday of the Month at 7 pm event. It will begin at AFTER parade; Nottingham United Methodist Church, 18316 St. Clair Ave. - Neff Rd. Park and at ends at 5 pm - Villa Angela-St. Joseph Come enjoy great food ’s E. 152nd Street Block Watch
High School. and retail vendors! Art th ebsite:
4 Wednesday of the Month at 6 pm aterloo W .ArtsCollinwood.org B&M Bar-B-Que, 15116 Lakeshore Blvd. at E. 152nd St. For more information about this neighborhood event, TS CAMP AR call Denise Lorek at Northeast Shores (216-481-7660). www 18 - 21
Please become a stakeholder in our community: Annual Member Y , times and films to be endors, Performers and GET INVOLVED! Join Councilman Polensek’s , MA Y Arts Collinwood Gallery takes place on W Applications being take now Phone:
EMAIL LIST (216) 692-9500 Art Center TURDA Events Calendar TS FEST .waterlooartsfest.com for more infor - SA Email the Councilman at Collinwood! 20 10 AR Y Y
[email protected] , JUNE 25 Y Phone: Phone: to get on the list for Ward 11 updates and AUGUST 5 TS COLLINWOOD SUMMER , JUNE 17 , MA isit www 1 - Arts Collinwood, the Collinwood Branch of the Happenings at Arts aterloo Rd. Y Y (614) 466-4583 . Brochures describing the program will be avail
(614) 466-8012 1 . Opening Reception is from 6 - 9 pm.
important neighborhood alerts. In the body of your email, AR
Email: Email: Y TERLOO Artists, Musicians, Food V [email protected] [email protected] please include the following: your full name, your phone number TURDA Arts Collinwood Gallery hosts the 15605 W Road from noon - 7 pm. for more. V FRIDA announced. JUL mation. The will take place in the Nan and Miles Kennedy Center WA WEDNESDA Ohio Independent Film Festival takes place in the Nan and Miles Kennedy from 6 - 9 pm. FRIDA Opening Reception of work by Melinda Laszcynski and Sean Sweeney at the Show SA Cleveland Public Library and other locations soon. able at and your physical address. Cleveland, OH 441 The WardSPRING 11 2011 Citizen Keeping you informed about our neighborhood! A Message from Your Councilman Michael D. Polensek Dear Friends: there is anything suspicious around your or your all who helped bring Councilman, Ward 11 Spring is finally here! With it comes the neighbor’s property. We know there have been this long anticipated obvious issues like road repair, yard cleanup criminals breaking into properties and even project to reality. We are a lakefront communi- and neighborhood beautification. stealing downspouts and gutters from occupied ty and are very protective of it. First, I don’t have to tell anyone about the homes. If we all do our part, those attempting to Finally, and by no means least, I wish to extreme freeze-and-thaw cycle we experienced diminish the “quality of life” in our neighbor- thank all who do so very much on behalf of our this past winter; as a result we have more pot- hood, will be dealt with accordingly. Also, ward whether it be with our local development holes and ruts than we have had in a long time. please call the police for any curfew or loud corporations or with our numerous community If there is a bad pothole or rut on your street, music violations on your street. groups. We don’t say “Thank You” often please call (216) 664-2510. In addition, anyone I hope you have all had the opportunity to enough to those who help to keep our commu- who drives on Nottingham Road under the CSX drive past the site of our new recreation center nity viable. It isn’t until we lose someone that Bridge, just North of St Clair, knows what a now under construction on Lakeshore we think about how much they did for the hazard the roadway has become. The Boulevard. Work is about 70 percent complete neighborhood. In early April we lost Mr. Willis Department of Public Works and the “Tip” Nichols, the President of the Division of Streets is accessing the con- I challenge each and every Nottingham Civic Club and the volun- dition and trying to come up with a teer Director of the Nottingham Youth solution, once and for all, to deal with one of us in Ward 11 to Center for 35 years. He was to be this horrible road condition. become active volunteers honored as the “Ward 11 Senior of the This time of the year will bring us Year” this very May. His wife, more challenges than ever before with and engaged stakeholders Charlotte, will be accepting this regard to foreclosed properties which posthumous award on his behalf. We are vacant. If there is a home on your in our community. miss him greatly. Having said that, in street that falls in this category, please Tip’s spirit of giving, I challenge each consider helping to keep the front lawn cut but now starts the interior fit and finish which is and every one of us in Ward 11 to become when you cut your own lawn. I know this is a very labor intensive. Watch for continued active volunteers and engaged stakeholders in lot to ask; however, the City’s Division of Park updates on this state-of-the-art complex. our community. If you would like to know how Maintenance now has the responsibility of cut- On another positive note, I wish to welcome to become involved, please contact my office at ting grass on 16,000 empty lots and abandoned Flow Polymers, a manufacturing company I (216) 664-4236. homes throughout the city. Fortunately, Ward 11 have been working with for some time now, to Lastly, if you have an email address don’t has significantly fewer properties that need to the Ward 11 community. They are in the process forget to JOIN MY EMAIL LIST. Those who be maintained, as compared to other wards. of moving into 80,000 sq. ft. of the Cleveland join can receive updates on all Ward 11 activi- Nonetheless, the task of maintaining these Industrial Innovation Center (CiiC) located at ties, alerts, issues and opportunities. My email properties is becoming increasingly difficult. 17000 St Clair Avenue. They are investing sev- is [email protected]. Please consider helping. If you do cut the front eral million dollars in this location with the grass at an abandoned property please call prospect of more jobs coming to our ward. HAVE A GREAT SPRING AND (216) 420-8300 (Call Intake Center) to alert the The massive, $197 million, Euclid Creek SUMMER! HOPE TO SEE YOU division, so that their crews can focus their Tunnel Project has officially begun just across AT WARD EVENTS! attention on the back yard clean up. Thank you the border in the Village of Bratenahl, south of for making your street a better place to live. I-90. This project, once completed, will have a Furthermore, please keep an eye out on your tremendous effect on the water quality in Euclid street and immediately call the police (911) if Creek and our Lakefront State Parks. Thanks to
Euclid Creek Restoration Begins at Wildwood State Park in Ward 11 Councilman Mike Polensek wants all Ward 11 residents know about the Lacustrine Refuge, an exciting wetland restoration project located in Wildwood State Park in the Euclid Creek Watershed on the main branch of Euclid Creek. The Cuyahoga Soil and Water Conservation District was awarded $1,396,050 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) to fund the Refuge. The Lacustrine Refuge project will restore three acres of urban The Lacustrine Refuge project provides a rare opportunity for residents coastal wetlands at Duck Island and restore 1,100 linear feet of shoreline of the Ward 11 community to connect with nature and to experience plant to serve as a fish habitat refuge and nursery for the urban coastal estuary species long displaced from our region and to enjoy native wildlife species zone. In addition, eroding banks along the creek will be stabilized and which have disappeared. Keep updated on this exciting project by check- invasive plants replaced with native plants to attract more birds and ing the Euclid Creek website: amphibians to the area. www.cuyahogaswcd.org/EuclidCreekFiles/EC_LacustrineRefuge.htm SENIOR NEWS UPDATE
SENIORS SIGN UP NOW! Senior Transporatation Connection 2011 Lawn New service gives Ward 11 seniors mobility options! Cutting Councilman Mike Polensek is proud to Program announce a new and convenient commuter service for Ward 11’s older residents called Senior The Cleveland Department of Transportation Connection (STC). This weekly Aging has begun accepting applications for the service, funded by Councilman Polensek, is for grass cutting program for Cleveland seniors. residents 60 years of age or older who live in Services begin in April and continue through Ward 11 and have limited options for trans- October 28, 2011. To qualify, the home receiving portation. Here’s what you need to know about visit/appointment. the service must be owner occupied and everyone this service: Riders must schedule a trip by noon, two in the household must be 60 years of age or older. days before they travel, but may schedule up to The only exception to this rule is if a member or HOW TO USE STC two weeks in advance. Riders are also expected members of the household are functionally dis- First time riders must call the Cleveland to contact the call center by 7:00 am to cancel abled. To apply or to learn more about this great Department of Aging at (216) 664-2833. any trip. service, call (216) 664-3998 or (216) 664-4694. Riders need to provide a name, address, phone number and emergency contact information. PRIORITY TRIPS Sign Up Now for Property Intake workers will verify the home address, Medical related trips are a priority and must be Tax Reduction for Seniors and refer the rider to the provider — Senior located within Cuyahoga County. Homestead Exemption applications are avail- Transportation Connection (1-800-983-4STC or Personal shopping and errands must be within able now through June 6, 2011. Cuyahoga 1-800-983-4782.) the City of Cleveland. Riders are limited to five County owner occupants who are at least 65 or (5) shopping bags per trip. A fare of $1.00 per permanently disabled are eligible. The program SCHEDULING YOUR RIDE one way trip will be charged. Drivers are reduces real property taxes for seniors and dis- STC will provide two (2) one way trips not permitted to make change on the van or abled homeowners regardless of their income. per week to eligible riders. Riders must call accept tips. Councilman Polensek encourages all who qualify 1-800-983-4782 to schedule a trip. Service is Riders may have a personal care assistant to call (216) 443-7050 for more information on available Monday through Friday, 8:30 am - (PCA) or escort with them; however they how to apply. 4:30 pm. Riders need to provide STC with infor- must provide this information when scheduling mation including the name, address, phone num- the trip. No fare is charged for PCA/Escort riders Lakes Shore Golden Age Center ber of the destination and the duration of the as long as they are assisting the individual. In Ward 11 / 16600 Lakeshore Avenue Mondays - Thursdays /11 am - 3 pm Seniors age 60 and older can enjoy great educational and Spring Don’t flush outdated medicines down the toilet recreational activities such as card games, line dancing, or sink because sewage treatment plants don’t day trips, computer classes. Seniors are provided a hot effectively destroy them. Instead, crush pills, nutritious lunchtime meal (a $1.00 donation is appreciat- Cleaning ed but NOT required). For more information about all wrap them up, conceal any packaging and of their programs, call (216) 481-0631. Safety Tip discard with your regular trash on Monday.
Our Community Needs You! Vacant Property and Lot Maintenance Service Approximately once every seven weeks during the growing season Join Cleveland’s (April – Sept.), the City of Cleveland services vacant properties. Auxiliary Police FIRST, supervisors identify vacant properties with grass or weeds over 8 inches or with excessive litter and/or debris. NEXT vacant lots are cut with Safety in our communi- tractors while hand crews mow vacant houses. The rubbish and debris is ty is everyone’s concern stacked for pick up. LASTLY, rubbish packer crews remove collected trash — not just that of our and debris within 1–3 days. A fee is also assessed to property owners for police officers. this service. This process is done throughout the green season. Councilman Polensek encourages residents who care about the quality RESIDENTS... if a vacant, unkept property is near your home and you, as a good neighbor, please cut the of life in Ward 11 to consider becoming a front lawn of that property, call (216) 420-8300 so that the City can come out and cut the back yard. Also call that member of Cleveland’s auxiliary police. number for any other vacant property service requests. Councilman Polensek thanks those proactive residents trying to keep our neighborhood clean! Remember: a street is only as good as the people who live on it. Auxiliary officers are considered the eyes and ears of the Cleveland Police Department. Applicants must be 18 years or older and, if FREE Mulch for Cleveland Residents chosen, must volunteer 16 hours a month to the unit. Some of the duties of auxiliary members This spring the City of Cleveland is offering residents free mulch made from 321 tons of recycled Christmas trees. Clevelanders can get a maximum of one (1) cubic yard of mulch, while sup- include neighborhood foot patrols, assisting plies last. Here’s how Ward 11 gardeners can get their free mulch: those in need (such as bad storms) and Bring a container for hauling (bags, cans Show proof Drive up. Load up. Drive off! responding to motor accidents and helping to 1 or boxes) to Rosby’s Resource & Recovery, 2 of residency 3 NOTE: Vehicles with commercial direct traffic. 54 E. Schaaf Rd., Cleveland, OH 44131. in Cleveland. plates, dump trucks, stake body, etc. will To find out more about the Auxiliary Police Hours: Mon. - Fri. / 9 am - 4 pm • (216) 661-6102, ext. 3 NOT be permitted. Unit and how to apply, call (216) 623-5080.
2 The Ward 11 Citizen Arts Collinwood Programs: (216) 692-9500 Salvation Army (Ward 11 Recreation Pr NSDC Neighborhood News Don’t Get Scammed Pick Your Neighbor $500 Referral Program This Spring! Northeast Shores has implemented the Pick Your Neighbor Referral GREG POLLARD, Ward 11 Safety Liaison, has been program which can earn you $500 in extra money just by referring receiving complaints about scams recently. Below are a family, friend, co-worker to purchase one of our newly renovated single family a few that we wanted to bring to your attention: home. You can drive or walk to East 163rd in Waterloo and see 387 E. 163rd and 391 E. 163rd being transformed into beautiful single family homes. Do your part and refer someone to live in north shore Collinwood Today! The Long Lost Relative Scam: This scam begins with the victim receiving a letter, 317 East 156th Street Contact Camille Maxwell, Real Estate Development Director at 481-7660, ext. 30 to tour these homes and find out more information regarding this program. email, or a fax from someone with a very confidential Cleveland, OH 44110 business proposal. The letter states that an individual, ______worth millions of dollars, has died without leaving a will. Ready, Set, Plant and Grow! The individual contacting you is trying to keep the Executive Director: The farmers of the Corsica program. Both gardens received grant money from reverting back to what they tell you is a cor- Brian Friedman Community Gardens and New Life money to help make their gardens rupt government and requests assistance from the con- Gardeners will be busy growing their more productive this year. Summer sumer. The victim is asked to provide an account number Phone: vegetables in their gardens at the cor- Sprout provides us with seeds and where the money can be transferred, and in exchange for (216) 481-7660 ner of Corsica and East156th Street. starter plants. this “service,” the victim will make a profit. (In some Thanks to the generous support of a The Summer Sprout Program also cases, the victim is asked to send money in exchange for Fax: local land owner, we have two lots to has workshops for would-be gardeners a much larger sum). It does happen, but not very often. So if you receive a (216) 481-7129 garden in. Residents Denise Dillard- to show them how to be better garden- Taylor and Susanna Dzejachok have ers. In this economy, growing vegeta- notification in an email or regular mail from an “estate been busy finding gardeners to par- bles is a great way to stretch your food locator” saying that there is an unclaimed inheritance Email: ticipate in our Community Garden dollars. What better way to get to know waiting for you, be very wary. [email protected] project. Our gardeners are residents your neighbors than to work in your from the neighborhood. This garden- gardens and share gardening tips? If Handyman Scams: Website: ing project would not be possible you would like to be involved, call There are many different types of handyman scams, www.NortheastShores.org without the help of Neighborhood Denise Lorek at Northeast Shores but they all have a few things in common: Connections and the Summer Sprout for more information (216) 481-7660. • The handyman calls you or knocks on your door, identifying a problem with your home (instead of Join a Block Watch YOU calling them, as is the norm). Block Watches are about meeting your neighbors, North Shore Collinwood Block Watch Meetings: • The handyman often will ask to come inside so sharing information and being proactive, not reactive, East 185th St. Block Watch they can get a better idea of the “scope of the prob- to potential problems in your community. (East 185th St. area and side streets) lem”. Block Watches are also serve as the “eyes and ears” of Meets the Second Tuesday of every month at 6 pm • The handyman will want to have payment upfront the police. The Police need residents calling them reporting The Lithuanian Hall, 877 E. 185th St. and commence work WITHOUT a contract. suspicious behavior. As 5th District Police Commander at the corner of Kewanee Wayne Drummond always says, “if it looks suspicious, it Chairperson: Denise Lorek The most dangerous scammers prey on elderly people probably is suspicious, so please make the call to the by posing as a handyman and then burglarizing their police.” Remember Zone Cars are deployed to our area East 156th St. Block Watch homes. There is also the handyman scam of leaving with- based on the calls for service received from our area. So (East 156th St. area and side streets) out finishing the job (but lots of money paid upfront!). make those calls to the police. You are not bothering them. Meets the Fourth Wednesday of every month at 6 pm Here are some steps you can take to keep from get- You are helping them do their jobs. Call 911 if it’s an B&M Bar-B-Que, 15116 Lakeshore Blvd. at E. 152nd St. ting scammed: emergency. For non-emergencies call (216) 621-1234. Chairperson: Patricia Harrison. 1. Be extremely wary of contractors/handymen that For more information about joining a Block Watch call Denise Lorek at (216) 481-7660. come to your door or call you. 2. Don’t let the contractor finance your project. This almost always results in unnecessary charges. If you CNVDC Neighborhood News need financing, contact a bank or credit union. 3. Don’t be pushed into making quick decisions, get at Cleveland’s New Code Enforcement least two other bids before selecting a contractor. Partnership in Ward 11 4. Demand a signed, written contract, outlining the The City of Cleveland is launching more stable neighborhoods. If you DO work to be performed, the time frame and the a new partnership between community NOT want a housing code violation, agreed-upon cost of supplies and labor BEFORE groups and City Housing Code offi- be sure to take care of these items at giving the contractor any money upfront. Collinwood & cials in an effort to improve Housing a minimum: 5. Never allow an uninvited handyman inside your Nottingham Villages Code Enforcement throughout the P Clean up any trash on your tree home so they can give you a supposed estimate. Development Corporation City. For Ward 11, the groups are lawn and in your front and back This is often the set-up to a scam or burglary. Collinwood & Nottingham Villages yards. Development Corp. and Northeast Utility Worker & Police Officer Shores Development Corp. P Remove junk and unlicensed “Poser” Scams: 15614 St. Clair Ave., Ward 11 Code Enforcement officer vehicles from your property. These scams involve perpetrators posing as utility Cleveland, OH44110 Michael Troha will work with commu- workers or police officers. They will knock on your ______nity groups to identify minor problems P Replace sagging/missing gutters, door, flash an “ID”, and ask to come in. Their plan is to and get them fixed. If owners don’t down spouts, siding and trim. burglarize your home. Executive Director: If a utility worker knocks on your door and you did comply, cases will be referred to the not call in a complaint/repair, call the utility company Yolanda Anderson City Department of Building and P Make needed repairs to your front before letting him/her in your home. Housing and could end up in Housing porch and front steps, including Phone: If a police officer knocks on your door, you can Court for city inspector follow-up if masonry work. call (216) 621-1234 to make sure he/she is legitimate. (216) 383-9772 the property is not brought to compli- Scamming “police posers” are almost always in plain ance. P Scrape and paint areas that are Fax: clothes and there will not be a squad car visible. Real Mr. Troha has already inspected peeling on your home and garage. police will be dispatched to your home right away if it (216) 531-8459 properties from Huntmere Avenue to was a scammer that knocked on your door. Note that th Email: I-90 (north/south) and E. 165 Street to P Cut your grass regularly this “real” utility workers and police officers will not try to E. 152nd Street (east/west). He will spring and summer. bully you to let them in your home while you are verify- [email protected] eventually work his way through our ing their legitimacy. For details call CNVDC Website: entire ward. at (216) 383-9772. For more information about these scams www.cnvdc.org The city and community groups (North Shore Collinwood residents and/or any neighborhood safety concern, also hope that the new partnership will can call Northeast Shores Development call Greg Pollard at (216) 383-9772. result in better housing conditions and Corp. at 216-481-7660) eation Program): (216) 692-1388 Lakeshore Golden Age Center: (216) 481-0631 The Ward 11 Citizen 3