Anger, Frustration and Total Disapproval Over Cleveland Ward 15

About 100 Old Brooklyn residents expressed anger, frustration, and total disapproval of a proposed plan to put them into the current East Side Ward 12.

Ward 15 Councilman Brian Cummins said he was told by consultants working on a new ward plan for Cleveland that “we concentrated the pain so the whole city doesn’t feel it.”

That’s fine, but Ward 15 is about to get cut into four pieces with portions being added to Wards 12, 13, 14 and 16. Rumors persist that City Council will vote on the new ward plan on March 16. Cummins said he is pushing for an extension to March 30 but expects the vote will be March 23.

Last night’s meeting was sponsored by the South Hills Association. Many residents expressed dismay at the prospect of being lumped into a ward that includes Slavic Village and other areas on Cleveland’s Southeast section.

“God put the river there for a reason,” one angry resident said.

Old Brooklyn residents are worried that the diminishing property values and increasing crime in Ward 12 will wind up in the South Hills area.

“That’s a war zone over there with gangs. It’s like Iraq,” another resident exclaimed.

The key issue, Cummins said, is that the Old Brooklyn portion of Ward 15 is to be split three ways, which in his view “leads to disenfranchisement. You’ll have to drive through Newburgh Heights to get to the rest of your ward.”

Cummins said he is hoping to “tweak” the proposal to push about 3,000 residents destined for Ward 13 to be included with the South Hills area. This area is bordered by Valley Road on the east, Pearl Road on the west and Tampa Ave. on the south.

“Old Brooklyn will be divided,” Cummins said, “but my goal with this is to keep theses 3,000 residents with the ward so it is divided only two ways instead of three.”
 
Cummins outlined the history of the Ward 15 dismemberment to date and the politics of the decision. “The politics of this stinks,” Cummins said. “I’m not looking for sympathy but I’ve gotten screwed. My only goal now is to protect the neighborhood as much as possible.”

The South Hills Association has a four-fold plan of action over the next 10 days or so. First is to flood the phones of each of Cleveland’s 20 other city council members.

Second, round up “as many residents as possible” to attend Monday’s City Council meeting with a short protest on City Hall steps prior to the meeting.

Third, invite Councilmen Joe Cimperman (Ward 13) and Anthony Brancatelli (Ward 12) to a follow-up meeting next week to hear resident complaints first hand.

And fourth, perhaps seek a legal injunction to stop the proposal based on disenfranchisement criteria under Fair Voting Act.

“Don’t protest. Let’s sue them,” one resident said to great applause.

As an association, “we (the South Hills organization) can form a legal fund for that,” Association President Mary Ann Jannnazo said.

Lawyers in the neighborhood are studying whether an injunction to stop the proposal is possible.