urbanpioneer

Gee, the last time I was in Paris or London I don't recall being overshadowed by lots of hi-rise buildings... Seriously, some people who are fixated on tall buildings seem to disregard how very narrow many of the streets are in the CBD. Cincinnati is different in that regard compared to a lot of other cities its size. And it can make a big difference when it comes to hi-rises. I'm just glad those who are perpetually fixated on hi-rise construction for nearly every potential development downtown are only armchair developers. I'm also glad jmicha said good things about the proposed development at 8th & Main, but I really resent his architectural snobbery saying that if I don't like tall buildings I shouldn't live in the CBD. I could say more but I don't want to get kicked off the forum so I'll leave it at that. I like tall buildings -- on sites that are appropriate for them. I just think Griewe's plans for the two mid-rise buildings are much more suitable for their 8th & Main location than a 29-story building would be.

I love the Textile Building and those similar in style to it. Is it what would be considered "Chicago school"?

Besides being out of scale compared to it's immediate surroundings, not everyone wants to walk, live or work in the shadows and canyon-like feel that very tall buildings can create. The footprints of the two sites aren't that large either. Of course constructing a 29-story building could likely be an option, but IMO the mid-rise height proposed for the two developments seems better for that location. Two 29-story buildings would be even worse.

The Josephs, who own the Dennison, have torn down everything else they've bought on that block. Didn't they lease their land, which way back when used to be one of their car dealerships at the NW corner of 5th & Sycamore streets, to the developer of that hi-rise office building when it was built? I wonder if they're hoping to do the same thing on the block where the Dennison and their huge surface parking lot are? It seems like they're not really real estate developers themselves, but I'm not sure. They've probably been hoping for a repeat of the 5th & Sycamore deal as they've continued to buy properties on the Dennison's block, but times have changed and who knows when, or even if, any spec office building would be built there? A photo/rendering of a proposed office building on the site floated around when GE was still searching for a site, but I don't know who produced it. I wonder if the Josephs are simply resisting residential development or anything short of a big hi-rise office building? Not changing their usual MO by wanting to tear down the Dennison makes me suspect that could be the case.

The precinct candidate (Bobbi Dillon) on my [Democratic] primary ballot's running unopposed. I guess I don't live in a very competitive precinct!

Wow, thanks!

^I wouldn't say that. I think the OTR bar scene has simply siphoned off Mt. Adams customers.

That's the way Mt. Adams used to be! There were mainly very nice boutiques, art galleries, etc. along St. Gregory. The only bars I can recall from those days (talking about the late 1960s - 1970s) were the Blind Lemon, which is still there, and Mahogany Hall. Summerfair was held on the streets of Mt. Adams a couple of times, which complemented the crafts, art, apparel and jewelry found in the boutiques, but it was too much in the way of crowds and rowdiness for the tiny neighborhood and was moved to the Eden Park reservoir area for a while, where it expanded and eventually moved on to different venues. I guess the bar scene grew as Baby Boomers came of age, but since it's become a neighborhood that mainly only wealthy people can afford to live in, the noisy bars and expensive residences don't coexist very peacefully. I have friends who live in Mt. Adams and they're glad the bar scene is dying down.

Disappointing. I hope the change isn't due to spitefulness on Cranley's part because Roxanne Qualls was a player in the original plans.

Love the photos BigDipper 80! Thank you! My mother grew up on Dorsey Street in Mt. Auburn during the early part of the 20th C. She said Sycamore Street leading up from Liberty was lined with houses on both sides. I've often wondered why nearly all of the ones on the eastern side of Sycamore are gone now, but I suspect erosion may be the culprit.

I was in the premises before any major work was done. Is the spiral staircase located where a wooden staircase was that was kind of in the center, and served maybe 3 floors?

My point was to show how challenging it will be to weed out those with bad intent. Another part of the profile is that families and/or friends often aid and abet terrorists. I can understand Angela Merkel's attitude -- she's a preacher's daughter and probably regards helping refugees as a duty more than a choice, just like a lot of Christians in the US do. But caution and common sense are in order. ISIS may have failed in its attempt to inflict a lot of harm in Paris via its suicide bombers who blew themselves up before they could kill large numbers of people, but it nevertheless had a productive week or so with about 400 deaths between the Parisians who were gunned down and the Russian jetliner that was bombed. I think concern is justified even if the odds of being a victim are minimal.

Here's a well-regarded book that profiles terrorists: http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Terror-Networks-Marc-Sageman/dp/0812238087?tag=vglnkc4928-20 Contrary to conventional wisdom, most: are middle class; do not have criminal backgrounds; were not madrassa-trained; are married with children; are well-educated; are multi-lingual; didn't start out being religious fanatics; are geographically and economically mobile. Seventy percent joined jihad while living in a different country than the one they grew up in. You get the picture.

I wonder if some adviser to the mayor had a misperception of Bill Joel's popularity here (his last concert sold out in 20 minutes because ELTON JOHN was the headliner for crying out loud!) and hoped to piggy back on it? Or maybe the mayor hopes to be invited onto the stage during the concert:

^ I couldn't agree more. I have nothing against Billy Joel, but the mayor must be absolutely desperate for attention since he's making a BFD out of this.

I'm guessing Issue 3 probably had as much or more to do with the higher (but still low) voter turnout this time than the parks levy. I could be wrong though.

I had to laugh that The Enquirer posted a photo of Cranley looking exceedingly smug and arrogant for its article about him saying it was time for humility in the wake of Issue 22's defeat. I suspect we'll have to wait a long time for Cranley to show any. Charlie Luken lost his probate judgeship race last year and now the parks issue scheme he and Cranley cooked up, thought by some to be a way to circumvent City Council in order to reward Cranley's cronies, was trounced. Is it too early to sound the death knell for Luken influence over Cincinnati's politics? It's not easy to read into election results when turnout is so low.

Check out the larger photo in this article: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/elections/2015/11/04/cranley-message-day-humility/75153028/ The mayor doesn't look very humbled to me. He says the levy lost because people don't want to pay higher taxes, simple as that, and he takes no blame for the defeat. And what's worse, he seems to imply it's The Enquirer's responsibility to vet the operations of the park board, not his! I guess we have to wait for the humility he's talking about.

Picture the riders of a pedal wagon waiting at a streetcar stop late at night. I only WISH they were "dumb", as in mute. They're so loud and obnoxious that just about everyone we know who lives downtown hates the pedal wagons because of it. I can imagine too easily how annoying it would be to live near a stop and have to listen to a series of drunks screaming night after night as they're waiting to board - or as they disembark - a streetcar. I know I may sound like an old scold or shrew, harping about this type of thing, but honestly, the quality of life for downtown residents can be greatly harmed by the boorish behavior of some drunks. It's as though they think they're in the middle of an amusement park instead of a neighborhood. The same thing still happens in Mt. Adams even though the bar scene isn't as popular there as it once was. And I won't be surprised if even more bars open along the streetcar route once it's operational. Sorry, but I think taxis are more appropriate transport for people under the influence.

Maybe I'm mistaken but I thought Issue 22 was something Cranley and Charlie Luken cooked up. Some opponents thought it was a scheme to circumvent City Council, thus the public, in order to engage in cronyism. I just hope the mayor, in defeat, doesn't do anything that could hurt the parks like trying to cut back on the city's contributions, using the fact that the levy was trounced by voters as rationale. His concession last night had a petulant aspect that could also be interpreted as somewhat threatening if one is inclined to view him as vindictive: "If we lose, which it looks like we will, I'm proud I put the idea out there and I will absolutely listen to what the voters have to say," he said. "I never wanted to raise taxes without permission of the voters." He pledged to "live within our means." "We've prioritized basic services: road paving, police cruisers, ambulances, salt trucks," the mayor said. "I'm going to stick by those things."

I really believe the levy failed because of the tremendous reporting of The Enquirer. The paper's official editorial may have endorsed it but I have no doubt its relentless barrage of absolutely damning reports during the two week run up to the election succeeded in changing enough peoples' minds. Until The Enquirer went medieval on it, it was expected to easily pass like all other park levies have in the past.

You don't want the drunks on the thing. They won't respect it. Ride the NYC subway at 3am and you'll see the sort of idiocy we can expect here. I think Jake may be right about this. Plus, having drunks possibly making nuisances of themselves at any of the stops during the wee hours wouldn't be so great for nearby residents either. Better if the night owls just call Uber.

Here's yet another damning report about the park staff/administrative issues that also implicates Cranley. Of added interest and worth reading are Bill Collins' comments on the article, specifically about the $75,000 Laketa Cole sinecure Cranley got her after she was finished working on his mayoral campaign: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2015/10/30/cincinnati-parks-finances-park-levy-money-endowments/74734240/

Channel 12 News (www.local12.com) has had some great TV coverage of the streetcar arrival.

Haven't you seen the headlines the past couple of weeks about Carden's and [his assistant] Klug's lavish bonuses? They've been overpaid before and had to pay back money they received after the issue went to court. Plus, Carden gets $1,000/mo. car allowance and memberships to exclusive clubs, etc. all on the park board's dime. PLUS, Klug's family bus business has some kind of deal with the parks. Plus, park foundation monies have been used for the levy campaign which is a legal no-no because the park foundation money is essentially public funds. Now, our parks are great and Carden has done a good job. But should he be compensated quite so richly? He already makes a 6-figure salary. If the park board has so much money to throw around why is this levy even being proposed? My guess is that it's an opportunistic move by the mayor to take advantage of the public goodwill in light of the popular Smale unveiling this year, not because the parks really need the money. The mayor, without any input from council or the public, gets to decide how the levy funds are spent. The park board can weigh in, but park board members serve at the pleasure of the mayor! That's why there's an outcry of anticipated cronyism by opponents.