urbanpioneer

I live in the CBD and I've never liked the concept of street festivals. They disrupt established downtown businesses, disrupt traffic, divert services, and basically trash the places where they're held. For example, I noticed PNC Center on the SE corner of 5th and Main had chain link fencing all along its bank of raised planters, no doubt to spare the landscaping that would otherwise get crushed or vandalized by festival-goers. The fencing is costly. Damage and vandalism are costly. Either way, that building's incurring expenses. I've often complained about people who come downtown and behave boorishly and obnoxiously, in ways they probably wouldn't get away with in other neighborhoods. I feel these street festivals foster and help to perpetuate that kind of bad behavior. We have a sprawling riverfront park that would be a much more appropriate venue for Oktoberfest and Taste of Cincinnati and I've wondered, year after year, why they still aren't being held there. I wonder if it's simply because the park board doesn't want them???

If roads to exurbia facilitate sprawl, wouldn't rail do the same? I'm for rail closer in -- it's sad to see older, closer-in suburbs decline, and sad to see infrastructure like sidewalks, sewers, etc. (that aren't always available in exurbia) go to waste. It's my hope and dream that more people will choose to preserve, renovate and/or adapt older homes instead of opting for cheaply-built brand-new homes in exurbia.

Here's The Enquirer's article about it: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2014/09/22/passenger-rail-to-chicago/16072133/

Do you mean 37 W. 7th St.? It got a TIF 10 years ago which appears to save it about $6,000/yr. in property taxes: 37 W SEVENTH ST Note 1) 12-1-04 30 YEAR TIF ABATEMENT BEGAN 2003 THRU 2032

I could be wrong but just because he beat Roxanne Qualls, who ran a very lackluster and obstinate campaign, doesn't make him a political genius, at least if his ambitions look beyond the immediate area. For example, his State of the City speech was very strange. Imagine the mayor of a city that's the center of a 2M+ population metro area calling for one restaurant, one beer garden, one bike path and one grocery store - such small things that display no vision whatsoever. AND he appointed Frank Wood, who probably no one under 40-50 even knows, Commissioner of Fun. It all makes me think he recognizes his lack of popularity among younger voters, yet the speech was his lame notion of pandering to them.

I'm not buying the rhetoric that City Hall will be more responsive to complaints about over-enforcement, implying possible acquiescence if that's the case. It's been my experience as a CBD resident that enforcement's already pretty aggressive. Maybe future rate increases will be responsive to complaints, but I doubt it since revenue goals are key. I'm getting weary of the police and firefighter angle always being thrown out whenever the mayor addresses revenue and spending issues, as he did once again in this article. God bless 'em, but I don't think the almost Sacred Cow status he confers upon them - considering how much of the City's budget they account for - is necessarily fair or appropriate. For instance, a couple of Findlay Market vendors have complained to me that police are often nowhere to be found in the vicinity and that there seems to be a strategy of just letting the drug dealers have at it and shoot each other, instead of patrolling practices serving as a deterrent. Also, why must fire engines accompany EMT units to the scene of drunks or drug ODs passed out on sidewalks? As a result, the big fire trucks add to traffic congestion, plus it seems the vast majority of calls aren't for fire alarms anyway. This seems like a costly and wasteful practice. But maybe I'm just naive about the usual terms of union contracts.

^Yeah, it was originally the French Bauer dairy. I'd forgotten Court Street Center was a rehab.

Yikes, I dunno about that white streak!?!? Maybe it looks better in person... ETA: Wait a minute -- is the white streak going up the side photoshopped or real???

The print edition headline for this Enquirer article is, "BIG IDEAS FROM BIKES TO BEER": http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2014/09/18/cranley-next/15779273/ Worthiness aside, are any of these ideas - a grocery store, restaurant, beer garden or bike trail truly big ideas? Can they really be considered big ideas coming from the mayor of a city that's the hub of a metro area with a 2 M+ population?

Main ideas in the mayor's State of the City address: http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2014/09/18/cranley-how-about-a-beer-garden-in-mount-airy.html?ana=twt&page=2 A few thoughts: -The city manager just affirmed a few days ago that the city wouldn't be bankrolling restaurants anymore. But the mayor's now proposing one for Westwood Town Center. -Is the city not only staying in the restaurant business, but also getting into the bar business in the form of a beer garden in Mt. Airy Forest? Will the intoxicated be able to find their way out of the woods? -A grocery store and accompanying strip shopping center opened on Reading Rd. at Forest Ave. in the heart of Avondale in the 1980s. It failed miserably and quickly became an eyesore. Of course, times can change. Will it work now? -Is the mayor's Wasson Way bike trail support earnest, or a means of forever preventing light rail along the line?

Does a plan forged now to cover operating expenses have to be a long-term one? What if ridership exceeds expectations? What if the rate of economic development in the CBD and OTR near the streetcar alignment increases even more? Should opponents then be able to continue to insist that operations get absolutely no funding from the city's general budget?

Plus, it's hard to believe Mark Policinski had the nerve to make some of the statements he did in the article, which strained credulity.

Here are OKI's lame excuses for not scoring the streetcar high enough to qualify for the latest CMAQ grant: • Scheduled buses already run on or near the streetcar route. • The sidewalks along the streetcar route are considered adequate for pedestrians. • The streetcar doesn't significantly reduce the number of vehicles on the streets because it's a Downtown/OTR loop and isn't connected to any other neighborhoods or regional transportation system. http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2014/09/13/streetcar-miss-chance-federal-funding/15610871/

I hope any map shows not only redevelopment directly along the streetcar route, but also any within a few blocks of it. After all, the pioneers in OTR have literally been banking on a general transformation of the entire neighborhood. I don't expect ardent streetcar opponents to ever change their tune. They're intractable. But I'm already seeing fewer and fewer people bothering to post negative comments on cincinnati.com, which may be one reason why Cranley's launched his latest attacks. If nothing else, he is an attention-seeking drama queen and unfortunately media types seem to like that trait.

Thanks to taestell's comment on cincinnati.com, Sharon Coolidge cleaned up and edited the original edition of her story, and included details about the city's responsibility to the feds vis a vis streetcar operating hours, etc. Thank you Travis! I swear, the original read like something ghostwritten by the late Barry Horstman (pun intended). All it lacked was an inane, nasty quote from "former council member, mayor and congressman" Tom Luken.

LOL ColDayMan!!! All I can say is that some people I know have looked at Mahogany's menu and decided to dine at one of the many other nearby eateries at The Banks. Other people I know have eaten there and just didn't like the heavy food. Hopefully Michael Comisar's menu changes, to include some lighter, healthier fare (as stated in the link you(!) posted upthread on 7/31/14 to the Business Courier article I must've read a few weeks ago) will help matters.

You may be absolutely right about the reason for this latest incident, but I've heard the menu at Mahogany's leaves a lot to be desired. It could be that fat-laden, heavy southern food just isn't appealing to a wide-enough market for the restaurant to succeed. I may be mistaken but think I read a while back that Michael Comisar was brought on as a consultant or something to help the place revamp.

The building looks like it's shaping up to make a bold statement. It's just not possible to fairly judge any building at this juncture though. I like the textured black panels as long as they can be kept streak-free. How the street level ends up being treated will be very important, as always. Architecturally, so far it beats most of its neighbors (which isn't really saying much) except for the Carew Tower: Fountain Place to the east is disappointing, and most of what's to the west of it along 5th Street for the next few blocks is too. The Hyatt's okay I suppose but everything else except for the Convention Center ranges from underwhelming to embarrassing. The Walgreens/apartments to the north aren't exactly architecture at it's finest, either. Bottom line: At the very least, Dunnhumby looks like it'll be much better than anything else that's been built in the vicinity in the past few decades. At the most, it has the potential to be stunning in a stark, bold way. I'm anxious to see the finished product.

This is an interesting development. Tarbell certainly has an advantage over Feeney when it comes to name recognition, as well as good connections in the arts community that largely supported the task force's plan that Monzel and Hartmann shot down. Time will tell.

Here's the article about the federal funds denial: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2014/08/18/exclusive-m-table-streetcar-operations/14232137/ I wonder if OKI could've said or done anything that lessened the chances of receiving the grant? OKI's head, Mark Policinski isn't a streetcar fan. I noticed in the comments on the Enquirer article that someone speculated there could be a link between this and SORTA head Terry Garcia Crews' abrupt resignation recently.

Yep, it's always something, no matter where one lives. I love the convenience of living in the CBD and being able to easily walk to services and attractions. It's great to not have to get in the car to run every little errand. And I'm thrilled that there's been so much conversion of old nearby buildings into residential. But we still have some intractable neighbors who are less than fastidious, to put it politely, about taking care of their properties. In addition to that, the noise and behavior of drunken boors can be very disturbing. I guess a lot of suburban visitors to the CBD don't realize people reside here, or maybe they do but just don't care, and feel that simply being downtown gives them license to be obnoxious. Just the other day, a couple of our bushes in front were [once again] uprooted and tossed on the sidewalk. I guess some oafs just can't resist a bit of vandalism now and then. Having said all of this, I'm looking forward to redevelopment of the large block bounded by 7th, 8th, Sycamore and Broadway. A new garage, hotel, and some more residential are very welcomed improvements.

There used to be a building taller than mine next door, but the Josephs bought it in the 80s and tore it down. They also bought a building at 7th & Main (that had a beautiful white terra cotta facade) and tore it down in spite of the fact that by that time, Main Street had been designated an historic district. Don't ask me how they were able to get away with the demolition so easily. All of this was with the purpose of assembling contiguous pieces of land (the large parking lot) on which to develop a highrise office building. Well, it's 30 years later and now there's more demand for downtown residential than Class A office. SO, maybe I won't be loomed over by a skyscraper after all, but there's still a chance, since the Josephs also recently acquired the Dennison Hotel on Main St. between 7th and 8th streets to add to the assemblage.

Maybe you guys can't wait for "towers" to be built in the area, but that's where I live and I don't look forward to being loomed over, and ending up in perpetual shadows! I'm not a big fan of urban canyons, and anyway I prefer the lower-to-mid-rise character of my neighborhood. The Joseph family (car dealership$) own the big parking lot and I know someday, sadly, something really tall may get built there that I won't like.

It looks terrific, but the tall white sign at the corner looks a tad cheap and doesn't befit the character of the bldg.

Judge Mark Painter's scathing op-ed today about the commissioners, etc: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/letters/2014/08/12/mark-painter-letter-chutzpah-meets-ignorance/13943135/