Michael L. Redmond

We will not win every battle (and perhaps not even most) but we are making significant headway. Just a week or so ago, on another thread we were all chiming in about how much new residential is here now and how much more is coming. I owned a business on 7th st a decade ago and people were frustrated then, some have left, however even more have come in to take up the task of forging ahead. We can not allow every piece of news to bring us down because OTR will come back, one street at a time. Crime will go down, one arrest at a time. Residents will come back, one development at a time. Do not get frustrated, this is a process, a long, and sometimes painful process.

Kendall, He may be able to, but it only takes one or two to drift out and do real damage to the area. I do not think there are many who say this is not needed, it is the location. Max does not want to invest in an area (that desperatly needs investment) due to its proximity to this. I am all for helping those who can not help themeselves, but no one wants this in their backyard. Would you be willing to make a significant investment into property on Mohawk with Citylink being a stones throw away?

Max, You just summed up the entire argument. The question is, how far will this chilling effect reach?

I just recieved this letter from Camp Washington, it has been sent to the mayor and city council. January 12, 2006 Mayor Mark Mallory City of Cincinnati 801 Plum Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 Dear Honorable Mayor, There is some confusion in our neighborhood regarding the role of both the Collaborative Agreement and the Community Problem Oriented Policing (CPOP) center in fighting crime. Many here thought that both of these entities would create better relations with the community, especially through efforts by the Black United Front, which accused the City police of racial profiling. The BUF unilaterally pulled out of the Collaborative, and we are still faced with no accountability, few witnesses coming forward, many neighborhoods under siege by open-air drug dealing, business districts under attack by loitering and littering gangs of youth, and more, now, serious assaults on the police. How can the Collaborative be in place without the BUF? The CPOP center is a very highly-budgeted operation that has yet to indoctrinate the communities on better police relations, in particular on witnesses coming forward and helping to reduce or prevent criminal behavior. Out of the ten City staff “assigned” as CPOP Department Liaisons to Camp Washington as CPOP representatives, only one has sporadically attended community meetings. We’d like to see CPOP workers out on the street, directly doing outreach work, preventing criminal behavior. Crime stats presented monthly by District 5 police resource officer Dana Jones at our Camp Washington Community Council meetings are generally low, as we have cooperated with the police to provide information of criminals and hot spots, as well as, operating Citizen’s on Patrol and Court Watch programs. The recent shootings at Cincinnati Police by young African-American males make it necessary for an immediate review of the Collaborative Agreement and the CPOP center. Sincerely, Patrick P. Staples President Cc: City Council members

Sorry, I forgot to address this. We are seeing drops in housing cost in pockets throughout any city, at any time. Especially now, with more going on the market right now, you are beginning to see more competive pricing and even more will be hitting the market this spring. If you need a local example of lowered cost due to longer DOM and higher inventories, look at Westwood.

Jeff, Are you referring to people who are unable to sell their home because they are upside down, therefore diminishing supply? If that is the case (and I am making the assumption that they can not afford to stay there) and they lose their home to foreclosure, it will be put back on the market at a minimum of 75% of the owed amount (and I am going to have to check HUD guidelines again but to the best of my recollection) and unless there are several people bidding on the property, this generally makes the home a good deal and sometimes far below market rate which in turn makes it affordable to those who could not have purchased it under regular market circumstances.

x, well let me try again, I am not arguing this one bit. Unemployment rate and cc were two economic indicators I pulled to show an upswing in a national economy to frame the question "in a growing economy, is there a solution to the poverty problem (in the realm of what has been viewed as deviant behavior, ie sleeping in parks and panhandling) without a legal action. this being the legal action this being the quote stating that the legal action may not be the way to go. Another quote indicating that legal action may not be right. Jeff asked the question My response was that he may also want to ask if the problem can be "solved" with an improving economy. If these people lost there jobs and were kicked out on the street by an evil landlord, and they had no other choice well then perhaps we should not impose legal action against them, however if then perhaps panhandling laws and no sleeping in parks ordinances should exist for such people, unlike what the homeless advocate says. My apologies, I will try and explain myself better in the future.

Jeff, I understand what you are saying if you are in a slowing economy. But what about the inverse? The nation's unemployment rate dipped slightly to 4.9 percent as the country's payrolls added about 108,000 jobs in December, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. During December 2004, the unemployment rate was 5.4 percent. I am sure you were referring to the local Dayton economy and I can not speak to that, however this article seemed to be referring to a national trend. Using that same argument, we also have people moving upward and moving into newer, more expensive homes. Inventories are high and getting higher in most real estate markets nationally as we move into a buyers market pushing home pricing down. As I said, I can not speak to the local Dayton market but I guess my question back is, in an improving economy, can it be "solved" without a legal remedy?

Reported by: Clyde Gray Web produced by: Mark Sickmiller Photographed by: 9News First posted: 1/12/2006 5:01:31 PM Many people in the city are concerned about the recent incidents in which Cincinnati Police Officers have come under fire, and even been hit. A young man 9News spoke with several weeks ago actually predicted this new trend in violent crime. It's a trend that threatens to block our efforts to stay on the path of the Road to Recovery.

Truer words have never been spoken. Perhaps we could do away with all laws and ordinances and we could do away with the whole crime problem also.

Reported by: Tom McKee Web produced by: Mark Sickmiller Photographed by: 9News First posted: 1/12/2006 5:30:33 PM Cincinnati Police say they won't back down in their fight to keep city streets safe. That sentiment comes on the heels of three officers being wounded in the past six weeks. The most recent case was the wounding of Officer Kristina Holtmann in Bond Hill Wednesday morning. Dante Person, 18, is charged with attempted murder and attempted aggravated murder.

This is very discouraging. Here on the hillside it is difficult to tell where sounds are coming from but we have been hearing an increase recently. These people need to go away for good.

Wednesday, January 11, 2006 Crime destroys small-town feel At a friendly neighborhood pharmacy, violent robbery attempt delivers shock By Christy Arnold Enquirer staff writer EAST WALNUT HILLS - Carol Pfetzing walked into DeSales Pharmacy on Tuesday afternoon, saying "Howdy." That's the kind of pharmacy Muhammad Shafqat owns, a family-run neighborhood store where customers' names are known. A big-city crime tarnished the pharmacy's small-town feel Monday when an armed robber shot a customer during a scuffle. http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060111/NEWS01/601110356/1056/rss02

Reported by: 9News Web produced by: Mark Sickmiller Photographed by: 9News First posted: 1/9/2006 12:04:03 PM Firefighters were on the scene of a stubborn fire near the corner of West Liberty and Elm in Over-The-Rhine at noon Monday. A building caught on fire around 11 a.m. Firefighters do have the fire under control. There are no injuries. Several streets in the area are blocked, so you'll want to avoid the area. The church I believe is still up for sale by the city. Jimmy, when was that pic taken?

I agree, I would not point to Riverbend as an architectural marval.

Sorry, just forwarding it along. Someone I should watch out for?

That is the quote that really through me for a loop also. If it were true we would not even be discussing this issue right now, it would be dead. EDIT: Anyone who addresses themselves in the third person will not get free press on Urban Ohio. Feel free to post any of the opposition letters from the site below, just nothing from that guy - Respectfully montecarloss http://www.notocitylink.com/opposecitylink.html

We good men who do nothing sure are busy doing something...We can point to project after project of rehabs, and infill. More community activism takes place here than any other place in Cincinnati. And will Citilink raise or lower that 40% poverty number? Come on. And I am a commercial real estate agent by trade, let me list it and find someone for you. Max, I agree, it is needed, but the location is what is in question. Why put it next to a neighborhood that is trying to get on its feet? I agree with the assessment though as it pertains to Washington Pk. Tyrice, you need to get a handle on your racial anger, racism and bigotry is not the answer here. Hate me because I challenge your opinion, not because you "assume" I am white. (the chicken doesn't do me justice, I look a bit different in reality)

He has been working on that house for as long as I can remember, any idea when he started?

Its OK, let him lash out and you will see how weak the othersides argument really is. Intellectual laziness there Ty help me out here, is this an us or a them?

Although I have trouble believing you are even remotely serious, I will entertain this discussion anyway; So you have been here all your life in the West End? You have done an excellent job so far, a model for communities everywhere. Your only beacon of hope lies on a street that has attracted those "carpetbagging greenheads" (Dayton) and the rest has gone to crap. Look at the history of the community, it did not originate as one of the crime capitals of Cincinnati, and it does not have to continue that way. All to often we lay down for one or two voices of opposition and it outways the rest of us, well no more. Whose voices are louder at the West End Community Councils? Dale? NO! you are seeing a fundamental shift in many of the communities downtown and yours is one of them, not from poor to rich (the rich still will not give that community the time of day) but to a place where crime and homicides are not the norm, where more vacant buildings do not stand than occupied ones, and it will become a place where people want to live vs have to live. You sir, are the epitome of what has been wrong with downtown, well no more, there are louder voices in the room now.

and buy the way, its mulberry, not Klotter so try attacking that one if you want to get to me. Grasscat, has locustofboards signed in under just a different name?

Is that it? come on, I will come back to this board in an hour or so, have something better than ^

I am just impressed that you had the nerve to put those 3 sentences within the same paragraph. Are you saying young professionals are not allowed or whites are not allowed in "your community"? Does racism know no bounds? And has class warfare jaded you to the point of stupidity? OK, I have been staying quiet on this board but Tyrice is the type of person who brings out the lesser side of me. Please tell me that you are simply trying to take the contrarian viewpoint here. No reasonable, let alone educated person could possibly think this was a "boon". We have a few Urban Planners on these boards and a couple of people who know a little about real estate and community building. So please engage us in a bit of discourse and explain your post a little further. P.S. The school excuse- My mother, Mona Redmond retired from Bloom after 32 years of teaching, I would not want her in that environment, nor any of her coworkers, let alone children. So come on, lets wax intellectual.

I may have overlooked it but I haven't seen anyone post the no to Citylink site yet, so here it is http://www.notocitylink.com/