While this has not appeared to have hit the news yet (or has it?), I unfortunately have heard that a resident of those apartment/condos on W28 and Detroit (Detroit ave lofts?) was murdered by an intruder that forced his way into the building. This does not bode well for the area. Many residents in the area sooth ourselves with the fact that much of the violent crime in the area is drug related deputes or what have you. I am noticing a bit of a trend upward right around stronebridge-maybe due in part to security not being as present or as effective as they need to be. You would think as more people moved in the problems would decrease.  Anyway, I am hoping that this tragedy result in increased police presence and permanently scare people away.

 

wow, that is really bad.

heres the update: it appears the victim was not a completely innocent type/nor was this random.

Saturday, February 03, 2007

CLEVELAND MAN OUT ON BOND ARRESTED IN KILLING

The Plain Dealer

Gabriel Baird, Plain Dealer Reporter

 

Michael R. Howard may have been better off staying in jail. He posted $25,000 bond two weeks ago and was released while awaiting his trial next week on drug and weapons charges. But after a shooting early Friday morning, the 30-year-old East Cleveland man is in the middle of a homicide investigation.

Brandon J. Stein, another man with a history of drugs and weapons, was fatally shot about 12:30 a.m. in a second-floor apartment in the 2800 block of Detroit Avenue. Alonzo Buckner, 26, told police he was there when the shooting occurred and jumped out of a window to avoid being shot. Buckner also has a history of drug and weapons convictions.

 

...

 

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: [email protected], 216-999-4141

 

www.cleveland.com

I have to admit, I find Jackson's approach refreshing with respect to taking ultimate responsibility. Again, no mention of the "Downtown Service Unit" you brought up, KJP.

 

I mentioned the Downtown Service Unit in an article in the West Side Sun this week. The article was on the last page of Section A.

While this has not appeared to have hit the news yet (or has it?), I unfortunately have heard that a resident of those apartment/condos on W28 and Detroit (Detroit ave lofts?) was murdered by an intruder that forced his way into the building. This does not bode well for the area. 

 

I have a friend who lives in the lofts there at 28th/Detroit (Franklin Mills I think...?).  A couple months back someone broke into the parking garage on the first level and ransacked a bunch of vehicles, leaving a trail of broken glass and missing items.  I'm surprised security and resident viligence wasn't stepped up after this incident.

well on 28th and detroit there is the federal knitting mills and detroit ave lofts. this incident was at the Detroit ave lofts (which was on last years OC home tour).  I don't think Detroit Av Lofts have  a garage, rather a gated parking lot. Not sure about the Knitting Mills  building. I think securty exists in some of these buildings.

Yeah maybe we're talking about two different buildings.  I'm not familiar with the Detroit Lofts.  I know the Knitting Mills has an underground garage in the basement, which was where the thefts were committed.

^Detroit Lofts is just to the immediate east of the Knitting Mills. I believe that it opened last summer. Very nice place inside. It was done by the same guy who is now turning the Ohio City YMCA building into condo lofts.

From Cleveland.com

 

 

Cleveland police outfit second helicopter

 

 

3:58 p.m.

 

Cleveland police are outfitting their second helicopter today with the tools of the law enforcement trade. These include a FLIR, short for Forward Looking Infrared, which allows police to see in the dark.

 

...

 

--Gabriel Baird, [email protected]

Dear Cleveland Police,

 

When the Traffic Lights go out at both Ontario and Prospect and Ontario and Euclid, I would greatly appreciate a Patrolman on site directing traffic so I can safely cross the street as a pedestrian without dodging cars.

 

Up yours,

 

the pope

I'd like to thank the pedestrians for be the lead blockers today. As we were trying to go east on Prospect and cross Ontario, the crossing pedestrians stopped the Ontario traffic long enough so that we could cross. Thanks Pope!

I was watching the news yesterday (Action News) and they mentioned that two visitors from Detriot were attacked and robbed coming out of their hotel on Public Square by a "bunch of young thugs."

 

Anyone heard about this? This bummed me out a little.

 

It *is* Action News, but they actually didn't sensationalize this as much as you might expect from them.

I was watching the news yesterday (Action News) and they mentioned that two visitors from Detriot were attacked and robbed coming out of their hotel on Public Square by a "bunch of young thugs."

 

Anyone heard about this? This bummed me out a little.

 

It *is* Action News, but they actually didn't sensationalize this as much as you might expect from them.

 

at what hour of the day?

They didn't give a time...

I checked the Action 19 website and didn't find anything.

 

I did, however,  find this on the Channel 3 website detailing an attack by a off-duty CPD working as a Tower City security guard on a WKYC reporter.  Great stuff and further advancing the cause of downtown retail... :whip:

 

http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=62803&provider=gnews

^ this happened a couple of weeks ago.    staying in renaissance hotel and walking to RRHOF for a concert.  walked into a group of people congretating near a bus stop on public square and were apparently attacked.  i'm surprised there was no video of the actual attack as there are plenty of buildings around there.

And they thought DETROIT was scary!

 

This really pisses me off. We all work to convince people that we live in a great place, and this happens.

 

We need more cops, we need more cops! That's all there is to it, it seems to me.

^that's why i'm split on the elimination of the 3d district.

 

i don't see any police on patrol downtown (apparently 2 cars are assigned, but often get called to other areas, are out sick, or even if working 2 cars isn't a lot to cover an area as large and dense as downtown).

 

jackson promises to increase the presence of officers on the street, and i'm all for that.  get the bike patrol, horses, and foot patrol back on the downtown streets - at all hours.

What happened to the panhandling thread? Was there some resolution to this?

What happened to the panhandling thread? Was there some resolution to this?

not really. So do you think I could borrow $20? I need to get to Akron to visit my dog in the hospitol

Hi folks - if a thread has been outright deleted (rather than simply locked), it's likely that:

 

1. The original poster requested the deletion, or...

2. Another forumer requested the deletion due to the thread's content and the Admins/Mods agreed with the request.

 

You're also welcome to PM us with questions so we can keep the threads on-topic. :-)

 

And I could use $20.00 - I accidentally backed my truck into a piece of rebar, and umm, yeah - $20.00 will cover towing an 8-ton truck :-D

so are we continuing the panhandler discussion here?  this has been a hot topic in the past, and we don't seem to have resolution on what the next steps are. 

so are we continuing the panhandler discussion here?  this has been a hot topic in the past, and we don't seem to have resolution on what the next steps are. 

 

Put arsenic in the trash cans.

 

wouldn't bear traps leave a deeper impression?

about panhandling-and sorry Mayday was so cryptic I am not sure if panhandling is on or off topic...but do people think the solutions are  marco (ie economic change) or micro (consequences) I know both solutions working together are ideal, but can one happen w/o the other- and work?

Personally, I don't think it would be right to try to solve pan handling with legislation (I assume that's what you mean by a consequence oriented solution?) As depressing and frustrating as it can be, this is a democratic society we live in and fellow human beings basically have a right to be annoying.. Now what is often described on these types of threads goes way beyond simply annoying panhandling or even aggressive panhandling. I don't know the correct legal nomenclature, but barring someone entry into their vehicle and/or menacing them should certainly be addressed with the full weight of the law.

 

 

 

no I am with you. non aggressive panhandling (IE sitting with a sign) is unfortunate (or bothersome to some), but is with in someones rights. touching me, my vehicle door handle, or getting in my space is not cool. What I want to know if why I can spend days in some major cites (both touristy and off the beaten path places) and not be panhandled while others it occurs frequently

I don't see that there should be any fundamental right to ask people for money on the streets any more than there is a fundamental right to peddle goods on the streets or solicit for a charity.  I don't see the difference other than you aren't offering anything in return, and that you are your own charity.

^if they aren't registered as 501©3's, then lock them up!

That's a valid point, X. I guess I personally am inclined to allow such solicitations provided they aren't setting up vendor space or somehow impeding foot traffic more so than any other person standing on the sidewalk would. If nothing else, it seems to me the government should have bigger things to screw up worry about.

I think there is one issue that hasn't come up yet and how homeless/panhandling effects the development of downtown.  When someone is camped out in front of your store on the sidewalk and effecting people trying to come in, I think that should be illegal...and it is currently, but no one is enforcing it.  How about using newspaper boxes as personal storage lockers?  Stuff like this isn't just bothersome it effects perception of whether they need to take a risk and invest in downtown.

That's a valid point, X. I guess I personally am inclined to allow such solicitations provided they aren't setting up vendor space or somehow impeding foot traffic more so than any other person standing on the sidewalk would. If nothing else, it seems to me the government should have bigger things to screw up worry about.

 

It can be a big thing if it is happening right out your front door every day.  It can be a big thing if it is irritating the customers that you rely on to pay your bills.

^ Did you all see the story about the boutique owner in New York who was suing the city because of a homeless guy who always slept in his doorway. He said he complained and complained for years but nothing was ever done and it hurts his business. The homeless advocates were tearing him a new one. I can't say I blame the guy.

I agree 100% that business should not be impeded, nor should people feel unsafe leaving their homes or walking the street. There is a part of me though that feels if panhandling were actually abolished then we would not be reminded that there is a huge social/economic  problem out there. That said a lot of panhandlers are not actually homeless, just completely full of it. My brother in law had a neighbor (not homeless) that chose not to seek employment, and worked the interstate exit ramp with a sign. He pulled in about $60 a day and this was the early 90's so who knows what that would be in todays $'s.  sitting there with a cup and a sign is sad, but not really intrusive.  yeah it makes you uncomfortable but should not make you fear for your immediate safety.

in a lot of cities, the business owners would be doing the work of the downtown ambassadors.  i think this says alot about the commitment of business/building owners.  in addition, you rarely walk in a successful suburban downtown or strip mall and find trash, dirty windows, etc. 

 

but downtown, and in many ways all over cleveland proper, it has become OK to not care about the windows, the blowing newspapers, the trash from the homeless person who slept in the doorway the night before. 

 

Don't get me wrong, I really dislike being asked for money.. And it drives me nuts when I see somebody actually GIVE them money.  Who does that!? But I just don't know how we can get off applying a double standard just because they're scroungy looking and asking for money. Spruce them up (well maybe not that much) and put a picket sign in their hands and it becomes a different social issue which the right to practice is vehemently defended. But I think it's the same basic concept at heart. Plus if it's bad enough to actually be driving off customers I think it most likely has graduated beyond just panhandling into something else. Either that or you've got some real candy ass customers :wink:

 

PS I was hit up for money twice on my snowy adventure to Tower City today.. Now that's dedication to being lazy!

I don't know about the rest of you, but I travel extensively for a living and I rank Cleveland at #2 nationally for panhandling intrusions.  :whip:

 

I put Seattle at #1 and San Francisco at #3.

My brother in law had a neighbor (not homeless) that chose not to seek employment, and worked the interstate exit ramp with a sign. He pulled in about $60 a day and this was the early 90's so who knows what that would be in todays $'s.

 

There was story on the local news down here just not long ago. Some of these guys are pulling in $200-$300 a day. One proudly counted the money for the camera.

 

One reporter followed a guy as he was leaving an exit ramp off I-95 were he was "working". She then observed him getting into his CAR parked a few blocks away. Reporter and crew followed him to his HOUSE were he was confronted.

 

Easy solution to panhandlers, whether they be on a corner or at an exit ramp.  DO NOT GIVE THEM ANYTHING.  No cigarettes, no change, no money, no disrespect.  Donate to a homeless organization and let them know you've done this.  Cut off the supply and they will have to find other means to survive.

^ Exactly. Only its kind of like "don't feed the animals" but unfortunately people still do.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I travel extensively for a living and I rank Cleveland at #2 nationally for panhandling intrusions.  :whip:

 

I put Seattle at #1 and San Francisco at #3.

Odd, I have been to both and but rank San Diego the worst, then perhaps Cleveland..maybe then Chicago..then SF, Seattle, NYC and so on....

I don't know about the rest of you, but I travel extensively for a living and I rank Cleveland at #2 nationally for panhandling intrusions.  :whip:

 

I put Seattle at #1 and San Francisco at #3.

 

I travel just a much as you.  Cleveland isn't even in the top 10.  I've thought about my list.

 

My ratings

 

Seattle

Atlanta

Miami

Portland (mostly run aways/teen prostitutes)

Houston

Los Angeles (I got hit up by a homeless man in the ER)

San Fransisco

New Orleans

Las Vegas

San Antonio

San Juan

Dallas

St. Louis

Memphis

Washington, DC

i travel 30 weeks a year and i think cleveland is BAD.  but i also think it is *where* you experience each city.  when i experience cleveland it is walking downtown to all events, i rarely take a cab or drive.  i don't think the CLE suburbs are bad, and i've never had any problems in shaker square, but downtown proper seems to be a breeding ground for this behavior.

 

i was hit up 4 times today downtown - when downtown was empty.  i was walking on euclid and st.clair and all of these occurred between noon and 9pm. 

Interesting to see Seattle at the top of most lists.  I lived there in the University District, which is panhandler central, for a few years and would say that the quantity of panhandlers is far greater than in Cleveland.  But the quality was much different.  Seattle panhandlers sat with a sign or just asked people "spare change" as they walked by.  Cleveland panhandlers come and find you, and then tell you there story and try to follow you around.  I never saw anyone have any further problems with a panhandler in Seattle.  I see it migrate to worse things in Cleveland quite often.

 

But I think it's the same basic concept at heart. Plus if it's bad enough to actually be driving off customers I think it most likely has graduated beyond just panhandling into something else. Either that or you've got some real candy ass customers :wink:

 

A little of both.  But frankly, I need the candyass dollars, too.  And really, who can blame them.  They are going to judge where to go out to eat based on the where they get the overall nicest experience.  If they don't have to put up with this crap at the local strip mall, they just might decide to stay there instead of coming downtown to see me. 

 

Then I go broke.

 

Then I go out on the streets.

 

Then I make my money mugging panhandlers.

 

 

I travel just a much as you.  Cleveland isn't even in the top 10.

 

I doubt you travel as much as me, but I do concur with much of your list (other than the lack of Cleveland).  :)

I travel just a much as you.  Cleveland isn't even in the top 10.

 

I doubt you travel as much as me, but I do concur with much of your list (other than the lack of Cleveland).  :)

 

from my point of view and experiece, I just don't see our pandhandlers as bad.

Trust me....my butt is in a seat.  Platinum on Continental & Delta, Global Services on United.

 

 

Definitely Miami is in the top 5, especially the downtown area and South Beach. I'm surprised that not more consider it in the top 10.

^^ God I miss my Platinum Continental OnePass.. They actually treat you like a human being when you flash that bad boy.

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1171709786159150.xml&coll=2

 

Ad catches policeman's eye, he catches suspects

Sting nabs 3 women accused of soliciting

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Gabriel Baird

Plain Dealer Reporter

 

A sexually explicit ad in the back of Scene magazine caught the eye of an undercover Cleveland police detective. He called the "Freak of the Week" and invited her to a hotel room.

 

Then he called the "West Side Nympho," the "Asian Sensation" and a dozen others.

 

...

 

Plain Dealer researcher Jo Ellen Corrigan contributed to this report.

 

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

[email protected], 216-999-4141

Well first I have to say, aren't ALL those ads for hookers?  This is suprising? News making?

 

Second why are our tax dollars being wasted on a big sting to catch a misdomenant? Lets work on felons.

 

Third I am tired of suburbanites coming in and sullying the city  :-D. 

 

Well, I feel alot safer walking the streets of Cleveland now that I know that they are behind bars.