Posted June 29, 200618 yr The worst corner in Cincy. 13th and Republic Street: Friday 6/23/06 About 2:35 p.m., Freddie Gentry, 20, was found lying in the 1200 block of Republic Street, near where a supply of crack cocaine was found, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene by the Hamilton County Coroner's Office. Police are looking for a woman seen leaving the scene in a dark green or blue car. http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006606240368 Well, it’s not really the worst, because unfortunately there are dozens of corners like this one. But there are lots of shootings at this corner. I personally witnessed a shooting here in 1992. Timothy Thomas was shot here by Officer Roach in April 2001. Getting a photo of the recent shooting shrine was difficult, because the corner is manned 24hrs a day by dope boys. As I went by at 6:15 in the morning, I noticed that no one was around. No sooner had I snapped this picture, than a dealer came out of the adjacent building, and stared at me real hard, letting me know I had better leave. He had just gone inside for a break I guess. Anyway, I had plans on photo-documenting all four corners, but that will have to wait for another day. I think the story of this corner can be partially be told by looking at who owns the property at the corner: SWC (where shooting took place) Owned by HUD for decades, now owned by Model Management who is going to do a low-income tax credit project here: NWC (where the dope boys live) Owned by Metro Management last year and Downtown Property Management this year. They are tied as the two absolute WORST landlords in the City. The building to the left in the photo is a shell owned by the Drop Inn Center, which they hope to renovate for home-ownership. NEC: This was a cool building with severe structural problems that Restoc was trying to fix-up for years, but after Buddy died, they gave up and tore it down. They have attempted to plant some bushes and put in a paved walk, but it is pitiful. SEC: Vacant lot owned by Fred Berger. Fred, past president of the OTR Chamber of Commerce, has several dilapidated properties in the area. I believe his family owned Ibold cigars. This photo actually makes it look good as you can’t see all the glass and garbage that are usually there: One building south from the above property: 1224 Republic, Where Timothy Thomas was shot. Kept vacant by Thomas Denhart for decades, it has changed hands a few times in the past years. I have never heard of the current owner Ron Nixson of 65 Peek Street, who bought it in 2004 for $12,000. The strange thing about this building is that I have seen a lightbulb on above a bathroom sink some nights. Strange:
June 29, 200618 yr Wow...just wow. That's what, two blocks away from Police Headquarters? http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&saddr=Ezzard+Charles+Dr+%26+Central+Pky,+Cincinnati,+OH+45214&daddr=W+13th+St+%26+Republic+St,+Cincinnati,+OH+45202&ie=UTF8&ll=39.109909,-84.518015&spn=0.003438,0.006362&t=h&om=1
June 29, 200618 yr It is just a few blocks from a lot of things: downtown, the Kroger Building, Music Hall, Vine Street, Main Street, courthouse, jail, city hall, the cathedral...you name it. That's kinda why I picked this corner instead of one in Walnut Hills or Evanston. It is a prime example of the intransigence that holds this city back.
June 29, 200618 yr Which Walnut Hills block would you pick, if you had to? Maybe it's because I live there, but I never feel as intimidated in the 'Nut as I do in OTR...
June 30, 200618 yr Some of those buildings look like they would be more trouble than it's worth to fix them up (for someone looking to invest and make a profit). That last building on the first post...I wonder how much it would cost to completely gut it, install new drywall, carpet, plumbing,appliances,windows,painting the outside etc. If that's all one building then that's probably atleast 4-5k square feet of space.
June 30, 200618 yr Which Walnut Hills block would you pick, if you had to? Maybe it's because I live there, but I never feel as intimidated in the 'Nut as I do in OTR... On McMillan, from Clifton, right before you get to Peebles corner. Is that part of Walnut Hills? Really sad...because it's so dense and historic looking.
June 30, 200618 yr Yeah, Walnut Hills starts where McMillan goes over Reading - from there out to Victory Parkway. Maybe I'm just not familiar enough with that part of OTR, but I'd walk along McMillan pretty much any time of day, but would be apprehensive of walking along Republic, no matter what time of day...am I just wrong, and it's really not that much worse?
June 30, 200618 yr ^Agreed, Republic Street is much worse than McMillan. I maybe shouldn't have mentioned Walnut Hills, but rather Avondale, where they have been finding burned bodies lately. My point of the post is the horrific nature of shooting someone in the head, the pitiful nature of the memorabilia, and the cycle of despair that seems to be anchored to corners like this, as well as this corner's proximity to things like the Art Academy (Suder's Art supply is adjacent to this corner) and the Gateway Condos (that are not selling) and the Ensemble Theater. All this in addition to the fact that it has been here for decades and shows no sign of changing. To me, this corner represents all the hurdles OTR and the city must overcome. When this corner is safe to walk past at night, I will be an optimist on the future of Cincinnati again.
June 30, 200618 yr I remember at school one day we were all sitting around a table discussing "street life" issues. We were talking about selling drugs, and one guy kept talking about how people that sell drugs are destroying their own community and shouldn't contribute to it and how he doesn't understand how people could do that to their own people in their own community. The majority of the people in the group were from Avondale and OTR (I went to high school in Bond Hill at the time). This other guy got into the debate talking a bunch of non-sense about how a drug dealer isn't responsible and basically that people's addictions are their own problem. The first guy obviously won the debate but there's too many people that think like the second guy. There was also a few people mentioning how it's not uncommon to walk through an alley in OTR and see a guy give another guy head and that if it's "not gay if it's just oral sex" (sorry for being graphic) ....the whole discussion was really a learning experience. I've never seen anything all that crazy in OTR but then again I've bever been through dark alleys at night time. I think what OTR needs is simply more people that care. More citizens in OTR that will help make a change, more police on patrol, and more funding from the city. It's going to be a very gradual thing because the rate at which it's currently changing just isn't enough.
June 30, 200618 yr people that sell drugs are destroying their own community One of our problems in OTR is that these are not necessarily residents who are buying or selling drugs here. OTR has been both a magnet for criminal activity and a dumping ground for the deviant for many years primarily because of social acceptance as well as lack of will to enforce, not just by the police, but by the community. When there is a shooting/murder on Republic and no one is willing to say anything vs a street where your every movement is being watched and even suspicious behavior is reported, which street do you as a criminal choose to operate? Whos fault is this, the police's? We are to quick to accept that certain places are lawless. Certain corners or streets are bad but this behavior is going to happen so lets just let it happen there. If Republic Street or Peebles corner are the two places where the majority of crime is taking place (and I have some more places to add to that) then what do you think the overall communities reaction would be to a massive crackdown? There would be push back from a certain segment of our community I guarantee. Everyone needs to stand up and say places like this are unacceptable and do what it takes to change them. The debate should end with the other side who say the police should be more tollerant of areas like these than they are in suburban settings. They are wrong and have been wrong for years and have been as much of a problem as the cirminal activity itself, OTR proves it. I have never heard of the current owner Ron Nixson of 65 Peek Street I know Nixson, it is actually Peete Street where he lives. I would be very surprised if he has any immediate plans (or plans at all) to renovate that or any other building.
June 30, 200618 yr people that sell drugs are destroying their own community One of our problems in OTR is that these are not necessarily residents who are buying or selling drugs here. OTR has been both a magnet for criminal activity and a dumping ground for the deviant for many years primarily because of social acceptance as well as lack of will to enforce, not just by the police, but by the community. When there is a shooting/murder on Republic and no one is willing to say anything vs a street where your every movement is being watched and even suspicious behavior is reported, which street do you as a criminal choose to operate? Whos fault is this, the police's? We are to quick to accept that certain places are lawless. Certain corners or streets are bad but this behavior is going to happen so lets just let it happen there. If Republic Street or Peebles corner are the two places where the majority of crime is taking place (and I have some more places to add to that) then what do you think the overall communities reaction would be to a massive crackdown? There would be push back from a certain segment of our community I guarantee. Everyone needs to stand up and say places like this are unacceptable and do what it takes to change them. The debate should end with the other side who say the police should be more tollerant of areas like these than they are in suburban settings. They are wrong and have been wrong for years and have been as much of a problem as the cirminal activity itself, OTR proves it. I have never heard of the current owner Ron Nixson of 65 Peek Street I know Nixson, it is actually Peete Street where he lives. I would be very surprised if he has any immediate plans (or plans at all) to renovate that or any other building. I agree that it is important for the community to get involved but I think that all of the communities in the city are gonna have to get more involved. With sudden crackdowns in certain neighborhoods, it's going to push the crime to other areas. I know it's a good start and it's definitely good for OTR, just pointing that out. Crime in Walnut Hills this year is a lot higher; I think there's been 10 murders while there was only 5 in OTR. I think something like 90 percent of murders are drug-related.
June 30, 200618 yr Let's play, how many "What's wrong with OTR?" threads can one forum facilitate! :shoot: :ass:
June 30, 200618 yr ^Have you ever been to OTR? It's a really interesting neighborhood in a really important geographic location. There's more Cincinnatians on this forum than Columbusites and Clevelanders so obviously you'll see a lot of posts discussing OTR. There's just something really intriguing about the neighborhood and it's fun to talk about the problems and solutions.
June 30, 200618 yr ^Have you ever been to OTR? Indeed, I have been to OTR. There was a lot of vacant buildings, litter, intimidating looking individuals, and POTENTIAL. But how many times can this be rehashed?
June 30, 200618 yr ^I guess it's because we're all so interested in the area. Similarly, how many picture threads of Cincinnati can we post? My answer is as many as possible. How many times can we discuss OTR's problems, get street-level pictures of it and discussions of it, get new perspectives on it? I guess as often as we're interested in doing so, hopefully until the contours of the discussion shift from how much needs to be done, to how much has been accomplished, to how wonderful the change is... I understand your point - it does feel like we're beating a dead horse at times - but it is out of love...
June 30, 200618 yr By the way, gold42, you have the single coolest sig line I've seen..."The Dude Abides"...what's the from?
July 1, 200618 yr Crime in Walnut Hills this year is a lot higher; I think there's been 10 murders while there was only 5 in OTR. I think something like 90 percent of murders are drug-related. I am not arguing with you there. I can only speak for my own, but all communities must stand up and do what they can to make it into the type of place they want to live. A wide spread email was circulated about a year ago by a less than informed mortgage broker who blamed the improvements in OTR for the downfall of his community in Tri-County. "Exporting crime" is how I believe he put it. As you can imagine he recieved a few negative replies to this. By cleaning up our streets here our intention is not to move it, but to simply eliminate it. However sometimes it is not that simple. Crime will follow the path of least resistence. If they feel that they are not able to safely operate in one area then they will move to another. What is it about Walnut Hills that acts as a magnet? What is it about Westwood or Forest Park? OTR, or any other community should never be faulted for taking steps to improve itself, it is the communities that are next on the crimals list that should look at themselves and say, what can we do to fight this as well.
February 20, 201015 yr The worst corner in Cincy. 13th and Republic Street: Friday 6/23/06 About 2:35 p.m., Freddie Gentry, 20, was found lying in the 1200 block of Republic Street, near where a supply of crack cocaine was found, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene by the Hamilton County Coroner's Office. Police are looking for a woman seen leaving the scene in a dark green or blue car. http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006606240368 Well, it’s not really the worst, because unfortunately there are dozens of corners like this one. But there are lots of shootings at this corner. I personally witnessed a shooting here in 1992. Timothy Thomas was shot here by Officer Roach in April 2001. Getting a photo of the recent shooting shrine was difficult, because the corner is manned 24hrs a day by dope boys. As I went by at 6:15 in the morning, I noticed that no one was around. No sooner had I snapped this picture, than a dealer came out of the adjacent building, and stared at me real hard, letting me know I had better leave. He had just gone inside for a break I guess. Anyway, I had plans on photo-documenting all four corners, but that will have to wait for another day. I think the story of this corner can be partially be told by looking at who owns the property at the corner: SWC (where shooting took place) Owned by HUD for decades, now owned by Model Management who is going to do a low-income tax credit project here: NWC (where the dope boys live) Owned by Metro Management last year and Downtown Property Management this year. They are tied as the two absolute WORST landlords in the City. The building to the left in the photo is a shell owned by the Drop Inn Center, which they hope to renovate for home-ownership. NEC: This was a cool building with severe structural problems that Restoc was trying to fix-up for years, but after Buddy died, they gave up and tore it down. They have attempted to plant some bushes and put in a paved walk, but it is pitiful. SEC: Vacant lot owned by Fred Berger. Fred, past president of the OTR Chamber of Commerce, has several dilapidated properties in the area. I believe his family owned Ibold cigars. This photo actually makes it look good as you can’t see all the glass and garbage that are usually there: One building south from the above property: 1224 Republic, Where Timothy Thomas was shot. Kept vacant by Thomas Denhart for decades, it has changed hands a few times in the past years. I have never heard of the current owner Ron Nixson of 65 Peek Street, who bought it in 2004 for $12,000. The strange thing about this building is that I have seen a lightbulb on above a bathroom sink some nights. Strange: I wonder if anyone could update the forum on this "worst corner in Cincy" since it has been three and a half years. I know crime in OTR has dropped dramatically and consistently. I hope the buildings photographed have been given some positive attention. Sad that the ReStoc building was torn down after Buddy Gray died. He probably would have preferred the glass-filled empty lot to that most hated of things: gentrification. Any news for this thread?
February 20, 201015 yr Im thinking this was one of those streets I walked during my OTR visits, and I remember it being mostly vacant, or at least seeming that way.
February 20, 201015 yr Republic St. always reminds me of Timothy Thomas and the riots. They need to change the name of the street. I'm sure they've already discussed that.
February 20, 201015 yr OK, I was past there today. This is part of that Gateway Quarter gentrification effort. It looks pretty quiet now.
February 20, 201015 yr The buildings in the last two pictures are all now rehabbed condos. The Mottainai building on Republic is a LEED certified rehab. Unfortunately you couldn't get one now; it's sold out.
February 20, 201015 yr You know, I'm looking through all of my photos of that area and I don't have any exteriors at all of that street. Just a ton of interiors. I need to fix that.
February 20, 201015 yr I know this doesn't really need saying, but think about how this thread started. Now we are nonchalantly saying things like "The buildings in the last two pictures are all now rehabbed condos." What a change! And this thread was started in 2006. Listen to the pessimism: "My point of the post is the horrific nature of shooting someone in the head...as well as this corner's proximity to things like...the Gateway Condos (that are not selling)". And then we have this gem: "When this corner is safe to walk past at night, I will be an optimist on the future of Cincinnati again." It's hard to see the progress as it occurs, but, man, this thread is somewhere you can see the change occurring right before your eyes. Thanks for the bump, Scrabble. (You're good at that.)
February 21, 201015 yr I know this doesn't really need saying, but think about how this thread started. Now we are nonchalantly saying things like "The buildings in the last two pictures are all now rehabbed condos." What a change! And this thread was started in 2006. Listen to the pessimism: "My point of the post is the horrific nature of shooting someone in the head...as well as this corner's proximity to things like...the Gateway Condos (that are not selling)". And then we have this gem: "When this corner is safe to walk past at night, I will be an optimist on the future of Cincinnati again." It's hard to see the progress as it occurs, but, man, this thread is somewhere you can see the change occurring right before your eyes. Thanks for the bump, Scrabble. (You're good at that.) Credit the city for that. They finally took action on OTR. Public-Private corporations get the ball rolling! Once 3CDC started buying up entire blocks, developers didn't have to feel like high risk-taking pioneers, with nothing but a dream. The streetcar concept also built a lot of excitement. It is funny how people were a lot more pessimistic in '06. That was only 4 years ago.
February 21, 201015 yr I just looked up Mottainai and all I have to say is Wow. Anyone have photos they can post here? 4 years, wow.
February 22, 201015 yr Here I posted a before and after shot: http://www.citykin.com/2009/07/thirteenth-street-before.html When I started this thread, I was obviously pretty discouraged about this corner. Now, not only is Mottainai done and sold, but Lackman lofts is completed and beautiful, and now I see that Model has started work rehabbing the northwest corner just this past week. Also, OTR Community Housing has established a "garden" in the glass strewn lot at the northeast corner. We actually grew vegetables there this past summer.
May 24, 20178 yr I think one of the areas now to look to would be the area around Findlay playground which has seen quite a lot of violence, though I don't know if that is the worst corner in Cincy. Seems like that area SW of McMillan and Gilbert in Walnut Hills is running right up there at this point in time, and I know areas of Avondale the last few years have been especially violent though I haven't even looked at this type of stuff for a full year or so.
May 24, 20178 yr Funny this was bumped because I was just thinking the other day if there is a thread related to the best street. Example is Sycamore. Start at the top of the hill you have this great vista and some intact residences and bars going down the hill. Once you get to the bottom of the hill you have this great canyon effect in front of you all the way to 3rd street.
June 11, 20205 yr On 6/29/2006 at 8:47 AM, Jimmy Skinner said: NWC (where the dope boys live) Owned by Metro Management last year and Downtown Property Management this year. They are tied as the two absolute WORST landlords in the City. The building to the left in the photo is a shell owned by the Drop Inn Center, which they hope to renovate for home-ownership.
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