Rando...it aired last night (Monday).

I remembered reading about towns blasting classical music in crime hotspots as a way to deter crime and I was walking to the downtown library to return a book and walked across the front entrance on Vine, where there is ALWAYS a rowdy group of people waiting for the 17 bus that goes up Vine, and I heard classical music being blasted from the bushes haha :lol:

^ they have been doing that for about a month now.  it is LOUD isn't it?  I think it has helped some mostly because you cannot really talk right in front of it any more!  I wonder what the 'loud noise' ordinance has to say about that?  ;)

^ they have been doing that for about a month now.  it is LOUD isn't it?  I think it has helped some mostly because you cannot really talk right in front of it any more!  I wonder what the 'loud noise' ordinance has to say about that?  ;)

Yeah it's pretty loud...loud enough to where it's blatantly obvious why they're doing it lol.

I saw that piece on FOX 19 too, edale.  That's the one where they interviewed Tarbell, right?  And they were talking about how much quieter and safer feeling it was.

 

I was shocked that such a story would appear.

 

 

Mayor, officials tour Over-the-Rhine

 

By Joe Wessels

Post contributor

 

Business owners and residents in Over-the-Rhine were happy to see Cincinnati's mayor and other elected officials visit them Wednesday, but hope they do not forget the neighborhood - and might even come back soon.

 

Like a star-studded celebrity, Mayor Mark Mallory led the group through the neighborhood, joined by Vice Mayor James Tarbell and Council Member Laketa Cole.

 

The group, along with staff from the Center City Development Corporation, or 3CDC, who have been charged with revitalizing the neighborhood, and members of the media, started a walk along 12th Street and turned north and headed up Vine Street into the heart of the troubled neighborhood.

 

Stopping to talk to residents and visiting businesses, the mayor and council members listened to concerns from those met during the walk. People on the street seemed happy to greet the mayor and council members, some giving hugs to the officials and many expressing their thanks for them coming to their neighborhood.

 

One woman shouted down to Mallory from her second-floor window along Vine Street that he should come up for some good cooking.

 

"C'mon down for some corn bread," the woman said.

 

"Throw down the keys, girl," the mayor said, waving to the woman as he continued down the street.

 

Larry Ashford, owner of Mr. Smitty's, an apparel store on Vine Street, said city leaders should be most concerned with getting families back into Over-the-Rhine. His business has been open since 1923 and Ashford has been working at the location for 51 years, buying the business after the original owner died.

 

"Downtown was ashamed of Over-the-Rhine. We're a better part of downtown," he said. "It ain't what it was. We can't get the people back here."

 

Though he is encouraged by the attention the neighborhood is getting, he's reticent about whether the neighborhood can really change without families living there.

 

"If you move one element out, you've got to bring the other one back," Ashford said, referring to the recent drug sweep through the neighborhood that has netted more than 500 arrests. Though he said the police activity was working, he feared once it was over the bad element would return. The only way to fix it, he said, is to bring good people into the neighborhood - with money to spend.

 

"We need private investment from individuals," he said

 

Ashford lives in Price Hill, but used to live in Over-the-Rhine, having moved out when he was 20 years old. His shop - easily recognizable by its large display windows with an array of colorful suits and shoe styles lit by bright fluorescent lights and blinking incandescent bulbs - sells everything in "warehouses." One of his seven employees guides customers to one of many racks on two floors hung with everything from fur coats and shoes to suits and blue jeans.

 

"We have to make (the neighborhood) interesting to folks, people in the suburbs," he said.

 

If money were spent to upgrade the area, people would come there and spend money, he said.

 

After the tour, Mayor Mallory said he intends to follow up with people he met along the way. Two interns from his office tagged behind the mayor with clipboards and recorded the name of each person Mallory spoke to, including their phone number and concern. If he can help them, Mallory said he intends to do so.

 

"People seemed glad that we're here," he said. "We have a responsibility to make whatever changes we can for the good."

 

Brian L. Tiffany, president of the Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce, said the walk is a big boost for the neighborhood, an area used to people discussing it, but not doing anything to help it.

 

"They are not going to talk the talk without walking the walk," he said. "This is going to continue the progress of Over-the-Rhine."

 

Tarbell acknowledged a walk-through does little to impact the neighborhood, but it plays well into the psyche of people living there who feel neglected.

 

"It's not just the walk, it's the engagement," he said. "If there's a negative psychology in the neighborhood, however you turn it around, even a walk and talk, that's worth volumes."

 

 

Thousands of alleged bogus DVDs, CDs seized in OTR

BY EILEEN KELLEY | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

OVER-THE-RHINE - The large, flatbed truck was full of boxes.

 

More boxes - filled with what police and a Columbus investigator said were bogus music CDs and movie DVDs sold out of a clothing store here - were waiting to be loaded. "Yep, we're gonna need another truck," said Capt. Ken Jones as police continued to move the boxes around, trying to squeeze them all in.

 

Police carted away an estimated 25,000 to 35,000 illegally made DVDs and CDs on Thursday afternoon as Musa Drammert, 40, sat with his hands cuffed behind his back.

 

 

The bust at Drame Fashions, 1700 Vine St., should help put a large dent in the black market of illegally recorded movies and music, police said.

 

Some movies found in the store had not even been released in theaters, police said.

 

Drammert, of West Kemper Road, Sharonville, was arrested on federal charges of trafficking in counterfeit goods.

 

Police said they warned him and others in the store a few days ago to stop selling the pirated goods. Jones said other street and store merchants in the area also have been warned.

 

The bust at the clothing, video and CD store was the first of what police here promise are more to come. It was part of a 3-week-old sweep through Over-the-Rhine, which at first focused mostly on drug dealers.

 

The sweep has expanded to cleaning up streets, boarding up buildings and erecting fences.

 

Police say they have no intention of backing off.

 

From the 4/29/06 Cincinnati Post:

 

 

Crime bust results released

By Tom O'Neill

Post staff reporter

 

Cincinnati police started the day on Friday announcing the results of a month-long crackdown on crime in Over-the-Rhine, including 803 arrests.

 

They finished the day arresting several more suspects, including three on their most-wanted list. They had whittled that list down from 32 to 20 as of Friday night.

 

Of the 803 total arrests as of Friday morning, 68 percent were not Over-the-Rhine residents.

 

The overwhelming majority of those apprehended, 652, were busted on misdemeanor charges, but police also made 117 felony arrests and served another 39 felony drug warrants.

 

More than half of the arrests - 55.7 percent - were for "vice" offenses such as drugs, alcohol and prostitution.

 

Thirty-four of those arrested were juveniles.

 

Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory, who accompanied numerous police officials at the press conference at District 1 headquarters in the West End, emphasized that residents are either part of the problem or the solution.

 

"They're part of a team," he said, "either law-abiding or criminal."

 

The task force sweep, which began April 10, is being funded by a $1.2 million budget allocation specifically designed to address crime in what is one of Cincinnati's most crime-ridden neighborhoods.

 

As of Friday morning, police had confiscated:

 

* 11,521 grams of marijuana

* 150 grams of crack cocaine

* 12.4 grams of powder cocaine

* 40 grams of heroin

* $9,301

 

Police also confiscated 20 guns.

 

The crackdown is having an impact, according to police Capt. Ken Jones.

 

"We've had only one shooting in the three weeks" in the neighborhood, he pointed out.

 

The task force also has addressed the issue of vacant buildings, with 14, primarily on Race and Republic streets, being boarded up or re-secured.

 

The campaign is paying off in other ways, too.

 

A new civil fine of $500 has been levied against the owners of 60 cars that have been impounded, netting the department $20,000.

 

"We've made 71 arrests of (prostitution customers)," Assistant Police Chief James Whalen said.

 

"Last year, there were seven."

 

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060429/NEWS01/604290351/1010/RSS01

 

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

 

Can we send a letter of thanks to the Cincinnati police department.

LMAO 71 arrests for people buying whores in a few weeks compared to 7 for all of last year... somethin tells me they weren't distributing police in proportion to the crime :)

I thank the officers in district 1 every time I see them on the street in OTR. They are doing a great job!

<i>I thought OTR has been on this list before. If it increases investment in the area, good </i>

 

<b>Over-the-Rhine Neighborhood

Cincinnati, Ohio</b>

 

The Cincinnati neighborhood known as Over-the-Rhine, a 362-acre collection of houses, businesses, churches and community gathering places just north of the central business district was once a virtual "foreign land" within the city. Starting in 1830, German immigrants flowed into the city by the thousands. By the 1880s, Cincinnati had become one of the most "German" cities in the United States. The Over-the-Rhine area bubbled with the energy of a thriving middle-class ethnic neighborhood, with its cohesive architecture forming the backdrop for a close-knit German community that at one point included 45,000 residents. The community's traditions and institutions – from beer gardens to churches, from singing societies to building and loan associations, from breweries to newspapers – are reflected in the distinctive architecture of its buildings. By the early 1900s, the German enclave had begun to break apart, the victim of assimilation, geographic expansion, over-commercialization and other factors. New residents moved into the area, replacing the older German residents. The past several decades have not been kind to Over-the-Rhine, and the area now faces the problems of crime, open-air drug markets and prostitution that plague many inner-city neighborhoods. An estimated 500 of 1,200 buildings in the area are vacant or illegally occupied, and very few businesses remain. Unemployment is above 50% and social service needs far exceed available resources. Only through a respectful, collaborative effort to preserve the structures and halt the blight, abandonment and patterns of destruction in the community will the quality life for all residents be improved. The vintage structures of the Over-the-Rhine district testify to the rich history of America's immigrant past.

 

"The residents of this area have persevered through misdirected urban renewal initiatives, controversy among diverse community groups, the inattention of city officials and the lack of a meaningful strategy for improvement," said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "It is our hope that this designation will serve as a unifier, providing the impetus needed to bring various government, philanthropic and community groups together with the shared goal of improving living conditions for neighborhood residents and preserving a vital part of the city's—and America's—history."

 

<b>History</b>

 

The dense, compact urban environment known as Over-the-Rhine is just north of Cincinnati's central business district. Starting around 1830, a large number of German immigrants settled in an area to the north and east of the Miami and Erie Canal where land was readily available and affordable for working-class families. The Canal came to be referred to euphemistically as the "Rhine," and the area on the other side, "Over-the-Rhine." The architecture in the area reflects the diverse styles of the time – simple vernacular, muted Greek Revival, Italianate and Queen Anne. The buildings range from row houses to mixed commercial/residential structures and free-standing commercial, industrial and institutional structures including churches, a music hall, beer gardens and breweries. The district's Findlay Market is the only historic public market building still open in the city.

 

<b>Threat</b>

 

The distinctive mid-to-late-19th-century urban architecture in Over-the-Rhine is in danger due to a combination of inadequate planning, low levels of home ownership and a reduced business presence because of rampant crime, reluctance of investors to commit to renewal and renovation, and an increasing pattern of demolition as authorities seek to address public safety concerns.

 

<b>Solution</b>

 

Designation of Over-the-Rhine as one of America's most threatened historic places will aid the local Community Council and other organizations, such as the Cincinnati Preservation Association, in their efforts to save and safeguard the area. Only through a diverse, collaborative approach that includes urban planners, corporate and philanthropic organizations, and – most important – community groups and neighborhood residents and stakeholders, will it be possible to stop the deterioration of the buildings and improve the quality of life for area residents.

 

http://www.nationaltrust.org/11most/index.html

I like to think I am a positive person, looking for the good in everything and everyone.  That being said, what does this do for us?  And I am not saying it is bad, perhaps I just need someone to educate me.  Any money? Is there an investment group that follows this list? or will it simply put more restrictions on development in OTR?  I do not know.

 

Solution

 

"Designation of Over-the-Rhine as one of America's most threatened historic places will aid the local Community Council and other organizations, such as the Cincinnati Preservation Association, in their efforts to save and safeguard the area. Only through a diverse, collaborative approach that includes urban planners, corporate and philanthropic organizations, and – most important – community groups and neighborhood residents and stakeholders, will it be possible to stop the deterioration of the buildings and improve the quality of life for area residents."

 

Ok, now what? 

 

"It is our hope that this designation will serve as a unifier, providing the impetus needed to bring various government, philanthropic and community groups together with the shared goal of improving living conditions for neighborhood residents and preserving a vital part of the city's—and America's—history."

 

I recieved a message this morning from the OTR Foundation that said "This is it!!!"  well... huh.  Its great if we get some attention because of this but please dear god, no more regs and restrictions on develpment.

 

<i>I agree, now what happens? Here's a bit more from the Business Courier.</i>

 

<b>OTR named to "most endangered" list</b>

 

Cincinnati Business Courier - 11:12 AM EDT Wednesday

 

Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine neighborhood has been called a dangerous place, but not in the same way the National Trust for Historic Preservation sees it.

 

The preservation organization named the area to its "America's 11 most endangered historic places" listing, according to a news release Wednesday. Over-the-Rhine's collection of 19th-century homes and businesses, featuring Italianate, Greek Revival and Queen Anne architecture, is in danger "due to a combination of inadequate planning, low levels of home ownership and a reduced business presence because of rampant crime, reluctance of investors to commit to renewal and renovation, and an increasing pattern of demolition as authorities seek to address public safety issues," the National Trust said in a news release.

 

"It is our hope that this designation will serve as a unifier, providing the impetus needed to bring various government, philanthropic and community groups together with the shared goal of improving living conditions for neighborhood residents and preserving a vital part of the city's -- and America's -- history," said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust.

 

The designation comes as the city, private and private/public groups are moving to restore sections of the longtime slum area, including Cincinnati Center City Development Corp., which is acquiring properties around Washington Park for redevelopment. The Cincinnati Art Academy recently moved into a renovated building in the neighborhood, and a new School for Creative and Performing Arts will be built next to Music Hall.

Getting on the list is basicily a free press writeup and nothing more.

National Trust can come in (if invited!) and make suggestions, but thats about it.

<i>A little something from the Post</i>

 

<b>OTR on list of historic sites in peril</b>

 

By Joe Wessels, Post contributor

 

Over-the-Rhine is in danger.

 

That's the determination of a group of historic preservationists who say that the Cincinnati neighborhood is one of 11 places in the country in danger from "disinvestment, deterioration, inadequate planning and low levels of home ownership."

 

The endangered designation came through the efforts of a group of activists in the neighborhood, who applied for it to the Washington-based National Trust for Historic Preservation. Over-the-Rhine was selected from hundreds of applicants, said Walter Reinhaus, president of the Over-the-Rhine Community Council.

 

Every year the trust names places around the country that are in need of attention before they are lost completely. Other endangered places singled out this year include a Civil War battlefield in Logan County, W.Va., that is threatened by strip mining and the "Survivor's Staircase" at the former World Trade Center site in New York City that was a pathway to safety for many victims of 9-11 and is the only surviving above-ground piece of the two towers.

 

Also in the group are several neighborhoods in New Orleans; the trust called the entire Louisiana city one of the "most endangered places in America" after Hurricane Katrina.

 

"Living in Over-the-Rhine is like living in a constant hurricane, the violence, the lawlessness and the failure of businesses and personal struggles, all of our lost diversity and opportunity" said Reinhaus. "Even though a lot of the efforts (to improve the area) are admirable, they just add up to things getting worse."

 

Sentiments like that are what appear to have prompted the Trust to shine light on the neighborhood's issues. "The residents of this area have persevered through misdirected urban renewal initiatives, controversy among diverse community groups, the inattention of city officials and the lack of a meaningful strategy for improvement," Richard Moe, president of the Trust, said.

 

"It is our hope that this designation will serve as a unifier, providing the impetus needed to bring various ... groups together."

 

Reinhaus and Cincinnati Vice Mayor Jim Tarbell, also an Over-the-Rhine resident, said they are not sure what the designation will do, but they hope it will focus more attention on the area.

 

"It's a novel of several volumes yet to be written," said Reinhaus. "Although to some extent some local resources are put into (the neighborhood), what we need to do now is to draw beyond what we can find locally."

 

Tarbell said: "It is one of the most important urban districts in the country that is at risk and there are a number of districts as important that have already been substantially restored."

 

He said most have heard of the area having the largest collection of Italianate architecture in the country, but might not realize it also has the largest collection of art and cultural buildings, too. Music Hall, the Art Academy of Cincinnati, Memorial Hall, the Know Theatre Tribe, the School for the Creative and Performing Arts, the now-closed Emery Theatre and the Ensemble Theatre, among others, add to the area's uniqueness, he said.

 

Reinhaus sees the Trust's involvement as the impetus for new ways of looking at the problems that plague the neighborhood.

 

"So much of what the city has done, which is typical of most cities, is project-based," he said. "What we need is urban husbandry ... people in the neighborhood connecting with a hundred different people and helping them make a difference."

 

Publication date: 05-10-2006

 

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060510/NEWS01/605100363

Reviving Over-the-Rhine

'Endangered' designation might help save historic buildings

BY EILEEN KELLEY | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

OVER-THE-RHINE - In an effort to reverse this area's deterioration, a national preservation group Wednesday designated it as "endangered," which should draw more attention and more assistance to one of Cincinnati's most historic neighborhoods.

 

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, based in Washington, D.C., placed Over-the-Rhine on its annual list of the nation's Top 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.

 

Preservationists hope that having the National Trust watch over the area will jump-start some of the sputtering attempts to revitalize the neighborhood and keep buildings from facing the wrecking ball.

 

 

Large amounts of money will not be thrown at the effort, said Royce Yeater of the historic preservation group. Rather, the group will offer its expertise in trying to secure loans and grants and bringing people together. Dozens of buildings are lost each year to neglect.

 

"Now it is time for people to realize we have a historic treasure that is equal to major battlefields or mountains," said Marge Hammelrath, director of the Over-the-Rhine Foundation, a nonprofit organization formed to preserve and enhance the area. "This is so important that we are acknowledged nationally."

 

Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory said the ranking is a good thing.

 

A local group, the Over-the-Rhine Community Council, helped write the proposal that will draw attention to the neighborhood's boarded and abandoned churches, storefronts and housing units and the historic value of the region.

 

Of the 1,200 buildings here, about 500 are abandoned or illegally occupied.

 

"(The designation) is acknowledging the great assets we have in this community," Mallory said. "It also puts us on notice that we have to take deliberate action to preserve this asset."

 

Opinions about what action to take vary. Not everyone agreed that preservation of the buildings is key to saving the neighborhood. Jobs and opportunities are in short supply and their numbers diminish each year as more businesses close.

 

Over-the-Rhine is home to one of the country's largest collections of 19th century Italianate, Federalist, Greek Revival and Queen Anne-style buildings. Beginning in 1830, the area began filling with German immigrants.

 

Fifty years later, the 352-acre area became one of the most German neighborhoods in the nation. It was a thriving place, with packed churches, beer gardens and building and loan associations.

 

Now plywood covers many old relics. Many windows that aren't covered are shattered. For-sale signs dot the landscape along with litter and a people broken by drug and alcohol abuse who sit along small concrete stoops.

 

"Over-the-Rhine is a national story of tragic loss, heroic struggle and hope," said Walter Reinhaus, the president of the Over-the-Rhine Community Council.

 

Yeater said that if money is secured, the trust will be able to have a historic preservation member on site in Over-the-Rhine to unite different groups trying to save the area.

 

The new designation is not regulatory, as was the area's 1983 listing on the National Register of Historic places.

 

Beginning in June, the History Channel is expected to begin airing segments on the area.

 

Yeater and others agree much work needs to be done.

 

About half the neighborhood's residents don't have jobs.

 

The lawlessness, desperation and drug addiction is evident on virtually every block here.

 

One hundred years ago, some 45,000 people called this place home. Today, only several thousand call Over-the-Rhine home and many would like to leave.

 

No one at Wednesday's announcement tried to hide the problems that have largely taken shape over the past four decades.

 

"Guns seem to turn up everywhere," said Reinhaus, explaining that a 12-year-old boy was approached by two people trying to sell him a gun. "Our streets are lawless night and day with drug dealing and prostitution out in the open."

 

The disinterest and abandonment of the community, said Reinhaus, is also evident with the growing number of boarded-up storefronts and building. "Many residents are experiencing an incremental day-to-day failure mirrored by the buildings they inhabit," he said.

 

Not everyone in the neighborhood is as enthusiastic about the endangered listing, and say improvement efforts must clean up the streets and provide decent jobs.

 

"I knew this place when people would get out and talk to each other. We didn't go into people's houses or anything, but we would sit outside and barbeque," said Geneva Lewis, 74, who lives above her storefront hair salon at 15th and Elm streets. "Back then the kids weren't running wild and crazy like they are now. Somebody is giving all these kids the dope and the guns."

 

As she talked, the metal bars to keep prowlers out rattle from the heavy bass reverberating from a sleek blue car that rambles by.

 

"Right now, I don't care nothing about no architecture," she said. "I care about there kids and I care about the elderly here."

 

"It's gentricide," said Brian Garry, who ran unsuccessfully for City Council. "People before buildings."

 

E-mail [email protected]

 

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060511/NEWS01/605110338

""It's a novel of several volumes yet to be written," said Reinhaus."

There alreaady is a fairly short book on the subject called "Changing Plans for America's Inner Cities". It has been referenced repeatedly in these forums.

The approach Brian Garry espouses is basically the same that was adopted in the '80's that resulted in the declining population, skyrocketing crime and physical deterioration the area is saddled with now.

With any luck the historic designations will inspire some investment but I wouldn't expect much else.

Well I hope so, and if we get just one investor or homeowner out of it then it is worth it.  I was just curious about the spin that the Foundation was putting on it with the lable "this is it!!!" well hopefully this is a part of "it".

Getting on the list is basicily a free press writeup and nothing more.

National Trust can come in (if invited!) and make suggestions, but thats about it.

 

Closing line from Baton Rouge Advocate on New Orleans, essentially, being on the most endangered list. -- The National Trust, via its most endangered list, has identified 179 threatened historic places since 1988. A listing does not ensure the protection of a site or guarantee funding, the group said, but such designations have been a powerful tool for raising awareness and rallying resources to save endangered places.

Actually, there is a bit more to this than just a write up.

 

Earlier this year, Preservation Ohio (and yours truly) were asked to participate in a review process that led to this designation -- first via comments and writing, and I then attended a summit meeting of sorts in Cincy near the end of March.  The Midwest Office of the Trust was in town for at least two days, meeting with all of the key players and local politicos.

 

They do indeed have plans to become involved and to devote resources to the task, partly through their statewide affiliate and through the local preservation organization.  I am not the biggest fan of the Trust, but this is a good thing.

I guess for right now we have to see how 3cdc ambitious plans pan out. But if there is a serious plan for Historic Preservation it will run into the endless hot potato of the overwhelming poverty and crime. I can't see the two coexisting. As someone is quoted in the previous stories, what is worth saving the buildings or the people? I don't think you can do one without affecting the other, at least not in a large scale that will be needed to make a difference for all of OTR.

"Living in Over-the-Rhine is like living in a constant hurricane, the violence, the lawlessness and the failure of businesses and personal struggles, all of our lost diversity and opportunity" said Reinhaus. "Even though a lot of the efforts (to improve the area) are admirable, they just add up to things getting worse."

 

Walter, you kill me.  Please give me a new community counsil pres. because this one does not speak for me.

Sorry, had to get that off my chest.

 

PresOhio,

 

They do indeed have plans to become involved and to devote resources to the task, partly through their statewide affiliate and through the local preservation organization.

 

Can you expain this a bit further.  And I am truly asking out of ignorance, not disbelief.  When you say resources are you refering to grants etc?  And do you know if this means further building and development restrictions.  Is there an action plan?  When I first read that this would increase colaboration between developers, preservationist, and gov. I was wondering when is our first meeting? 

Sure, happy to explain what I can.  It is important to point out at first, though, that I am not part of the “official loop” on this, as our organization is the only staffed statewide preservation organization in the country not affiliated with the National Trust (very, very long story).  When the subject of OTR came up earlier this year, however, and to their credit, the Trust solicited our comments and participation in the review process that led up to designation.

 

Being put on the 11 Most Endangered List is not an easy task – it occurs only in cases with a very important historic resource is at issue, and the Trust feels that they have can have an impact.  I do not know everyone from whom they solicited contact, but I do know that they met with the City Administration, 3CDC and other groups before the meeting I attended.  It would not surprise me at all to learn that the Trust put in hundreds of hours of review before making that choice.

 

If I were to speculate on that action plan, while it might involve outright grant funding, I don’t know that that would be its primary focus.  The Trust typically works through its statewide and local partners, and usually includes a variety of economic development tools – everything from its substantial capacity in the use of New Market Tax Credits to its National Trust Community Investment Corporation.  I also suspect that you will hear something about an urban “Main Street” program coming to Cincinnati – including to OTS.  I know and have great respect for the Trust's local partner, the Cincinnati Preservation Association, and their staff.

 

Then again, at least in my opinion, Over-the-Rhine is a mix of buildings, people, issues, history and passion that will probably be unlike anything they have encountered elsewhere.

 

As I hear things, I will be happy to share pass them along on this forum as I can.

I would appreciate that.  We need all the help that we can get and if this provides any leverage for us to help move OTR forward then I am behind it.  I am very happy to hear this may prove to be more than a title.

From the 5/21/06 Enquirer:

 

 

OTR crackdown called success

BY WILLIAM A. WEATHERS | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

OVER-THE-RHINE - Cincinnati police have made more than 1,400 arrests in Over-the-Rhine since mid-April, an effort that has been credited with making a positive impact on the quality of life there.

 

"It's been overwhelmingly successful. It looks like a different part of town," police spokesman Lt. Thomas Lanter said. "Businesses and residents can feel more comfortable."

 

The targeted enforcement effort originally slated to last 30 days began April 10 after three homicides there in a week.

 

Most of the crime and violence in the neighborhood was related to the drug trade, police said.

 

On the first day of the sweep, officers made nearly 60 arrests on charges ranging from littering, open-container violations and loud music to drug trafficking and possession of crack cocaine.

 

The crackdown will continue with a slightly modified approach, Lanter said.

 

Neighborhood residents and business owners also have noticed achange.

 

"It has made such an incredibly positive impact,'' said Brian Tiffany, president of the Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce.

 

"We've heard from some residents that there's been dramatic improvement on some blocks,'' said Walter Reinhaus, president of the Over-the-Rhine Community Council. "I have noticed the difference at times, but I was driving last night and it looked like the same old neighborhood."

 

But Reinhaus doesn't fault the police for the continuing problems.

 

"Increasing the arrest numbers doesn't tell the whole story. It's a bigger problem than the police can handle. We're still lacking the leadership for a comprehensive approach to turning the neighborhood around," he said.

 

The crackdown arrest total includes 1,091 by the initial task force from April 10 through May 3. Those include 304 drug-related, 315 vice arrests and 24 guns seized.

 

Since May 4, there have been an additional 315 arrests by officers working in the "modified" enforcement effort, including 80 drug-related, 101 vice arrests and five guns seized.

 

The original task force concentrated its efforts during a daily 8- to 10-hour period, Lanter said. Since May 4, the enforcement effort is being dispersed over a 16-hour period daily, he said.

 

E-mail [email protected]

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060521/NEWS01/605210396/-1/rss

 

My Big Move

Nick Spencer

 

Whew... please, just bear with me here. We'll be back to regular blogging before you know it.

 

I've never been too busy to blog, even during the Council campaign, but I'm really close to my limit right now. I've got the Festival (buy your tickets now). I'm trying to move the bar. And on top of that, I'm moving this week-- into a beautiful apartment right in the heart of Ludlow Ave. Once I saw it, I really couldn't turn it down. I look out my window at the Esquire and the Ludlow Garage-- its a pretty special place.

 

I've been homesick for Clifton for a while now, and getting back is something I'm very excited about. I wish I could say I'll miss OTR, but honestly, I just feel relief right now. I put a lot of stress on myself, frankly, and the neighborhood was just adding more. I reached a limit, a while back. I had dealt with enough crime, parking, and aggressive panhandling to last a lifetime. And I didn't really feel like me personally living down there was making any sort of a difference. I was at that point where I wasn't enjoying walking anywhere down here, and when its like that, why stay? Life's too short.

 

Besides, when I moved from Clifton to OTR, I did it to try and help. I told myself I'd do it for about five years, then head back to my old neighborhood. And well, that's how it went, funny enough.

 

I'm sure some people will be disappointed that I'm not staying in OTR. Sorry if I let you down. But I'm trying to come up with ways I can keep contributing to the neighborhood's resurgence, and obviously, alchemize is still there for the time being. For me, though, its time for a change of scenery, a partial return to somewhat happier times, and a lot of new undertakings.

 

Nick Spencer's online Blogsite:

http://nickspencer.blogspot.com/

On a positive....sorry about the length (great article)

On Any Given Friday

Sometimes art imitates life, but in Over-the-Rhine

By: John Fox

 

A wild coincidence or the sign of a healthy arts district? May 5 at Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati.

On a recent Friday in Over-the-Rhine, a single mother of five fights demons from her past. A young woman loses her family to violence and wonders if she can go on. A student packs up his belongings, uncertain about the future.

 

That's life in Over-the-Rhine, but on this particular spring day it's also art imitating life, art bringing life to a neighborhood that's seen too much death.

 

If you've ever doubted the power of the arts to change a city -- bring people together, open minds to new realities, add meaning to larger causes -- you should have been downtown on May 5. Maybe you were. In one afternoon and evening you could have been part of the crowds at:

 

· Know Theatre Tribe's production of In the Blood in its brand new facility at 1120 Jackson St., a half block into Over-the-Rhine between Central Parkway and 12th Street. The play's gritty, urban story -- about a woman and her children helping each other survive -- and racially mixed cast are a perfect match for the space.

 

· Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati's final production of its 2005-06 season, Wayfarer's Rest, a block away at 1127 Vine St. Annie Fitzpatrick leads a stellar cast as a woman stuck in the British countryside during World War II bombing who tries to save, but loses, her family.

 

· Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's final concert of its 2005-06 Music Hall season, featuring Paavo Jarvi and a bit of Beethoven. The lobby hums with a mixed-age crowd eager to see the charismatic Jarvi's last local appearance until September.

 

· The final day of classes at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, wrapping up its initial school year at 12th and Jackson. The converted concrete-and-glass warehouse, warmed by the teaching and making of so much art, slowly deflates as undergrads clean out their studios and head home for the summer.

 

· The opening weekend of Richard III a few blocks away at Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival (CSF). Giles Davies owns the stage as Shakespeare's despicable, deformed villain.

 

· A Contemporary Arts Center members' opening party celebrating four new exhibitions. Visitors dance to a DJ spinning Salsa music in the lobby and wander the galleries.

 

· Coordinated with the CAC, an opening party across Walnut Street at the Aronoff Center's Weston Gallery for a site-specific sculpture show featuring a soundproof house, plus Stewart Goldman's paintings.

 

· An opening party at ArtWorks' Time Warner Cable Gallery, a block up Race Street from CSF. A diverse crowd mingles among work from Ben and Helen Allen's private collection.

 

· An opening party at the 5th Street Gallery for painter Donna Talerico, whose friends stop by after work to start the weekend as the setting sun streams down Fifth Street and through the windows.

 

· And late-night gatherings at alchemize, Cooper's on Main, RBC and Courtyard Cafe for the "Electrofest 2.0" showcase of local, regional and national bands focused on electronic-based music.

 

For all the action, you still wonder: How many of the people downtown on this one Friday night feel that they're part of a "scene?" How many park once and walk among the various venues, getting something to eat before their event or something to drink afterwards? How many are attracted by the excitement of being among like-minded arts fans?

 

Probably not many.

 

Each of the arts organizations active this night worked hard to attract its patrons, struggling against the perception of the neighborhood as unsafe and undesirable. Each has to sell the public on its surroundings as much as its entertainment, and leaders at each can easily feel they're out there all by themselves.

 

And yet the collective momentum in and near Over-the-Rhine, led by the arts, seems to be slowly moving forward. Know Theatre's new home fills a vacant building. A formerly crappy corner building at 12th and Vine is being transformed into student housing for the Art Academy. And designs finally have been unveiled for the new School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) on Central Parkway, with groundbreaking promised soon.

 

Drug dealing, prostitution and related criminal activities continue to haunt the area, leading to a recent police crackdown in Over-the-Rhine that's netted more than 1,400 arrests. No one knows if that's a short-term boost or the beginning of a long-term solution.

 

As City Councilman Jim Tarbell says about Over-the-Rhine, "It's at a point where the glass is either half empty or half full. Which way will it go?"

 

If other days downtown can come close to what happened on May 5, the glass will fill up quickly. If organizations can coordinate marketing and programming efforts through a formalized arts district, the glass might eventually overflow.

 

'Our vision is coming true'

When the National Trust for Historic Preservation announced May 10 that Over-the-Rhine was among the most endangered historic sites in the U.S., city leaders welcomed the attention and acknowledgement of the area's significance. But it was hardly news.

 

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO), Cincinnati Opera and May Festival have been holding down the fort at Music Hall for decades. Ensemble Theatre (ETC) has been an artistic oasis on Vine Street since 1988. Leaders there have watched the neighborhood deteriorate around them while a succession of politicians and blue-ribbon committees promised help.

 

Help is finally here via the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC), whose plan for Over-the-Rhine centers on hundreds of new housing units near the neighborhood's arts institutions. On the heels of the Gateway garage and condos built to help keep Kroger's headquarters downtown, 3CDC is taking its first steps in a building-by-building, block-by-block rehab program.

 

The 19th-century structure at 12th and Vine, known as the Bank Café building, is the poster child for the new effort. That's where apartments for 27 Art Academy students are being readied for the next school year starting in late August, funded by both private and city dollars.

 

"Look at that corner," says ETC Producing Artistic Director D. Lynn Meyers, smiling as she talks about the construction clutter on the sidewalk next door. "I'd much rather hear noise from the construction workers than noise from the arrests. And I'd much rather walk around guys in hard hats than walk around drug dealers stuffing bags of crack into the drain pipes in that building."

 

Meyers says ETC spends about 10 percent of its annual operating budget on private security for show nights. The better street lighting and $2 garage parking that came along with the Gateway facility have been a big improvement, she says, but sometimes she can't win for losing.

 

"After the news broke about the police crackdown in Over-the-Rhine, I got a few calls from patrons saying, 'Uh, I didn't know it was so dangerous down there -- maybe we shouldn't come to ETC,' " Meyers says, shaking her head. "Clearly I'd like not to put so much money into security and to talk about the safety problems in Over-the-Rhine, but it comes with the territory. Literally."

 

CSO leadership has made public comments lately about its unhappiness with the status quo at Music Hall -- both the suitability of the hall itself as well as nearby crime and blight -- and Jarvi warned that the organization might have to abandon the historic building if business was affected. Unfortunately, leaders of Cincinnati's largest arts organization have been sounding that alarm for a while.

 

"It's not an issue of us not wanting to stay in Music Hall," CSO's then-board chairman, Daniel Hoffheimer, told CityBeat three years ago (see "A 360-Degree View," issue of Aug. 27, 2003). "It's 'Can we stay?' If attendance continues to decline due to public perception and events beyond our control, we have to look at leaving Music Hall."

 

CSO President Steven Monder is more upbeat, saying he doesn't want people to think his organization is ungrateful or unhappy in the city-owned architectural gem. But the reality, he says, is that the CSO needs to compete for audiences in the modern world and can't be handicapped with an out-of-date facility or safety problems.

 

A major goal of 3CDC's effort in Over-the-Rhine is to rehab residential buildings in the blocks around Washington Park, across the street from Music Hall and shamefully underused Memorial Hall. Plans call for the park to be extended up to 14th Street, reclaiming land now housing Washington Park Elementary School, which is scheduled to close.

 

With Music and Memorial halls fronting the Elm Street side of the park and the new SCPA fronting it on 12th Street, 3CDC has been buying up mostly abandoned buildings on the other two sides (Race and 14th streets) in hopes of eventually revitalizing the entire park vicinity.

 

Cincinnati's corporate community, a supporter of the arts already, finally understands that the best way to help these particular institutions right now is to back 3CDC's effort to build housing and small businesses in Over-the-Rhine, says former Kroger Chairman Joe Pichler, head of 3CDC's Over-the-Rhine Working Group.

 

"This is an asset-based opportunity," he says. "Music Hall brings in 400,000 people a year to this neighborhood, so the arts are the anchor for this Over-the-Rhine effort. And I'm impressed that the corporate community is risking its money on this 3CDC plan -- $14 million on Vine Street alone. Amazing."

 

Pichler praises organizations like ETC, the CSO and the Opera for sticking it out in Over-the-Rhine through the bad times and knows that they and 3CDC need each other to succeed.

 

"It's attractive for potential condo and apartment dwellers to have Music Hall within walking distance of where you live, there's no doubt," he says. "Development will support the arts, and the arts attract residential development. What could be better for the CSO than a safe and open Washington Park? What could they do with the park to help extend and promote their programming?"

 

Art Academy President Gregory Smith had the same thoughts six or seven years ago when he decided to move the college from its longtime Eden Park and Mount Adams homes to warehouse buildings at 12th and Jackson, where he hoped the school, its faculty and its students would benefit from the energy of a bustling urban arts community. It hasn't quite worked out as Smith intended -- yet.

 

"It's clear our vision for the neighborhood is coming true," he says when discussing 3CDC's projects and Know Theatre's move nearby. "We first looked at the building in fall 1999 and closed on it in June 2000. It wasn't such an urban pioneer location back then, since people were really talking about Over-the-Rhine flourishing. Main Street has declined a bit since then, and other things such as the new SCPA have taken a while to get going."

 

Smith has had his own security issues to deal with during the Art Academy's first year in Over-the-Rhine, as several students have been the victim of assaults or robberies.

 

The school ended the year with an enrollment of around 175, when the new building has a capacity of 275. Boosting the student population obviously is one of Smith's main objectives, yet many factors that contribute to his success or failure -- timing and pace of redevelopment, criminal activity and perception of crime -- are out of his hands.

 

"Timing is critical," he says. "When is enough of the 360-degree area around the Art Academy perceived to be safe enough for students to come here or for other people in the community to want to take classes here? That's the real question."

 

Tarbell -- Cincinnati's unofficial arts czar as chair of city council's Arts, Culture, Tourism and Marketing Committee -- understands the frustration of Smith, Meyers, Monder and other arts leaders who've been waiting for the development cavalry to arrive. He says 3CDC is what everyone's needed all along.

 

"3CDC's work now in Over-the-Rhine is the tip of the iceberg," he says. "Vine Street needs to be stabilized. We're up to 14th Street now with the planning and buying of properties. This time next year development up to 14th will be actively underway."

 

Tarbell prefers to see 3CDC's next phase of development work go all the way up Vine to McMicken Street and beyond, connecting downtown with UC and the uptown area as soon as possible. He thinks the Washington Park area would come along on its own if Over-the-Rhine's central corridor were rehabbed.

 

"It's like what they did with Short North in Columbus," Tarbell says. "They fixed up High Street between downtown and the Ohio State campus, and development spread out a few blocks on either side. I argue that if the money is tight -- and development money is always tight -- we should focus on Vine Street."

 

Wherever the road map goes from here, Meyers is pleased with what she sees so far.

 

"The powers said they were going to build a garage, and they did," she says, talking about the Gateway project. "They said they were going to build condos, and they did. They said they were going to fix up the bad buildings, and they are. So far, so good."

 

'Get people in the door'

Much of the recent buzz in the Over-the-Rhine arts community stems from Know Theatre's occupancy of the two-story building at 1120 Jackson St., which also provides a home base for the Fringe Festival. Jason Bruffy, artistic director of both organizations, had little more than a month to move the companies, rehearse In the Blood and open it on April 27.

 

Despite the frenzy, he and Executive Director Jay Kalagayan couldn't conceive of moving out of Over-the-Rhine, where Know Theatre has been based since 1999 (formerly at Gabriel's Corner at Sycamore and Liberty streets).

 

"For Know's programming, we always think about the urban experience you find downtown or in Over-the-Rhine," Bruffy says. "American theater is very issue-oriented right now, so there are a lot of good plays being written. We always have very diverse casts, not all-white or all-black. I do that consciously because I think that's what Over-the-Rhine is about."

 

Like Bruffy, Kalagayan doesn't consider Over-the-Rhine simply to be Know's address -- its people, struggles and issues are central to the company's mission. He talks about handing out free In the Blood tickets to neighborhood residents because he wanted them to experience live theater, many for the first time.

 

"We had a community performance, and people came," Kalagayan says. "They were amazed. They talked back to the actors. Some left at intermission -- we found out later they thought the play was over."

 

Bruffy smiles and shrugs. "Well, what other entertainment have they gone to that has an intermission?"

 

They say they'll continue their tradition of having a free preview weekend for each Know production, working through the Joseph House, the Drop Inn Center and other Over-the-Rhine nonprofits to invite locals. Besides being good outreach, it's good business.

 

"We feel like the only way to grow new audiences for Know and for theater in general is to get people in the door," Kalagayan says. "There's no risk (for the audience) with a free ticket."

 

There are plans for a number of ways to get people in the door at the new space, from Fringe Festival performances starting next week to being a MidPoint Music Festival venue in September to creating a "cabaret lobby" that could host solo performers, bands, spoken word and other intimate productions (plus a limited liquor license and Wi-Fi availability).

 

More than anything, they'd like to get other artists in the door.

 

"Theater might be the most inviting of all the arts, especially a company like us," Bruffy says. "We work with video and music and run the gamut of the arts, using bands, DJs, visual artists. Those people should be into what we're doing. ... One thing we're doing is all the Fringe Festival performers get full access to all the festival shows. Artists need to see other artists. It opens them up to other ideas, other artists and maybe collaborations."

 

Art Academy students are of particular interest, Bruffy says, and not just because they're half a block away. He'd like to see the students' work on the walls of Know's new space and even have them do outdoor murals when Know gets around to rehabbing the building's exterior.

 

Bruffy says he's spoken with Smith about setting up a formal internship program with the Art Academy to have students help design and build Know's sets, and Smith confirms his interest.

 

"Our students can make anything -- sets, props, etc.," Smith says. "We're transitioning to requiring mandatory internships for a BFA in fine arts, so it makes sense. It would be great exposure to real life situations in which your art degree can be used. Our alums have been saying they want the school to better prepare students for careers."

 

Smith says he's generally pleased with the Art Academy's first year in its new home and remains convinced the facility positions the school for future growth. He ticks through his three main talking points from the past year: People love the building itself and the additional room for students, faculty and staff; there have been positive developments in the neighborhood, particularly 3CDC's housing starts; and safety continues to be a concern.

 

Like other arts leaders in the area, Smith clearly walks a tightrope when discussing safety. He knows he's ultimately responsible for the well-being of the school's students and staff, but he doesn't want to draw too much attention to crime statistics and scare away potential students or visitors.

 

He'd just as soon talk about the four awards the Art Academy building has won, which Smith says demonstrate the breadth of impact the school has had already. The latest award came a few weeks ago from Heritage Ohio for "Best Large Rehabilitation Project" in the state.

 

Other recognition includes the Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce's award for "Property Development of the Year," the Society of Environmental Graphic Design's "Midwest Ohio Region Honor Award" and the Associated Building & Contractors' "Excellence in Construction: Historic Restoration" award.

 

More than anything, Smith likes to talk about the students and the art they produce inside the building. He seems tickled that they disrupted the staff's plan to hang "institutional" art throughout the building (from well-known alumni) and instead requested their own art be featured on the walls, and he enjoys showing visitors the student work.

 

"The sum total of the Art Academy's past year is very positive," Tarbell observes. "The seeds being sown now will work their magic over the coming years."

 

'People need to know'

The two established companies wrapping up their seasons, Ensemble Theatre and the Symphony, have good news to report regarding audience response.

 

ETC's total attendance for the 2005-06 season was around 35,000, with single ticket sales up over last year and subscriptions holding steady. Meyers says Enjoy the Arts tickets and student rush tickets were particularly strong.

 

She's proud that the season's first two shows tackled racial issues in very different eras -- Intimate Apparel told the story of a turn-of-the-century African-American seamstress, and Permanent Collection explored the tension between black and white directors in a present-day art museum.

 

"I loved the season's diversity," Meyers says. "The first two shows were set up back to back to show how little things have changed in 100 years. ... We didn't give in to the temptation of the tried-and-true. Because entertainment dollars are tight for people, there's a tendency to spend them on the tried-and-true, and the arts are tempted to provide more and more of the same."

 

Last year at this time, ETC was on the verge of embracing an ambitious expansion plan to build a larger theater facility on the same site. The board had considered but rejected moving out of Over-the-Rhine and hired a consultant to advise them on next steps.

 

Ultimately, it was decided that the time wasn't right for a major fund-raising and building project, both because the ETC board wasn't certain about the future of the neighborhood and because the company itself needed to be on firmer footing. The board adopted a shorter-term stabilization plan instead.

 

Meyers says expansion plans were put on hold until two things are accomplished first.

 

"We need the neighborhood to catch up with us in terms of safety and stability," she says. "People will then be more willing to invest in a capital campaign to build a new theater. And we need to continue to grow artistically."

 

To help with the artistic process, ETC's board has committed to raising $1 million as a stabilization fund, allowing Meyers to lock up key personnel for the next three seasons by going beyond the typical year-to-year contracts. It's a load off of her mind, she says.

 

The 2005-06 season saw Meyers move ETC further along in collaborating with other theaters. Her production of I Am My Own Wife from two seasons ago, featuring actor Todd Almond and Brian c. Mehring's set, had out-of-town runs earlier this year at Actor's Theatre in Louisville and Florida Studio Theatre in Sarasota.

 

The runs didn't necessarily make ETC much money, Meyers says, but they help improve the company's reputation in the theatrical world, which puts ETC in better position to land future world premiere plays.

 

If Meyers can tie up the loose ends, next season ETC will have its first full-fledged theater partner to share productions with, much as Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park co-produces plays with Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. And she might even complete a 2006-07 season lineup one of these days.

 

"I'm thrilled that 60 percent of subscribers have renewed for next season already before I've announced the shows," she says.

 

Renewing subscribers for next season is also underway at the CSO, where numbers for the just-completed season were finalized only a few days ago. For the Symphony's 53 concerts in its 2005-06 Music Hall season, average attendance, single tickets and subscriptions all were up from the season before.

 

Two demographic groups the Symphony targeted showed significant gains this season -- tickets for the four-concert Sunday subscription, a matinee series geared to families, increased 18 percent; student tickets increased 27 percent.

 

Results for the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra's 22 concerts in its 2005-06 Music Hall season were mixed. Average attendance, single tickets and subscriptions were all down from the previous season, although discounting poor attendance for the Jekyll & Hyde performance -- a guest presentation while the Pops were on their China tour -- puts the average Pops attendance even with last year.

 

Monder says he's pleased with the attendance trends but knows it's a constant struggle to keep up with people's changing habits.

 

"Subscriptions and an endowment historically have been the life blood of nonprofits, but those kinds of commitments aren't as popular now in contemporary life," he says. "We're actually selling more subscriptions to the Symphony but people are buying fewer shows, and that's not a bad trend. They want more flexibility. That's today's reality."

 

Another reality Monder deals with is the size and shape of Music Hall itself, home to the Symphony since 1936. Average CSO attendance in 2005-06 was 1,711, and average Pops attendance was at 2,194 -- in a hall with 3,400 seats. Even at well-attended performances, Music Hall can feel a little empty.

 

CSO leaders are working through that issue and others -- lack of parking, lack of an on-site box office, lack of an on-site restaurant or café, safety concerns and general "old building" syndrome -- with other Music Hall tenants, and Monder hopes to have a plan in place by the fall to address them.

 

"Our plan obviously creates a domino effect with regard to everything else being worked on in Over-the-Rhine," he says. "People need to know if the Symphony is in or out. We need to be a part of the game in redeveloping the neighborhood and not sit on the sidelines."

 

With CSO's leadership position in the local arts and Music Hall such a crucial component of any Over-the-Rhine plan, key players know they need to address Monder's concerns.

 

Pichler mentions conceptual drawings 3CDC has prepared for a development between and behind Music Hall and Memorial Hall that primarily would serve as a parking garage. Between that and the WCET garage across Central Parkway, all the parking needed for Music Hall events would finally be on-site and connected to the building.

 

Tarbell brings the discussion of Music Hall back to the same theme he presses throughout Over-the-Rhine -- developing residential housing will change the dynamic of the entire neighborhood.

 

"What's the point of hiring a world-class conductor and then you go outside Music Hall and see a vacant building next door?," he asks. "If you don't focus on the neighborhood picture, you miss the opportunity to find a place for your employees to live nearby and walk to work, which strengthens the whole area because these people will look after and take care of the area they live and work in. Now you're building a real neighborhood."

 

'Open yourself up'

As summer approaches, Cincinnati's downtown arts continue on their merry way -- though perhaps not with the oomph of May 5.

 

The May Festival wraps up its 133rd year this weekend at Music Hall, while the Fringe Festival kicks off next week at 1120 Jackson St., ETC, Kaldi's, the CAC, the Aronoff Center and other venues. Cincinnati Ballet performs its Beyond Ballet Gala June 3 at its studio theater just up from Music Hall. Cincinnati Opera opens its summer season at Music Hall June 15 with Tosca. The touring production of Little Women: The Musical plays the Aronoff Center June 13-25.

 

All the while, artists, musicians, dancers, actors and others will find themselves in galleries on Main Street and around downtown, in Media Bridges working on video projects and in neighborhood bars and restaurants plotting their next move.

 

Smith will be overseeing a gaggle of graduate students spending the summer at the Art Academy, but he'll also be out among his colleagues gauging their interest in establishing a formal Over-the-Rhine arts district. He has a specific idea he wants to present and get consensus for, though he's not interested in discussing it in the media yet.

 

"I want the district idea to grow from arts groups themselves, not from the media or city government," Smith says. "It would be a mechanism to improve collaboration in visibility, marketing and safety. I have to appeal to the self interests of each arts organization in Over-the-Rhine, so I have to listen to them."

 

Smith says he hopes this article won't rehash CityBeat's own concept for a downtown arts district, which we dubbed "The T" six years ago. We envisioned a grouping of arts organizations in the shape of a T, going up Walnut Street from the CAC and the Aronoff Center to 12th Street across the top (see "Cincinnati Tees Off on the Arts," issue of May 4, 2000).

 

Of course, we also envisioned the Main Public Library at Ninth and Walnut stepping up its arts programming; a new building at the same intersection to house Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival, the Arts Consortium and other smaller groups; a renovated Emery Theatre at Walnut Street and Central Parkway; and a light rail system to carry patrons right to the venues. Oops, looks like it's been rehashed.

 

Smith's objection to "The T" is two-fold: Successful arts districts, he says, have to be experienced by walking and thus need to be more compact than what CityBeat proposed. And media plans tend to create confusion instead of consensus because they're imposed from outside the arts community itself.

 

Tarbell has no qualms about tossing out his concept for an Over-the-Rhine arts district centered around the Gateway complex and including Know, ETC, the Art Academy and a renovated Emery Theatre. He'd like to call it Jackson Square, giving it a distinct identity and allowing the Music Hall/Memorial Hall/Washington Park area and the Main Street area to retain their own identities.

 

No matter how you do it and what you call it, the concept of a center city arts district simply recognizes that the sum of the arts there is greater than the individual parts. And it helps the arts leaders within the district begin to feel less alone and less vulnerable.

 

If it were up to us -- and Smith has made it clear that it isn't -- here's a modest list of duties an arts district structure could take on:

 

· Create awareness by placing signage along Central Parkway at the four main northbound streets: Main (art galleries), Jackson (Know Theatre and the Art Academy), Vine (ETC) and Elm (Music Hall and Memorial Hall).

 

· Coordinate the hiring of private security for all organizations, saving money through group rates, and pay for Downtown Cincinnati Inc.'s friendly ambassadors to patrol the Over-the-Rhine part of the district, which they currently don't do.

 

· Find someone to renovate the Emery Theatre; our suggestion: UC owns it and has been investing millions of dollars in development projects near campus -- why not invest in the Emery as a "CCM Downtown" satellite operation? It would take CCM's world-class performers-in-training off campus to a venue where new audiences might find them (much as UC's University Galleries on Sycamore does for visual art students and alumni).

 

· Coordinate hours of operation with restaurants and bars within the district to promote a complete evening-long experience.

 

· Figure out what's missing in terms of artistic offerings and go get it -- a high-profile location for the defunct Arts Consortium would be No. 1 on our list.

 

· Come up with a one-man structure to run the arts district a la what 3CDC has done with Bill Donabedian and Fountain Square.

 

Not everyone, however, is convinced a structured approach is the best way for the arts to thrive. Pichler is worried about turning the arts into chess pieces in a development game.

 

"We have to watch out for mission creep," he says. "We can't start putting too much pressure on the arts in Over-the-Rhine and move them around to fit some development plan. Let the CSO be the best symphony they can be, and let ETC be the best theater they can be. Let the arts be what they are, and let us (3CDC) do the development."

 

Meyers' approach to boosting the arts doesn't involve government or business at all. It relies on the people of Cincinnati.

 

"We need people to give the arts three hours once a year," she says. "Just drive in, see a show and get home -- it's just three hours. Of course, if you'd like to spend more time, that's great too. It's not about what the city can do for the arts -- it's the people. Sometimes we lose sight of needing to be good citizens and supporting the arts.

 

"Open yourself up. Learn about others. The best opportunity is now. Nothing will happen if people sit at home on their couch."

^When you post articles, can you include the URL to the article?  It's often helpful for sending to folks who might be interested in them.  Sometimes a thread is appropriate to send, but sometimes just the article makes more sense...definitely, thanks for posting them (don't want to sound ungrateful!), but a link would make it even that much better!

A few hours ago I was eating at a chinese place on Ludlow--the one next to the IGA. I looked up and there was Mark Mallory and some white guy in a few booths ahead, talking. I've never seen the mayor before or any other popular politician so I got a little star-struck. The one guy he was with didn't look like security or police though unless he carries a concealed weapon.

New OTR citizens on patrol plans mega patrol

By Ann Thompson 6/2/2006 4:55:59 PM

 

This weekend Over the Rhine will become the 28th Cincinnati neighborhood with a Citizens on Patrol group. Sgt. Eric Franz says the volunteers, on the lookout for crime, graffiti and vacant buildings, were a long time coming. He says he’s tried to reach out from day one to Over the Rhine, but finally some volunteers stepped forward.

The Over the Rhine volunteers will be joined by citizens on patrol from 27 other Cincinnati neighborhoods for a mega patrol tomorrow from 6 until 11pm

 

http://www.wvxu.org/news/wvxunews_article.asp?ID=2545

^ all right!  The Bank Cafe building is really looking good.  I'm starting to see some preliminary activity in the those buildings just north across 12th St. and another block north on the right side, a long time vacant building is really getting a face lift.   

 

What's the rumor mill saying about the future and location of the Drop Inn Center?

They are determined to stay, I know that for sure.

Anyone hear about this one?  It's the most random thing I've ever heard of but it sounds like it will be good for the community.

 

Once Evicted from Pizza Parlor Ministry, Nuns Set Up at New Site Thanks to UC Students

 

On June 4, local nuns once forced to move from a former service site will re-establish their pizza parlor ministry in an Over-the-Rhine store front that has been renovated thanks to UC students.

 

Two groups of Cincinnati nuns seeking to open a pizza place as a site to provide both food and workplace skills will open a pizza parlor called Venice on Vine in Over-the-Rhine on Sunday, June 4.

 

The nuns – the Dominican Sisters of Hope and the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur – have been working with University of Cincinnati architecture and interior design faculty and students for two years now to ready the site at 1301 Vine St. At the site, the sisters will re-establish a ministry – a pizza parlor, catering center and computer training space – that seeks to provide jobs and job skills to hard-to-place workers. Also working to ready the site for its new use have been students from Miami University.

 

According to Sister Barbara Wheeler, the Venice on Vine pizza parlor project once operated in a Camp Washington location but was forced out when the rent went up in 2003. That’s when the nuns picked a new storefront location at 1301 Vine St.

 

The new site had to be dramatically refurbished in order to serve their Venice on Vine outreach program; however, the sisters didn’t have a lot of dough. So, they turned to architecture and interior design students in UC’s top-ranked College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning – specifically students working in UC’s Niehoff Studio which is based in Over-the-Rhine.

 

The students – led by the team of project architect Frank Russell, director of UC’s Community Design Center; Terry Boling, assistant professor of architecture; and Carrie Beidleman, adjunct professor of interior design – drew up and executed design plans for the interior of the 19th-century structure. The UC students focused on renovating the site for use as a pizza kitchen and restaurant – putting up drywall, lighting, signage, laying a tile floor, creating a wood mosaic wall, decorative copper screens, a serving counter and an eating counter. The Miami students focused on renovating the site’s training area – laying a new wood floor, cabinetry and furniture. Throughout the project, the students have worked with donated or found materials – mismatched pieces that had to be made into a cohesive whole.

 

“We laid the tile floor as a mosaic not only because it was unique, a very rich design, but also because our supplies were all sorts of mismatched pieces of tiles that were headed for the garbage heap. The same with the wood mosaic wall we created. We didn’t have large enough or sufficient quantities of matching wood to do a conventional job. It forced us to be far more creative than we might have otherwise been,” explained Travis Wollet, a UC graduate student in architecture who has worked on the project since 2004.

 

Wollet first participated in the project as part of a class, then for independent-study credit and finally, simply as a volunteer. “I stuck with it because I wanted to see it through. We’d shown a lot of care in creating the detailed floors and walls, and I couldn’t be sure someone else would care as much about that original work and see it through. So, I just continued to stick with it,” he explained.

 

Wollet’s personal contributions to the project consisted of building the frame for the pizza parlor’s interior light box, installing the ornate wood panels and metal trim that comprise one wall, laying the backer board for the tile floor, and building the frame for a wall counter as well as painting and cleaning. He’s yet to complete his work of installing aluminum edging to a concrete serving counter.

 

The end result is worth all the work, according to UC architecture student Emily Wray, who not only helped with design projects but helped secure donations of tile and wood as well as other materials and services. She explained, “The best part is seeing it all get built. So many projects we might do in school don’t get built. That’s the best part of this project and seeing it realized. It’s real, and it all shows real hand work and individual care.”

 

Of the new Venice on Vine, Sister Barbara simply said, “It’s a work of art.”

 

The UC students completed all construction drawings and bid packages thanks to funding from UC’s Institute for Community Partnerships, supervision by UC’s Community Design Center and technical assistance from KZF Design, Inc., and Brashear Bolton, Inc. In all, about 30 UC students have worked on the project over the last two years.

 

Said Boling, “It’s very important for the students to build what they design, to explore design and construction techniques with real clients, real materials and real constraints. They have only so much budget and time. And yet, the outcome has been fantastic, and that’s probably the best part, seeing the sisters’ reaction… how thrilled they’ve been at each stage of progress.”

 

In addition to the kitchen and dining area of Venice on Vine, the ministry (called Power Inspires Progress) also consists of a catering center as well as a small computer training space. When it opens, Venice on Vine will continue with its ministry of employing and training hard-to-place workers, paying up to $7 an hour. In the past, the venture has employed up to 12 part-time workers at any one time.

 

The sisters will celebrate the completion of the project with an open house from 1-4 p.m., Sunday, June 4. It’s a long awaited celebration, according to Sister Barbara. “We never thought it would take us this long to open,” she admitted. “But it’s all worked out wonderfully. The time spent in refurbishing the storefront was time we then had to write grants to support our work. And, it gave us time to implement many of the design ideas that students developed for us. We needed their ideas since we [the sisters] don’t have design backgrounds. It was the students’ ideas and enthusiasm that often pulled us through.”

 

 

http://www.uc.edu/news/NR.asp?id=3977

 

 

 

^ this is in what was one the front building/lobby of a place called the "Peoples Theater".  (from like the 1920s and 30s)  It has been mostly dormant for a long time and then they seemed to start this "Venice on Vine" deal maybe a year ago but then went quiet again.  Just like week I noticed a couple of guys working in there, but I am surprised to see it's opening today.  It seemed to me to have some ways to go yet.  On Vine from 14th to Liberty is as busy and active as any section of OTR so visibility won't be a problem.  I wish them well.

It wasn't exactly in the Camp - it was at the NW corner of McMicken and Marshall.

Pizza wasn't very good but it was a noble effort.

This project got some press when the group lost their lease & hooked up with UC.

Good luck finding anything about it in the Enquirers archives, tho.

From the 6/4/05 Enquirer:

 

 

PHOTO: Citizens on Patrol in Over-The-Rhine volunteers listen to directions Saturday from Cincinnati Police Officer Eric Franz before heading out on their first patrols. About 30 people who live or work in the neighborhood have been trained to be citizen officers.  The Enquirer / Joseph Fuqua II

 

Enough is enough, citizens say

Nearly 60 turn out for new walk to combat crime

BY EILEEN KELLEY | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

OVER-THE-RHINE -- Rachel Woods sat alone in the northern end of Washington Park, her bus stop within eyeshot.

 

But Woods wasn't moving. The right tire on her motorized wheel chair sprung a leak, stranding the 45-year-old.

 

A good 10 minutes went by with Woods just sitting there, clinging to her purse in one of the toughest city neighborhoods. But then a group of people in bright blue shirts and police radios came by.

 

Woods, who was trying to get to English Woods, explained to the members of the Cincinnati Police Department's Citizens on Patrol that she's diabetic and lost most of her toes two years ago because of complications with diabetes.

 

The loss of her toes also meant the loss of her ability to balance herself as she walks.

 

That's where Jerry Markley, who was instrumental in organizing the very first citizen patrol groups in 1997, sprang into action. Grabbing his radio and phone, Markley began calling police officers who he thought might be in the vicinity to see if anyone had a bicycle tire pump.

 

As he searched, Woods, who was moved to a nearby bench, began to cry.

 

In a matter of minutes, the tire was full and Woods was back in her seat and racing through the park toward her bus stop.

 

"Thank you so much," Woods said looking over her shoulder to the group that kicked off the inaugural Over-the-Rhine-based Citizens on Patrol Saturday evening. "You all don't know how much this means."

 

Many veteran citizen volunteers from around the city who showed up Saturday to support the new Over-the-Rhine group understand how much their volunteer work means.

 

Nearly 60 people put on their blue shirts, grabbed their radios and set out on foot and on bicycle to send a message to the residents here that they care.

 

"It's not just about chasing people off," said Patricia Markley. "You do what you can do."

 

For five hours the citizen officers walked the city streets talking to folks and making note of crime hotspots and health and well-being issues like broken streetlights.

 

The inaugural walk brought the number of neighborhoods with such programs to 28.

 

About 30 people who either live or work in Over-the-Rhine have been trained to be citizen officers. Saturday, and most likely for the next few patrols, they will be joined by some of the veteran officers from other neighborhoods.

 

"Don't get discouraged," was the advice from Margie Hays.

 

Before the group headed out to the streets, Brenda Tarbell, wife of Cincinnati vice mayor Jim Tarbell, pulled up along Liberty Street with her husband to wish the group well. Brenda Tarbell had been involved in the short-lived and neighboring Pendleton Citizens on Patrol in 2002. The group, like the few others that died over the years, disbanded because of a lack of people committed to the program.

 

City rules are strict and only want the various groups patrolling if there are at least three people patrolling at the same time.

 

"If every neighborhood had 50 people, do you know what a difference that would make?" said Hays.

 

To date, only one neighborhood, the West End, has that many.

 

"Even in Madisonville, you've got people who will complain, complain, complain, but will they pick up a phone call and call the police? No. Will they get their nieces and nephews off the corners? No. It's endemic apathy," Hays said.

 

The kickoff was one of the many measures the city police are using to try to clean up Over-the-Rhine. In April, police began sweeping through the area rounding up people on warrants and taking a low-tolerance stance for even minor infractions. To date roughly 1,450 people have been arrested by the sweeps, but most on misdemeanors. Most are back on the street.

 

"I think it's a really good idea," said Stephen Anderson, 39, of the Over-the-Rhine patrols. "There is so much killing and shooting going on right now we really need all the help we can get."

 

E-mail [email protected]

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060604/NEWS01/606040366/1056/rss02

 

I was part of the walk the article above refers to and, in addition to meeting Michael (who seems like a decent guy despite being so wrong on the marijuana issue ;)), his wife and a bunch of other cool, committed folks from OTR, got a pretty decent street level view of Vine and it was not as bad as I had anticipated.  Most people we encountered were pleasant and there was not a lot of visible vice activity.  Granted it was early (I took off at 9) and there were a _lot_ of police in the area.  I was also on the first walk of the now disbanded Pendleton Citizens on Patrol and this one had a totally different vibe, much more upbeat.  Whereas on the Pendleton walk (6 citizen on patrolers with no police) we witnessed several dice games, drug deals, and prostitution, on the OTR walk we didn't see anything more than a couple of open containers and a few hookers that decided against plying their trade due to the Citizens on Patrol and/or Police in the area.

Just as an aside, I never thought that I could see a place that made Northside's hookers look good by comparison!

The most disturbing thing was that little kids (like 5-6 years old) already didn't want to be seen talking with us or the police.  Towards the end of our walk we had a confrontation with a young man (16 years old) who said that he didn't want to see us on his streets again, which we took to be a threat and reported to the police and, within literally 10 seconds, 3 or 4 young kids (probably 10 to 12 years old) had appeared and told the police that we were making this up, lying, trying to get this kid in trouble, etc.  None of these kids could have possibly heard the conversation.  I imagine that this is what the police have to deal with every time they make an arrest in this area, not to mention the complaints to CCA, etc.  Turns out the guy that we were having trouble with wasn't even from OTR, he lived on Marshall and the police just told him to get out of the neighborhood and not come back.

Anyhow, what I took from this is that the police face an uphill battle with most of those on the streets indifferent, if not outright hostile, to their efforts.  I think the Citizens on Patrol will help, but something bigger is going to have to happen, and I don't know what that is, to change the attitudes of the folks that you see on the street, or OTR will never be a place that people feel safe.

All that said, I did not feel unsafe at any point in the patrol (although I was on Vine the whole night, certainly not the worst that OTR has to offer) and I really enjoyed the give and take with the folks on the street as well as the fact that so many people were on the street which made it feel really alive.

Weirdest thing about the walk for me was the Pohlar Cafe, which is an old school bar with an all white (at least on this night) clientele in the middle of Over the Rhine.  Strange.....

 

^ good for you horosho. congratulations.  I don't think there is any one big answer, just lotsa little ones.  I hope the energy stays with the program.  Today on my walk/drive home thru OTR there was still a noticable police presence.  But I say the Drop Inn Center either needs more resources to allow their folks to say in longer or maybe just move.  There are dozens of folks simply siitting around, laying around, etc. which in and of itself is okay, I mean, they have to be somewhere, but there just doesn't seem to be anything for them to do... programs etc.  (I am sure there are many that they don't take advantage of) but loitering in the 12th & Race to 12th & Central Pkwy is significant.

 

Again - keep it up horosho!

My wife and I just got in from walking our dogs from our place on Main Street, over to Elm through Washington Park.  There is still loitering over there (the weather is wonderful, so who can blame them), but it seemed friendlier than our past trips through there.  I noticed several police cruisers.  The Bank Cafe building is looking great, too.  I am excited to see how the area looks in a couple years.

a little off thread - but I noticed that St. Theresa's Textile on Main St. is closing end of July :(  Too bad for Main St. and OTR.  Do you know anything about this Kendall (or anyone)?

^I heard business is good, but the owner is closing for personal reasons. I heard of someone looking into purchasing it but I don't know if those conversations went anywhere.

Word on the street is Theresa's is closing for personal reasons.  It seems to get a decent amount of traffic, especially on weekends.

Did anyone see the news today about the gang problem in Cleveland?  The police department gang unit estimates 4000 gang members in Cleveland!!!  I guess THAT is why we got the federal money to fight the gang problem.  Anybody know what the gang problems are like in some of the other big cities in Ohio?  I would assume Cincinnati and Toledo may be up there with Ctown.

 

This was posted be me in the "Cleveland Public Safety" thread....if any Cincinnati folks have any info, please reply to that thread please...thanks.

From the 6/13/06 Enquirer:

 

 

Deputies to hit Over-the-Rhine Aug. 1

BY KIMBALL PERRY | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

Hamilton County sheriff's deputies will begin patrolling Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine neighborhood Aug. 1 - whether or not a court challenge over the patrols is settled, sheriff's spokesman Steve Barnett said Monday.

 

"Great. I wish it was sooner," said John Donaldson, one of the Over-the-Rhine residents and business owners who approached Sheriff Simon Leis Jr. last year about providing patrols.

 

Leis said he would have as many as 19 deputies patrol the neighborhood just north of downtown, home to one of every five city homicides through April, according to Cincinnati police statistics.

 

Leis has been stymied in his attempt to patrol the area by a contention that sheriff's deputies should be subject to the city's so-called collaborative agreement

 

Put in place after the 2001 riots, that agreement requires each Cincinnati police traffic stop to be recorded; additional training for officers and supervisors; and stricter hiring, promotional and use-of-force policies.

 

Leis has contended that because his department wasn't part of the original suit that led to the collaborative, it shouldn't be subject to it. That issue is pending in federal court.

 

Alphonse Gerhardstein, one of the lawyers insisting that deputies are subject to that agreement, said Leis had better not start patrolling unless he agrees to follow the collaborative rules. "I'm trusting that (Leis) is predicting that we will have the whole thing settled by then, because he knows he's subject to the law. He can't just start unilaterally," he said Monday.

 

Although sheriff deputies are allowed under Ohio law to patrol any street in the county, the head of the city police union, Kathy Harrell, on Monday called the patrols a "slap in the face" to Cincinnati police.

 

She also said she worries that deputies won't know who the undercover Cincinnati police are and could stop them, see a gun and shoot. - and that the two agencies may not be able to monitor each other's actions over police radios.

 

Donaldson, who helped organize a local anti-crime patrol, doesn't care who patrols as long as criminals are taken off the street.

 

He is a member of Citizens on Patrol, a group of unarmed civilians who volunteer to walk Over-the-Rhine streets.

 

"I think the sheriff being in Over-the-Rhine sends a stern image. I think a lot of people fear the sheriff; a lot of drug dealers and criminals fear the sheriff," Donaldson said.

 

E-mail [email protected]

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060613/NEWS01/606130364/1056/rss02

 

Although sheriff deputies are allowed under Ohio law to patrol any street in the county, the head of the city police union, Kathy Harrell, on Monday called the patrols a "slap in the face" to Cincinnati police.

 

Stop whining.  When OTR is crime-free, then replacing you would be a slap in the face.  But when it's a pit of crime (in many areas), you ought to welcome all the help you can get.

 

She also said she worries that deputies won't know who the undercover Cincinnati police are and could stop them, see a gun and shoot. - and that the two agencies may not be able to monitor each other's actions over police radios.

 

That's a legitimate concern - and one best solved by working together with the sheriff, not playing some juvenile "turf war" nonsense.

 

 

Though I've gotta say, Leis is really setting himself up for a lawsuit...the city bought its way out of various lawsuits with the protection of the collaborative agreement - now everything alleged against the city can be alleged against the county, and there's no collaborative to hide behind.  I hope he's having his deputies keep scrupulous records...

 

From the iRhine newsletter, 7/19/06:

 

 

Finding the Common Ground:

You're Invited to the Over-the-Rhine Community Meeting July 24, 2006

by Dyah Kartikawening, iRhine

 

After being chosen as one of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in May, Over-the-Rhine has received national attention for the quality of its architectural resources and the various threats faced by the neighborhood.

 

Since that time, Midwest Director Royce Yeater and Field Representative Jennifer Sandy of the National Trust Midwest Office have been working to engage Over-the-Rhine stakeholders in discussion regarding the neighborhood's most urgent needs and the best way for the Trust to get involved and make a difference. They have been working closely with the Cincinnati Preservation Association, the Over-the-Rhine Community Council, the Over-the-Rhine Foundation, and many others in this effort.

 

In an effort to identify what the community feels are Over-the-Rhine's most pressing issues, the Trust has been soliciting thoughts and comments over the past several months and has developed a chart of issues and action points reflecting that community feedback. The National Trust would like to invite everyone to a community meeting to discuss these issues on July 24th at 6:00 pm in Memorial Hall, next to Music Hall on Elm Street. The Trust would like to hear from the community regarding Over-the-Rhine's most pressing issues and discuss possible ways to address these issues and potential partnership opportunities.

 

The list of issues and solutions developed by the Trust will be used to facilitate this dialogue and is not intended to be a comprehensive analysis. Attending the community meeting is one of your chances to voice your concerns, ideas, and suggestions for solutions. Discussion points include such topics as communication/leadership, development interests, economic development, financing, gentrification, heritage tourism, historic district issues, new construction/infill, planning, school expansion/renovation, and unemployment.

 

The more the Trust learns about Over-the-Rhine, the more they are struck by the dedication of its residents and supporters. They hope many of you who have been working for years to make Over-the-Rhine a great place to live will attend this meeting. Over-the-Rhine has attracted a diverse community with a wide range of income levels, interests, and backgrounds because of its charming historic buildings, arts attractions, and strategic location. The National Trust hopes that a more comprehensive look at the neighborhood's issues and potential solutions will result in a unified strategy for improvements involving all stakeholders.

 

We hope to see you Monday!

 

http://view.amplifyi.com/?ffcb10-fe831271706d02757c-fdff15707c67007b77177374-fefa15757d6502

 

From the 7/25/06 Cincinnati Post:

 

 

Residents discuss changes for OTR

By Joe Wessels

Post contributor

 

First, it was labeled endangered. Now comes the plan to make it better.

 

About 60 residents of Over-the-Rhine and those who care about it gathered at Memorial Hall on Elm Street Monday to discuss what to do to create change in the troubled neighborhood. The National Trust for Historic Preservation called the meeting as a follow-up to its declaration in May that the area was one of 11 in the country that needed immediate attention and were "endangered."

 

Attendees broke into small groups to discuss different topics facing the neighborhood.

 

Now that it has issued the designation, the Trust - a nonprofit, privately funded organization based out of Washington, D.C., and created by Congress in 1949 - will work with community leaders to come up with a recommendation for how to improve the area. The group works with the neighborhood at no charge for now while a plan is being formalized.

 

By fall, the Trust should have that plan ready to present to the public, which may include hiring a neighborhood coordinator, re-branding the neighborhood in a more positive light, working to protect the area's "essential community character" and facilitating more discussions. The group is working to secure funding to carry on its work, said Royce A. Yeater, Midwest director for the Trust, who facilitated Monday's meeting.

 

Arlene Turner, a resident of Over-the-Rhine, said getting more residents to come to sessions means reaching out in new ways.

 

"There have been some meetings that went on that some people were not invited to," she said. "Some people don't have e-mail, some don't even have phone numbers."

 

Vice mayor Jim Tarbell said there are several issues that are facing the neighborhood that require immediate attention. He said often he is the only Council member at meetings about the neighborhood and that bothered him.

 

"I am only one of 10, and this happens all too often to me," he said.

 

Issues that are critical, according to Tarbell:

 

* Lobbying for the return of the city's planning department.

* Supporting a visitor's center that would highlight the neighborhood.

* Urging Council members to vote in favor a $1 million city-funded marketing campaign to boost Cincinnati that would be matched by the private sector.

* Opposing the city's sale of the Blue Ash Airport to the city of Blue Ash. Tarbell said that would likely lead to the building of an arts center on the site that would drain arts organizations from Cincinnati.

 

"We have a city of 300,000 (residents) and (Blue Ash has) a city of 12,000 (residents)," Tarbell said. "It takes energy and resources out of those (performing arts) buildings."

 

Yeater emphasized that funding must come from within the community.

 

"No community is going to fund (solutions to) someone else's problems," he said. "We are not a huge pot of money."

 

Other suggestions at the meeting included adding historical markers to the neighborhood and bringing in more working people to the neighborhood while helping existing residents get better housing.

 

"It has an impact on crime," said Gerard Hyland of Clifton. "There was a general consensus of that in our group."

 

Jeff Stec, a founder of The Urbanists, a group concerned with issues facing the city's urban core, said the city "needs not to be a facilitator but to be a resource, so there is a little hand-holding."

 

"Focus should instead be not on what you can't do, but here's what you can do," he said.

 

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060725/NEWS01/607250338/1010/RSS01

 

Although sheriff deputies are allowed under Ohio law to patrol any street in the county, the head of the city police union, Kathy Harrell, on Monday called the patrols a "slap in the face" to Cincinnati police.

 

Stop whining.  When OTR is crime-free, then replacing you would be a slap in the face.  But when it's a pit of crime (in many areas), you ought to welcome all the help you can get.

 

No shit, RiverViewer...  The nerve of some people!

From the 8/31/06 Cincinnati Post:

 

 

Deputies beginning OTR patrols

By Joe Wessels

Post contributor

 

Starting today, people in orange jump suits will be walking the streets and parks of Over-the-Rhine picking up trash.

 

Those workers - inmates on work patrols from the Hamilton County Justice Center - are just one of the cooperative features of a plan coordinated by Hamilton County Sheriff Simon L. Leis Jr. and Cincinnati Police Chief Thomas H. Streicher Jr. to patrol the neighborhood, one of the most crime-ridden in the city.

 

Some 19 sheriff's deputies will be patrolling the neighborhood in the department's black and gold cruisers, coordinating their activities via radio communication with city officers.

 

Brian L. Tiffany, president of the Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce, said he believes this is the first time ever that the two agencies have worked so closely together to patrol an area. And he's excited about it.

 

"It's a situation where two organizations that have not been in collaboration are working together to make an impact and difference in Over-the-Rhine," Tiffany said. "Everyone recognizes that something needs to be done."

 

Sheriff's spokesman Steve Barnett confirmed that patrols would be starting today but said Leis wasn't commenting further on the arrangement. The Cincinnati Police Department did not respond to a request for an interview.

 

Tiffany said the community was embracing the patrols and the police officers he met with seemed genuinely excited about working with the deputies.

 

"I really respect the two organizations that they want to work together and all they want to do is help out," Tiffany said.

 

Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune said he was happy to see the patrols begin.

 

"It took way longer than it needed to," said Portune, who first suggested the patrols in 2002.

 

Some residents in Over-the-Rhine expressed concern that the sheriff's patrols might agitate an already touchy situation in the neighborhood instead of help them. But Portune said he does not think there will be a problem and that he trusts the sheriff's judgment.

 

"It's a situation that we're going to have to see how it works out," Portune said. "But I've grown over the years to actually like the sheriff a lot. He and I have become surprising allies of one another on a number of fronts."

 

Tiffany said he had no concerns that the two policing organizations might clash in the neighborhood. The cooperation and mutual admiration the two departments seem to have for each other demonstrates they'll work well together, he said.

 

"They are totally engaged, and they are taking ownership with it," Tiffany said. "How can you look at this situation and not appreciate additional resources coming to our neighborhood? It's really a great thing."

 

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060801/NEWS01/608010373