Posted this comment today in response to this article:
Cleveland says it has leveled 4,300 structures since 2008 at a cost of $25.9 million. The city has recovered only $1.8 million, a rate of 7 percent.
By Thomas Ott, Monday, November 07, 2011, 6:00 AM
In October 2009 Joe Bialek--long time Slavic Village rep posted to an article on Brancatelli's violation of Ohio Election code. [2] The PD blocked Bialek:
During my time (1993 to 1999) as President of {the now defunct} South East Clevelanders Together I worked to promote community organizing in Ward 12 {Slavic Village} to address quality of life issues {such as crime watch} in an aggressive and systematic manner. During that time, Ward 12 was represented by current City of Cleveland Director of Building and Housing Edward W. Rybka and the former Broadway Area Housing Coalition nka Slavic Village Development headed then by current Ward 12 Councilman Anthony Brancatelli.
Needless to say, it did not take long for our organization to clash with the former Councilman's housing group. Their primary objective was to build and rehabilitate housing without any real regard for the other issues affecting the residents and business owners. They too took the worst houses and put people {white and black} in them who had no ability {or desire} to pay. In fact, once they completed their first rehabilitation on any given street that house soon became a haven for various social malcontents. Once the "single apple spoiled the barrel" the remaining law-abiding residents moved thus adding further to the catastrophe.
Now the Cleveland City Council has extended the boundaries of Ward 12 beyond the current boundaries of Ward 15 which {as luck would have it} now include my residence. Councilman Brian Cummins has been a fine representative for Ward 15 but as for Ward 12 Councilman Anthony Brancatelli; he will do for Ward 15 {Old Brooklyn} what he has and will continue to do for Ward 12 {Slavic Village}.
This legislation has been introduced to cover up the unreal investment schemes that were encouraged under our former Cuyahoga County Treasurer. "Investors" had properties cleared and primed at tax payer expense. The scam is going on in East Cleveland right now. Demos for developers. Just google it with REALNEO. Google Lightning demolition...Google Aberdeen Investments...Google facebook for photos of the Paris theater torn down on West 25th at taxpayer expense. Mysteriously, the building was listed with the last owner of the now-defunct Clark Metro Development Corporation.
From Councilman Cummins:
The Paris Art Theater is being demolished today. There were attempts to save the building leading up to 2007 but it fell into very bad disrepair. It was finally condemned in 2010 and the arduous process of getting it through legal and compliance finally completed in October. The property is delinquent in taxes worth more than $14k and the demo cost is $26k. We'll ultimately seek a tax foreclosure on the property and bring it into the City's landbank for future potential development opportunities that we're working on for the W. 25th Street corridor. The building had become a serious nuisance with break-ins, graffiti and vandalism.
Last owner on the building ? Clark Metro Development Corporation...the real estate manager at the time...Abe Bruckman.
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Sick--this council aside from Greenspan and Gallagher--have this crime on the conscience. Land Bank should be immediately shut down. Land Bank Director lives in Summit County and is delinquent on properties he owns listed/camouflaged under multiple LLC names. His buddy, Rokakis has gutted Cuyahoga County and served up to real estate investors. Tax favors and lien forgiveness should be investigated by PD, but they won't rat out on Rokakis.
And the PD keeps churning out the Land Bank propaganda:
http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2012/03/a_bad_bet_for_e_cleveland_libr.html [4]
(Broussard has to acknowledge the system is not operating at a deficit NOW...but it could (because?)...so take it away from the community... (before the community screws it up again!)
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Question of the Day: Is Wade Steen continuing the practice of lien forgiveness that Rokakis got a way with under his regime?
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/07/cleveland_housing_inspector_ge.html [5]
Now, developers can't conveniently have Rokakis forgive outstanding tax liens for special folks...
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http://www.cleveland.com/naymik/index.ssf/2011/11/its_about_time_cuyahoga_county.html [6]
PD continues to delete my comments related to "Land Bank" Gus Frangos' own delinquent taxes owed to Cuyahoga County...Rokakis' special favors and tax liens waivered warrant full investigation. PD knows that tax lien sales to Plymouth Park Tax and GLS Capital targeted small-time liens on properties owned outright by primarily African-American households.
On near west side--"investors" made out by picking up houses using "straw buyers" and flipped those properties to Section 8 rentals. Those "investors" then made out for years under Rokakis not paying taxes or barely paying taxes on multiple properites which still qualified the owners to be eligible for HUD rental vouchers, despite being in tax foreclosure. This warrants investigation, but the PD won't touch it and they will delete this comment, too.
CDC Clark Metro employee Abe Bruckman made out when he sold his house to HUD. [7]..PD ran the story, but didn't make the logical connection to the CDC and the blatant conflict in the sale.
Attachment | Size |
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Paris.jpg [8] | 47.72 KB |
AragonBallroomPublicMeetingFlyer1-22-152_1.pdf [9] | 933.48 KB |
Links:
[1] http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/11/cleveland_considers_new_ways_t/691/comments-newest.html
[2] http://smtp.realneo.us/content/how-file-elections-complaint
[3] http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-county/index.ssf/2011/11/cuyahoga_land_bank_gets_new_funding_formula.html
[4] http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2012/03/a_bad_bet_for_e_cleveland_libr.html
[5] http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/07/cleveland_housing_inspector_ge.html
[6] http://www.cleveland.com/naymik/index.ssf/2011/11/its_about_time_cuyahoga_county.html
[7] http://realneo.us/content/vacant-property-solutions
[8] http://66.228.45.157/system/files/Paris.jpg
[9] http://66.228.45.157/system/files/AragonBallroomPublicMeetingFlyer1-22-152_1.pdf