The jumping off discussion area for the rest of the Deck. All things Lakewood.
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On "hook up"..google should have a "reporter" that hangs around the teens in our area. We just called a teen employee where my wife works who is one of the most IN teens anywhere, and asked her what "hook up" means. She replied " it means you want or got a deal, like hook me up with some tires for my car, or hook me up with a top like that".
Google's good but hey, we're Lakewood
Yes,
but the other interpretation is far more scandalous and lends credibility to bashing some poor soul thats want to open a new business.... *sigh*
We dont want national chains - they are somehow evil in our collective mind - we want entrepreneurs, right? But apparently we only want certain entrepreneurs... and certain types of business (and I guess clothing isn't one of them????)
And if they go down the 'slippery slope' we should beat them, berate them and make them feel unwelcome, as opposed to helping them become a part of our community. We should make assumption about their integrity and their abilities and we should generally run them out of town before they even had a chance to suceed?????????
How many people have met 'Moe'? How man people have offered to help 'Moe'?
Lakewood DOES have a great deal of wonderful attributes, but right now I gotta say that if this is our city's collective opinion, then I am ashamed to call it home.
You are absolutely correct in highlighting the issue that ALL businesses need to adhere to the city's signage regulations.
...unless it is a national chain like Howard Hannah, which seems to get a break in this department (the green goes so well with the rest of the red up there on Detroit...it is like X-Mas every day!).
Who defines the east end of Lakewood? One developer? That end of Lakewood on Detroit has been known for some dance clubs and bars and a restaurant or two. I would say "Moe's" is a better fit than the $400,000.00 condos. I liked the idea of the condo and storefront project but when I heard the price they were asking I nearly fell out of my chair. Nearly half a million dollars for basically an apartment above a storefront? Don't we have a ton of those already for significantly cheaper in Lakewood? Do Gold Coast condos go for that amount in those high rise buildings...which are at least on the lake?
I agree with the point that Moe's needs some re-direction and help with sign work. If Jim doesn't do it there are other sign shops in town that I am sure have left their cards with Moe's saying to give them a call. I agree with Charyn...either we are all for new business that don't have to have national affiliation or we can make more room for Howard Hannah's and Bob Evans. Heck, a Bob Evans near 117th and Detroit would be a better fit if they were open to catch the bar closings.
I have to wonder if this same sign violations were on a store called "Maureen's Hook Ups" and was store for cross-stitch, quilting and other crafty things if it would have made it on here.
In addition, frankly that "store?" concerned us (we live in the neighborhood) because it appears as a front for something less than legitimate.
Because of what? Any evidence? Or just because it is a bit more "urban" than one likes? Less than legitimate things don't advertise with signage. Much.
Am I missing something? We have a sign that is so far out of code it is unsafe. It flys in the face of every sign law we have, which to my knowledge is only a few. I call it to the attention of others and find out they have been cited, but have taken no action. And I am wrong?
I have to go back to the Hot Dog analogy. To own and operate one cart in Cleveland. I was forced to have a full stainless steel kitchen back at my commissary, I also had to have two bathrooms, wheelchair accessible, men's and women's with double doors. I also had to have hot and cold running water at all times on the carts. The reason was simple enough to understand. this is what all food establishments had to have to be legal. It would not have been fair to allow us to skip through loopholes, and cut corners. We already had the advantage of mobility, why stack the deck.
I am not asking the city to shut down Moe. Just to inform him, wait he was informed, of the laws. The slippery slope is not Moe, nor Moe selling anything. It is not enforcing the laws as they are laid out. When I was young and had nothing invested anarchy seemed like a viable alternative to the political system. But as I grew, learned and acquired property I began to understand that some of these laws are there for the betterment of ALL, not just a few.
I am sure in Moe's business plan there was mention of a sign. But was the sign out of particle board? Was it nailed in place so that even a little water would cause it to fail. Have any idea what a 4x6 sheet of particle board weighs, or what damage it can do to a car, person or child when it falls from 10'? I have to believe that if Moe is cutting corners here, has might have cut corners on insurance? Something my business has to carry for every sign we put up, for the length of time the sign is up, not the length of time the business is open. I do not have the answers, but these are questions that come to mind. and I have to think legitimate questions.
At the same time, would not Ken Lurie wonder if his commitment to Lakewood was ill timed, or perhaps wrong, when the city seems uninterested in making businesses within feet of his project follow the very same rules he had to adhere to?
I understand start up businesses. I understand tight on money? I understand shoestring productions. But not when it hurts people or is unfair to all the others that came before them.
As for the Urban comment I will ignore it, as you do not know me or my history. But I am willing to bet my urban roots, cores, and values run much deeper then yours. I'll bet lunch on it. Urban has NOTHING to do with it, while, fair, safe and legal has EVERYTHING to do with it.
FWIW
.
Jim O'Bryan
Lakewood Resident
"The very act of observing disturbs the system." Werner Heisenberg
"If anything I've said seems useful to you, I'm glad.
If not, don't worry. Just forget about it." His Holiness The Dalai Lama
I said nothing of urban so please redirect that part to the appropriate party (and for the record Phil asks a very valid question - perhaps it doesnt apply to you - but is DOES apply to others).
And of this had just been about a sign - that would be fine, but the insinuations that followed the complaint about the sign are what make me feel very sad.
You assume that because someone nailed a ply board sign that they are cutting corners on their insurance?? Someone else implies that the business is less than legitimate??
Come ON!
Go back to my first post. I AGREE about the sign. Phil agrees about the sign. We ALL agree about the sign.
I DONT agree with bashing these people or their efforts because of the sign.
That is not the behavior of a community - it is the behavior of a lynch mob.
being from a very small town in Canada, I'm not all that hip, but I've heard the term "hook up" more often in reference to getting deals than sex. I've also heard our sales department here offer to "hook up" with customers, and since we don't sell sex, they actually mean to meet. Opinions on one web site generally agree that "a good deal" is the most common meaning:
That is not the behavior of a community - it is the behavior of a lynch mob.
Huh? Lynch mob? I don't think so.
Happy to see new business, but we are talking about a sign that doesn't even approach code. Even if this store sold expensive cheesecake or pottery, I would still have to call foul on this sign.
Drive by and look at it, then come back and post. It's on the Northwest corner of Cove and Detroit, same block as Lakewood City Hall. Are we looking at a temporary sign, or at the future of Lakewood.
Ever talk to Lakewood business owners about their signage nightmares? City officials are so often unbending and insensitive to the needs of these owners, that I am suprised that they allow this one. These officials have better than a 50/50 chance of driving by this sign every work day. Is this another example of selective enforcement of building and housing codes?
Nothin' shakin' on Shakedown Street.
Used to be the heart of town.
Don't tell me this town ain't got no heart.
You just gotta poke around.
Please be advised that the Division of Housing and Building is aware of this particular situation. It is regrettable that you have the perception that the City is not doing it's job. Our file is a matter of public record and you're invited to review it at any time.
Our standard policy for time to comply with a correction notice is normally 30 days. Unfortunately, a lack of cooperation of the recipient extends this process. In this situation, the matter has been forwarded to the Law Department for prosecution.
I hope this clears up any misconceptions on anyone's part of a lack of code enforcement of our ordinances by this department.
Have DL looking for the missing post that has gone from the board. I am sure it will be in the back up. Still if you did not make the comment of "more urban than my taste..." I apologize.
How does meeting Moe affect/effect the sign?
The Chamber of Commerce has a window/sign beautification program. Moe if you are reading this, call the Chamber get their finances and help.
As for the insurance comment, I just am wondering aloud, not lynch mob, just me.
As for the Hook Up, who cares what it means. I did a Goggle search and I am sure that just because the first 50 hits all have to do with men and women, men and men, and women and women hooking up that I am waaaaaay off base with my explanation. But maybe not, as more than a handful of my clients are URBAN. But I can see where hooking up, could mean, shoes, gear, people, drugs anything.
However, the fact that the word Hook Up appears twice on the sign is a fragrant violation of the sign law. Dry Cleaners have been taken to task for using the word dry cleaning in two places, as have other businesses. Another violation is two sign on one building. I am not saying this makes sense, but these are the laws. But I know that you and others understand the laws, Or at least regulations that have been pointed out to other businesses.
I am not against Moe, nor his business. I am not mad that Moe did not come to me, or Erie Design for their signs. I do not wish any ill will on Moe, but I would like Moe to embrace and become part of the city he has decided to do business in. In return the city would embrace him or her.
FWIW
Jim O'Bryan
Lakewood Resident
"The very act of observing disturbs the system." Werner Heisenberg
"If anything I've said seems useful to you, I'm glad.
If not, don't worry. Just forget about it." His Holiness The Dalai Lama
I'm betting my lunch money that if poor Moe opened up in the darling "Madison Village" area, he could claim he designed his sign to look purposely crappy, he could have hung it INSIDE the window, and half the folks here would be swooning over it as another example of the "unique, diverse, quasi-urban Lakewood experience" instead of accusing him of varioius aesthetic crimes or worse.
Instead, he had the gall to open shop in a closed dry cleaner next to a closed Dairy Mart on Detroit. Rodeo Drive East.
And it just gets worse. That coming Dollar Tree on Sloane now sports a series of "$1" stiicker signs in the windows.
