Are the Lakewood City and County Land Banks One Huge Scam?

[Lori Allen _]

It has come to my attention that over the past six years or so, the City of Lakewood has been going around town allgedly stealing, and then razing what appear to be perfectly fine, stable homes. It should be noted that many of these homes that have been allegedly stolen and razed have evidently belonged to the elderly, terminally ill, or the working poor. What is even worse is the fact that, according to public records, most of these individuals that have had their homes allegedly stolen were never afforded a day in court or given due process. Rather, it appeared that City Hall came in and kicked them to the curb, and then razed their house.

Below are the details for each property that either City Hall or the Cuyahoga Land Bank have demolished in Lakewood.

1569 Newman – this house was owned by a gentleman named Charles until the city evidently demolished the house in 2012. I Cannot find a reason why this house was demolished. The taxes were all paid up until the house was demolished. No court cases were filed for not fixing the house. There were a few cases filed in Cuyahoga court against the owner for owing petty amounts of money to creditors. The city slapped Charles with the bill for house demolition. He is still listed as the owner of the lot. Four years later and the city has not yet acquired the property and the previous owner that had his house taken from him is being slapped with grass-cutting bills and other bills. A foreclosure case was filed against the property in 2012, but no sale order was ever issued. I cannot post a picture of this property, as it was blocked by trees prior to demolition.

1584 Newman – this house was owned and the lot is still owned by a gentleman named David. He owed roughly $3,600 in property taxes and some very minor water and grass cutting fees. City Hall said the house was a nuisance and had it demolished in 2015 or so. The house is still in the owners' name and he is still getting slapped with grass-cutting bills from City Hall. It was under a tax lien foreclosure by Woods Cove LLC. Woods Cove is a tax lien collector hired by Armond Buidsh and Ed Fitzgerald. The tax Lien foreclosure case was dismissed, probably so the city could tear it down. No court cases were ever filed to give the owner a chance to correct alleged “nuisance” conditions. This house was built in 1897.

1589 Newman – the house was owned by a gentleman named Lenore until 2012. Lenore died in 2011 at the age of 96. The taxes were all paid up until his death. No building violation cases were ever filed in court, so it appears that Lenore was never given his day in court or due process. There was one Board of Revisions case filed in 2013 against the deceased owner. I can't tell why this case was filed. The house was then sold at a sheriff's sale (not a foreclosure, but a board of revisions) to the Cuyahoga Land Bank for $0. The Cuyahoga Land Bank then sold the lot to the City of Lakewood for $0. All of this happened between May and August 2013. This house was built in 1894.


11900 Madison – this old, maybe historical former boarding house was owned by an APEX Mortgage Company until City Hall took it in 2012, due to alleged nuisance conditions. The owner was never taken to court for or given a chance to correct alleged building violations, according to court records. The taxes were all paid up. This was the old Newman Corners Boarding House and also served as the home of Newman Corners Tavern for a while.

1486 Hopkins – the house was torn down in 2015, and was called an alleged nuisance by City Hall. The owner was taken to court in 2007 for building code violations, but Pat Carroll stopped pursuing the case shortly after the case was filed. City Hall then had the house demolished in 2015. $3,500 was owed in taxes. The only violation appeared to be bad front porch steps, a relatively easy fix. The house was built in 1910.


1635 Hopkins – the house was owned by a gentleman named Charles until April 2014 when the house was allegedly stolen. I can't find reason for demolition, but City Hall most likely deemed it an alleged “nuisance”. There was also a tax foreclosure in 2013 for roughly $21,000. The property is now a City of Lakewood land bank and the property taxes have therefore been wiped out. There was apparently no reason to tear down the whole house. The house was built in 1915.


1252 Westlake – the house was owned by a lady named Marie until October of 2015, when City Hall finally took over the land parcel. It is unknown why the house was demolished back in 2013 or so. The owner was evidently never afforded a day in court to explain or correct alleged building violations (if there were any). A very petty $2,800 was owed in property taxes. The owner of this house was roughly 70 years of age at the time of demolition. Also, when the property finally went to a non-public sheriff's sale after the house was demolished, the sheriff evidently gave away the property to the City of Lakewood for $0. As far as I can tell, this property was never put on a public list like all of the other foreclosures and sheriff's sales.

1318 Thoreau – the house was foreclosed on very recently. Fannie Mae sold house to Cuyahoga Land Bank for $0 shortly after foreclosure. City Hall said in the November 2015 financial report that they wanted to demolish this property. The house appears to have had new steps and new porch railings. CJ Demolition demolished the house, built in 1915, on August 30th, 2016. City Hall claims there was a bad sewer pipe in the house and that repairing it would involve the railroad and federal government. I called the Cuyahoga Land Bank several times, wanting to purchase this property. My calls were never returned, and the house was demolished before my family and I were able to rightfully get a chance to bid. My husband has construction and house-building background, and none of us could see anything wrong with this house. My family would have paid to have the allegedly bad sewer pipe fixed. There is a house next door at 1322 Thoreau that appears as though City Hall may allegedly steal it next. There is a water and gas shut-off notice on the door, the grass is long, and neighbors told me that the old residents packed up and left in a hurry in the morning of August 30th.

2248 Warren – The house was owned by an elderly, terminally ill gentleman named Gary. The city claimed it was a nuisance due to petty violations, such as a bad storm door, bad steps, a peeling garage, etc. The house was demolished by the city in Spring 2016. It is now an empty lot. The taxes were all paid up until demolition.

1297 Cranford – the house was torn down by the City of Lakewood in 2011. The sheriff's office conducted a non-public sheriff's sale to Deutsche Bank, the bank gave it to the City of Lakewood, who demolished the house. In other words, the public was evidently not allowed to bid on this property, according to public records. City Hall then sold the land to the next door neighbor at 1301 Cranford. Again, according to Cuyahoga County Sheriff's foreclosure listing, this property was never put up for public sheriff's sale or public bid.

1238 Ethel – the house was a sheriff's sale/foreclosure (this one actually made it to public bid). Fannie Mae took the house in March of 2010 at the sheriff's sale. In May 2011, Fannie Mae gave the property to Cuyahoga Land Bank for $0. Cuyahoga Land Bank demolished the house. There is a City of Lakewood employee that lives in the house next to the lot. He now owns the vacant lot at 1238 Ethel where Cuyahoga Land Bank demolished the apparently perfectly fine house.

1665-67 Waterbury – the house was a sheriff's sale foreclosure (made it to public bid) in December of 2007 from Clifford Berwald to the Secretary of HUD for $0. In May 2009, HUD gave the property to the City of Lakewood for $0. The City of Lakewood demolished the apparently perfectly fine property in 2010. The lot sat vacant for years before the City sold it to a Frank Scalish in March 2014 for $0. To my knowledge, this was not a public sale. Rather, I believe that the property was just given to Mr. Scalish. Frank Scalish is an alleged friend of Mayor Mike Summers and serves on his boards and commissions at City Hall. He also owns Scalish Construction and has done work on city-owned properties throughout the administration of Mayor Michael P. Summers. The lot still sits vacant to this day with no progress or any development being made.

See pictures of the allegedly stolen homes prior to demolition here:

Allegedly Stolen House Pics.pdf

(915.3 KiB) Downloaded 238 times

Do we really trust Mayor Michael P. Summers to lead this city in the right direction? Personally, it makes me think twice about the Lakewood Hospital deal. Armond Budish ultimately oversees MetroHealth, for example. Do we really want to stick with these people? Is this the best they can do? Think about this before you vote in November. In November, if you decide that you do not trust Summers & Co, vote NO to reject the allegedly illegally-made hospital deal deal by Summers & Co. We have honest people waiting to make bids.

Is there a possibility that both the City of Lakewood and Cuyahoga Land Bank programs are one huge scam? Almost all of these homes appear to be perfectly fine. I cannot think of any legitimate or legal reason as to what City Hall and the Cuyahoga Land Bank would have to gain from tearing down an apparently fine house and then letting a vacant lot sit and collect litter and trash for years.

Is it all one big scam? Are the elderly, terminally ill, and under-served being targeted by Summers & Co. and Cuyahoga County?

If anyone from City Hall or any of their affiliates wish to rebut this, please be prepared to do the following:

1. Explain why these houses needed to be razed, including both written and photographic documentation.
2. Explain why if these houses were such nuisances, why they sat for years before being addressed and why they suddenly became alleged nuisances.
3. Explain why the houses could not be saved.

This is just some of the allegedly stolen homes. I will try to update this thread as I discover more information.

Actual documentation and facts, please; and not commentary, chest-thumping, or fluff from Summers & Co.

[Bridget Conant]

Read about the Woods Cove lawsuit here:

http://wcpn.ideastream.org/news/cuyahog ... lien-sales

On the County website, the court docket shows Woods Cove has filed 599 lawsuits this year alone
trying to foreclose on property owners.

The county has been aware of Woods Cove practices since at least 2013:

http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-count ... leges.html

[Lori Allen _]

Bridget, I believe it was FitzGerald and Budish that brought in Woods Cove. It appears that Woods Cove has become cozy now with Summers! Why is it that nobody seems to know where they are or who they are?

[Lori Allen _]

It should also be noted that nobody at the county or City Hall could tell me who paid for the demolition of the house on Thoreau. City Hall said the county paid for it and the county said City Hall paid for it. What is the deal with this? Hmm.... The company was CJ Demolition.

[Lori Allen _]

Meet this property at 1503 Victoria. A few years ago, Summers & Co. deemed this property a public nuisance and had it demolished. The house was a foreclosure and was sold at an alleged "sheriff's sale" to the Bank of New York Mellon in January 2016. However, this property never made it to public sheriff's sale or bid, according to the sheriff's office. Essentially, it appears that this land was just given away to the Bank of New York Mellon. In June 2016, Bank of New York Mellon sold the property at EXR LLC, a New York-based architecture company for only $1,000. Then, in August 2016, EXR LLC sold the property to a Patrick Manfroni for a measly $350. Please bear in mind that this vacant land is appraised at $20,000.

It should also be noted that between the time the house was demolished and allegedly stolen from the owners by the Bank of New York Mellon and City Hall, that City Hall was slapping the previous owners with delinquent water bills, even though City Hall had allegedly stolen their house. How do you send water bills to a vacant lot? How does a vacant lot use water? Who is the beneficiary of these bills? Also, if this house was such a public nuisance and danger, why were the owners not given a day in court and due process to explain and correct the alleged building violations?

The worst part of all is, there appeared to be no reason at all to demolish this house. It looks better than a lot of homes in Lakewood, except the front porch steps, a relatively easy fix.

What do you think looks worse? Before and after pictures below:


Before:

1503 Victoria.jpg (127.04 KiB) Viewed 7439 times

After:

1505 Victoria grass 2.jpg (63.81 KiB) Viewed 7439 times

In summary, it appears that:

1. City Hall stole an almost perfectly fine, 1926 home from two owners who already appeared to be struggling financially, based on some lawsuits from creditors.
2. These two owners were not given due process or a day in court to explain or correct alleged building violations, according to court records.
3. The property was sold twice in less than two months for about 5% and 1.75% of its actual value, respectively. Why?

[Lori Allen _]

Meet this allegedly stolen home at 14909-11 Arden. Cuyahoga County is still sending the owner of this previous home (now vacant lot) tax bills, even though City Hall allegedly stole the home due to it supposedly being a nuisance. If City Hall is going to allegedly steal the home, why are they still holding the owner responsible for grass-cutting and other maintenance and slapping him with bills? If City Hall is going to allegedly steal the home, they should just foreclose on the land after demolition, instead of slapping the previous owner with tax and grass-cutting bills.

The worst part of all is: the owner of this allegedly stolen home (now vacant lot) had an Arabic surname. Is there a possible pattern of discrimination here?

Does this house appear to be a nuisance?

14909 11 Arden.jpg (103.23 KiB) Viewed 7371 times

[Lori Allen _]

Meet this property on Halstead. Prior to its demolition, it was owned by an 82-year old woman named Coletta. Shortly into the Summers administration, Dru Siley called this property a "nuisance" in a news article.

This term "nuisance" is a very vague term. City Hall seems to throw it around a lot, with no real documentation or evidence showing that these properties are indeed nuisances. Does this look like a nuisance to you? Would living next to this cause you great displeasure? This house was built in 1908. It was 103 years old when City Hall bulldozed it, and the owner was 82.

Halstead.jpg (103.01 KiB) Viewed 7278 times

[Lori Allen _]

Meet this property at 2042 Dowd. This is (was) a historic property built in 1898. Way back in 2009, this was a foreclosure and Citimortgage took control of the property. Later in 2009, Citimortgage gave the property away to HUD for free. A month later (also in 2009), HUD gave the property away for free to...................wait for it....................the City of Lakewood! It should be noted that this transaction took place during the Fitz! administration. Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe Mike Dever, Nickie Antonio, Tom Bullock, Kevin Butler, Brian Powers, and Michael P. Summers sat on City Council in 2009. In the following spring (2010), the house was bulldozed by the City of Lakewood. The City of Lakewood then sat on the property for four years until 2014 when they gave it away, for free, to a Justin Husher, a Lakewood resident. It is now a garden.

Why is the City of Lakewood giving away taxpayer property for free? I can understand perhaps slightly below value to attract incentive, but why give away property for free? What is there to gain?

While I cannot find a direct reason, I am guessing that City Hall used to infamous excuse of "the house is a nuisance" as a reason to bulldoze it. Below are pictures of the property only a few months before it was demolished. Is this a nuisance? Would having this house in your neighborhood really bother you? It appears to have newer windows and siding. This looks better than about 85% of houses in Lakewood. Also notice the "for sale" sign on the house. Was this house sold legally? I mean, it was sold to the City of Lakewood for $0.

2042 Dowd front.jpg (147.96 KiB) Viewed 7167 times

2042 Dowd rear.jpg (131.63 KiB) Viewed 7167 times

City Hall can't really seem to define what exactly a "nuisance" is or why these houses were labeled as such. I recall Dru Siley mentioning a few years ago something about vacant properties being a nuisance. If this is the case, all I have to say is "really?" If we tore down every vacant house in Lakewood, we would have giant fields all over Lakewood. It would be like a blast from the past: East Rockport Township! Instead of tearing down seemingly perfectly fine, historical homes, why not provide incentives for good, hard-working residents to buy the houses and live in them?

It may also be worth mentioning this thread I posted that was mistakenly moved to Global Discussion: http://lakewoodobserver.com/forum/viewt ... 38&t=23307
This thread mentions how a citizen journalist was exposing alleged housing and foreclosure fraud allegedly being committed or aided by Judge John P. O'Donnell. This article also mentions how this citizen journalist was recently arrested. Is it retaliation? Is the alleged housing scam that this citizen journalist exposed similar to the alleged housing scam that appears to be happening here in Lakewood? John O'Donnell is also the judge for the Save Lakewood Hospital lawsuit. While I am not accusing, is it possible that O'Donnell or other county officials are aiding city officials in Lakewood's alleged housing scam or alleged hospital scam?

[Jared Denman]

This is interesting. In past few years the City has also bought properties in Birdtown with Community Development Block grant money. This is the name of the game for the so-called "elites" in Lakewood. They showed their hand when Cain attempted to clear out land on West Detroit by claiming that houses out there were "blight." There is an on-going special interest in Lakewood to demolish "old housing stock" and replace it with luxury condos (i.e. McKinley school being sold to Liberty Development for pennies on the dollar).

[m buckley]

This is interesting. In past few years the City has also bought properties in Birdtown with Community Development Block grant money. This is the name of the game for the so-called "elites" in Lakewood. They showed their hand when Cain attempted to clear out land on West Detroit by claiming that houses out there were "blight." There is an on-going special interest in Lakewood to demolish "old housing stock" and replace it with luxury condos (i.e. McKinley school being sold to Liberty Development for pennies on the dollar).

Mr. Denman, Is that the same Liberty Development that now employs Lakewood's former Director of Development, Dru Siley?

[Lori Allen _]

Mark,

This is the same Liberty Development that Mr. Siley went to work for after his sudden abandonment of the U.S.S. Summers. It is also worth noting the the President/CEO of Liberty Development, Tom Kuluris, is a Lakewood resident and lives on Lake Ave. I really don't think Dru Siley is going anywhere. I suspect he is still in the picture, just in the background.

Mr. Denman,

Good points. I will be doing some research into the use of HUD and/or CDBG money for things like this. Generally, I would suspect that there are strict requirements for how these funds are to be used. I could be wrong, but I would suspect that demolishing seemingly perfectly fine, historical homes for no apparent reason would not be in conformity with HUD regulations. Also, I will reiterate the fact that if these homes were allegedly in as bad of condition as City Hall claimed, why were they allowed to get to that alleged point of no return? Who dropped the ball? What is to be gained by demolishing a house, sitting on the vacant land for a few years, then giving it away for free to someone? Sometimes, the property is bounced back and forth between the City of Lakewood and a private person two or three times before the private person finally acquires the property for free. Draw your own conclusions.

As far as that Birdtown "Infill" Project, I will say that yet another seemingly perfectly fine house built in 1922 was demolished to make way for the project. Instead of spending money building new, why not hold absentee landlords accountable for their properties that tenants have to live in? Get out on foot and walk and you will see what I mean. Falling down steps, peeling paint, rotted porch floors, long grass, torn screens, graffiti, garbage laying out, etc. Regardless if the money for this project is coming from City Hall or HUD, the taxpayers are footing the bill. Note to City Hall: take care of what you have before building new.

Another possibly wild theory: Are most of the alleged house thefts on the eastern end of Lakewood because some residents in this part of town are perceived to be less educated or wealthy? Is it being done because allegedly victimized homeowners are less likely to defend themselves and fight back?

There are at least two other houses I have noticed that have come down. More on those to come later. This is only the beginning. Stay tuned.

[Lori Allen _]

BREAKING NEWS!

The building at 13351 Madison has been demolished by....guess who? C&J Demolition, the same company that demolished the seemingly perfectly fine, century ranch home built in 1915 at 1318 Thoreau on August 30th. Note that the property was demolished even though City Hall claimed they had no idea who owned it. Huh?

Then:

13351 Madison 2.jpg (187.78 KiB) Viewed 7008 times

13351 Madison boarded.jpg (81.79 KiB) Viewed 7008 times

Now:

13351 Madison demo.jpg (171.62 KiB) Viewed 7008 times

There appeared to be nothing structurally wrong with the building. If someone from City Hall wishes to rebut, please be prepared to provide documentation and photographic evidence that the building was beyond saving. Also, please be prepared to explain what Mike Summers plans to do with the land? Is he going to sit on it for a few years before giving it away for free to an alleged friend?

Another building, this one built in 1923, gone.

I have other business to attend to, but more will be posted about this later. It is time for citizens to unite and use the democratic process to run this mayor, council, and his cronies out of town. They appear to be stealing our city and history, one building at a time, for what appears to be their own personal gain, be it financial or be it simple cronyism. Summers reign of terror needs to end. He is a disgrace.

Dimora for mayor anyone?

[Lori Allen _]

Information Dump - Another Building Comes Down + Other Stuff

On Friday (9/16) the building at 13353-55 Madison started to come down. The same contractor was doing the work yet again: C&J Demolition. This building was owned by the same person that owned the building next door at 13351 Madison, which also came down on Wednesday. This land will most likely become part of the City of Lakewood Land Bank program.

As a reminder, City Hall claimed that they did not have any idea who actually owned these two buildings. Huh? Through mortgage documents and deeds, I was able to find the owner (we will call him by his first name of Nick) and his address. Nick owns several other properties in Lakewood, according to public records. According to public records, Nick owned these two buildings (now demolished) under the name of an LLC named K&S Development. According to public records, Nick also owns several other buildings in Lakewood under the name of an LLC called Mulberry Street Properties. The other buildings are the Edible Arrangements Building (14233 thru 14239 Detroit), an apartment building on Quail, a single-family house on Giel, and two other buildings on Madison. Why the need to put these two, now-demolished buildings under a different LLC, I am not sure. Also, the two buildings on Madison that have now been demolished were roughly $74,000 property tax delinquent, while Nick's other properties appear to be all paid up. City Hall tried to take Nick to court for alleged building violations on the now demolished properties last year. However, the law department made no attempt to find the owner and Carroll dismissed the case, according to court records. Why?

13353 55 Madison.jpg (352.54 KiB) Viewed 6873 times

K&S Development (Nick's LLC property, according to public records), also appears to have an affiliate named K&S Properties, also owned by Nick, according to public records.

Does anyone remember Steven Pumper that went down in the Cuyahoga County/Jimmy DiMora scandal? Well, there could be a small connection to K&S Properties (Nick's company), these now-demolished buildings, and Liberty Development (the company that Dru Siley now works for and the company that is building the McKinley Place townhomes). Mr. Pumper is now in jail.

In 2006 prior to his arrest, Steven Pumper went through a divorce from his wife. According to court records, numerous defendants were listed in his divorce case, two of them being K&S Properties and Liberty Development. Companies are typically listed as defendants in divorce cases because the opposing party (in this case, Steven Pumper) has money or otherwise a financial interest in said companies. This way, the court can go to these companies if Mr. Pumper does not pay child support or alimony.

K&S Properties, A.K.A. K&S Development, A.K.A. Nick owns and has owned the now-demolished buildings on Madison since 2002, four years before Mr. Pumper's divorce. It appears that Mr. Pumper had money or otherwise a financial interest in both Liberty Development and K&S Properties.

Now, I will explain a possible connection between C&J Demolition, City Hall, and Jason Russell, ex-city planner at Lakewood City Hall. After Mr. Russell's seemingly sudden abandonment of the U.S.S. Summers, he went to work for Zaremba Group. The Zaremba Group has some offices in the Lakewood Center North Building. Also, according to C&J Demolition's website, Zaremba Group is listed as one of their clients. In other words, Zaremba hires or has hired C&J Demolition to do demolition work for them. Does anyone remember when City Hall listed two city properties for sale and apparently gave the contract to one of the realty teams that Mr. Russell just happened to work for? Does Mr. Russell now have a connection to C&J Demolition? Does anyone think Mr. Russell is really going anywhere? Does anyone believe for a second that he will not be influening development and projects in Lakewood? Does anyone really believe he has completely cut ties with City Hall?

In summary:

1. What about that $74,000 in delinquent property taxes? Why can Nick seem to pay everything else but the taxes for this particular building? How will the county collect the delinquent taxes now? How will they recoup demolition costs? Where will this $74,000 go?

2. Who actually paid for this demolition? HUD? Nick? City Hall? If HUD or City Hall money was spent, it was the taxpayers that paid for this demolition.

3. If HUD money was used, since when can HUD money be used to demolish buildings and houses that would be easily fixed if City Hall would hold the owner accountable? Isn't that waste or fraud?

4. If anyone from City Hall wishes to rebut, please be prepared to produce to the following:

A. Documentation and photographic evidence proving that these buildings were beyond repair.
B. Documentation showing who paid for the demolition, and if HUD money was used or not (forms, applications, etc.)
C. Documentation that attempts were made to contact the owner at every possible address.

Summary:

1. The Buildings at 13351 Madison, 13353-55 Madison, and 1318 Thoreau were demolished by C&J Demolition, a company that Zaremba Group does business with.
2. Jason Russell went to work for Zaremba Group recently after his seemingly sudden abandonment of the U.S.S. Summers.
3. Steven Pumper, who is now in jail for crimes involving the Jimmy DiMora scandal, seemed to have a financial interest in K&S Properties and K&S Development, who owned the buildings at 13351 & 13353-55 Madison.
4. Steven Pumper also seemed to have a financial interest in Liberty Development, who is building the McKinley Place Townhomes here in Lakewood.
5. Steven Pumper seemed to be a business associate of Tom Kuluris prior to the DiMora scandal. Kuluris is a Lakewood resident and President of Liberty Development. Dru Siley, who also recently abandoned the U.S.S. Summers, also works for Liberty Development.
6. City Hall claimed they could not locate the owner of the now-demolished buildings on Madison, even though I was able to find his name and address in less than five minutes via public records.

Is it all starting to come together now? Is it starting to make more sense? Are the pieces falling into place? Is it possible that the hospital deal was also done in a seemingly shady and possibly illegal manner? Do we really want to trust Summers & Co.?

I will have more housing information dumps coming in the next few days.

[Stan Austin]

Lori--- Your work is extensive and quite impressive.

All I can say is that the questions you raise certainly deserve a response.

No response is the presumption of some sort of wrongdoing.

I guess it's sort of like one last chance for a "do you deserve any respect anymore"

Stan Austin

[Lori Allen _]

Housing Information Dump - 1570 Winchester - County Land Bank

Stan,

Thanks.

Others,

Take a look at this property at 1570 Winchester. Prior to the Cuyahoga Land Bank somehow "acquiring" the property on 12/27/11 for $0.00, the home was owned by a then 59-year old (now 64 year-old) man named Leonard. Prior to Leonard inheriting the home form his late mother in 1989, his mother had owned the house since 1969. Leonard had lived in this house for for about 44 years, since the time he was about 16.

After the Cuyahoga Lank Bank "acquired" the property from Leonard in 2011, they apparently had it demolished. It now sits an empty field, and the Cuyahoga Land Bank still owns it.

Below is the property about 6 months before its demolition:

1570 Winchester.jpg (199.25 KiB) Viewed 6775 times

Does anyone see anything wrong with this house that would warrant demolition? The bushes are trimmed nicely, the porch looks good, the roof looks newer, the siding looks newer, the stairs look good, and the foundation looks solid. Even the driveway and sidewalk are fine. Leonard even had a nice American Flag on the porch. It is also wroth noting that Leonard's home was built in 1900. It was almost 112 years old when it was bulldozed. It is also worth noting that a healthy, fairly mature tree on the tree lawn had to be cut down in order to do this demolition.

Some things to consider:

1. As stated above, Leonard had lived in the house for almost 44 years and it was his parent's house. Does anyone really believe that he is going to voluntarily give away his family home of 44 years to the Cuyahoga Land Bank for free? Leonard now lives in an apartment on North Lane. Is he willingly going to give away his family home for a small apartment in an allegedly "seedy" part of town? I think not.

2. Why did the Cuyahoga Lank Bank demolish this property? What were the specific reasons that it could not be saved?

3. Gus Frangos is the President of the Cuyahoga Land Bank. Gus and/or his family own the north parking garage. Previously, his family also owned the Beer Engine building. I would be very surprised if the Frangos family did not have some kind of connection to Lakewood City Hall or Mike Summers.

4. Again, this was a century home, now it's gone.

Call me a skeptic, but I do not trust this whole land bank game at all. If these properties were truly in terrible shape and beyond saving, that is one thing, but most of these houses appear fine. That still does not mitigate the fact that the truly bad properties were allowed to deteriorate so much in the first place.

Would you rather live next to this:

1570 Winchester.jpg (199.25 KiB) Viewed 6775 times

Or this?:

1570 Winchester vacant.jpg (145.11 KiB) Viewed 6775 times