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Bur graffitti is a problem, but 28 year olds shooting FBI agents seem to be a little bigger problem. The two 30 year olds arrested stealing cars last week seem to be a bigger problem.
Agreed. Absolutely. But don't you see the clear connection? It's no longer "safe" to steal cars in the Hood, so now we do it in the 'wood. THe criminal spillover is multigenerational. Today's grafitti thug is tomorrow's armed robber. The disrespect for authority is emboldened when there are no consequences. So, target kids if they're out of line. Demonstrate there are consequences. Send the word out through the chaotic grapevine that Lakewood isn't a place for the Hood ethic. It's a place for families. We don't welcome the gansta mentality, be the thug black, white, red, brown or any other color. Let's trim this tree from the roots up.
Jeff
To wander this country and this world looking for the best barbecue â€â€
Bur graffitti is a problem, but 28 year olds shooting FBI agents seem to be a little bigger problem. The two 30 year olds arrested stealing cars last week seem to be a bigger problem.
Agreed. Absolutely. But don't you see the clear connection? It's no longer "safe" to steal cars in the Hood, so now we do it in the 'wood. THe criminal spillover is multigenerational. Today's grafitti thug is tomorrow's armed robber. The disrespect for authority is emboldened when there are no consequences. So, target kids if they're out of line. Demonstrate there are consequences. Send the word out through the chaotic grapevine that Lakewood isn't a place for the Hood ethic. It's a place for families. We don't welcome the gansta mentality, be the thug black, white, red, brown or any other color. Let's trim this tree from the roots up.
Jeff
Jeff
Locking kids down fixes nothing. Look at Ken Warren's tactics. No lock down except the library and a cooling off period. You must keep the kid engaged in the dialog. Otherwise we will be locking them up in the future.
No one trims a tree from the roots up!
As we cut back on Gray Y and after school activities, we turn them out to the streets to invent their own fun. That is a foolish game to play, and one we cannot win.
The new Harding was built on a basketball court that on a summer night would be packed with as many as 100 kids. That is gone and so are the kids. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm wonder what they are doing now?
Have we forgotten what it is like to be a kid? Have we forgot how flawed our thinking was? Did we ever try anything wrong? Was that done between the hours of 6am and 8pm? This is a war we cannot win without engaging them.
One of my problems with the Youth Master Plan and other activities. they only attract the kids that do not need to be engage. When league of cities was here, they had a nice lunch with 50 honor students. I turned to Dottie Buckon and said, nice turn out but these kids are not the problems.
When we were kids we had some great places to go off the street.
Jeff it has never been safe or worthwhile to steal from the hood. Easy to get shot, and value is not what it is in the burbs! Listen to the police scanner, the cities getting really hit hard are Westlake, Bay, and River. Usually the person stealing in the hood has no car or bus money.
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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
Jeff Endress wrote:It's a place for families. We don't welcome the gansta mentality, be the thug black, white, red, brown or any other color. Let's trim this tree from the roots up.
Jeff
Jeff Endress for Mayor! Jeff Endress for Mayor! Jeff Endress for Mayor!
I'm all for stricter parental accountability. Fine and punish the parents for their child's bad behavior. Parents need to learn it's not general society's job to raise their children, it's their responsibility to do so.
I guarantee you once those parents start getting fined or put in jail because of their child's bad behavior, something will change.
Unfortunately, those parents with horrible kids don't feel the need to be responsible for them.
Jim O'Bryan wrote:
You and I were probably the same kids we now fear.
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No. I don't think so. I don't think the adults of our generation worried that there was a (real) possibility I might have a gun as they chased us from behind their garages.
I don't think you understand what I'm trying to communicate. I'm NOT advocating that we lock down kids. I look forward to seeing the pools filled with those kids all summer. I love seeing those kids hangin' out at Phoenix or Chipotle. I relish the participation in the Library's summer reading program. My oldest will be a senior counselor for H2O this summer, one of the finest programs out there for kids. I wish there were more activities, more programs.
But, when a kid steps out of line, there needs to be consequences. You mention Ken's engagement at the library, but in fact, that engagement is actually a consequence. A youthful unruly patron has stepped over the line, and their ability to use the facility is tied to their acceptance of Ken's program and special supervision. This loss of freedom is a consequence. It also has an ancillary benefit of fostering a dialog.
Likewise, the would be thug with his/her spray can needs to be stepped on. The kid destroying park property or intimidating those using their public facilities needs to be stepped on. Teach the first lesson of consequences for unacceptable (illegal) behavior. Then we can talk.
I agree that idle hands are the devil's playground. Lack of programs + bored kids= potential problems. Those potential problems can be mitigated by providing more programming as well as demonstrating that there will be consequences. Or, they can be fostered and exacerbated by allowing a mentality of being "bullet proof" to any consequences to take root. Allowing that mentality grows a weedy tree whose fruit is poisonous to society.
If you trim that tree from the roots up, the tree dies.
Jeff
To wander this country and this world looking for the best barbecue â€â€
I'd like to share a relevant story from door-knocking on another Ward 2 street. I've been making a point of talking with everyone, whether renter or homeowner, frequent voter or not.
On one street, I talked to two houses with young guys hanging out on the porch, sporting tatoos and tank tops, introduced myself, gave them voter registration forms, asked them what they'd like to see to make Lakewood better. In both cases, they said, "Not enough basketball hoops." They said there's only a few left in Lakewood, and they're not enough. (I know this will improve once our new schools are completed--we'll have access to indoor supervised courts.)
A few doors down from the second house, I met an 84-year old lady who's lived in her Lakewood home on that street for decades. She shared her concerns with me, and said recently it's problem neighbors, rowdy parties late at night, sometimes with visitors throwing up on her front lawn. Turns out the rowdy neighbor in question was the house I just spoke to about basketball hoops.
Instead of being negative, this lady called a neighborhood meeting, arranged for a police officer to attend, and invited everyone--including the young men who threw the parties. They talked it out, and she said things have improved since. "They're young, and it's not them, but it's their guests and I couldn't live that way anymore," she told me.
This may be the kind of action we need more of: neighborhood-based meetings, community policing, a more visible presence of police on our streets, and both residents and police getting to thoroughly know a neighborhood--who's home, where the problem calls come from, etc.
Elsewhere, Jeff and Bill asked whether we need new laws. An apt question, and the answer is, only if we need them (and probably not). The point is to make increasingly good use of the tools we already have, and one of the most important tools could be us, the residents ourselves.
(I read with interest the law Mr. Demro posted, and he, his Council colleagues, and the Mayor deserve credit for putting together what could be a useful tool in the broader toolbox for safety and neighborliness.)
Again, I'll develop these ideas in fuller detail and would like to convene a community meeting to gather input, brainstorm solutions, learn from past successes/stumbles.
P.S. The 84-year old lady with spark and fight is one of the reasons Lakewood is great...
Elsewhere, Jeff and Bill asked whether we need new laws. An apt question, and the answer is, only if we need them (and probably not). The point is to make increasingly good use of the tools we already have, and one of the most important tools could be us, the residents ourselves.
(I read with interest the law Mr. Demro posted, and he, his Council colleagues, and the Mayor deserve credit for putting together what could be a useful tool in the broader toolbox for safety and neighborliness.)
Tom, from the article you posted:
South Euclid: Landlords must register rental homes so the city can conduct regular inspections. If a landlord fails to register a home, the city posts a notice on the outside and can evict the tenants in 30 days.
I'm surprised Lakewood has not done this already. Imagine the revenue that could be generated! Plus, it would require these absentee landlords to maintain their properties.
You do need a certificate to rent a property. It cost $50, last I knew.
And I happen to know an absentee landlord who lives in Lakewood, although not at the double, who will affirm that the property is inspected every year.
dl meckes wrote:You do need a certificate to rent a property. It cost $50, last I knew.
And I happen to know an absentee landlord who lives in Lakewood, although not at the double, who will affirm that the property is inspected every year.
This is the first I've heard of this "rental certificate". Is this an ordinance/law? What are the penalties if the owner fails to obtain the rental certicicate or fails to have the property inspected?
1306.53 FURNISHING CERTIFICATE TO PURCHASER OF MULTIPLE DWELLINGS/CERTIFICATE TO PURCHASER OF ONE OR MORE RENTAL UNITS.
(a) Whoever sells, conveys, leases or otherwise transfer an interest in real property, which has situated thereon a rental dwelling structure, shall secure a Certificate of Occupancy from the Building Commissioner and shall furnish said Certificate to the purchaser, lessee or transferee prior to the execution of the land contract or the delivery of the deed, lease or conveyance. Whoever sells, conveys, or otherwise transfers an interest in any structure, which has situated thereon any rental dwelling unit or dwelling unit that has been rented or leased to any person within the 24 months preceding the conveyance or transfer, shall secure a Certificate of Occupancy from the Building Commissioner and shall furnish said Certificate to the purchaser or transferee prior to the recording of the land contract or the delivery of the deed or conveyance, whichever shall first occur.
(b) This section shall have no application to lawful one and two family structures or condominium units occupied by the owner as the owner=s principal residence at the time of the conveyance or transfer and for the 24 months preceding the conveyance or transfer.
(c) Whoever fails to comply with the provisions of this Section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree. (Ord. 68-97. Passed 4-20-98.)
I see the thugs coming into our city just about every evening. The big rims and bass from their stereos that rattle the windows pretty much give it away.
Mark Crnolatas wrote:I see the thugs coming into our city just about every evening. The big rims and bass from their stereos that rattle the windows pretty much give it away.
There's an existing ordinance against music that rattles windows isn't there? Shouldn't the LPD pull the car over, give the driver a citation, and perhaps conduct a "safety-check" of the vehicle?
There's an existing ordinance against music that rattles windows isn't there? Shouldn't the LPD pull the car over, give the driver a citation, and perhaps conduct a "safety-check" of the vehicle?
Short answer: YES!
Jeff
To wander this country and this world looking for the best barbecue â€â€
