Cleveland Annexed Part Of Lakewood?

[Shawn Juris]

my house has been Juris owned since '55 or so when my grandparents moved from Ridgewood. Before that was my great grandparents were on Plover going back to the late 20's early 30s. Which would make it the 5th generation of Juris in Lakewood come June when our baby is born. I'm sure that's not the longest but it's a start.

Trickier still how many of us are a branch on a family tree. I think it's safe to say that Jim and I aren't related. But after looking at some things over the holidays, I'm sure there's more cousins here than I think.

[Jim O'Bryan]

Trickier still how many of us are a branch on a family tree. I think it's safe to say that Jim and I aren't related. But after looking at some things over the holidays, I'm sure there's more cousins here than I think.

Shawn

Although we are not related it is amazing after speaking with you that we about but one degree of separation, which was very fun to find out. In fact we share history. Just another thing that makes Lakewood intersting and fun.

.

[Mark Crnolatas]

My grandmother came to Birdtown to live, when she was 15 or 16 around 1916. She met my grandfather who lived in Birdtown, who was approx 15 or more yrs. older than her and lived there several years before she came to it.

According to my mother, there were many families there at the time, and some I'm sure were there several years before my grandfather arrived there.

[stephen davis]

The election season is in full swing. I think it's important that all candidates take to heart the desire of many residents to see more Lakewoodcentric policy.

I brought this thread back up as an example of how often we allow outsiders to define Lakewood's past, present, and future.

We've allowed outsiders to define our community with Section 8 housing, speed limits, and maybe even the Lakewood Arts Festival. Do we really want to let Cleveland rename our streets and fly their hideous blue and white numbers on our side of Highland Avenue?

It may seem small, but changing those signs would symbolize our right to self-determination, and might energize our population with pride in their own place.

[ryan costa]

There was a large article about police and fireman mass-exodusing from West Park once they are no longer legally required to live in Cleveland. Since they make enough to move to Avon or Medina, the odds are they will want to live as far from Cleveland as possible.

Once West Park is as Clevelanded-up as the rest of Cleveland it is a short time before Lakewood is also Clevelanded-up with the Cleveland Brand. Then it will be Rocky River. The solution is to launch an offensive resettlement pattern. This would push a great portion of the goons and no-goodnicks back to the East Side.

We can use the War on Oil Addiction to restrict interstate highways to freight transport, mass transit, and actual interstate travel. This would re-concentrate populations of the middle class in urban centers.

[Brian Pedaci]

Actually, I would think Lakewood stands to gain from some of the exodus - as schools are a large part of the dissatisfaction, I'd say we would look pretty attractive.

I agree in large part with the sentiments expressed in the article - if a few thousand city workers are all that's holding that neighborhood together, then it's already dead.

[ryan costa]

It would be a temporary gain. Then the onslought of Brand Cleveland will work its way in.

It isn't just the incomes of city workers holding up West Park. Their presence and density gives other decent people there greater confidence to stay. In the pre-Interstate past far fewer protective services residents were required for this stabilizing effect. Now that isn't the point.

In the Unilateral War on Oil Addiction a new breed of patriots will be necessary. Where are the patriots in the Unilateral War on Oil Addiction? The Founding Fathers weren't dependent on a massive expeditionary-sized military for milk and fish and chips.

Sacrifices will be necessary in the Unilateral War on Oil Addiction. Our consumer power will decrease. It will become necessary to buy electronics and clothes with the idea they won't become obsolete within a year. It won't be as easy for future generations of young American Consumers to consume themselves into diabetic malaise or ADHD Frenzy.

Does anyone know of any developed nation where the cities turn into what nearly every American city has? Where the schools perform as poorly as America's do? It can't be because of liberalism or socialism: Western Europe, Canada, Iceland, and New Zealand are generally much more socialized than we are. No, it is mostly the natural consequences of sprawl and deindustrialization.

It will be ok. it won't be too severe. The over-built interstate system has room for light rail.

[Jim O'Bryan]

Ryan

Well put no one has the grasp of many of the problems facing us every day as you do.

I am writing a story on the annexation of Lakewood by Cleveland. Not sure anyone has heard this before. Lakewood is the most densely populated city between New York and Chicago. The same density of LosAngeles. We could not help but notice this apparent move onto out turf by Cleveland takes no housing stock, but grabs an entire street of businesses!

Why are we so willing to give away economic development, and some of Lakewood free ranging spaces?

I have learned of a document, that Cleveland has signed that moved this forward, looking for one from Lakewood.

.

[Stephen Eisel]

This is so strange... How can they(city of Cleveland) get away this? Has Lakewood done anything?

[Kenneth Warren]

If my memory serves me correctly, Robert Simons, Professor, Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, told me he conducted an impact study that indicated with the elimination of residency requirements for Cleveland employees real estate valuations in West Park could decline by 30%.

Two years ago, Bill Callahan, mentioned to me that he felt Lakewood would benefit from the elimination of residency requirements for Cleveland employees.

I am not quite so sure that Lakewood will benefit. Still, I do not support the erosion of home rule and the elimination of residency requirements for Cleveland employees.

Such a change serves only to advance the distribution of local values from lower capitalized communities to remote middle class communities. That local government workers will carry away the booty into the sprawl zone signals another chapter in loan-loaded class warfare which is the specialty of banks, developers and ODOT.

Kenneth Warren

[Bryan Schwegler]

Such a change serves only to advance the distribution of local values from lower capitalized communities to remote middle class communities. That local government workers will carry away the booty into the sprawl zone signals another chapter in loan-loaded class warfare which is the specialty of banks, developers and ODOT.

Kenneth Warren

Completely agree...

[Jim O'Bryan]

We will not be appeased by simple gestures like this.



At least Cleveland, the County and RTA understand Lakewood's rich history and street naming process.

.

[Brian Pedaci]

Jim, the naming of the RTA station doesn't have anything to do with history or sensitivity to Lakewood. They just named it after the bar across the street!

[Mark Crnolatas]

Doesn't the City of Lakewood have to ACCEPT being annexed by Cleveland, or could we literally become just a "conquered used-to-be independent" city and then be known as part of "West Cleveland, Ohio", loosing our name, our own political structure etc., and end up being no different then West Park for example ?




Mark Allan Crnolatas
---------

[Gary Rice]

I would be interested in knowing exactly where the Lakewood-Cleveland division occurs on Highland Ave./W.117th street.

Is the division at the center of the street? Does Lakewood, or Cleveland begin at the curb? Where then? Who's paving and maintaining the thoroughfare? I haven't been able to determine that yet.

I've actually been planning this story for one of my columns, but I'll share a little research about this street for you right now:

Some may be unaware that one of the greatest mysteries in modern Lakewood-Cleveland history occurred when that very street blew up at 5:15 pm on Thursday, September 10, 1953.

Can a street actually blow up? This one did. Big time. Right down the middle, and extending from Berea to Lake roads!

With such a force that even the streetcar rails bent like pretzels. The street opened like a horrible clamshell, leaving a gap that an elephant could probably walk through in places.

Surprisingly, there was but one death reported, though 64 people were injured and rush hour cars were apparently flung about like so many matchsticks. According to LAKEWOOD LORE author Dan Chabek, one manhole cover flew 150 feet, crashing through the roof of Dr. Wendt's pet hospital. According to Chabek's riveting account, amazingly, no pets were injured.

According to that same report, the explosion took the course of the sanitary sewer.

The cause was reported as probably being some type of voluble gas, but WHOSE exactly, and WHAT KIND? That was never proven, although industrial wastes or gasoline leaking into the sewer, or some combination thereof was suspected.

Chabek reported that Cleveland, Lakewood, and five area firms contributed to the restitution costs, although no one ever admitted fault.

Yet another contributory possibility considered, but discounted as having an important role, were the abandoned gas and oil wells in the immediate area.