The Observation Deck

Brian Essi has broken just about every rule on the Observer Deck by posting defamatory, abusive, bullying and harassing messages. Yet I don't care. The man is very entertaining AND informative. If you haven't seen his command performance for Monday's council meeting, make sure you check it out. Dy-no-mite.

https://youtu.be/N0TzGVPINkU?t=37m1s

Pasquale Manno

Are you a relative of John Litten who is on the LHA board? Litten's mother is a Manno.

Pasquale Manno wrote:Brian Essi has broken just about every rule on the Observer Deck by posting defamatory, abusive, bullying and harassing messages. Yet I don't care. The man is very entertaining AND informative. If you haven't seen his command performance for Monday's council meeting, make sure you check it out. Dy-no-mite.

https://youtu.be/N0TzGVPINkU?t=37m1s

Pasquale

When Brian Essi appeared on my doorstep 8 months ago, he was there to prove me wrong. He was at my door to defend the Mayor and prove me wrong. He brought a ton of fire to those early meetings, and then I slowly laid out facts, facts from documents within LHA, within Clinic, and he started to see a completely different aspect to all of this.

Over the months Brian and I have had many a good discussion and many an argument. He is passionate, articulate, and usually spot on, unless he was misled. And this is where some of the edge comes from. When you turn to elected officials and get lies, foot dragging, misrepresentation, and outright scheming against you, you get frustrated.

Through all of this I have grown a deep appreciation for Brian and his family. Even when we don't agree, he is always ready to find middle ground and a way to move ahead. He says that in this video, he was looking for a way to bring discussion and unity.

I am glad he speaks up, and I am proud to call him a friend.

As for the rules, unlike so many others out there, Brian posts here, the posts stay here, and he is willing to stand behind everything he says with his real name.

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"He is passionate, articulate, and usually spot on". Not on this one. He overstepped and called people out in way that kills conversation and threatens reasonable Lakewoodites.

Patrick Wadden wrote:"He is passionate, articulate, and usually spot on". Not on this one. He overstepped and called people out in way that kills conversation and threatens reasonable Lakewoodites.

Patrick

Welcome to the Deck.

I know many people feel that way. I know many people feel that way about me and other posters here on the Deck. I feel the heat that The Deck brings to a conversation both kills conversations, and finds facts. This could be the good and the bad of this project.

Some people use a little hyperbole, others a ton. What I think many people are confused about on this project is that Brian Essi is not a reporter, he has no imaginary oath to any imaginary society. Brian Essi is simply a resident speaking of what he knows, in the way he knows how to speak. If you were to sit down with Brian, you would find him filled with energy, hyperbole, facts and a ton of compassion. It shows in his writing.

From the other side, again I wear neither hat in this, I have read, heard and seen some really hideous things written, posted and mailed out. This is Lakewood's dirty little secret. The people in Lakewood are not as COOL as we like to believe. I remember full well the nastiness and lies of the WestEnd, Marc's Plaza, Spooky Pooch Parade, The Beach Membership debate, The Lincoln Grant School Debacle, and now this. This city has a sickness.

Funny thing in every one of this nightmares, it is people who believe in Commercial Economic Development over residents. In all of these nightmares one side had the facts and was pushing hard and fast to change large chunks of what Lakewood is. In each case well-funded efforts to crush opposition rose up against everyday citizens trying to do the right thing too.

I have not searched for it, but I am on record saying back in January, this one gets ugly. And once again, if you leave the emotion and the hyperbole at the door, you can plainly see why. These large ill thought-out big plans pop up every 5-7 years. They are well-meaning, but developed in secret but not by the sharpest pencils in the box, though they are blindly dedicated to commercial economic development as a way to keep their taxes low, and keeping 'those people' out. The plan is sprung in public eventually and people see things they have questions about. When the questions are not answered or more to the point, the residents get lied to, they start to push back. The other group digs in and fire starts, and it gets nasty, this one gets ugly, and in my opinion here is why.

Most of the drivers of this are 60-years-old or older. They know this is THEIR last big debacle to unfold. This goes down, their years and years and years of planning for this gone, and they finish nothing. In the WestEnd Debacle (Jay Foran's term), people were fighting for commercial economic development for lower taxes, their dreams of getting rid of the apartments at the end of Detroit, and shopping, shopping, don't you understand we need shopping.

This time around it is their last chance, and $34 million dollars, a handful of OK paying non-profit jobs, and one final attempt to make it look like something was done with the $57 million sunk into DowntowN Lakewood, that we were promised by these people to be filled with High End Shopping, turnover is setting in, and oddly enough, the same amount of development is in Downtown as before they started this. Cleaner yes, slightly different yes, but not what were were promised. And let's be honest that will never happen because some of the members in this were some of the people who promised us elevated enclosed walkways all over downtown Lakewood. Running from the cornerstone Lakewood Hospital, to our new HIGH END Shopping District, which became Marc's.

Brian Essi claiming that if the LHA Board fails to act on their mission, it will cost lives, and the blood of those lives will be on their hands, is nothing more than another post with hyperbole, perhaps more than some, but it is Essi and he owns it.

When the Build Group got together to discuss how to handle "Essi" it was discussed to cry "dangerous!" I'm afraid!" "I am fear of my life, well not really." I know people at the meeting. Brian delivered his passionate plea, on the Deck with his real name, and at City Hall with his real name. It did not come in the mail unsigned, it was not delivered taped to his car unsigned, it was not delivered from one daughter to another, "I am no allowed to hang out with you." It was not taped to a kids locker, or slipped under the door unsigned. It was not posted for everyone and taken down when they sobered up.

I would say that is the biggest difference I have observed from the two sides, Save Lakewood Hospital is desperate to find facts, and stand behind what they say and do. BuildLakewood Hospital folks, do not work that way. At least the majority of them.

This could be stopped tomorrow, but only one person can stop it. In a post later this week I will talk about leaders that work to divide and then double down to make sure they divide.

Again, sorry for the length, sorry for the typos, thanks for jumping in.

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Jim O'Bryan wrote:This time around it is their last chance, and $34 million dollars, a handful of OK paying non-profit jobs, and one final attempt to make it look like something was done with the $57 million sunk into DowntowN Lakewood, that we were promised by these people to be filled with High End Shopping, turnover is setting in, and oddly enough, the same amount of development is in Downtown as before they started this. Cleaner yes, slightly different yes, but not what were were promised. And let's be honest that will never happen because some of the members in this were some of the people who promised us elevated enclosed walkways all over downtown Lakewood. Running from the cornerstone Lakewood Hospital, to our new HIGH END Shopping District, which became Marc's.
.

I want to make clear what I am saying here. Because it reads wrong.

Downtown Lakewood and it volunteers and businesses have done a great job. We are in a shrinking region, and more than holding our own as the county falls around us. We have made strides, its cleaner, and yes I have grown accustomed to pink fax brick.

But it was not what we were promised. So when the same people promise something else, I tend to be slightly underwhelmed and skeptical.

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Jim O'Bryan wrote:

Jim O'Bryan wrote:This time around it is their last chance, and $34 million dollars, a handful of OK paying non-profit jobs, and one final attempt to make it look like something was done with the $57 million sunk into DowntowN Lakewood, that we were promised by these people to be filled with High End Shopping, turnover is setting in, and oddly enough, the same amount of development is in Downtown as before they started this. Cleaner yes, slightly different yes, but not what were were promised. And let's be honest that will never happen because some of the members in this were some of the people who promised us elevated enclosed walkways all over downtown Lakewood. Running from the cornerstone Lakewood Hospital, to our new HIGH END Shopping District, which became Marc's.
.

I want to make clear what I am saying here. Because it reads wrong.

Downtown Lakewood and it volunteers and businesses have done a great job. We are in a shrinking region, and more than holding our own as the county falls around us. We have made strides, its cleaner, and yes I have grown accustomed to pink fax brick.

But it was not what we were promised. So when the same people promise something else, I tend to be slightly underwhelmed and skeptical.

.

Jim,

I am confused by some downtown businesses. I think this is one of the leading causes to my confusion of this entire scenario (as I have stated since my first post about this ordeal months ago...who benefits, and how).

I saw the contribution list (posted on another Deck thread) and many of the largest supporters are from downtown Lakewood businesses. This doesn't make sense to me. Why are businesses that gain retail customers and revenue from families visiting the hospital (and the hospital itself) contributing to the demise of the hospital? What is in it for them?

Corey

Corey Rossen wrote:What is in it for them?

Corey

That, Corey, is the proverbial $64,000 question.

Patrick Wadden wrote:"He is passionate, articulate, and usually spot on". Not on this one. He overstepped and called people out in way that kills conversation and threatens reasonable Lakewoodites.

Your return to the Deck belies your statement. BLers are flocking to the Deck to take a shot at me.

Patrick,

Move on over to my post: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=14009 13 Pinocchios


I triple dog dare your to address the facts on that post. Bring it on!

In the cold war, the US created things inside the USSR to gauge reactions.

The BL reaction to my BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS piece say everything about BLers.

They can't face the moral and legal consequences of their actions--some must know their responsibility or else the outrage would not be there.

Others tell themselves wicked lies about me to stay safe from the pain.

"Truth sound like hate to those who hate the truth."

I watched the video of the comment portion of the last council meeting, and while I heard numerous complaints about the hospital advocates, I didn't hear many counter the facts SLH has presented. It reminded me of the old lawyers' aphorism: "If you have the facts on your side, pound the facts. If you have the law on your side, pound the law. If you have neither on your side, pound the table." I heard a lot of table pounding.