The Observation Deck

Posted: **Fri Aug 14, 2020 11:30 am**

... the man that gave nearly $80,000,000 to the Cleveland Clinic, and another $60,000,000 to a private foundation from Lakewood kitty wants to give more of Lakewoodites, tax dollars away to businesses. In a new move, our infamous freewheelin, free drinking councilman, looks to not just give away public space to private bar businesses, but pay their way as well! As I mentioned way back in March, this is a slippery slope that know no end.

The last two administrations had found it much easier to relax regulations for restaurants to get to over our record number of 110 places to get food. Now turn to us after destroying our single largest advertiser and source of taxes to say. "Restaurants and bars need it, for they are our largest industry!" Which of course is wrong it, falls way behind schools, and housing for Lakewood's largest source of income and employment.

But Councilman Bullock's whose love for the bottle and the bar is well documented has made sure, he will have many watering holes in walking distance. You know just in case Lent comes by again and he has to give up driving again.

He also wants to reduce the speed on Lake to 25mph, which makes sense as it is covered in chicanes and paint that mean little in anything to most people. I also notice that the bike lanes were just repainted around the city at a cost of around $30,000. Frequent visitors will remember LO members asking why and how it makes sense in a city that plows it streets. Councilman Bullock assured us it would last 10 years or more, about 3 years ago.

I have zero comprehension on how the least qualified is leading the pack.

Stay tuned, more on the speed limit and striping as we take a drive on the streets of Lakewood later next week.

Stay tuned...

.

Posted: **Fri Aug 14, 2020 3:31 pm**

waiting

Posted: **Fri Aug 14, 2020 8:27 pm**

Jim O'Bryan wrote:I have zero comprehension on how the least qualified is leading the pack.

I highly doubt that he is "leading the pack".
The other FitzSummers Acolytes recognize that Bullock is a boob. That's why he's never been given a leadership position on council (despite having more experience than the other six members COMBINED!).
They know that he is a political failure, having lost multiple races for State Rep and narrowly escaping a humiliating loss of his council seat in 2017 (he only survived because the other two incumbents were even bigger buffoons).
They know he's weak, and they plan to leave him in the dust as they move up the political ladder.

Unfortunately Lakewood's problem is deeper than Bullock.
Most of council is moving in the same direction as Bullock because they are beholden to the same campaign donors and the same political machine that controls him.
Summers donors and Armond Budish's Democratic Machine are committed to businesses first, residents last.
We've seen it time and again....Drug Mart, Little League Beer Garden, Lakewood Hospital, and now the new bar concessions.
The puppets change, but the same people are pulling the strings.

Posted: **Sat Aug 15, 2020 10:49 am**

yes. waiting 16 years for Lake to be 25mph....especially now that there are so many layers to realize before you can pull out of your driveway

Posted: **Sat Aug 15, 2020 10:49 am**

yes. waiting 16 years for Lake to be 25mph....especially now that there are so many layers to realize before you can pull out of your driveway

Posted: **Sat Aug 15, 2020 3:33 pm**

When was the last time Lakewood taxpayers had the opportunity for input into bike lanes, whether old or new, besides a committee meeting? This is not opposition but a question of how thoroughly the city is examining what works and what doesn't.

Posted: **Sat Aug 15, 2020 5:14 pm**

Michael Deneen wrote:
Jim O'Bryan wrote:I have zero comprehension on how the least qualified is leading the pack.
I highly doubt that he is "leading the pack".
The other FitzSummers Acolytes recognize that Bullock is a boob. That's why he's never been given a leadership position on council (despite having more experience than the other six members COMBINED!).
They know that he is a political failure, having lost multiple races for State Rep and narrowly escaping a humiliating loss of his council seat in 2017 (he only survived because the other two incumbents were even bigger buffoons).
They know he's weak, and they plan to leave him in the dust as they move up the political ladder.

Unfortunately Lakewood's problem is deeper than Bullock.
Most of council is moving in the same direction as Bullock because they are beholden to the same campaign donors and the same political machine that controls him.
Summers donors and Armond Budish's Democratic Machine are committed to businesses first, residents last.
We've seen it time and again....Drug Mart, Little League Beer Garden, Lakewood Hospital, and now the new bar concessions.
The puppets change, but the same people are pulling the strings.

Michael, Spot on.

Mr. O'Bryan if we are to believe your narrative of Bullock ascendant then what are we to make of City Council President Dan O'Malley?

Has he resigned?
Is he too weak to lead?
Is he more interested in the title than the job?
O

Posted: **Mon Aug 17, 2020 9:28 am**

m buckley wrote:
Michael Deneen wrote:
Jim O'Bryan wrote:I have zero comprehension on how the least qualified is leading the pack.
I highly doubt that he is "leading the pack".
The other FitzSummers Acolytes recognize that Bullock is a boob. That's why he's never been given a leadership position on council (despite having more experience than the other six members COMBINED!).
They know that he is a political failure, having lost multiple races for State Rep and narrowly escaping a humiliating loss of his council seat in 2017 (he only survived because the other two incumbents were even bigger buffoons).
They know he's weak, and they plan to leave him in the dust as they move up the political ladder.

Unfortunately Lakewood's problem is deeper than Bullock.
Most of council is moving in the same direction as Bullock because they are beholden to the same campaign donors and the same political machine that controls him.
Summers donors and Armond Budish's Democratic Machine are committed to businesses first, residents last.
We've seen it time and again....Drug Mart, Little League Beer Garden, Lakewood Hospital, and now the new bar concessions.
The puppets change, but the same people are pulling the strings.
Michael, Spot on.

Mr. O'Bryan if we are to believe your narrative of Bullock ascendant then what are we to make of City Council President Dan O'Malley?

Has he resigned?
Is he too weak to lead?
Is he more interested in the title than the job?
O

My feeling is Dan is too nice, AND he does not have the votes.

FitzGerald is still deep in the heads and blood of 4 council people. With them standing together, Dan has a lot of work to do.

With that in plain sight, Bullock has become the defacto "brains" of the other four. One council person speaks of Bullock in even higher terms than Bullock himself uses!

Two of the newbies are salivating over the next Mayoral election, which means at least 3 council people running, all with FitzGerald backing and bullshit. Like help from his new polling operation! Like we need another bullshit fear inspired straw poll in this town! I have to believe Ed is closing in on the number of business failures of Trump. Of course all have been two bit operations, with very little knowledge. Oh, yeah trumpian again.

Dan can only work with what he was given to work with. The city allowed Bullock to rise like the little clots of spoiled milk in a morning coffee.

Dan had it until Sam O'Leary's babysitter, errrrrrrrr social media director was appointed in Meghan George's place.

The fights for those who dream of being king will ratchet up soon.

Meanwhile Mayor George works with the support of most of City Hall and a majority of the residents.

Has everyone noticed, the evil on all of the FB Groups is not about the city, the mayor, or the job they are doing.

.

Posted: **Tue Aug 18, 2020 7:37 am**

Oh happy days...

The man who dreams of the chair of a king or queen was once again sat down and given a lesson.

My general impression from outside the council chambers is that a small group led by the least vote receiver of all time—Councilman Bullock—has been bringing new and unexciting ways to blow through money to the council for a vote. Tom and crew have worked endlessly to give businesses, especially bars money from our taxes.

Now there is no doubt that Councilman Bullock led the charge with FitzGerald and Summers to get rid of that nasty hospital money, health security and high paying jobs, for us to become a destination city for food. I mean why else sell a $250 million dollar asset for a dollars to get an ice cream store? So now with Council explaining that bars are our largest employer errrrr no—actually, government, schools, housing then maybe the bar/restaurant business. So while the food/drink service industry flounders everywhere, and the hospital business is printing money and saving lives, Bullock, Kepple and Shachner look for ways to divide up our tax dollars, and even our city streets to make their false narrative true. It would seem that Councilman Bullock and his wrecking crew introduce much, and accomplish very little.

And this happened again last night. After Bullock made the Trumpian announcement that Lakewood would be eating and drinking in the streets, City Council, led by Council President Dan O'Malley, brought them back into line, and back into reality. You want what? $10,000 for one bar, to set up tables in the streets. For the record, over $1 million in dollars would be needed to treat the bars and restaurants in Lakewood equally. Which could have been possible (but not preferable) if Councilman Bullock had held out for more than $1.00 for the hospital property.

It truly amazes me that the new council people fell into lock step with the ever diminishing councilman, and one that is seen as a complete failure when it comes to governing. It is even more amazing when you think that they speak of higher office! Must be FitzGerald folks assuring them they can find them money and support.

It is like when you saw that person with all the potential in the world, go out with the town loser. You just know where the ride leads.

Once again thank you Council President Dan O'Malley, Tristan Rader, Tess Neff, and John Litten for helping sanity prevail.

Bullock and crew Kepple and Shachner we had hoped for something much more out of you.

.

peace/love

Posted: **Wed Aug 19, 2020 3:23 am**

From News 5 yesterday - story based on Bullock
https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/loc ... re-seating
Cut/paste follows
WEWS - Cleveland, OhioVISIT SITE

Lakewood will allow 'parklets' to give restaurants, bars more seating
Lakewood outdoor seating
By: Olivia Fecteau
Posted at 9:50 PM, Aug 18, 2020 and last updated 2020-08-18 22:10:52-04
LAKEWOOD, Ohio — The City of Lakewood is deciding whether to approve an application for one of its restaurants to install a parklet, expanded seating outside the restaurant that stretches into metered parking spaces.

While the city of Cleveland has been allowing restaurants to obtain permits for parklets, Lakewood has not yet done so. But on Monday, Lakewood City Council voted to approve parklet guidelines for restaurants in the city.

That restaurant, LBM on Madison Avenue, was approved Tuesday, and according to Tom Bullock, a council member, LBM was the only restaurant that has applied. The restaurant will build a safe outdoor dining area in the curb lane.

"I don't know if we all appreciate how hard it is for businesses to be able to tighten their belts and make it through months and months of uncertainty," Bullock said. "COVID is showing no signs of letting up. We've gotta plan to be in this mode for the next, I don't know, nine months, 18 months. So we're seeking ways to help businesses be able to be resilient and operate and add back employees so that we all can have a vibrant economy and our neighbors are doing better."

He said he hopes the city council and city government can help restaurants and businesses weather this crisis.

"The city has an interest in helping our residents be able to make it and pay the rent and stay healthy," Bullock said. "And the same goes double for businesses because the businesses employ people who can shop, pay taxes, pay their own rent."

Parklets have been successful in the City of Cleveland, according to businesses that have implemented them.

"Instead of cars in the street, we have these linear beer gardens," Sam McNulty said. "There's AstroTurf, picnic tables. We have umbrellas and flowers and plants."

McNulty is the owner and chief beer taster at Market Garden, Biermarkt, Nano Brew, and Bar Cento. He said those parklets have allowed for the addition of approximately 200 seats outdoors, during a time when social distancing and health guidelines mean fewer seats inside.

"It's been transformative. It's taken what’s been a dire situation for everybody in the hospitality industry, and it's given us a little glimmer of hope that we can get through this summer and into fall," McNulty said. "And hopefully, you know, we look forward to better times ahead."

At Great Lakes Brewing Company, Adam Ritterspach, the communications coordinator, said parklets have allowed the brewpub to expand its seating by about six tables or about 24 seats. That helped the brewpub make up some of the seating lost inside the restaurant and beer garden.

"It's just allowing people to be able to enjoy our beer, our food, and our beautiful neighborhood in a way that's just a little bit more spread out," Ritterspach said.

He noted that customer reaction so far "has been overwhelmingly positive."

"We have gone above and beyond to make sure that we're adhering and meeting all of the guidelines that are recommended by the city of Cleveland, the Ohio [Department of Health], and having this extra seating out on Market Avenue, it’s just extra cushion for people to have that physical distancing," Ritterspach said.

Because this is all happening late in the summer, Councilman Bullock said he expects that if things go well for LBM, other Lakewood restaurants will apply in the spring to have parklets for next year.

"We started this conversation on Memorial Day and it took us a while," Bullock said. "The good news is that we have now gotten to the stage where there are a list of instructions for business to apply and deal with safety, deal with ADA access, deal with a bunch of other things related to utilities and stormwater flows."

He added that he hoped Lakewood could be a leader in this, alongside Cleveland, by helping businesses to gain new flexibility.

In Cleveland, McNulty said the permits only go until November 1. He hopes the city will see it's working well for many restaurants and will decide to do this yearly or even year-round.

"Parklets have been happening all over the globe for decades now," McNulty, whose background is in city planning, said.

He added, "Both from a city planning perspective, a business perspective and just general well-being being of the populace perspective, parklets make a lot of sense."

Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more.

Posted: **Thu Aug 20, 2020 4:49 am**

I have been advised that there are errors of fact in the above News 5 story. I will check them out late Thursday while hoping someone more authoritative comes along to straighten it out. Meanwhile, if there are concerns about inconsistencies between News 5 and Jim O'Bryan's reporting, Jim is correct.

Posted: **Fri Aug 21, 2020 6:50 am**

Here's how I came to post that News 5 story about Tom Bullock and the parklets. After watching the convention, we were rushing to get our three dogs out for a very late walk and I caught a glimpse of Lakewood on the news and a reference to parklets. Because I had read Jim O'Bryan's report earlier in this conversation and because Pyke Park was the big Lakewood news of the day, it seemed odd. It didn't smell right. It stunk.

The News 5 report read:
"The City of Lakewood is deciding whether to approve an application for one of its restaurants to install a parklet, expanded seating outside the restaurant that stretches into metered parking spaces.
"While the city of Cleveland has been allowing restaurants to obtain permits for parklets, Lakewood has not yet done so. But on Monday, Lakewood City Council voted to approve parklet guidelines for restaurants in the city.
"That restaurant, LBM on Madison Avenue, was approved Tuesday, and according to Tom Bullock, a council member, LBM was the only restaurant that has applied. The restaurant will build a safe outdoor dining area in the curb lane."

If that's a misquote, it's three paragraphs of misquote.

"I'm astonished that such an inaccurate story was published," said Council President Dan O'Malley. The approval for parklet guidelines never happened, he said. "The most substantive thing we did was vote down - by a one-vote margin - a proposal to allocate $10K for bars/restaurants' parklet equipment." That's $10,000 for each bar/restaurant, Jim O'Bryan reported earlier, which will add up to big money considering the City's many bars and eateries.

Posted: **Sun Aug 23, 2020 7:50 am**

Dan Alaimo wrote:Here's how I came to post that News 5 story about Tom Bullock and the parklets. After watching the convention, we were rushing to get our three dogs out for a very late walk and I caught a glimpse of Lakewood on the news and a reference to parklets. Because I had read Jim O'Bryan's report earlier in this conversation and because Pyke Park was the big Lakewood news of the day, it seemed odd. It didn't smell right. It stunk.

The News 5 report read:
"The City of Lakewood is deciding whether to approve an application for one of its restaurants to install a parklet, expanded seating outside the restaurant that stretches into metered parking spaces.
"While the city of Cleveland has been allowing restaurants to obtain permits for parklets, Lakewood has not yet done so. But on Monday, Lakewood City Council voted to approve parklet guidelines for restaurants in the city.
"That restaurant, LBM on Madison Avenue, was approved Tuesday, and according to Tom Bullock, a council member, LBM was the only restaurant that has applied. The restaurant will build a safe outdoor dining area in the curb lane."

If that's a misquote, it's three paragraphs of misquote.

"I'm astonished that such an inaccurate story was published," said Council President Dan O'Malley. The approval for parklet guidelines never happened, he said. "The most substantive thing we did was vote down - by a one-vote margin - a proposal to allocate $10K for bars/restaurants' parklet equipment." That's $10,000 for each bar/restaurant, Jim O'Bryan reported earlier, which will add up to big money considering the City's many bars and eateries.

Posted: **Sun Aug 23, 2020 8:01 am**

Jim O'Bryan wrote:
Dan Alaimo wrote:Here's how I came to post that News 5 story about Tom Bullock and the parklets. After watching the convention, we were rushing to get our three dogs out for a very late walk and I caught a glimpse of Lakewood on the news and a reference to parklets. Because I had read Jim O'Bryan's report earlier in this conversation and because Pyke Park was the big Lakewood news of the day, it seemed odd. It didn't smell right. It stunk.

The News 5 report read:
"The City of Lakewood is deciding whether to approve an application for one of its restaurants to install a parklet, expanded seating outside the restaurant that stretches into metered parking spaces.
"While the city of Cleveland has been allowing restaurants to obtain permits for parklets, Lakewood has not yet done so. But on Monday, Lakewood City Council voted to approve parklet guidelines for restaurants in the city.
"That restaurant, LBM on Madison Avenue, was approved Tuesday, and according to Tom Bullock, a council member, LBM was the only restaurant that has applied. The restaurant will build a safe outdoor dining area in the curb lane."

If that's a misquote, it's three paragraphs of misquote.

"I'm astonished that such an inaccurate story was published," said Council President Dan O'Malley. The approval for parklet guidelines never happened, he said. "The most substantive thing we did was vote down - by a one-vote margin - a proposal to allocate $10K for bars/restaurants' parklet equipment." That's $10,000 for each bar/restaurant, Jim O'Bryan reported earlier, which will add up to big money considering the City's many bars and eateries.

Dan

Anyone that has been in Lakewood more than four years knows Bullock has a propensity for misrepresenting the truth, and or out right lying to get a little light upon himself. We have also seen firsthand the most main stream media outlets really do not care what they report about Lakewood. A cheap fast, safe story. Just like it was 12 years ago. They do not care about the impact of quoting and re-quoting lies. This would have been an easy fact check. Watch the meeting. But no time for that, "we have a politican on the phone with quotes!" Of course here at the Observer we have learned first time, when FitzGerald's player talk, it is all bullshit. So we try not to print their lies any longer. As a person that hates comparisons with Trump Administration, but Bullock and Fitzy's club lying, yawn old news, and constant news. This is what shocks me about Jason and Sarah following Lakewood's own little baby trump, Tom Bullock.

Now if you look at the players, and what is happening, you will see that Councilman Bullock is once again selling off the city to people that might support him with $$$$ down the road. Again one of the biggest problems with wash-a-shores residents see a great community, they prefer to use it for their own advancement and or $$$$$. I am sure as we get closer to election season for council and mayor we will see the newbies all looking to forward their political careers, and move on. It is really all politicians do, and for some reason Lakewood seems to attract politicians over public servants.

Well soon enough we can finish cleaning house of those influences.

Has everyone noticed, with America and the world in a much crazier place, anxiety in Lakewood has calmed down under Mayor George.

Imagine how this city would be doing without 1/2 of council trying 24/7/365 to give the rest of our assets away.

.

Posted: **Thu Aug 27, 2020 5:01 pm**

Something to keep in mind about sidewalk eating/drinking that is not Covid related.

I hope our ordinance has contingencies for this, both barriers for protection against runaway or hit-and-run vehicles, and liability for injuries or death.

The first thing I thought about the person who was injured and taken to the hospital was, who is going to pay for it?

The Observation Deck

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