New Year's News Round-up

During the holidays, Northeast Shores and North Collinwood were covered in a variety of newspapers. We wanted to make sure that you had the opportunity to read each of these stories and also provide our own additional comments/updates about the stories.

Northeast Shores efforts for the LaSalle Theater were covered in a Plain Dealer story. Check out the story here:
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/12/shuttered_cleveland_movie_hous.html
Since this article was published, we have come to terms with the owner, Parkview Federal. While we do not have a signed agreement at this time, it appears that we are finally making progress on our plans to renovate the LaSalle Theater. More news as 2009 develops!

Northeast Shores efforts to add more community gardens to the neighborhood were mentioned briefly in this Scene Magazine story:
http://www.clevescene.com/stories/15/84/city-chicken

If you want to start a community garden after this arctic blast is over, the time to plan is NOW! Contact Denise in the office at dlorek@northeastshores.org and we will be more than happy to accommodate your farming dreams. We have space available but we need you to step forward and volunteer!

Finally, we have received several questions and comments about the following Plain Dealer story about a home purchased by Ward 11 Councilman Mike Polensek. You can see the story here, read a Plain Dealer editorial, and then follow that with reading a letter to the editor written by Polensek:
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/12/councilman_michael_polenseks_h.html
http://www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/stories/index.ssf?/base/opinion/1230283890201820.xml&coll=2
http://www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/stories/index.ssf?/base/opinion/1230283840201820.xml&coll=2

While these articles do not relate directly to Northeast Shores, we have received several requests from residents asking for clarification on these stories.

In an effort to set the record straight, we want to share the following comments based on the majority of questions we have received.

Did Northeast Shores buy a home and hold it until Mike Polensek was able to proceed with getting financing? No. Northeast Shores is not the Collinwood & Nottingham Development Corporation. Northeast Shores is the community development corporation for North Collinwood and Collinwood & Nottingham Development Corporation serves South Collinwood.

Isn't Brian Avenue in North Collinwood? Yes, the home discussed in the article is in North Collinwood. We do not know why the Collinwood & Nottingham Development Corporation (whose mission is to improve South Collinwood) was conducting business in our service area. They do not consult us on their redevelopment plans.

Did the Councilman ask us for the same deal? No. Councilman Polensek never asked Northeast Shores to purchase this home or even walk through it. Frankly, we didn't even know he was interested in the home. We learned about this whole situation by reading the paper just like you. The only reference the Councilman ever made is that he would mention even his street was experiencing foreclosures and was surprised how much value this foreclosure crisis is wiping out even on his own street.

Would Northeast Shores have participated in this transaction if asked? Northeast Shores does buy homes throughout the community for rehabilitation and sale. Further, we work with people interested in buying in the neighborhood and improving our community.

Would Northeast Shores buy a home for an interested person to hold it while they sought financing? Possibly, but only after a thorough understanding of why our role was catalytic in the transaction. In other words, why can't the individual proceed with the transaction without our help? Based on the news story, we do not have enough information to determine if we would have felt our participation was necessary. If you are interested in buying in the neighborhood and need help proceeding, please call us to see how we can help.