Are you part of a Block Watch group? If not, why not? If you do, thank you!
Block Watches are about meeting your neighbors. If you know your neighbors, you will recognize strangers who come in to your neighborhood. Block Watches are about sharing information. You can learn about the various programs offered by Northeast Shores, the City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County and various other agencies. Block Watches are about being proactive not reactive to potential problems in your neighborhood. Block Watches are also about being the “Eyes and Ears” for the Police. Our “men in blue” can not be everywhere all the time. The Police need residents calling them reporting suspicious behavior. As Commander Drummond always says “if it looks suspicious, it probably is suspicious, so please make the call to the police”. Remember Zone Cars are deployed to our area based on the calls for service received from our area. So make those calls to the police. You are not bothering them. You are helping them do their jobs. 911 if it’s an emergency, 216-621-1234 for non-emergency calls.
There are several block watch opportunities for you in North Collinwood:
If you live in the East 185th St. area, you can go to the East 185th St. Block Watch meetings. This group meets on the Second Tuesday of every month at 6:00 pm at the Lithuanian Hall, 877 East 185th St. (corner of Kewanee). The Chair person for this group is Denise Lorek.
If you live in the East 156th St. area, you can go to the East 156th St. Block Watch meetings. This group meets on the Fourth Wednesday of every month at 6:00 pm at the Arts Collinwood Community Center 397 East 156th St. The chair person for this group is Patricia Harrison.
The advantages of going to the East 185th or East 156th St. Block Watch meetings is that Commander Drummond or a 5th District representative are at all of the meetings. Councilman Polensek is always at the meetings as well. The Fifth District Police and Councilman Polensek are there to take any Quality of Life complaints you may have. They will investigate the complaints and take whatever action needs to be taken. The Fifth District always brings safety tips and crime statistics for our area. Councilman Polensek always has updates on what is going on in the neighborhood from Collinwood Rec Center updates to the Huron Road Hospital closing news. You are always encouraged to bring your questions and concerns for Councilman Polensek and Commander Drummond. They will try to answer you at the meeting but if that is not possible they will get your contact information and report back to you.
In addition to trying to improve the Quality of Life in the North Collinwood area, the Block Watches build a sense of camaraderie between the residents. We grieve the losses of our residents and we celebrate the additions to our families. We celebrate the anniversaries of our groups with parties. We also have seasonal parties! These parties are potluck, with the residents bringing all kinds of tasty dishes to the meetings to share.
The best part of Block Watching is finding out you are not alone in your neighborhood. You have many good neighbors and we are all here to help each other improve the Quality of Life in North Collinwood for all of us.
There are other Block Groups who meet as needed, quarterly, monthly or every other month. To find out more about joining or starting a Block Watch group, please call Denise Lorek at Northeast Shores 216-481-7660 or dlorek@northeastshores.org .
