Friday, August 18, 2006

CityLink Loses Again! WOO HOO! HALE YEAH!



CityLink and Crossroads Community Church have lost their appeal to put a homeless mall right next to three schools and a playground in the West End. Congrats go out to all that have fought the good fight, including Kimberly Hale who led the charge. She is one tough cookie. I wouldn't want to go up against her.

What is CityLink?

CityLink & Crossroads Community Church were trying to build a 100,000 square foot "mall for the homeless" in the West End. It would be the largest social service facility in the history of the region.

Our community rejected it; we were supported by surrounding communities, churches and business associations. You can check out the NoToCityLink site for yourself.

Who was opposed to Citylink?

The West End Churches and Ministers were opposed to CityLink. All the major congregations of the West End, including the Catholic Church came out against a plan to put drug addicts, the mentally ill, and prisoners fresh out of prison right across the street from our schools, homes and playgrounds.

The head law officer in the County, Sheriff Simon Leis came out against CityLink for the following reasons:

1) Proposed location and close proximity to three schools and the LeBlond Boys and Girls club.
2) Police calls and criminal activity in and around similar facilities.
3) Widespread Community opposition
4) Existing similar services
5) Scale of proposed facility
6) Economic revitalization efforts in and around the area.
7) Limitations of the proposed private site security.

Sheriff Leis observed that this “service will likely have a negative impact on the public safety of the residents and the neighborhood.”

Cincinnati City Council came out with a seven point resolution against the CityLink Center in February. The reasons? It was against the West End Comprehensive Plan, for one. In 2001, the West End Community Council, the Dayton Street Neighborhood Association, and the West End Business Association came together to forge the West End Urban Design Plan. This was later adapted and adopted by City Council as the West End Comprehensive Plan. The goal was to redevelop and revitalize the neighborhood.

To quote from the council resolution: “the neighborhood is rapidly becoming a mixed income neighborhood, with a 190% increase in household income from 1980 to 2000, and a 60% increase in the number of homeowners, making the West End single family market the fifth highest in sale value in the City”

The City also objected to CityLink’s obvious violation of the zoning code. The site was zoned for manufacturing, and CityLink planned to build a Wal-Mart sized homeless mall and service center for drug addicts, ex cons, and a special program for pre-release felons. That isn’t manufacturing, and it has no business next to the children of my community.

Local Businesses were outraged. The Over the Rhine Chamber of Commerce came out against the project. The OTR Brewery District came out against the project. Klotter Builders and Klotter Properties came out against the project. The Clifton Heights Business Association was opposed, as were the Brighton Business Owners and the Historic Hauck House Museum.

Eleven different community and neighborhood associations lined up against the project.

1) West End Community Council
2) Pendleton Neighborhood Council
3) Westwood Concern
4) Dayton Street Neighborhood Association
5) Klotter/Conroy Residents Association
6) CUF Neighborhood Association
7) Clifton Heights Improvement Association
8) West McMicken Improvement Association
9) Mulberry Hill Neighborhood Association
10) East Walnut Hills Assembly
11) Cincinnati Homeowners Association

The number of neighborhood groups that supported Crossroads / CityLink still stands today at zero. The number of business associations and law enforcement groups that support the Crossroads / CityLink concept still stands today at zero.

There are literally thousands of people who are vehemently against the Crossroads Community Church effort to build a monument to their own greatness by concentrating the homeless, bums, drunks, drug addicts, and both pre and post-release felons into a grand mall right across the street from three schools and a playground.

The people at Crossroads believe that they are doing God’s will. The people in the neighborhood that they plan to place their facility believe that they are about to rip apart a reviving neighborhood and put their children in harms way.

One of the biggest generators of the animosity is the pure arrogance of Crossroads Community Church. Crossroads Community Church is the biggest Mega-Church in the City. They had the audacity to flood our community forums with hundreds of “true believers”, and they invited the media to make believe that they had West End and community support. Brian Tome and Tim Senff literally asked hundreds of people from their own Oakley / Hyde Park congregation to come, and they even instructed them to cheer whenever they spoke. People from my community that attended meetings that were dominated by loud and shouting outsiders were offended. It was a bad idea for everyone, and a horrible way to conduct a public relations campaign.

Today is a victory for Cincinnati.

17 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Carstairs, DT, Blanchard, MS:
The previous rant was brought to you by both Ex-Lacks and Ko'edSpecN8. The Xerox kid careens out of control into the WEcc (which meeting one does wonder, OHHH, MMYYYY) and, finds out, once again, cluelesser and cluelesser. Call Mara and see where he got a law degree. Ask TM which of N8s white buddies referred him to work with the WECC; call burke to see if he cares. Call Lawsum and see if he'll let N8 use his to make copies on the xerox machine. Was this powered by a Blackberry or a dingleberry?

1:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The tour de force continues. CityLink has been routed by the City of Cincinnati. How long can they take this abuse? Somebody ask Mark Stecher how the view is behind the woodshed. The guy got in bed w/ Dale and Junebug. He tried to make a back door deal, but his secret meetings were exposed. In the end what does he have to show for it? A bunch of egg on his face, a public relation’s ass kicking, and a $1.4 million dollar property that he can’t use. I am not one to gloat, but that is impressive.

The worst thing is when you hear CityLink talk about all the “research” they did on their plan and on the property. Well they didn’t bother to research the zoning. It makes me question how well they researched other aspects of their plan. Another tragic mistake was that Mark Stecher was informed as a good faith effort that the West End Community Council would be challenging the zoning. This was before they closed and spent $1,400,000.00 on the property. They didn’t have to purchase it until the zoning was cleared up. They did anyway, and lost big time. What a horrible fiscal decision. It calls in to question Mark Stecher’s ability to lead such a massive organization. I think that Mark Stecher is in the wrong line of business.

1:57 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey, N8, you planning on trying for bailiff when Kenny becomes a judge? That's be a hoot. First time you'd ever be in a courtroom other than as a defendant.

2:08 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

We in the WECC and DSNA certainly appreciate that N8's opnions don't mean anything in our judicial system.

2:11 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congratulations to everyone who lives in the area and those who worked to overcome this. It does appear that is was the worst run PR campaign I've ever seen. Let them try to put it next to the megachurch and see what happens.

3:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"We are going ahead with our plans," said Rodger Howell, executive director of CityCure, one of the five social service agencies planning the center. "The city zoning allows us to build the center. It doesn't matter what the council says."

5:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

And Saturday's Whistleblower gave the Truth Squad & No! to CityLink folks this coverage:

"Here’s a blog posting regarding the CityLink ruling when CityLink and Crossroads Community Church lost their appeal to put a homeless mall right next to three schools and a playground in the West End. If you haven’t seen this blog, we encourage you to check it out. This blog and the folks behind it are dedicated to turning our City around. Currently they have focused on two key agenda items

1. Keeping Dale Mallory from being the State house rep for the 32nd

2. Stopping CityLink

One down, one to go!

And friends, according to the news, the Queen City Barrel land is out of the question for a multi-purpose drunk house/crack house/whore house. Cervay said it's going to be used for industrial & commercial purposes.

Oh, idea! Let's send all these criminals to N8 & his lawyer massa, Kenny Lose'em!

ABW 2:10, it sure isn't a blackberry. I flip a coin every day. One day it's a dingleberry, the next day, it's a crackberry, seeing the Drama Dwarf is so into drugs. That rant was ExLax & narcotics in overdrive. Didn't make any sense, either. N8 just hates being on the losing end of anything. In fact, he's always backs the losers & you see him sucking on the fuzzy end of the lollypop. You'd think he'd wake up & get with the program.

Anon 3:08, N8 isn't going to be anyone's bailiff. Boy's got a record. So does his boss Massa. Neither one of these no-loads are going anywhere, except to the food card line.

Memo to Rodger Howell, Stecher & N8, the Drama Dwarf: Go suck an egg! You're losing your a$$es!

Truth Squad will prevail! No! to City Link will win! And Hale YES! will take Columbus!

Let's go, team!

Congratulations on a milestone win! Complete victory is just around the corner! I am so happy for you!

6:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

If CityLink could come up with a plan in Queensgate or an isolated area they may be able to spend their millions for the poor. Getting the out of OTR and the West End would benefit both communities. The Seattle plan makes sense in that respect. No mother or father would want to live next to this human dump. The history of OTR should be a guide post of what happens when one community becomes the nexus of indigent dumping.

I think an opportunity for some compromise exists as long as they are willing to not put this disaster next to schools, children, playgrounds and communities. What a universally bad idea that was. You have to wonder who thought it was a workable plan or a good idea. I agree that Mark Stecher is in the wrong line of business. That man should be finished in this town. His approach to communities was openly insulting, and his backroom negotiations tell the tale. It was a textbook example for failure.

We need to open the door of communication and start to formulate a coherent social service police that affects all neighborhoods, black and white. And we need to think first about the children.

10:09 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anon 11:09, Let's don't forget our Senior Citizens in this planning compromise of a Seattle-modeled human dump.

Our elderly are deathly afraid of the creepiness & criminality these individuals bring with them.

We've had yet another retired/elderly person (55 years old) gunned down in his own home.

I'm attempting to do some research on this & I've come up with 6-7 elderly folks (using AARP's guidelines)gunned and/or viciously attacked with another weapon in the past year in Cincinnati. It's going to increase, because the word is out there that the old folks are an EZ roll.

My end objective is to get some laws on Ohio's books to protect the elderly & also increase the gun specs when some wiseacre makes the choice to blow away some old person. (Kearney's got all this crap for kids, some of which will attempt to cut down some innocent person, but he's overlooked the old folks. Figures. If he doesn't want to help take this on after I do all the research, I've got a back up. Actually, the hell with Kearney. I'll go to my other source.)

A brief side note - I sent a bunch of links to this blog's Email address, as I think I found more juicys on the West End Mafia. It's a pain when they break up here in our comments, I know. We'll let the Special Forces go thru the stuff & work up a post.

10:46 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Kim Hale sighting:
Was out at College Hill to see the 5-K run. Kim Hale had an army of her followers in their Hale yes! t-shirts. She had runners, walkers, cheerleaders and her 2 adorable kids out there.
Korte and Pepper were also running and mingling with the many Hale-yes folks.
No Mallory Mafia to be found, Dale just runs away from the truth and the Truth Squad.
Guess the Mallory Mafia were celebrating their CityLink appeal loss with Mark Stecher and Timmie Burke out in Mason. Timmie's lost a few lately.......that's what happens when you hang with losers like Dale.
Great to learn of the CityLink decision. Great night at College Hill. Great first week of the Hale Yes! campaign.
........Vlad

11:57 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you for speaking up for the elderly Carstairs. Many of us have become prisoners in our own homes.

12:13 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Korte's 8/19/06 story below:

Citylink zoning issue rejected
BY GREGORY KORTE | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
A county magistrate has ruled against Citylink in its zoning dispute with the city of Cincinnati and the West End Community Council.

Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Magistrate Richard A. Bernat ruled this morning that the proposed social service agency is a “community service facility” and does not fit within a manufacturing district. He upheld the Cincinnati Board of Zoning Appeals’ decision to deny a permit for the 800 Bank St. site.

Bernat said Citylink’s social services mall concept – which would put a number of job training, substance abuse, health care and other charities under one roof – “proves the rule that ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.’ ”


Citylink, a consortium of mostly suburban churches, may ask Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Ralph E. Winkler to overturn the magistrate’s decision.

The proposed Citylink center is just two blocks from the historic Dayton Street neighborhood, a 19th century “millionaire’s row.” The issue has been a hotly contested in the West End and neighboring communities and even led the West End Community Council to impeach its president, Dale Mallory, over his support for the project.

E-mail gkorte@enquirer.com

6:48 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Lets put citylink on Berauer Road in Green Township...

2:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Report from the Black Family Parade:
The Hale- Yes! team was out in force with about 30+ in their t-shirts and signs.
Many hundreds of fliers were distributed and the response was amazing! Most of the recipients said "We can't elect that crook Dale" or "Dale's a bum" or "give me a Hale -yes sign for my yard"
The sorry Mallory Mafia crew was mostly family...."vote for D4S...he's black and a Mallory"
So pathetic.
Dale is done.....pack it in Dale, the party's over.
Kim Hale will attract business and homeowners to the 32nd.
HALE-YES!!!!

4:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Other scenes from the BFR Parade - Junebug, the larda$$ cockroach, on the corner in his wife beater shirt, big old belly drooping over his pantswaist. Can we say trailer park?

Another Hale YES! campaigner spotted a loyal, diehard Eve supporter in the City West village. Lady had her Eve shirt on & called Dale a bastard.

Her Royal Hiney, Matriarch Mallory, resplendent in her finery, on the curb talking to one woman. That's building up sinking support for her criminal offspring.

Kim was well received by the folks today. Ran out there, shaking hands & engaging in bits of chat. She did an outstanding job! Her hastily assembled campaign volunteers also fell right in & made up the drill as they went along. Stellar job by everyone!

Memo to Dale, Phoney-EZ & the hangers on: It's over boys. Fold it up. The West End residents aren't going to vote for a criminal. The girl is the clear winner here.

Note to Anon 1:13: I've always been a strong proponent for the elderly. My Mom is still living, a stroke survivor, & I'm not exactly a kid anymore. The elderly are prisoners in their dwellings. And nothing is being done about it. The next wave of senior citizens are on their way. It will be the largest segment this country has ever seen. There isn't one city, not one government, nor one advocacy group has stepped forward with anything that would be of interest to seniors - safe, clean, affordable housing, conveniences & necessities within a close distance, sensible healthcare & medicines, the whole bit. Anon 1:13, you know the things I'm talking about. Another one of my chief concerns is seniors-only housing. No dope dealers & their "families" allowed on the premises, only for brief, legit visits to their elderly parent, grandparent. Grandkids can't live with grandmother, that sort. It's time the old folks sat back & enjoy the balance of their days. Thanks again for your boost of support.

Nowhere in sight at the BFR Parade: the Drama Dwarf & Kenny Lose'em.

5:54 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear Mr. Dallory,
Do you know the very cute Asian photographer that was snapping all those photos of the Hale=yes! campaign this weekend?
Please TS members.....try to get her to send archive pix to Mr. Dallory so that he might post the shots of the Hale campaign.
In the spirit of fairness, I saw some horse droppings along the way. Perhaps a photo of that horse poop might be a good summary of Dale's platform.
HALE-yes!.......Dale NO!

6:29 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Citylink, a consortium of mostly suburban churches, may ask Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Ralph E. Winkler to overturn the magistrate’s decision."

Anon 7:48, thanks for the story update. Haven't had a chance to look at the Enquirer.

Friends, I'm a bit concerned about this going before Ted Winkler. He can be a little anal at times. I've seen him flip flop on criminals. Depends on how his day's going, the weather, what he had for dinner the night before & all that jazz.

I'm just giving you a heads up here. If it was any other judge, say, Ruehlman, Dinkelacker, Nadel, Steve Martin, Helmick, those thugs would not only get blown out of the water, they'd get the cannon fired on them.

(Remember Pat Dinkelacker on Election Day - our boy to the 1st Court of Appeals!)

These boys are well aware of how the city limits are suffering. And they aren't afraid to step up & help the residents, smashing heads in the bargain.

On the other hand, with Ted's wife being a Green Township Trustee, I want to think he's going to look at the total devastation such a criminal mall like this would have on the entire region. You know a mega-dump like this would never be welcome in Green Township.

Hell, if Stecher thinks it's such a wonderful, safe thing, let him put the damned thing in his backyard!

What the hay, I'm going to call it. Winkler'll deny & toss out their appeal.

We've got the River City facility that has an incarceration program for criminal clowns. This jail politics has everyone stirred up on every side. We've already got social programs. Ted Winkler knows all this. I strongly believe he's going to say No! to CityLink.

However, the fight must continue to the very end.

9:53 PM  

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