Mayor Jackson’s yearly visit to the East 185th St. Block Watch meeting
On July 13th, Mayor Frank Jackson made his yearly visit to the East 185th St. Block Watch. The main ballroom of the Lithuanian Hall had over 150 people in attendance for the mayor’s visit. Mayor Jackson congratulated the Block Watch on being one of the biggest block watches in the City of Cleveland. He also recognized the fact that the group has been meeting for 5 years now. He remarked how he likes to come to the Block Watch meeting once a year because it makes him feel good to see so many people that care about their neighborhood.
The mayor brought the group up to date on some of the green initiatives the city is working on. The Recreation Center is the first of its kind because everything is going to be recycled or reused from the old Big Lots store. The new garbage program was discussed with people from the block watch expressing their opinions on the program. Mayor Jackson explained how the city is going to start recycling plastic into pellets which will in turn help power Cleveland Public Power. The Rain Barrel program sponsored by the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer district and the City of Cleveland was also discussed. If you don’t have a Rain Barrel and would like to get on the list for next year, please contact Denise Lorek at Northeast Shores 216-481-7660.
Erin Randel who has asked the Mayor repeatedly for the last four years, “Where is our Rec Center?” brought her daughters to thank the Mayor for bringing a Rec Center to our neighborhood. Now that the Rec Center problem has been solved, Erin had a few questions for the Mayor about the state of our school system.
Richard Westmeyer asked the Mayor, “Who do we thank for the NASA Summer of Innovation program that was held at VASJ High School?” The Mayor indicated that the program was made possible by NASA, VASJ and Northeast Shores collaborating together to bring a free summer camp to the area. Mr. Westmeyer also explained what a wonderful program it was. Even though Mr. Westmeyer does not have young children, he made sure that four of the children who live near him were enrolled in the program and even provided transportation.
Once all of the questions from the Block Residents were answered the meeting was adjourned. After the meeting, the Mayor stayed around for pictures and one-on-one conversation with the residents.
Denise Lorek is Chair Person of the E.185th St. Block Watch and the Community Organizer for Northeast Shores.