March 4: Cleveland City Council
Covered by Documenters Alyssa Holzkloos (notes) and Regina Samuels (live-tweets)
Echoes of protest
Seven of the 10 public commenters called for Cleveland City Council to pass a resolution supporting a ceasefire in Gaza. They echoed protestors who gathered in the City Hall rotunda to pass their own resolution.
In his public comment, Rev. Evan Regis Bunch, of a Southeast Side church, questioned council members’ inaction on the issue after more than 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza. He said, “If you can be silent on this, then you can be silent in Kinsman Union, you can be silent in Lee-Miles, and you can be silent in Lee-Harvard.”
Tanmay Shah, a resident of Ward 16, told council members, “As I speak, the citizens of Cleveland are doing your job for you in the rotunda through the People’s Council.”
City officials asked the protestors to join the meeting in council chambers or leave the building. Documenter Regina Samuels said police were present throughout the building, “ensuring their presence was felt at City Hall.” Attendees at City Council meetings have noted an increased police presence since protests began in October.
Chants from the protestors could be heard in council chambers, prompting Council President Blaine Griffin to ask that the doors be shut.
Documenter Ronaldo Rodriguez Jr. recorded a view inside the protest at City Hall:
Denied housing
Dominique Brooks shared the roadblocks she has faced getting housing through CHN Housing Partners’ Scholar House Program.
Brooks, a resident of Ward 4, said that she attends Cleveland State University and is a single mother to three children. She said that after going through the preliminary screening questions, working on her application with CHN employees, and being selected for a home visit, a CHN employee told her that she was not eligible for the program.
Brooks said CHN employees told her a U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rule says children of different sexes cannot share a room and the program has only two-bedroom apartments available.
Brooks said she was unable to find documentation of this HUD regulation.
Funding for new homes and ward beautification
Cleveland City Council approved nearly $10 million for the Cuyahoga Land Bank for housing construction and renovation, along with beautification projects in Wards 5, 10 and 14.
The legislation requires that the funding support the construction of at least 24 “housing units” and the renovation of at least 54 homes.
Watch the full public comments or read transcripts on the Public Comment CLE website created by Ohio City resident Angelo Trivisonno.
Read the notes from Documenter Alyssa Holzkloos:
Read the live-tweet thread from Documenter Regina Samuels:
