Cleveland also likes land that some want for Cuyahoga County jail site

We told you this week that two Cuyahoga County Council members think an industrial site in Cleveland would make a good home for the new county jail. Not so fast. It turns out the City of Cleveland has its own plans for a major part of the site, the ruins of the National Acme parts factory. The property, which was in tax foreclosure, is headed to Cleveland’s land bank.   

“We are looking to rehabilitate the property for a job production use,” Marie Zickefoose, Mayor Justin Bibb’s press secretary, told Signal Cleveland in an email. “The City is taking title, has set aside money for demolition, and is seeking proposals for clean-up and demolition. The site requires a lot of work.” 

That’s an understatement. The National Acme building was wrapped up in a federal illegal dumping case years ago, and recent photos show mounds of trash inside the deteriorating building. 

The city does have money for projects like this. Bibb and City Council have set aside $50 million to prepare unused land for major employers. 

Schoolyard reimagined for East Cleveland park

The playground at East Cleveland’s Caledonia Elementary is about to get a major makeover, one that will be a first of its kind in the state. 

The school’s asphalt playground is getting ripped out and transformed into a park for the school and the community as part of the Trust for Public Land’s Community Schoolyard project. Working with school districts across the country, the Trust for Public Land is replacing heat-absorbing asphalt and concrete landscapes with more friendly materials, trees, greenspace and high-quality play structures. 

The larger goal is to help level the playing field with suburbs by adding parks to neglected cityscapes to transform school district properties.The Trust for Public Land, which has converted 300 schoolyards around the country, says communities of color have 44% less park space than predominantly white neighborhoods. 

The trust will unveil its design plans for Caledonia’s schoolyard –  which includes input from students and parents – on Dec. 15. The project is expected to cost $1.2 million, paid for in part by local philanthropists. Shovels hit the ground next summer, and the project is expected to be complete by fall of 2025. 

Statehouse bid

Beachwood Council Member Eric Synenberg is eyeing Columbus. The Democrat says he’s officially campaigning for state representative in District 21, which includes his hometown, several other eastern suburbs, and a small portion of Cleveland.

The seat is currently held by embattled Democrat State Rep. Elliot Forhan of South Euclid, who has been shunned by party leadership for what they say is his unprofessional behavior toward colleagues.

Synenberg said he’s running because he’s proven he can make political friends to get things done for constituents. He’s also not shy about defending his Democratic Party bonafides, even though he once was a Republican and worked for former Republican Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel.

For years, Synenberg has been helping Democrats and is a member of the party’s executive committee. He boasts endorsements in the March primary from several Democratic mayors in the district and says he’s long been in sync with Democratic issues, including abortion rights and climate change.

His father is attorney Roger Synenberg, who once led the Cuyahoga County Republican Party. The younger Synenberg said his upbringing has given him great perspective. 

“Who better to understand the Republican Party than someone who grew up in a Republican household?” he said. 

Bibb welcomes cryptocurrency event to Cleveland

Just before Thanksgiving, the publicly traded cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase assembled local officials in Cleveland for what it called an “advocate town hall.” 

Bibb, who once told Axios that he owns “a little bit of crypto,” offered brief introductory remarks at the event in Ohio City. 

“One of the things that keeps me up at night as mayor and as an elected official in general is –  is government moving fast enough to keep up with the innovation,” the mayor told the Coinbase audience. But more importantly, he added, “how do we make sure that the benefits of this amazing technology are broad-based?” 

Crypto has had a tough year. Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was convicted of fraud and conspiracy in early November. Then crypto exchange Binance and its CEO pleaded guilty to breaking U.S. laws. 

Coinbase is trying to burnish crypto’s image with lawmakers. As Politico reported this year, the company has formed a 501(c)4 advocacy group called the Stand with Crypto Alliance.

Zack Reed still on campaign trail

Former Cleveland Council Member Zack Reed, who’s lost a couple of bids for Cleveland mayor, most recently in 2021, is still campaigning – but not for public office. He currently enjoys a quiet job in the Bibb administration. 

Reed has never stopped campaigning for Toys for Tots, an annual charity drive run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve, which collects toys for underprivileged children. Reed has been sponsoring a local toy drive with a few others for 26 years, and he’s turned the event into a political and media party as well. He continues the tradition Dec. 14. 

This year’s event at the Dive Bar in the Warehouse District will feature former Browns players Bernie Kosar (who works the social and charity circuit like a blitzing linebacker) and Hanford Dixon, several radio and television personalities, and Cleveland Council Members Jasmin Santana and Richard Starr, among others. 

And for those who miss Reed on the political campaign trail, perhaps the only new title he dreams of is Santa’s.