Summary
- After the recent explosion at the Rainbow Terrace Apartments in Garden Valley, a non-Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) property, CMHA volunteered to house displaced residents, Cleveland City Council Member Richard Starr said.
- Residents should take advantage of Legal Aid services and come to court as prepared as possible, bringing all important documentation and timeline information with them, according to Cleveland Housing Court Administrative Judge W. Moná Scott.
- Cleveland Housing Court mandates that all out-of-state property owners appear in person for housing court hearings. Property managers are no longer valid representatives, Scott said. Her belief is that by forcing the in-person appearance, out-of-state owners will take a better interest in their properties or will stop buying these properties as a way to simply make money without regard for tenants.
Follow-Up Questions
- I would like a better answer to how tenants can initiate mediation if they believe they’ve been issued an eviction notice as a result of retaliatory practices.
- An extensive overview of the 2045 Initiative at CMHA would be helpful. Many low-income housing construction projects are underway in Cleveland. It would be interesting to see how many of them are part of the CMHA master plan.
- Once a complaint is filed with Cleveland Building and Housing, how long does it take to have a property demolished? [Editor’s note: Here’s why the abandoned house next door hasn’t been demolished—a Signal Cleveland explainer.]
Cleveland housing discussed at Ward 5 meeting
The Ward 5 Community Meeting, hosted by Cleveland City Council Member Richard Starr, was held at the Friendly Inn Community Center on Aug. 7 and began at 5:30 p.m. The center was bright, clean, comfortable and inviting. Refreshments were served.
Starr opened the meeting with an overview of how meetings are conducted and gave a partial list of vendors present. They included: Sisters of Charity, Third Federal, Cleveland Department of Aging, Cleveland Animal Protective League, Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, Civic Engagement Collaborative, Cleveland Lead Safe Advocates, Bright Beginnings and the Ohio Department of Health.
Special guests:
- Commander Heather Miksch, acting commander, 4th District, Cleveland Police
- Officer Adrian Calhoun, 3rd District, Cleveland Police
- Chief of Housing Administration and Operations Sharhonda Greer, CMHA
- Administrative Judge W. Moná Scott, City of Cleveland Housing Court
- Inspector Michael Shockley, City of Cleveland Building and Housing Department
Greer gave an overview of the relationship between CMHA and its residents. She stressed that it is a reciprocal partnership. Further, she updated everyone on the master plan, entitled 2045 at CMHA, that lays out the plans for transitioning CMHA properties to Section 8 housing, including the redevelopment of the Olde Cedar and Outhwaite Estates (two of the first public housing entities in the United States.) Greer also updated residents on criminal activity at Outhwaite and Carver Park, saying most of the trouble is initiated by outsiders coming into those communities. She encouraged residents to say something if they see something. CMHA’s police department staffing is low, but officers will respond, as will Cleveland Police.
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Starr asked that questions be saved until the end of the meeting, but he asked a question about maintenance and work orders. Should requests for service be given directly to the maintenance worker or should a work order be completed? All requests for maintenance repairs must be initiated with a work order by calling the service request line at 216-432-5522. It is available 24 hours a day, Greer said.
Inspector Shockley gave an overview of the City of Cleveland Building and Housing Department, which he joined in 2000. The department inspects rundown and abandoned properties, nuisance neighbor complaints, overgrown yards and garbage dumping. The department includes: Vacant Housing Unit, Systematic Unit (addresses community complaints), Demolition Unit, Permits, and programs for seniors (60+).
Shockley urged residents to call 311 to file a complaint or report a problem.
‘There is no affordable housing’
Judge W. Moná Scott gave an overview of her role and responsibilities as a Housing Court Judge. Scott’s court operates virtual Neighborhood Kiosks that were developed during the COVID-19 lockdown. She continues to use it for safety and convenience for people who don’t have a computer or access to WiFi. By holding hearings virtually, the court accommodates people who don’t have paid time off, Scott said.
Scott also said she helped spearhead the disbursement of a $12 million grant awarded to the City of Cleveland for resident rental assistance.
Tenants’ rights were the next topic of discussion. Scott encouraged residents to pay their rent, even if they had to put the money into escrow. She made it plain that affordable housing is simply not available. If a tenant is ultimately evicted because of non-payment of rent, it will be virtually impossible to find affordable housing, Scott said.
“If there’s some repairs that need to be done, come to the court; don’t stop paying your rent,” Scott said. “Because again, I got to stress that there is no affordable housing, and to find additional housing is going to be almost impossible.”
Scott also advised homeowners to designate one person to deed their home to. This will cut down on the need for properties to go through probate court in the event of the homeowner’s death. Too often, properties are left to numerous people, which causes confusion and bad blood, she said, and the property winds up abandoned and left to decay.
Ward 5 meeting Q&A and conclusion
Scott and Shockley took questions from residents, who were not identified. The first resident directed her comments to CMHA’s Greer. She rebutted Greer’s statements regarding the accountability of maintenance staff, saying building managers and office personnel are disrespectful and not responsive. The resident would not let Greer respond, so Starr took control, gave the resident Greer’s number, and encouraged her to speak with the chief privately.
The next question was directed to Scott. She asked how residents should go about requesting mediation for housing court. She wanted to know what recourse residents had when they believed their eviction notice was the result of retaliatory actions from management for complaints, etc. There was a back-and-forth discussion between the judge and the resident, and Scott never seemed to answer the question to the resident’s satisfaction. Starr stepped in and encouraged them to speak privately.
Another resident congratulated Starr for his effectiveness as Ward 5’s leader. He said Starr helped him get back on his feet following his experience with homelessness.
Finally, a community business owner and owner of multiple homes made two comments. First, he agreed with the first resident, saying that CMHA does have major issues with responsiveness, attitudes, and slow or nonexistent maintenance response. The gentleman also co-signed another speaker’s statements about the retaliatory nature of some building management with regards to evictions.
He then went on to chastise residents for their lack of responsibility in doing their best to avoid eviction in the first place. He believed—and Scott agreed—that paying subsidized rent should be their first priority, always ensuring there is a roof over their heads.
The meeting ended at 7:30 p.m. with Starr encouraging residents to remain and take advantage of the opportunity to speak with Scott, Shockley and Greer personally.
These notes are by Documenter Kathryn Johnson.
If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@signalcleveland.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.