Vote 'yes' on Issue 9 to ensure public green space

To the Editor:

I've seen a lot of proposals from developers in Cleveland Heights and Cuyahoga County. They always show lots of pretty drawings and lots of amazing financial projections. In general, these stories about the future are fantasies.

I've read and heard some of our neighbors' concerns about the developer's so-called "commitment" at the Top Of The Hill to build certain walls out of bricks, in order to match the neighborhood's historic look and feel. And according to these neighbors—including architects and engineers—all we got was some brick-colored paint, not even as thin as a playing card. I guess it was in the fine print.

Joe Pesci's character, Vinny Gambini, in “My Cousin Vinnie” offers this sage advice about the prosecution to the two “yutes”:

Vinny Gambini: “Let me show you something.” [He holds up a playing card, with the face toward Billy.] “He's going to show you the bricks. He'll show you they got straight sides. He'll show you how they got the right shape. He'll show them to you in a very special way, so that they appear to have everything a brick should have. But there's one thing he's not gonna show you.” [He turns the card, so that its edge is toward Billy.] “When you look at the bricks from the right angle, they're as thin as this playing card."

Heck, all we got was paint.

Well, the city of Cleveland Heights and that very same developer are at it again—this time at Meadowbrook and Lee. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Vote Yes on May 3 for Issue 9—the public square at Meadowbrook and Lee. It's the only way we're going to get that 1.07-acre public green space.

Garry Kanter

Garry Kanter
Cleveland Heights
[Kanter is treasurer of the Friends of the Meadowbrook-Lee Public Square PAC.]

Read More on Letters To The Editor
Volume 15, Issue 4, Posted 2:04 PM, 04.01.2022