Noble Neighbors turns 10

Noble Neighbors will celebrate its 10th anniversary on Jan. 10, 2024.

It began as a gathering of neighbors responding to a violent crime, but quickly grew into a group of citizens who considered what they could do to help make their neighborhood more friendly, safe and attractive. The list of achievements toward that goal is extensive.

What once was a neglected quarter of the city is now a talking point for every candidate who seeks local public office. Noble Neighbors election forums for city council and contested school board elections have enjoined citizens from all areas of Cleveland Heights to consider how support for the neighborhoods along Noble Road impacts the city as a whole.

Noble Neighbors has advocated for area redevelopment through multiple projects. The 2015 Noble Neighborhood Assessment Project was a partnership between Noble Neighbors and Case Western Reserve University's Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. Almost all of the residential buildings in the area were assessed for quality of maintenance. Over 90% of our properties were found to be in the good-to-excellent range, bringing a needed correction to a false, negative narrative about the northeast quadrant of the city. This area is now a top choice for first-time buyers.

The 2017 Envision a New Triangle District Workshops brought about 60 participants from across the city to consider improvements for the Noble-Warrensville-Mayfield area business district. These activities opened the door for FutureHeights to contract the Camiros Inc. to develop the Noble Road Corridor Planning Project. Both Cleveland Heights and East Cleveland have been invited to imagine a new future for the length of Noble Road from Mayfield Road to Euclid Avenue. New movement toward revitalization is now just beginning in the Noble Nela business district.

Volunteers have beautified the neighborhood with public perennial gardens, coordinated front-yard planting projects, enhanced community gardens, built a mini-park and established an orchard. The Noble-Roanoke mini-park has hosted formal and informal gatherings of folks enjoying this asset.

Although still in its infancy, Delmore Community Orchard has produced fruit sold at the Noble Gardeners' Market (NGM) during the past few seasons. Orchard Stewards have created charming “people spaces” within its fences, and have welcomed readers, artists and learners, as well as neighbors who bring their morning cup o' joe and newspaper to start their day delightfully.

Each project proves what research reveals—neighbors feel more safe and more connected to neighborhoods that are more beautiful and well-tended.

The Noble Gardeners' Market continues to be an engine for fostering community. It now boasts "regulars”—the buyers who stop by for several weeks each summer, and the sellers who plan their home gardens to be ready for market season. While no seller supplements their personal income significantly through NGM participation, it is heartening to witness relationships grow through the years among like-minded participants. Sellers return because they want to be part of the community’s success.

Numerous events have provided open doors for neighbors to take active roles in building the sense of community. The annual We Are Noble weekends offer a variety of opportunities to celebrate the Noble neighborhoods. Chalk Cheers, where neighbors draw simple chalk drawings and write encouraging notes on school sidewalks to students and staff before the first day of school, have a profoundly positive impact on the start of the school year. Book drives, food drives, neighborhood litter-removal activities, an impromptu gathering to celebrate the completion of the Noble Road paving project, volunteering at the neighborhood schools, decorating front doors during COVID—all are love songs from good neighbors to the community they cherish.

Noble Neighbors is pleased and grateful to celebrate 10 years of such good work that is bearing such good fruit.