3.26.08
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He wasn’t there last night, but I bet he would have asked Adam Wasserman about this:
The staging in the photo(above), which was occupied by the installation laborers just minutes before I took the photo on March 18, 2008, is unsafe and violates OSHA regulations because there are no railings abound the top of the staging frame. Railings around the work platform are necessary to protect a worker if they slipped or lost their balance.A decade ago my friend, Craig Miller, was working removing a steel beam from a sewer pumping station when he lost his balance and fell from just such a height of staging. Craig landed on the front of his face on the concrete floor. It almost killed him. I visited him 3 days after he had been med-evac’d to a trauma center. He underwent a series of plastic surgeries and when I saw him his face was full of rows of stainless steel staples so he looked more radical than Frankenstein. He never went back to construction work. He’s never been quite the same Craig…
UNIVERSITY SQUARE - AN EXAMPLE OF PORT AUTHORITY LENDING FOR ECON DEVELOPMENT | REALNEO for all
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The structural failures of the pre-stressed concrete double T beams at the University Square Plaza Parking garage merely provide a topic for an investigative window into
1. the present safety of the garage and
2. into the operation of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga Port Authority and the Port’s oft repeated claim that their dry-land lending beneficially spurs our economy county- wide.
What if the Port’s claim that their lending spurs the local economy is false? Or, what if the Port’s lending actually damages our local economy?
Could it be that the Port’s lending to build/own parking structures for retail malls actually creates a multi-decade long detriment for the local economy, and especially for the hapless municipality where the tax exempt development is placed?
Last week I requested the University Square payroll tax records from Arman R Ochoa (University Heights Director of Finance). The payroll taxes (from employees working at the mall) are the only ongoing revenue that UH will receive from the University Square development for the term of the 30 year TIF.
Mr. Ochoa replied last week: “ I am having trouble logging into the RITA system, our collection agency for income taxes. I have requested the information from them and will forward once I have it.”
I have emailed Mr. Ochoa again, but have had no response from him. Does that mean he still can’t log into RITA?
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--1 | March 26, 2008 @ 2:47 pm
And there is a third item which the University Square Plaza’s garage is illuminating:
SELF DEALING AT THE PORT
Dennis R. Wilcox, a partner at Climaco Lefkowitz Peca Wilcox & Garofoli Co., LPA worked as legal counsel for Starwood Wasserman (the Rhode Island developer of the University Square Plaza) at the time Starwood Wasserman obtained the 40.5 million dollar parking garage loan from the Port, and Mr. Wilcox is now working as counsel for the Cleveland-Cuyahoga Port Authority in efforts to repair the structural failures of the garage.
How much of this type of legally unethical dealing from both sides of the table has gone on at the Port? Does the University Square Plaza/ Port Bonding deal represent an anomaly, or business as usual in Cuyahoga County?
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+0 | March 26, 2008 @ 3:08 pm
Jeff,
You’re moving ahead with all the inspiration of I.F. Stone!
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+0 | March 27, 2008 @ 9:55 am
Having journeyed with Jeff on some of these “investigations”, I can tell you, it is not fun, and many of the folks we meet are not what you would call friendly.
What we often find is an undertone of anxiety and fear about questions asked. There’s a nervousness in NEO. It’s palpable. I’m not sure what is causing it, but these guys in University Heights are sure having a tough time putting their mits on an occupancy permit.
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+0 | March 27, 2008 @ 1:51 pm
Maybe you should invite these people to simply go outside and gaze — for a few moment — at the sky.
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+0 | March 28, 2008 @ 9:11 am
We should all heed Anne Frank’s sage words and re-create. Thanks for the timely reminders and the link to I.F. Stone.
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+0 | March 28, 2008 @ 10:25 am