Tony Brancatelli is Chair of the Cuyahoga County Land Bank - the collusion on this property along a major multi-modal route and w/proximity to schools, libraries and the METROPARKS ZOO - demands that our "elected" officials move to eliminate this blight and prevent a major tragedy from occurring this summer.Sam Allard also knows the background here. CHN-Eden properties are also being investigated for fraudulent use of 6800 tax code - profiteering that has lined the pockets of contractors, CDCs coffers (DSCDO sees $1M kickback aka "developer"s fee" and unscrupulous administrators making 6 figure salaries at CHN and Eden.

Long Vacant YMCA to be Razed

Cleveland (June 6, 2018) – Council members Anthony Brancatelli and Kevin Kelley, joined by MetroWest Development Corp., will hold a watch party from 9 am to 10 am Thursday, June 7th for the demolition of the long vacant Brooklyn YMCA building.

Opened in the 1950s, the YMCA closed the facility in September 2006. Since its closing, a use or reuse of the property has been a source of discussion in the city's Brooklyn Centre neighborhood.

Since 2010, the property has passed in and out various company ownerships. In 2014, the city condemned the building and a year later it was taken over by the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corp.

The demolition is being done by the County Land Bank. The adjacent warehouse will be demolished soon after.

CHN Housing Partners. EDEN, Inc. is planning to build permanent supportive apartments under the Housing First Initiative. The nearly $13 million new apartment building, to be completed by 2020, and will have 71 units.

WHO: Council members Tony Brancatelli, Kevin Kelley, MetroWest and County Land Bank officials  

WHAT: Brooklyn YMCA demolition watch party, with refreshments

WHEN: 9 am to 10 am Thursday, June 7, 2018

WHERE:  Pearl Ave (West 25th ) and Selzer Ave in the Brooklyn Center neighborhood, just east of the Y.

Contact: Ricardo Leon, MetroWest, 216-961-9073 x272

Joan Mazzolini

Chief of Communication

Cleveland City Council

216.664.4466

216.857.7037 c

jmazzolini [at] clevelandcitycouncil [dot] org

8 weeks to demo

 https://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/index.ssf/2018/08/ex-cleveland_demolition_bureau.html#incart_m-rpt-1

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The former chief of the city of Cleveland's demolition bureau was charged Friday with soliciting and taking thousands of dollars in bribes from contractors in exchange for a leg up in obtaining city jobs, federal prosecutors say.

Rufus Taylor, 60, is charged with bribery in a federally funded program, and extortion. The charges against him were filed via a criminal information, which usually means a plea agreement is forthcoming.

https://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2018/06/old_brooklyn_ymca_demolition_w.html

Mike Dodig operates the track excavator for Baumann Enterprises, Inc., from Garfield Heights, who is doing the demolition of the old Brooklyn YMCA structure on West 25th Street and Selzer Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio, on June 7, 2018. Demolition of the building, vacant since 2006, was the first step in construction of permanent supportive housing under the Housing First Initiative, with a completion date in 2020. (Chuck Crow/The Plain Dealer).  SEE:

http://realneo.us/content/4430-bradley-road-cleveland-ohio-44109#comment-26915

“Who has been in the demolition business who hasn’t been indicted and gone to jail?” Mr. Schwab asked.

My comments to PD article:

I have been petitioning to have this building torn down since April this year- after three years of the Cuyahoga County Land Bank sitting on the property to benefit a scheme that was hatched in collusion with council reps going back to time that Rokakis served as County Treasurer. The Plain Dealer has consistently overlooked Rokakis' dirty dealings and never once questioned why, for years, he never filed a foreclosure case against the straw buyer Robert McCall who purchased the building from YMCA for a ridiculous $125K. No one at PD bothers to examine the operations of the Cuyahoga County Land Bank, ostensibly led by Gus Frangos, Rokakis' buddy from Tremont days, and chaired by the slimy Anthony Brancatelli (featured in your photo spread). Your reporters should be investigating EDEN. EDEN fraudulently uses a tax exempt status on their properties and in partnership with Cleveland Housing Network, now rebranded Cleveland Housing Partnership- all of their current PSH schemes are falsely listed as tax exempt to maximize their profit on the HUD monies they collect from their tenants. You might also look into the history of Baumann as a demolition contractor. All of this is public record - and you should be able to find the information to show how immoral this project is to the Brooklyn Centre neighborhood. 
BTW - Claude Foster, who was an entrepreneur born and raised in the Village of Brooklyn later incorporated into the City of Cleveland- donated the money to YMCA to start what was a true effort to combat homelessness through Single Room Occupancy and restoring mental and physical capacity through exercise. The YMCA housed men- it stands for Young Men's Christian Association. "It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London and aims to put Christian principles into practice by developing a healthy "body, mind, and spirit". These three angles are reflected by the different sides of the (red) triangle—part of all YMCA logos."

"Honestly, it was one of those things," she says. "You learn about CDCs in college and you think that sounds horrible, I never want to work there. But then I started with community organizing here. I knew the streets. I knew the people. It took serving my people to realize it's something I really wanted to do. I realized I was the happiest when my skills and talents were serving the people around me, the people that raised me."

Hello Dane,