Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation

Annual Meeting, October 24, 2007
Robyn Sandys, Executive Director

I want to first thank the Board and staff for helping to plan this annual meeting, they did a great job. I also want to express my appreciation to both Councilman Kelley and Councilman Cummins for their commitment to the wards they serve and to this organization. They have been great supporters, and, during my first six months they have been very helpful. I look forward to building on our positive working relationship.

I also want to thank Director Rush (and Terry Ross) for attending the meeting today. The Board and staff are grateful for the City’s Community Development Department’s financial support and guidance. Director Rush and I worked together at Neighborhood Progress, Inc. for several years. I would gather that he didn’t know he was mentoring me to be in this role someday. We had many discussions about how CDCs operate and about Cleveland’s neighborhoods.

CDCs operate in many different ways throughout the country and within the city of Cleveland. Old Brooklyn CDC has been in existence for over 30 years, however, since 2001 we have been operating more like a traditional CDC. For most of its existence, the work of this organization focused on publishing the Old Brooklyn News and managing a number of wonderful community events and activities. CDCs traditionally around the US and in Cleveland are more engaged in neighborhood revitalization programs that focus on the health and prosperity of neighborhoods through housing and commercial revitalization efforts, community organizing around safety issues, code enforcement to maintain the strength of a neighborhoods housing and commercial sectors.

The annual report that you received when you came in and the other materials on the resource table will provide you with a great deal of information about the programs and services we provide the community. I strongly encourage you to take the time to read the report. We work in partnership with the City of Cleveland and the Councilman on specific contracts that enable us to function in the program reviewed in this report. (Briefly highlight them from the report).

As mentioned earlier by our Treasurer a good portion of the funds we receive and programs we provide come from city contracts. Those contracts specifically spell out the services we provide. Each month we complete reports that describe in detail how we meet the goals outlined in our contracts for each of the service areas. On page 12 of the annual report, there is a review of the “deliverables” the CDC provided in various categories for this past fiscal year. For example, the CDC talked with over 350 residents about various residential housing issues, and the CDC provides assistance to 200 block clubs and community groups in the 2 wards.

You can also always find information about us on our web site at oldbrooklyn.com. Staff contact information is there as well as information regarding our board meetings, events, and membership.

Of course the other major service the CDC provides is the monthly Old Brooklyn News. We had to stop home delivery of the newspaper several months ago for financial reasons, but now all members of the CDC get a copy mailed to them each month and we deliver it to 250 locations throughout both wards. Soon the paper will have a fresh look with more information about the people, places and events happening all around Wards 15 and 16. I want to thank the members of the CDC who are on the communications advisory committee for their work developing some creative ideas for the newspaper.

As many of you know the CDC went through significant changes in the past 18 months with the consolidation of Old Brooklyn Neighborhood Services (OBNS) serving Ward 16 and OBCDC serving Ward 15. This newly consolidated organization has been building its staff, financial, board, and membership capacity in order to best meet the demanding needs of these two wards. Today we have over 280 members and growing each day!!

The newly formed CDC now serves twice the market size as it went from 9,500 households to nearly 20,000 households. We are one of the largest or the largest CDC service area in the City of Cleveland! The organization’s building process is definitely moving onward and upward. We will be introducing new programs in the areas of marketing and real estate development as 2008 progresses. These wards are gems in the region, we just have to find ways to let the rest of the Cleveland area know more of what we already know about our terrific transportation access, great parks, attractive housing and of course warm and committed people like yourselves. Look for details in the Old Brooklyn News and on our web site during the coming months.

We were able to add two important staff positions from Old Brooklyn Neighborhood Services, to bring the professional staff capacity to six people who are on the streets of these two wards representing the interests of community members in the areas of residential and commercial development, safety, and other community programs with a total full-time staff of eight members. More about our staff is also in the report.

I also want to point out the section of the report (SHOW) which reviews several exciting planning studies that the CDC is managing. Over half of a million dollars is being spent to undertake focused and interrelated planning and development studies during the coming year. The results of this work will provide us with a roadmap as we develop market and promote the Wards. Give a quick headline review of each.

Ward 15/16 Master Plan – A comprehensive study of the two wards social, economic and physical development potential. The study will examine issues surrounding land use, economic development, housing, traffic & transportation and public facilities.

U.S. EPA $200,000 Area wide Brownfield Assessment Grant for the Lower Big Creek Area – The emphasis will be on assessing proposed routes for a connector trail to link the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo with the Towpath Trail’s Harvard Road Trailhead.

Lower Big Creek Valley Greenway Redevelopment & Restoration Plan – This study will consist of a master plan and an economic revitalization strategy for the Lower Big Creek Area between Brookside Park and Jennings Road.

Pearl Road-West 25th Street NOACA TLCI Grant –The funds will be used to conduct a comprehensive transportation study of this major north-south corridor, from Brookpark Road north to Lorain Avenue. transit area development pportunities, traffic calming and pedestrian and streetscape enhancements.

Again, please take time to review the annual report; it also lists those that have supported the CDC and those that the CDC has partnered with over this past year. We are glad to see all of you here and always feel free to contact me or any of our staff members if you have any questions, insights, and new ideas or just to chat about your neighborhood. Thanks for your support and for being here tonight.

Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation
3344 Broadview Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44109
Phone: 216-459-1000   Fax: 216-459-1741
E-mail: info@oldbrooklyn.com