00:00:06.000 - 00:06:04.900

What happened in Israel? But all the people went through the floor, you know, and they've his pretty expensive planner. I kind of think that's going on all over. My dad was a house Builder, a nice kind of, look at those things. As that being all that safe. I know about that, but I love what you do and keep talking about, click. Okay? Yeah. Okay. Well, I'm not a Clevelander originally. I'm from Toledo, but I came up here when I was 10 years old. I probably know more about Cleveland the most clevelanders do. I'm absolutely in love, love with Cleveland nod. Answer your question directly. I've worked a lot of these. Fights in the neighborhood also for the board education when they put schools up and I worked construction, security, loss, prevention and physical security. I was on fighting Lexington Village was built. I know what the rents are. They were far above and beyond what anyone in the neighborhood, living in the neighborhood could afford. I know what the construction was. It was basically, Prefab with the layer, 1 layer of brick on the outside. I'm sure if you took fifty thousand dollars and went up on Wade Park and bought one of those old old Mansions, you'd have something far more substantial than what you're looking at. Now. In fact, I know it because one of my areas is Fire Technology in which I was trained to inspect buildings and houses. So I know what I'm looking at. Mhm. Mhm, right? I'll does seem like they're just throwing those things up like that. And well, I think one of the things that they're looking at, they're not looking at long-term because nowadays, they really look at well. I shouldn't necessarily just say nowadays, but when they're building is housing, they're really looking at building disposable housing. And as we can see, they're looking at the housing that they're tearing down as disposable as well, even though much of it. I mean, I know contractors who Do Renovations and things like that in the suburbs, who they come down to those demolition sites to get all that would work. That's taken into those buildings and and take that out to the suburbs to use. Because that's some really, there's some real workmanship, that has been lost and definitely if you travel around the country, which I've been trained in art appreciation, architecture. Last 2000 years. What would essentially be called art history, especially concentrated in an architecture, and you'll find that Cleveland has some of the oldest and most beautiful architecture anywhere. I've been to New York, Florida. My parents are near East Siders, when they retired down to Florida. They retired to Naples. They bought, what was reclaim swampland? And inside of 10 years because of his own. Problem with a bar that was right behind their property lot. They spend forty thousand dollars. When they went down there, it was rented. It was built. It was rented out till they got down there. The money, put in escrow, when they got in the zone. In battle, with the bar owner. Who by the way, was another Clevelander. The man bought him out for a hundred and thirty thousand dollars just to level the house. So that's that's what you have at one time. I sat down and just for the fun of it because of the specific knowledge. I had of what was done at Lexington Village. I figured out, they probably got all their money back in the first year and a half. Hmm. That's a pretty good. I know that the rents for a efficiency apartment started off at $385. You essentially put up five months. Of money for rent. I think it was the first and last and three months deposit. That's a big chunk of change for a working person. Anybody. Mmm-hmm. And because I was on the site when it was built and saw how it was built and hate to say this cheaply built, but that's that's what it was. They were built on common concrete pads. They leveled everything poured one big pad, concrete pad and put everything on top of that. Efficiency apartments, you barely had enough room to turn around. Much less store anything. I'm not a big man and I don't have any room in the bathroom to turn around. Hmm. So that's what you're paying for your paying for Market. Rental square footage older buildings. You look and maybe 85 cents. Now you looking at a dollar a dollar and a half. The upscale rental units, you may be looking to three dollars, a square foot. You can people are not taught that their rented, you know, that property in the land. That the property sits on is rented to them in this manner. If you do enough reading, if you do enough research, you can come up with these figures. In fact, that's what I did just by reading the newspaper, reading the Sunday paper, as if I wanted to buy a house or I wanted to rent upscale, or I just wanted to rent in different areas and it's interesting to see the housing cost prices rentals. Land cost land is going up tremendously. Now in the Fairfax neighborhoods. Only because Cleveland Clinic is involved. Mmm.

00:06:06.400 - 00:08:54.300

Right. Now, I do know the building that I was in, which is an absolute Total Wreck. It's a shell right now. It has to be totally gutted. I mean, completely to the brick walls last year, just before Cleveland Clinic, got their hands on it. Someone was trying to sell that for two hundred thousand dollars. I wouldn't give you two dollars for it. In fact, it would cost more to tear it down than what they were trying to sell it for. They have the same problem with the Huff theater down there, on 79th in half. Hmm. After the riots, the shell stood for years. I think the price quoted to tear it down with something like 250 300 thousand dollars for an abandoned building who's paying for that. Hmm most cases. It seems like the city is paying for it. Yes. We're talking to Frank Scanlon. If you want to join in on the conversation, give us a call 368 2208. So when did you first start seeing the clinic really kind of extended its reach? Well, it's my understanding. They've had at least a 30-year plan that went back to 1970. Okay, and that's that's the earliest that I'm aware of. As I said, I've worked construction sites in the Are you quite a bit physical security, where the people to keep the contractors from having all their supplies ripped off? And one of the areas that I worked at was the Cleveland Playhouse, the old Sears building. They spent a lot of time working for security agencies. When the Cleveland Clinic Clinic, one up on Carnegie. I worked at site. This has been going on since at least 1970. It's my understanding that Cleveland Clinic is limiting themselves between 79th and 107th and Woodland off. I've been told that they're buying below 70 nights now, that's hearsay. Hmm. There's a lot of land banking going on. I've always been curious. For example, from 90th to 102nd. You have old HUD property that was owned by Associated Estates and couple years ago, which was hundreds, of residents, is stretches from like 90th. 102nd and two to three blocks, deep towards Huff. That's all being cleared out. They don't have any room for affordable housing or homeless, right? We're talking about numerous apartment buildings, right? 40 and 50 sweet buildings.

00:08:55.100 - 00:12:16.000

Did you have any idea of? I don't know who has that. I've talked to individuals who are in the process now and have been in the process of stripping the buildings of the Asbestos and leveling some of the buildings and I've had Mixed answers. I've been told that the city is in control of that land for Vanguard, but they don't know who owns it. Mmm-hmm and Cleveland Clinic, I think. There's nothing wrong in operating in your own best interest, but it may clash with other people's interest. Certainly mine. Sure the building I live in now according to an article in Cleveland Clinic, which is dated February 7th. They will be putting up a six hundred thousand square foot Heart Center on Euclid Avenue right across the street from me. The building, I live in now, on East 93rd, is the only building left on the Block in the middle of the parking center. Now, according to the CEO of Cleveland Clinic Doctor Loop. He says that they're sensitive to perceptions and this is a direct quote. The Cleveland Clinic expansion could displace nearby houses and apartment buildings. He all. But promised that the new parking garage. John the north side of Euclid Avenue will not require demolition of the LaSalle apartments at 1950 East 93rd Street. Well, that's where I live quote unquote, as of today, February 7th. There's no displacement. If I were an apartment there, I wouldn't want to move to building is in Fairly good shape. So leave it there. Well, they're going to put up a 2500 car, garage on that block when they tear the old garage down there, sending everything to this garage, which means we're going to be surrounded by six or seven story building. That's if we're there. Remember he said, as of today, there's no displacement as of today keywords there, huh? So I think that's kind of interesting. It certainly gives me concern as to my long-term. Residential prospects, sure. Now, what if you've, well, I have a couple questions and then the top of my mind here one is you were talking about the plans in the early 70s. Have you had a chance to look at at those plans have not seen plans like you? Hmm. I did research paper when I was a student at Kyoto, the community college and Junior years. And It was a very involved paper on numerous levels for a cultural anthropology class. And one of my requirements was to go out and interview people. Which I tried in the late 70s. This was late 70s. I tried to interview Cleveland Playhouse Cleveland Clinic and some of the other institutions in the area since I was not a recognized Authority on anything but a schmuck student. I got nothing.

00:12:16.300 - 00:12:58.200

Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. What should have been public information? Because it does affect the public in Fairfax, right? Residents of Fairfax. We couldn't get anything. If I needed information, I would probably go. To Fanny Louis. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. I see played a significant role in. In any of this or know any Louis is responsible for. Some of the medical services that are being provided by Cleveland Clinic for the area residents, but if it wasn't for family, we probably wouldn't have

00:12:58.200 - 00:13:52.200

that. Hmm. Now she's now she up in age. She's probably not going to be running again. I know according to articles, I've read that have been published. He's trying to groom someone to take her place. We are actually in Pat, Brits warned though, right? That's what I was going to ask you and where Pat Brady is. I don't know. I've never A senior previous council. Person seemed to be rubber-stamping previous council. Person seemed to be rubber-stamping, whatever, Cleveland Clinic. Wanted. Sure. This goes back to councilman Boyd, Arthur Woods. Hmm. In fact Arthur Woods owns property right behind the Cleveland Health Museum. Hmm. I'm quite sure. She's holding on to that until she's offered. A reasonable price for it according to market, right prices

00:13:52.700 - 00:16:06.300

now, did, do you know anything about how their their campaigns are financed or? There was a recent article in the plain dealer that they were getting mixed Government funding. Grant money. Oh, you're referring to tax abatements, the Clear Choice. Yes, which was to help. See if I can remember correctly. It was to be a portion. Apparently how Cleveland clinic saw fit and the article brought up. Well, this is not going directly to Medical Services, Cleveland Clinic's as well. This is Jim the direction of our mission, so to speak. Well, that's sort of nebulous. If I give you whatever the sum is a million two million, whatever it is and I have direct control over that. Then I do what I want with it. It's like if you gave me $50 I would do what I wanted with it. I got accountable to anyone. Right now. What do you know what's happened to the your neighbors that had their buildings to? Down, do you have any idea where they've gone? Or what's that? Where they've been day place to generally? Been displaced out to the edges of Fairfax. Whatever affordable housing is left, which is not much. There is a Cleveland Clinic article, which was the next day after the seventh. When they were talking about the new heart center and it's titled debate over displacement. This one lady and the past 10 years has been Forced to move three different times because of Cleveland Clinic's displacing residents by buying property. This is in the upper in a Fairfax. It would be Southeast. Okay, and when she was forced out of the place, that that she was had been living in for quite some time. Her rent jumped an additional hundred 150 a month, which she could barely afford since she was on unemployment assistance.

00:16:06.600 - 00:16:22.000

it's For her, she was very lucky. She did find another place but three times in 10 years. That's I don't like moving myself. Sure, sir. Have you seen? It's a lot to move in 10 years, especially if you want to stay where you're

00:16:22.000 - 00:21:42.300

at, right? Exactly. How about homelessness? Well, as you're aware, I attended The lecture up there a couple weeks ago, Cleveland Playhouse, and I think I surprised everybody in the room when I got up and I identified myself as being currently unemployed and homeless and suggested, they look out the window to the edge of the parking lot, where they could see a homeless persons. Cardboard castle. Yeah. I'm wondering if anybody did bothered to look. Well, didn't seem that many did at least. Yeah. That was this Frank. And I met at a Artist talk with respect to the show at the Cleveland contemporary Museum of Art on behind the playhouse there. Cleveland Playhouse, and Mary, and Morton had a series of photographs of people's cardboard boxes, and such and the tunnels in New York City. And I think, Frank, well, Well, there was in the audience. There's a lot of, I guess, patrons of the Arts, many of them from the suburbs. I imagine, and as Frank got up and and said in the at the talk about there, being people living like this right outside the window that could literally be seen from the window of the Of the art contemporary Museum art there. I'm not sure if many of them really cared and I think that's one of the things we're trying to get is, how how are we going to really get people to adjust these issues, you know, knit together? Something that can really start start. It seems like the only people who have been trying to do that are people like Fanny Louis maybe and and trying to actually put together a coalition of the people who are being displaced because it seems like a lot of people in this city are pretty invested in. In seeing the Cleveland Clinic expand. And you look at all the political debates mayor whites connections. Obviously, he's leaving, but it seems like all the candidates running. Now, we're talking about biotechnology and the future of Cleveland. And even Case Western Reserve University, which has been more formally associated with University Hospitals, is starting to become closer and closer to The Cleveland Clinic not to say University, Hospitals and UCI or this whole University Circle Incorporated has played a similar role. I think with respect to the neighborhoods around it as a Cleveland Clinic, but we're talking about some major power houses here. Well people people are just getting kind of as you could say, kick to the curb. You have one business that actually left Euclid. Avenue Dean's Supply. They move down. Woodland because they couldn't get any answers from the power structure. This now, This concerns, the transportation Euclid Corridor, how they wanted to improve the Euclid quarter. And this is documented in the plain dealer and he was very adamant about the problems. He was having getting information from the institutions in downtown. He said, well, what about me? I've been here for years Dean Supply as well known. Right right. He said if you do, This you're going to ruin me. Mmm-hmm because they won't get any part. Right here won't be any parking all sorts of, you know, business concerns for him specifically and he said, well if you do, I don't get the answers. I need, if I don't get some cooperation. I'm going to be forced to move and sure enough. This was about six months ago was this article in the plain dealer. And sure enough. I was just down there not too long ago. There about 71st and you click. Yeah, they're moving. Yeah. Yeah, they're going to Woodland Avenue. He did not want to leave, right? I personally don't want to leave this neighborhood. Mhm. Mhm. I've been here for years and years and years, almost my entire life since I've been a boy almost. Mmm-hmm. I don't want to leave. I think Cleveland's the greatest place in the world. I thought it was New York when I first came here, so I got to New York. So, the residents Fairfax has some of the oldest taxpaying, residence, in the county, many people don't know that if you were just to drive through and look at the houses, the residential areas, not the new, but the old, and you can see how long they've been here. They're kept up those that have the money. Keep up what they have, but it's becoming increasingly more difficult, especially if you retired on a fixed. You can come right and you certainly can't afford to fight a legal battle. With the powers to be, most people cannot do that. It will bankrupt them.

00:21:44.600 - 00:23:15.500

What were, what was the neighborhood like when he first moved in where they're ever heard stories of a thriving, kind of night nightclub Jazz up and down Euclid. I used to go to Leo's Casino came and I was very young. It's now famous nationally and internationally. I saw all of the big entertainers 105 all the way up to 105, nightclubs restaurants all up and down. I remember when when downtown Was very vibrant and all of a sudden the bottom dropped out. I think that's when we put up all the big boxes down there and there was really no reason to come downtown. Everybody came in, during their working hours and exited out at 5:00. So, the only people that you saw on the east side, in the near east side, with the residents, we got blamed for a lot of things. One of the problems I notice, when I move down on 83rd, I went to the councilman who is Who was in place and Boyd and I says, look, I'm a resin in this area. I'd like to be involved. This is what I do for a living. How can I help? And I was totally ignored. Hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm. She have to remember, this was in 1970. There may have been cultural social problems and concerns. Mmm-hmm. Well, that sounds like the race card. It is.

00:23:15.500 - 00:25:40.800

Yeah, what are some of the from what? I understand? I don't know if you know anything about this, but I understand that a lot of that nightclub area. At least there were some Proprietors of some of those nightclubs, not necessarily Leo's casino, but some of the other ones that actually really put up a struggle against the Cleveland Clinic to keep from getting shut down. I'm sure anyone who's been a resident in this area. Remembers an individual by the name of Winston Willis? Okay. How about us? Younger? Folks quite vocal. He would be called a neighborhood activist. I think one of the things that weren't recognized was that his business is, did draw a lot from the neighborhood. I don't know if you're familiar with 105 in its Heyday, especially towards the end. It was considered a crying crime Center. Makar whatever some years ago. And I was I was really upset because it came to my notice and I think that there was a newspaper. It was brought out from the plain dealer or the Press. When the Press was still here. That visitors to Cleveland Clinic were being advised, not to leave the campus because it was dangerous after dark. And I'm like, What's dangerous? Hmm. If I went to New York because I'm not familiar with New York. I might get in a little bit of trouble, but that's no people or people wherever you go. Sure. And I've been all over the world being in the military. So I got along everywhere. I went hmm. I think you you have to a certain extent and again institutions work for their interests. Hmm. I'm waiting. I'm not always privy or where of their exact long-term plans, whatever they are, but on the other hand, I don't think they do that. Good a job. Of communicating. The residents in general. Mmm, so they have their own biases. They have their own agendas. They have their own plans, which we don't necessarily always know about, right. In fact, I would say from my own opinion and it is just an opinion. We don't know about

00:25:41.900 - 00:27:40.600

We're talking to Frank Scanlon. If you want to join in on the conversation will be here until 12 noon. 368. 2208. Is the number. So what are some of the things you've seen residents due to or business owners? Do to resist some of this displacement that's been going on the past 30 Years to, you know, whether it be legally or are or I mean through legal channels such as lawsuits or or picketing or anything petitions are, you know? What sorts of things have you actually witnessed? I myself have had been involved with Cleveland tenants organization, but I really didn't get very much satisfaction there. Mmm. They are good up to a certain point. When I was on the 83rd. I really did not want to leave the building, but it got pretty badly crime, crime riddled with mostly drug dealers. And I basically moved out overnight. I'm just, I'm not going to live like this. I had been like I said, I had gone to Boyd, I had gone to Arthur Woods. I Got No Satisfaction. All I believe it. One time, I spoke. To the commander of the 5th District. And I was told Point Blank by the commander of the 5th District, which upset me to a certain extent. If you don't like it, you can move out. Mmm-hmm. Sounds like they kind of not to make it necessarily a conspiracy, but they sounds like one of the things they did, if I'm fine, you have any news, they let it kind of get to a point where they basically said, okay, this area. And they're part of the reason why I'm saying this is because I've what I was talking about Tricia would be the word for it.

00:27:40.600 - 00:28:10.900

Vietnam. Yeah. Attrition this or they, I think they call it triage policy to use the medical term. We're going to let this area go. We know eventually. The Cleveland Clinic is going to take this over. So for now, in order, you know, to make it easier for us to get rid of the residents. Let's just let all the drug dealers and we won't harass them, or bother them. Then we can use this. I wouldn't say, all right, I wouldn't say I don't agree with that because most of the residents of the neighborhood are working people. Ya know, and I'm saying, ma'am, your problems we had were from

00:28:10.900 - 00:28:46.300

Outsiders know. And that's what I'm trying to say. Is that, basically, the residents who had been there long time, who are interested in staying, I then had to put it up with basically and I will coming in and dealing not I'm not saying the residents per se but people coming in and dealing then the police as you said saying. Oh, well, there's we're not going to do anything about it. If you don't like it, leave that that's basically saying that was one officer. Sure. Unfortunately was the commander of the 5th District. Yeah. Well, that's more than one. I've really does that make me feel like a citizen or much of the

00:28:46.300 - 00:30:39.400

citizen, what it sounds to me. Like they had a His policy to let it let it happen there. And and and in the end in the end, I mean that help them make their case for demolishing the place because they could say, oh look, it's it's there's there's here. They've been turning the other direction but then when it's time to demolish, the building, they say, oh look, there's all these drug dealers here. We need to demolish it, you know, and then all the people like you and the other residents who had been trying to earn a honest living so to speak. He had in the meanwhile been kind of kicked to the curb when the building on 83rd and I have to speak from my own experience or so sure what I moved into that building. I have lived on the south side of 83rd and Carnegie for 15 or 16 years. Then that that structure is gone completely. Hmm. All right. We have a caller. Wait, you want to hold on. Hold that thought for a second? Caller, you're on here. I passed it to me again. Here's the deal. They're doing the same thing with public housing here on West 25th. They had, they had it all go wrong, and they had the residents saying oh, well the playgrounds bad and they wouldn't fix it. So it's okay. You can sell it. They moved 700 between four and seven hundred occupants out of there and promising them that they have great places to live. I that didn't happen in the city took. Over and now it's kind of many and they sold it to me. But investors and then that, yeah, I do believe that it is by Design, not going to say conspiracy, but it is by Design here on Clark Avenue. We have a lot of drug activity. I think the same thing as they're headed for this to thank you. All right. Thank you for your call.

00:30:39.500 - 00:33:51.700

Well, they tried that, you know, they tried that over on the near west side and I remember when they bought Franklin. Castle. I was an insurance investigator for the high ofer plan and I was sent in to take a look at Franklin Castle. Original owner of that building paid something. It was under fifty thousand dollars. I think it was forty eight thousand dollars. He ensured the building for over a half a million, if you remember Chief hangi Stowe. Mmm, no. Well long-term. Remember who he was? He was a very, very temporary chief of police for Cleveland. Okay. Lock the building had no idea of the history or anything else. He bought it for just under 500,000. Of course. He didn't last very long. So he had to had to get rid of it. I particularly knew what the building was worth in the history of the building, because I was an investigator for the Ohio, FAIR Plan, and basically that building has been sitting there years and years. Now, it was bought by a young lady recently, a couple. Couple years ago. I was an investment, somebody torched it. Mmm. She had a lot of problems downtown with the housing court and still has problems. In this. This has been documented in the newspaper, also use in the process of getting the insurance and funding. And what have you to get it back up and rebuilt renovated. And everything is very historical building. Very old buildings is Its residents in in that area were very upset about what is now known as gentrification. Sure. Okay. This was 1970 something when I was doing this and the person who owned the building of the time wanted to rent off of West 38th and Franklin. I believe it is. That was my first apartment. He wanted to rent. Fish rent, six hundred dollars a month. That would never fly in that neighborhood. Never. This is the type of thing that goes on, this goes on all over. The inner city. I would not use the term. Triage triage means that there's something to save. I will call a trend. I'm a Vietnam combat. That's why. I know what triage is, right? I would say, attrition, attrition the body, count body, come, uh-huh. And when there's enough body's gone. You've Won right? Well, we didn't win in Vietnam. Yeah, well and it seems to that here. We're talking more about a civil war because the Cleveland Clinic may have one. Well, no one's won yet. There's no, there's no end in sight. But, but it seems that you have the neighborhood's trying to struggle this stay.

00:33:53.700 - 00:35:33.300

I have an article actually. Do you know what we need to wrap this up? Okay, we've only touched on the tip here. Next, we're going to have to have you back. I think sometime later in the summer. That way we can discuss some of these things more in detail. We got cut short, a little bit today. So do you have any last comments, you want to leave the listeners? And I think I've said enough. I probably hung myself actually, but then I'm not running for political office. So I'm not. Well you can blame it on me because I probably said things that were probably more controversial than you did. I think you just gave us the information and I don't think any of us can dispute what you've said. You've bought in your newspaper articles. And I think you do have a lot of. You've done a lot of research and I certainly hope we can talk to you again. You've been listening to frost radio. We've been talking with Frank Scanlon, a longtime resident of the Fairfax neighborhood. Who's been talking about some of the changes, the role of the Cleveland Clinic in those changes and stay tuned coming up for the next. Several hours is ETC. With a also Dan and W Ru W staff member named. Dan is going to be leading that show. All right, we're going to leave you here with a track from Utah Phillips. And this is a, I'm going to send this one out there for all of you who just graduated. It's called natural resources.

00:35:33.800 - 00:37:46.000

I was invited to the state Young Writers conference out of Cheney, which is a Eastern Washington University. And I would, I would didn't want to embarrass my son, you know, and I was going to behave myself because I had to live there then the chore, but I got on the stage was an enormous Auditorium. Are 2,700 young faces out there. None of them have any prospects. Anybody could detect and in off to the side of the stage is the suit-and-tie crowd of people, from the school district and the principles. And the, the main Following me was from the Chamber of Commerce, will something inside of me, snapped. And I got to the microphone and I looked out over that multitude of faces. And I said something to the effect up. You're about to be told one more time that you are America's most valuable natural resource. Have you seen what they do to valuable natural resource? Have you see a strip mine? Have you seen a clear-cut on the forest? Have you seen the polluted river? Don't ever let them call you a valuable natural resource. They're gonna strip my new song. They're gonna clear, cut your best place to the sake of profit unless you learn to resist those, The Profit system follows the path of least resistance and following the path of least resistance is what makes the river Cricket. Well, that was great gnashing of teeth and rending of garments mine. Born to the door, screaming epithets, over my shoulder. Something to the effect of make a break for it, can flee Into the Wilderness. One within, if you can find it. Well, the nice letter though, as I used out of the state headed for Nevada City and send it to their little literary magazine. I respect heads. I love especially little kids little kids are Assholes. But they're their own assholes. It's when they when you grow up.