20160229 (contest)

Imagine ten feet forward from the wall of this building placement of four four-story condos about two-thirds the depth of the red structure. The proposed construction would occupy everything but the five foot rim of the lot--four thin units from the end of thecedar fence you see. That would be like placing two condos in my back yard.

When I told Madam Chair I 

Wouldn’t be speaking this

Morning, she gave such a 

Sigh of relief I took it as a

Compliment. I chose to appear

At the Board of Zoning Appeals

For the city of Cleveland in 

Support of three of my neighbors

Near a lot about (and I may be

Estimating high) 70’ x 100’

That is located adjacent to a 

Factory-like building which

Had been converted by the 

Previous owner to house

A practice theater and troupe

The present resident is married to 

A doctor with the Cleveland

Clinic who loved the basement

As a space for a huge woodwork

Shop. The other two share a

Home directly across the street

On which they have spent 

Practically everything they’ve

Got (yes, it’s that costly) to

Restore impeccably their classic 

Frame Victorian from slate roof 

To brick walkways. The contest

Pitted two worthy opponents: 

First the applicant, a contractor

Who has a proven record of

Attractive new construction

In the neighborhood aching

For architectural congruence

Between old and new housing;

Second, those resisting his request

To obtain a variance to build

The full depth of the lot for

Four connected four-story 

Townhouses which they contend

Disrupts the ambiance of old

Victorian structures and negatively

Affects their homes’ resale value.

My colleagues, citizens of much

Moxie, really did their homework.

The first to speak took about forty-

Five fact-packed minutes and

An inch worth of documents

To bolster their contention. Even 

Madame Chair was impressed and

Said so. But to cut to the quick, here’s

How the decision was made. This is 

Ohio City, one of the few positive

Growth locations, where building, 

Renovation, and restorations is 

Proceeding apace everywhere

Except my house (not that I 

Wouldn’t were I not financially

Challenged, so to speak). Adhering

To the present rule would permit

Two substantial homes to be built

On the property. Granting the 

Variance would allow four condos. 

By a decision of three-to-one

The board allowed the variance.

But as Yogi the master of modern 

Proverbs expounded, “It ain’t over

Till it’s over.” The objectors can 

Appeal this decision and they 

Appear ready to hire attorneys 

If needed to make their case.

The parties met amicably in the

Hall afterward. The appeal will be

A new negotiating point. By the way, 

These four homes would add to 

The sixty-seven others thrashing

It out in administrative hearings. 

Meanwhile, as I have written earlier, 

Numerous pockets of the city 

Lay vacant awaiting offers of 

New housing not terribly far away.

c. J.S.Manista, 2016 

20160228 (local music)

I can't help it. I go for baroque.

Attended two local musical events

Yesterday with Peggy my partner 

In protest. The first, a community

Sing honoring Pete Seeger with

Only acoustic guitars, banjos, and

An autoharp featuring folk music

From the ‘30s to the present (there

Was a rendition of Lord Randall—

Who knows how far back that goes).

We stayed for the church supper 

Offering of chili, salad, and dessert

Then decided to attend Forest Hill’s

Second annual celebration of 

African American music for the

Evening. We didn’t pick up a

Program so I won’t be able here

To identify all the songs and the 

Performers. The contrasts I experienced

At each of the programs  was

Worth noting though. The Seeger

Program was sponsored by South

Haven United Church of Christ

To benefit the church hunger effort

And a group of conservationists

Currently working to clean up

Tinkers Creek, a nearby small

Waterway and park. As a community

Sing we were urged to join in

With the individual performers.

A projection screen in the back 

Of the sanctuary displayed the 

Lyrics sometimes unevenly and

Almost always too small for me

To read (and I sat up front!)

But we managed. Peggy had 

Belonged to this church years 

Ago and many who remembered 

Her came by to say hello. 

Most of the attending were

Likely from the congregation but

A few were strangers. When the 

Time to sing began we all joined

In hesistatingly at first, more

Vigorously as it proceeded.

Many we knew without prompts—

Where have all the flowers gone,

My Darling Clementine, Blowin’

In the Wind, Down by the Riverside,

Last night I had the strangest dream,

And many others. At the African American

Concert I was not familiar with the

Music except for Bess, you is my

Woman now, from Gershwin’s

Porgy and Bess which I found odd

That they included it, although the

Performers did a magnificent job.

The program leaned heavily to

Modern jazzy style, heavy with 

Repetition and embellishment.

Peggy cautioned me to view it

As improvisational: individual

Performers riff, I answered,

Ensembles do not improvise.

The folk sing was borderline

Amateur; the celebration was

Thoroughly professional. But 

My reaction was decidedly with

The Seeger songs. Numerous times

I found myself tearing up as the

Nostalgia of the ‘60s idealism

Welled up within. Despite my

Sympathies for Black causes

I felt curiously aloof: This is

Not my music. I prefer songs

With many words and a definitive

End. The interminable repetition of

Marvin Gaye’s What’s goin’ on

Had me checking the time

Rather than clapping along.

We left about 8:40 during a 

Break between songs to get 

Peggy home and then me before

Ten. This morning I learned they

Ended at 9:30. I had a friend in

High school who pressed me to

Discover my love for jazz through

Listening to his Charlie Parker 

And Thelonius Monk albums.

I listened for hours but the love 

Failed to bud. I gave them all

Back to him, came home, and

Put on an LP of Andres Segovia 

Strumming Bach’s Jesu, joy of man’s 

Desiring just to get my thinking

Going again.

c. J.S.Manista, 2016

20160227 (fish fry)

St Stephen's good old-fashioned local parish Lenten fish fry in the school basement

Friday for dinner there’s fish

Fry at St. Stephen’s parish hall

Off  West 57th. Stephen’s is a

Catholic church whose founders

Were of German heritage. The

Parish is located between two 

Nearby Irish origin parishes—

St. Patrick’s, Bridge, 36ish, &

St. Colman’s, 65th near Lorain.

Colman’s also offered Lenten

Fish fries but I didn’t see a sign

There today. Steve’s is getting to

Recognize me as a regular on

Fridays. Probably not the best

Diabetic choice as far as all the

Carbs go with heavily breaded

Fish, but it’s close and nostalgic—

Reminds me of my years as a 

Catholic teen in my old Polish

Parish, Our Lady of Czestochowa,

Often called by those who couldn’t

Handle slavic pronunciations—St. Mary’s.

And also, the “Black Madonna,”

Of which I’ve written before,*

But I’ll not address that now. Stephen’s

Has a full complement of parish

Buildings still in use: main church,

What might once have been a 

Convent house (sisters’ residence),

Elementary school, Rectory 

(Priests’ quarters), and What 

Looked like a parish hall/theater/gym (?).

Not far on the same block is

A recently built development to

House the elderly, in which they

May have had a hand. (Colman’s

Has a similar but smaller set of

Units on their property.) What is 

Not present anymore is the thriving

Neighborhood. Thanks to the banks’

Shenanigans in housing in 2008, the

Adjacent streets, where I canvassed

For the 2010 census, are a mix of

Vacant houses, lots where vacant

Houses once stood, here and there

An occupied shabby house, some

Older well-kept homes very like 

Ohio City houses closer in where 

I live, which by comparison is a 

Gentrifying monster of inner-city

Restorations. Most of the economic

Damage not wreaked by the foreclosure

Crisis falls to the Great Recession and

The exodus of employers inside the

City limits. Like the redlining of 

Which I wrote some days ago** this

Area looks like forces decided to 

Lay it waste entirely but forgot

A few houses here and there.

I don’t think the density stats

Indicate it’s a sustainable community

Any longer. What can its

Residents do but wait for the 

Desert weeds to sprout up and the 

Tumbleweed to roll across their

Lawns? Developers seeking to

Bring jobs back here want blocks

Of open space. And that’s available

Already in so many other locations.

It’s not just this neighborhood. It’s

Not just Cleveland. For all the 

Politicking and economic theorizing

Going on today, from the local bars

To the great universities, nobody’s

Yet come up with anything like a

Solution. They know how to make

A buck in Westlake and in Ohio City

But for the poor of the east or west

Side, and in every Flint and Detroit,

Even what they have shall be taken

From them.

c. J.S.Manista, 2016

*http://filosuferz.blogspot.com/2014/02/questions-for-black-madonna-ca-1964.html

**https://library.osu.edu/projects/redlining-maps-ohio/area-descriptions/CuyahogaCounty_D1-D28_Area_Description.pdf