Residents want area improved
MIKE SAKAL , Morning Journal Writer 07/15/2004

LORAIN -- Neighborhood groups and residents who say they are fed up with problems in the Charleston Village and Central Lorain area surrounding Streator Park will be pushing for changes at a meeting in August.

Residents point to loud car stereo music pounding along neighborhood streets, which they say signals the arrival of drug dealers; broken-down cars parked in yards and rusting behind homes; rental homes in need of repairs; and even a toilet resting on the back roof of a home on West 10th Street.

''The neighborhood is going down the drain, but it's been going down the drain for a long time,'' said one 10th Street resident who didn't want to be named. ''A toilet has been on a roof of a house for months. I first noticed it in May. I thought it was disgusting, and I still think it's disgusting.''

West Eighth Street resident Debbie Wright is spearheading a committee to partner with Mainstreet Lorain's Coalition For a Better Lorain to help monitor and address the problems in the neighborhood and to put pressure on the city to improve conditions.

''We do have our problems,'' Wright said. ''We were told by the city that Central Lorain and South Lorain have the most average police calls. We're working on bettering and cleaning up the area a little bit at a time. It's a slow process.''

The neighborhood committee plans to meet with Mainstreet Lorain and the Direct Action for Central Lorain committee at 6 p.m. on Aug. 12 in the cafeteria of the St. Joseph Community Center to discuss methods for improving neighborhood conditions, Wright said.

The meeting also is open for residents and business owners in Central Lorain and Charleston Village, which extends from West First Street to West Eighth Street between Broadway and Oberlin Avenue, Wright said.

''The main issues in the neighborhood remain the condition of the rental properties,'' Wright said. ''We have some very old homes, and the rentals aren't being taken care of. We need to clean up what we have and promote single-home ownership.''

At the Aug. 12 meeting, Mainstreet Lorain plans to pass out a list of contact numbers of city departments and people to help address the problems that have frequented the neighborhood, said Bill O'Brien, executive director for Mainstreet Lorain.

''People see the problems in the neighborhood and want to do something about it, but they don't know where to turn or who to contact to address the problem,'' O'Brien said. ''We are serving as a resource for residents by putting together a directory for them of names and phone numbers of who to call when they see what they believe is a problem. This way, the residents will be the city's extra eyes and ears.''

In the last few months, inspectors from the city's building department have issued more than 600 citations on homes, noting various violations either for tall grass, abandoned cars or building violations, according to numbers released by Mainstreet Lorain's Coalition For a Better Lorain.

Wright's committee also is eyeing to help beef up the city's nuisance law, comparable to the one in the Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights, Wright said.

Anyone who violates any nuisance-related ordinances involving noise, disorderly conduct or public intoxication more than three times in a year would be required to reimburse the police department for the cost of responding to the call, Wright said.

Currently, the city's vehicle sound devices or loud music laws allows Lorain police to confiscate someone's car stereo on a second offense if the music from the stereo is audible at a distance of 50 feet on the second offense.

The first offense, a third-degree misdemeanor, carries a fine of $300, according to information from the Lorain Law Department. A second offense within five years carries a $400 fine and allows the police to impound the vehicle and confiscate the car stereo.

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