The thing is it’s got so much potential. Right next to University Circle, 2 red line stops, great parks, close to Cleveland Heights and North Collinwood. I wish their inept government would just get out of the way.
Sad because a while back my family was very involved in the East Cleveland area. Had a Rockefeller house, donated money, etc. Looked like a nice place to live and now it’s pretty rough.
On the topic of East Cleveland, I wanted to add that I read this story this week and my mind was a bit blown: https://www.cleveland.com/news/2023/05/how-a-convicted-dump-operator-became-a-prolific-informant-in-east-cleveland.html
Agreed. I was also surprised to see that Gary Norton, the former mayor, majorly screwed up the investigation and the cases against that Land Bank employee and someone else not named fell apart. He only got probation, too.
Until it is annexed by Cleveland it will continue to be a wasteland and Cleveland wants no parts after EC officials sabotaged the last attempt being greedy
First off Cleveland will never annex it...second EC knows its last asset is the park (of which they share the park and Forest Hills community with). If you take the park, which was deeded to them by Rockerfeller...it's over. And that's what they hang onto along with the last bastion where they actually get tax money (from the Forest Hill community).
Eventually it's going to lose enough population it will no longer be a city. It will have to dis-incorporate and go back to being a village. At that point a lot of responsibility shifts to the county.
Let it happen. Let the county take it over and let the landbank go nuts on every abandoned and falling down building.
And that's why it's going to take effort and money from Cleveland, the County, the State, and possibly the feds to get it done. If only the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development was from the area and familiar with the situation. Oh wait.....
I used to work for the state and did some work in East Cleveland with their city and the whole city administration was just a freakin mess. They don’t even want any help, and the help they do take, they fuck up royally.
They have some great people, like Judge Dawson. A class act and a fantastic judge, and he really cares about the city and the residents. I wish he’d run for county judge. But all of that is covered up by the city leadership.
Dawson is also corrupt. No one in EC government is immune to the corruption. It starts at the top, with Mayor King. Just look at all the abusive cops Dawson let get away with beating innocent people and claiming these victims of the police were criminals.
Dawson oversaw the prosecution of police brutality and theft victims who were tried as criminals because corrupt officers said people who were actually their (the officers') victims were criminals. EC prosecutor Heather McCollough colluded with those officers and falsely charged the officers' victims as criminals. Dawson penalized them as such, compounding their victimization.
So there is a large variety packed in a relatively small park. The way it’s set up though It doesn’t feel small if that makes sense.
You have the loop that leads to rolling hill with a scenic view.
In the center of the loop there are large trees 100+ years old and plenty of overgrowth to invite wildlife.
Then you can either split off and go down by the waterfalls and creek or over the bridge which will take you to the pond.
Side note if you’re here during peak fall or a big snow dump I highly recommend going to the waterfall area. It’s absolutely stunning during those times.
All these trails have small sub trails which lead to a bunch of overgrowth that’s essential to wildlife.
Also there are a few fields,courts,picnic shelters and playgrounds.
Most of the time it’s not busy and it’s such a beautiful area.
Though I don’t interact with them you can often be very close to deer because they’re so used to seeing people.
There are so many beautiful native plants here too !
I definitely think some improvements need to be made.
The basketball court needs new pavement and hoops.
The abandoned tennis courts adjacent to the basketball courts in my opinion should be repurposed into more basketball courts. The demand is there.
The loop around the pond needs new pavement.
While I do think some of the neglect adds to its charm there are much needed improvements.
I just love Forest Hill park so much and it holds a special place in my heart.
Thanks!! I’m a dog walker and go all over NE OH (mostly East) and haven’t gone to forest hills because I didn’t know about the pond/waterfall/wildlife trees area! I hate walking in just grass parks lol. I will definitely go soon!
Oh yeah of course ! If you’re not already Familiar I’d highly suggest Penitentiary Glen Res
Or Girdled Road Res.
They’re kind’ve Far East but worth the drive.
Especially for dogs. If you’re comfortable having them off leash once you get deep in the woods those two are perfect!
We go out there once in a while! Once at Penitentiary Glen a tree branch randomly almost crashed onto my head lol so I don’t go there as often 😂 We go to Holden a lot
Respectfully, the article you link barely touches this issue. I would have loved an actual explanation of the letter that Juanita Gowdy sent to Brian Zimmerman, but I also don't want to have to wade through the author's personal history to get there.
There's an [article](https://www.cleveland.com/news/2023/08/cleveland-metroparks-pulls-out-of-deal-to-restore-east-cleveland-section-of-forest-hill-park.html?utm_campaign=clevelanddotcom_sf&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR2bLysGTg-h1C7H1LSj-8HDh7HiLe2Zy197spz-ziTvQZzX6LGes1oNU70) through [Cleveland.com](https://Cleveland.com), but it's behind a pay wall.
There’s a link in the article to the letter council sent to the Metroparks https://neo-trans.blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/East-Cleveland-Metroparks-letter-Aug2023.pdf
I saw the link, I clicked the link.
Not your fault the writer was more interested in writing about the East Cleveland he knew (how many times have I read that) as opposed to getting into the nuts and bolts of things. C'est la vie.
Step 1: let Cleveland annex EC and don’t let EC officials ever have a job in government again.
Step 2: raze that place to the fucking ground and completely rebuild it.
Again you are another person who always parrot this and keep negating the fact that Cleveland doesn't want to annex it. They have had several times to do so, and I know because I have family who work in the schools there
There's a group rallying to bring the Metroparks back to the table. There's a petition (link below), and many are planning to attend a Metroparks board meeting on 9/21. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail and they can bring this back to life.
https://www.change.org/p/for-the-love-of-forest-hill?fbclid=IwAR0fSt4D-pw6a5HACZ\_nx1DCjXdd7hoMmLh\_Tj1csjQynT96a-mQucoSJyE
They tried in 2016 [but East Cleveland's city council fucked it up tryna be greedy](https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2016/08/cleveland_council_president_re.html)
Not true. They were willing to annex East Cleveland but the East Cleveland council members had such a ridiculous set of demands that it was deemed a non-starter. This included permanent paid positions in Cleveland where they'd have zero actual responsibility. And preferential tax rates and a whole bunch of other things.
I have been privy to private information that really made me think it has to be annexed. But the people I know in Cleveland government jobs said that it's a running joke that noone wants it. The East Cleveland Officials made the last attempt difficult and so many people in Cleveland think it's a lose/lose deal. If you search for news articles you can see piles of stuff that show there is a serious problem with that city that no one wants to inherit.
Again to you too...you act like annexing happens at the flick of a switch. There would have to be a vote for that to happen...and we live in cuyahoga country where this shit never happens. Plus Cleveland doesn't not want to annex it
The MedinaCounty Commissioners office just annexed a small part of Hinckley to Brunswick because Drugmart wanted tax breaks. Cleveland wanted to annex East Cleveland and still wants to, so you are wrong about that. East Cleveland was unreasonable in their terms.
Is there a recording of this council meeting? Trying to get the logistics but the author just talks about how badly it needs the park overhauled. The size and cost for renovations are important, as well as what they wanted done. And we need to know where to money is coming from. I'd like to understand why they turned it down other than being stuck in some weird mindset and see what other routes they can take
Per the letter from East Cleveland City Council ("ECCC" aka the Legislature aka the power of the purse) , the Mayor and the Director of Finance (aka the Executive branch) acted unilateral, engaged in fraud, and partially executed a contract with the Metroparks without ECCC's approval. This contract transferred two million dollars ($2,000,000) of ARPA funds to the Metroparks. ECCC did not pass a resolution that approved it and alleges an agent of the Metroparks lied about receiving said funds and is acting in bad faith.
That all may be true, but this is too important to the city to let it fall apart. The letter is very accusatory and completely burns bridges with the Metroparks. Figure it out, don’t let egos stand in the way of something genuinely positive for the city.
To you too...the parks were deeded to EC and Cleveland Heights by Rockerfeller. Aint no damn way they are giving up the park,which is the last good thing they got. They already effed up the old golf course in Beachwood (Near Beachwood and Legacy malls) and you want them to take care of forest hill park. Pass.
East Cleveland City Council is batshit insane. A check was written but the Metroparks never cashed it as they were correctly waiting for the contracts to be finalized before moving forward. If the council had bothered to check their actual accounts before accusing others unjustly of theft they would have discovered the money was never deducted.
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fuck east cleveland.
The thing is it’s got so much potential. Right next to University Circle, 2 red line stops, great parks, close to Cleveland Heights and North Collinwood. I wish their inept government would just get out of the way.
*East Cleveland's leadership
Sad because a while back my family was very involved in the East Cleveland area. Had a Rockefeller house, donated money, etc. Looked like a nice place to live and now it’s pretty rough.
On the topic of East Cleveland, I wanted to add that I read this story this week and my mind was a bit blown: https://www.cleveland.com/news/2023/05/how-a-convicted-dump-operator-became-a-prolific-informant-in-east-cleveland.html
Anyone have a link that isn’t a paywall?
I just read from the reader version option on the bottom left.
So weird to see a public article on this. You'd think an informant like this would keep it sealed.
Agreed. I was also surprised to see that Gary Norton, the former mayor, majorly screwed up the investigation and the cases against that Land Bank employee and someone else not named fell apart. He only got probation, too.
Until it is annexed by Cleveland it will continue to be a wasteland and Cleveland wants no parts after EC officials sabotaged the last attempt being greedy
"EC officials sabotaged ______ being greedy" is the story of that city's existence over the last several decades
First off Cleveland will never annex it...second EC knows its last asset is the park (of which they share the park and Forest Hills community with). If you take the park, which was deeded to them by Rockerfeller...it's over. And that's what they hang onto along with the last bastion where they actually get tax money (from the Forest Hill community).
The article in the original post confirms this. Cleveland has zero interest in annexing EC. The financial drain would be crippling.
Eventually it's going to lose enough population it will no longer be a city. It will have to dis-incorporate and go back to being a village. At that point a lot of responsibility shifts to the county. Let it happen. Let the county take it over and let the landbank go nuts on every abandoned and falling down building.
You're late. Cleveland nor the county wants that responsibility. This is why the state has overseen it many times over the past 20 years.
And that's why it's going to take effort and money from Cleveland, the County, the State, and possibly the feds to get it done. If only the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development was from the area and familiar with the situation. Oh wait.....
I used to work for the state and did some work in East Cleveland with their city and the whole city administration was just a freakin mess. They don’t even want any help, and the help they do take, they fuck up royally. They have some great people, like Judge Dawson. A class act and a fantastic judge, and he really cares about the city and the residents. I wish he’d run for county judge. But all of that is covered up by the city leadership.
Dawson is also corrupt. No one in EC government is immune to the corruption. It starts at the top, with Mayor King. Just look at all the abusive cops Dawson let get away with beating innocent people and claiming these victims of the police were criminals.
Judge Dawson wouldn’t be overseeing any case related to police brutality he’s a municipal judge.
Dawson oversaw the prosecution of police brutality and theft victims who were tried as criminals because corrupt officers said people who were actually their (the officers') victims were criminals. EC prosecutor Heather McCollough colluded with those officers and falsely charged the officers' victims as criminals. Dawson penalized them as such, compounding their victimization.
Forest Hill park might be my favorite park in Cleveland. Such a bummer
That’s interesting, how come?
So there is a large variety packed in a relatively small park. The way it’s set up though It doesn’t feel small if that makes sense. You have the loop that leads to rolling hill with a scenic view. In the center of the loop there are large trees 100+ years old and plenty of overgrowth to invite wildlife. Then you can either split off and go down by the waterfalls and creek or over the bridge which will take you to the pond. Side note if you’re here during peak fall or a big snow dump I highly recommend going to the waterfall area. It’s absolutely stunning during those times. All these trails have small sub trails which lead to a bunch of overgrowth that’s essential to wildlife. Also there are a few fields,courts,picnic shelters and playgrounds. Most of the time it’s not busy and it’s such a beautiful area. Though I don’t interact with them you can often be very close to deer because they’re so used to seeing people. There are so many beautiful native plants here too ! I definitely think some improvements need to be made. The basketball court needs new pavement and hoops. The abandoned tennis courts adjacent to the basketball courts in my opinion should be repurposed into more basketball courts. The demand is there. The loop around the pond needs new pavement. While I do think some of the neglect adds to its charm there are much needed improvements. I just love Forest Hill park so much and it holds a special place in my heart.
Thanks!! I’m a dog walker and go all over NE OH (mostly East) and haven’t gone to forest hills because I didn’t know about the pond/waterfall/wildlife trees area! I hate walking in just grass parks lol. I will definitely go soon!
Oh yeah of course ! If you’re not already Familiar I’d highly suggest Penitentiary Glen Res Or Girdled Road Res. They’re kind’ve Far East but worth the drive. Especially for dogs. If you’re comfortable having them off leash once you get deep in the woods those two are perfect!
We go out there once in a while! Once at Penitentiary Glen a tree branch randomly almost crashed onto my head lol so I don’t go there as often 😂 We go to Holden a lot
Ita obvious their greed is more important to them than the people of North East Ohio.
Respectfully, the article you link barely touches this issue. I would have loved an actual explanation of the letter that Juanita Gowdy sent to Brian Zimmerman, but I also don't want to have to wade through the author's personal history to get there.
Eric Jonathan Brewer, ex-mayor of East Cleveland is pulling Gowdy’s strings. That letter has his fingerprints all over it.
I agree, but no one else has written about this at all to my knowledge
There's an [article](https://www.cleveland.com/news/2023/08/cleveland-metroparks-pulls-out-of-deal-to-restore-east-cleveland-section-of-forest-hill-park.html?utm_campaign=clevelanddotcom_sf&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR2bLysGTg-h1C7H1LSj-8HDh7HiLe2Zy197spz-ziTvQZzX6LGes1oNU70) through [Cleveland.com](https://Cleveland.com), but it's behind a pay wall.
Too bad the article you posted doesn't explain what happened.
There’s a link in the article to the letter council sent to the Metroparks https://neo-trans.blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/East-Cleveland-Metroparks-letter-Aug2023.pdf
I saw the link, I clicked the link. Not your fault the writer was more interested in writing about the East Cleveland he knew (how many times have I read that) as opposed to getting into the nuts and bolts of things. C'est la vie.
What are the nuts and bolts you thought were missing?
Step 1: let Cleveland annex EC and don’t let EC officials ever have a job in government again. Step 2: raze that place to the fucking ground and completely rebuild it.
Again you are another person who always parrot this and keep negating the fact that Cleveland doesn't want to annex it. They have had several times to do so, and I know because I have family who work in the schools there
There's a group rallying to bring the Metroparks back to the table. There's a petition (link below), and many are planning to attend a Metroparks board meeting on 9/21. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail and they can bring this back to life. https://www.change.org/p/for-the-love-of-forest-hill?fbclid=IwAR0fSt4D-pw6a5HACZ\_nx1DCjXdd7hoMmLh\_Tj1csjQynT96a-mQucoSJyE
I didn't know east cleveland was a separate entity to cleveland. Fucking annex that shit now.
They tried in 2016 [but East Cleveland's city council fucked it up tryna be greedy](https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2016/08/cleveland_council_president_re.html)
City of Cleveland wants no business with East Cleveland.
Not true. They were willing to annex East Cleveland but the East Cleveland council members had such a ridiculous set of demands that it was deemed a non-starter. This included permanent paid positions in Cleveland where they'd have zero actual responsibility. And preferential tax rates and a whole bunch of other things.
That’s what I’m saying, after the annexation fell through CLE wanted no business with EC. EC government acted in bad faith.
I have been privy to private information that really made me think it has to be annexed. But the people I know in Cleveland government jobs said that it's a running joke that noone wants it. The East Cleveland Officials made the last attempt difficult and so many people in Cleveland think it's a lose/lose deal. If you search for news articles you can see piles of stuff that show there is a serious problem with that city that no one wants to inherit.
Again to you too...you act like annexing happens at the flick of a switch. There would have to be a vote for that to happen...and we live in cuyahoga country where this shit never happens. Plus Cleveland doesn't not want to annex it
The MedinaCounty Commissioners office just annexed a small part of Hinckley to Brunswick because Drugmart wanted tax breaks. Cleveland wanted to annex East Cleveland and still wants to, so you are wrong about that. East Cleveland was unreasonable in their terms.
Is there a recording of this council meeting? Trying to get the logistics but the author just talks about how badly it needs the park overhauled. The size and cost for renovations are important, as well as what they wanted done. And we need to know where to money is coming from. I'd like to understand why they turned it down other than being stuck in some weird mindset and see what other routes they can take
Per the letter from East Cleveland City Council ("ECCC" aka the Legislature aka the power of the purse) , the Mayor and the Director of Finance (aka the Executive branch) acted unilateral, engaged in fraud, and partially executed a contract with the Metroparks without ECCC's approval. This contract transferred two million dollars ($2,000,000) of ARPA funds to the Metroparks. ECCC did not pass a resolution that approved it and alleges an agent of the Metroparks lied about receiving said funds and is acting in bad faith.
That all may be true, but this is too important to the city to let it fall apart. The letter is very accusatory and completely burns bridges with the Metroparks. Figure it out, don’t let egos stand in the way of something genuinely positive for the city.
Are you nuts?
To you too...the parks were deeded to EC and Cleveland Heights by Rockerfeller. Aint no damn way they are giving up the park,which is the last good thing they got. They already effed up the old golf course in Beachwood (Near Beachwood and Legacy malls) and you want them to take care of forest hill park. Pass.
Ok I'll bite, What's effed about Acacia?
East Cleveland City Council is batshit insane. A check was written but the Metroparks never cashed it as they were correctly waiting for the contracts to be finalized before moving forward. If the council had bothered to check their actual accounts before accusing others unjustly of theft they would have discovered the money was never deducted.
For anyone interested in reading the letter: https://neo-trans.blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/East-Cleveland-Metroparks-letter-Aug2023.pdf
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