Gloria Ferris

Turns out that there has been a lot of pressure behind the scenes on the Breuer issue.  The Cleveland Planning Commission meeting will take place in Room 217-the Council Committee meeting room.   This meeting is the special meeting that the members agreed to have so that  they could get as much information as possible before  making the decision about the building.  Hmmm!  Do  you really think that all of the pertinent information will now be available to the members so that they can make an informed decision?  Probably not, but do you think that there will be pressure from Demolition Joe Cimperman to take a vote and “trust” their partners?  Could he, again, be putting his fellow members in the awkward position of voting with scant little of what they have asked for at last week’s meeting?  Was I as many others under the mistaken impression that this would now be a  reasoned, deliberate decision? After tomorrow, will we know more than we know today concerning the questions the commission asked?

My sources say that the meeting being held in Room 217 could be a red flag, but of course, last week  Room 514 was packed. So maybe it is more of a comfort issue.  Could be couldn’t it? Word on the street has it that the commission may not be able to withstand the incredible pressure being applied behind the scenes. It will hardly be believable that in one week, they now have all the information to make the decision to destroy the Breuer Tower.  Let’s hope that they are determined to stick to the principles they expressed last week and that this planning meeting will be the first of SEVERAL meetings before another vote is taken. I am sending out this plea to all of you who believe in the democratic process to attend this crucial meeting and offer your support to the members of the commission who stated so eloquently last week that they wanted to do the right thing and make sure that we were getting something better.

I didn’t have time to verify this with Sally Levine but I understand that there has been quite an abundance of entries for the Ingenuity Architecture Competition.  In fact, there have been more entries than expected and there are local, national, and international submissions.  WOW!  Can’t wait to see this exhibit at Ingenuity 2007!

I know that many of you have attended meeting after meeting to make sure that the County Commissioners and the Planning Commission know that you are witnesses to what is happening here in Cleveland, but if you can please, please attend one more. And then another and another until they get that we are not going to go away.  That public citizens have the right to be part of the democratic process, and,  it is no longer business as usual in Cuyahoga County or Cleveland.