Business owners. residents, police and city officials met up at EDWIN’S on Jan. 24 to continue work on putting together the Shaker Square Association.Doug Katz
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Shaker Square business owners have always seen the unique opportunities that abound in their corner of the world.
It’s part of the history of the urban junction on the border of Cleveland, where residents early on were given the option of sending their children to nearby Shaker Heights public schools.
But with the cultural coalescence, there have also been opportunities for crime, as well as daily nuisances such as panhandling. At the same time, jurisdictional boundaries remain for law enforcement.
“I love being there, but after 15 years, I’ve not seen much in the way of change,” said Douglas Katz, owner and executive chef of fire food & drink on the Square.
“We’re still kind of like the ‘latch-key children’ of Cleveland.”
He’s provided extra on-site security measures of his own, but Katz would like his customers to walk in, around and out of Shaker Square without getting hit up for spare change, or worrying about having their cars broken into or their purses snatched.
Those are the things that the newly-formed Shaker Square Association would like to put a stop to, as was the topic of a meeting called last month at EDWIN’S Leadership & Restaurant Institute.
“We’re putting our money where our mouth is,” said EDWIN’s founder Brandon Chrostowski, who opened in late 2013 on the guiding principle of giving ex-con’s a second chance at life.
In filing as a non-profit, the association plans to double security around the Square with more lighting, cameras and personnel.
This would be over and above the roughly $150,000 that has been promised over the years from the City of Cleveland, the St. Luke’s Foundation and the Square’s owner for the past dozen years, Peter Rubin and the Coral Company.
Rubin said at the Jan. 24 meeting that Coral would be spending another $20,000 on additional lighting, although $40,000 would be optimum.
He also planned to add a full-time maintenance man, as well as doubling security with two guards daily from 4 p.m. to closing.
But, according to the meeting minutes, “Coral is at their limit with the resources they have available and will need additional money in order to keep this safety initiative moving forward.”
Chrostowski said the newly-formed Shaker Square Association could come up with additional funds based on a dues structure, with the next meeting scheduled for Feb. 21.
“We have to be involved too,” Chrostowski said, adding that the formation of a Special Improvement District or “SID” — along the lines of Coventry, Cedar-Lee, Cedar-Fairmount and Gordon Square — “could be a three-to-five-year journey.”
Also in attendance at last month’s meeting was Cleveland City Councilman Ken Johnson, who said the money is on the way to fix, replace or install additional security cameras on the Square.
Meanwhile, at the Jan. 25 meeting of Shaker Square Alliance — a group formed in the aftermath of the closing of Ohio Savings Bank in late 2010 — members spoke of getting local and state legislators to eliminate some of the jurisdictional issues between Cleveland and Shaker police.
While they have a good working relationship, a Shaker police officer on the Square has no arrest powers except for felonies.
As a result, they cannot act on misdemeanors, although some say they can detain a suspect until Cleveland officers arrive on the scene. The same is believed to apply to Cleveland police when misdemeanor suspects flee into Shaker.
Shaker Square Alliance members spoke of getting a cross-jurisdictional zone declared that would allow officers from both cities to make arrests.
Katz said another problem for his restaurant has been the parking lot behind him belonging to the owner of the largely-vacant storefronts along Van Aken Boulevard. Ruben noted there are liability issues in patrolling that property.
“But it’s a great first step,” Katz said of the Shaker Square Association.
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