A Better Lakewood
I moved to the city of Lakewood, because it offered a lot of the amenities of living in the city (what with being 5 minutes away from down town) while still maintaining many suburban qualities. It reminds me of the small town I grew up in until I was 10. The neighbors are friendly, there’s a strip of local shops and businesses, great scenery, and a strong sense of community.
Since I’ve moved into town 3 years ago, however, things have begun to change. Housing values have sunk. I’m all for affordable housing, especially for first time buyers, but because the values have plummeted so significantly it’s causing a negative effect. People who don’t care about Lakewood but just want a cheap house (or a cheap rental property) are moving in. People who don’t want those people for their neighbors are moving out of Lakewood. In turn, no one votes for the necessary public funding for schools and other community necessities. With the schools going downhill, even more people are moving away. There are four houses for sale on my street alone. They’ve been vacant for a while.
We have places like check cashing centers and oodles of Walgreens moving in while local businesses can’t stay afloat and have to leave. Many of our roads are entering a state of disrepair. Most despairingly, crime has risen. I had to file a police report myself after an intruder was in my house. Only a year before no one locked their doors. Now suspicious characters roam up and down my street. Trash mysteriously appears in my yard. People buy up the cheap houses and rent them out to people who let them fall into decay and never cut the grass.
The current (and only visible) response seems to have been to build luxury condominiums. Alana and I speculate they’re just for posturing and are really intended to be converted to Section 8 housing. Everyone leaves to instead of responding to the problem you build overpriced homes no one will move into, leaving even more prime Lakewood real estate empty?
Fortunately for us someone has an answer, and that someone is Ed FitzGerald. FitzGerald is a former FBI agent, and a three-time elected Democratic City Councilman. He has an exemplary public service record, and as a third-generation Lakewood resident he’s heavily invested in the community.
Most importantly Councilman FitzGerald has been listening to the concerns of the community. He proposes a 15 point public safety plan in response to the soaring crime rates. He wants more police, enforcement of Section 8 regulations to keep crime out of subsidized housing, absentee landlords held accountable, and numerous other improvements.
He wants to address vacant housing, economic growth, city services such as park maintenance, and infrastructure improvement. Additionally he has a 10 point plan for fiscal responsibility. He wants the city to attract high-tech businesses and establish a Lakewood WiFi network.
It is my sincere opinion that if Lakewood isn’t to go the way of many Cleveland suburbs, drastic and immediate action needs to be taken. Councilman Ed FitzGerald is the only person who has stepped up to the plate. Find out more about him at FitzGeraldforLakewood.com.
I’m happy to see that Fitzgerald has been elected. I really need to see improvement in Lakewood or we will sell our home and leave as soon as the real estate market improves. I want to stay, but things are getting bad. Fitz has a tough job ahead of him.
You’re absolutely right. How good of a job he does will directly effect whether or not I choose to move out of Lakewood in the next year.