Press Release:
"City Council Immoral-  Metropole"
For Immediate Release: March 3, 2010; From: Greater Cincinnati Coalition for
the Homeless
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Contacts:  Josh Spring - 513-716-7455 - Executive Director, Tenants and Josh
available for interviews
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Today, in a show of extreme immorality, city council voted to give 2.5
million tax-payer dollars and a $5 million loan to 21C, an out-of-town hotel
developer.   This comes in addition to relieving the owner of property-tax
obligations.  This money is to be used to change the homes of Metropole
Tenants into hotel rooms for tourists.  In a statement to council today,
Elizabeth Brown, Executive Director of Housing Opportunities Made Equal
(HOME) stated that removing Metropole Tenants from the Central Business
District (CBD) will likely make this neighborhood lose its more than 30-year
status as diverse.  The CBD has been one of three neighborhoods to hold this
status for so long.
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Tenants spoke before council today; stating that their lives are in the
downtown and they desire to stay in the downtown. Van Oden, a Metropole
Tenant explained that he is disabled and works part-time in the CBD.  Mr.
Oden stated that being forced from the downtown would put his job and his
life in jeopardy.  Hardwick Willis, an elderly Tenant of the Metropole for
over 16 years, stated that if he is forced from the downtown his daily life
will become very difficult and he will have trouble getting by.  Edward
Carter, another Metropole tenant put his feelings in simple terms:  "Leave
me alone!"
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Also in attendance and speaking alongside Tenants were members of the NAACP,
the Metropolitan Area Religious Coalition of Cincinnati (MARCC), HOME, the
Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH) and other citizens.
The NAACP, MARCC, HOME, GCCH and other citizens all stated that it is wrong
for city council to invest in discrimination and that city council has a
responsibility to ensure that Tenants remain in the CBD.
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Both GCCH and Council Person Cecil Thomas stated that a HUD Relocation Plan
has not been approved.  Mr. Thomas stated that he would vote no on the
funding because Tenants have not been given a proper relocation plan and
have not been given all they deserve. Further Josh Spring of GCCH explained
that "this project fits 25-year old status quo.  Everyday there are 1200 to
1500 people in the shelter system in Cincinnati, these people are already
trying to get into the same housing units that Metropole Tenants are now
being forced to try and get.  3CDC and now city council are using tax-payer
dollars to increase the demand for affordable housing units and decrease the
supply."
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The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless states that city council
should have been enraged by the actions of 3CDC, but instead they have
chosen to join in those actions.  Eight council members and 3CDC have acted
in a disgraceful manner and must be held accountable. With a board
consisting of the heads of local fortune 500 companies, 3CDC has no business
asking tax-payers for money to remove tenants from their homes.  City
Council, city administration, HUD and 3CDC must ensure that Metropole
Tenants are given housing options in the Central Business District.  The CBD
must remain diverse. 
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Josh Spring LSW
Executive Director
Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless
117 E. 12th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Office:  513-421-7803 ext. 13
Cell:  513-716-7455
www.cincihomeless.org