Delete WardMaking a Public Comment
Council welcomes public comment before regular council meetings. Fill out the online form below for your chance to make a public comment at the next regular Monday Council meeting. Please read the revised rules and procedures.
Public Comment will resume at the Jan. 12, 2026 Council meeting.
Registrations can also be submitted:
* In person at Cleveland City Hall, Room 220, 601 Lakeside Ave. NE. Paper forms are available to register.
* If you don't want to fill out the online form below, you can download this form and fill it out, and email it to publiccomment@clevelandcitycouncil.gov or drop it off at Council offices. (Parking at City Hall on the upper lot is free on Mondays after 5 pm when Council is meeting.) If you need assistance, language, or disability, go here to make a request (at least 3 days in advance.)
Make a Comment in Person
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Make a Comment Online
If you don't want to speak at a Council meeting, please submit your written comments below.
Public Comments
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Help these families get answers. Stop neglecting the reality they are living through right now. This trauma will stay with them forever those who lost loved one those who survived, and everyone who witnessed the devastation with no explanation or compassion from the very people who are supposed to do right by them. They matter. 🙏🏽❤️Prayer
Heavenly Father, we lift every family affected by this tragedy into Your hands. Cover them with Your peace, Your comfort, and Your healing power. Strengthen the mothers, fathers, children, and survivors who are carrying unimaginable pain. Guide the leaders of this city to act with integrity, compassion, and urgency. Let justice be served, and let resources flow to every family in need. Bring clarity where there is confusion, support where there is lack, and hope where hearts are heavy. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Our families went to Tower City to try to experience a little holiday joy the kind that children should be able to feel without effort, without pain, without fear.
But Z is not most children.
On June 23rd, she was burned on over 50% of her body in the explosion at Rainbow Terrace. That day also took the life of the only father she and her brother have ever known, Mr. Cordell Sheffield. Cordell was not just a partner to their mother. He was “Daddy.” He was love, safety, presence, and guidance. His absence is not just emotional, it reshaped their entire world.
Her older brother Ty, now 12, was burned the same way on over 50% of his body.
What happened to them was not an accident. It was a failure of systems that should have kept these families safe. And while silence is presistent and policy conversations are happening around the city, these children are still living the consequences in their bodies, every single day.
On Friday, December 5th Ty had another major surgery. Doctors removed skin from one leg to repair another. He is connected to a medical vacuum to draw out fluids and protect the healing site. He is in pain. He is exhausted. He has survived more procedures at 12 years old than many adults will ever face.
Picture this:
Saturday, while Ty was recovering, I sat with Z in the Tower City food court. She was trying her best to be a kid again; to smile, to explore, to feel some holiday spirit. And then the train passed under us. The floor shook…
just slightly, and everything in her body changed.
Her shoulders locked.
Her eyes scanned the room.
Her breath shortened.
Sirens made her flinch.
Cold air rushing from the tunnel made her brace herself.
This is trauma you can see.
This is trauma you can feel.
This is trauma stored in a child’s nervous system because her last memory of the ground shaking was fire, screams, chaos, nowhere to run, and losing the man who protected her.
Saturday, I saw a child fighting for joy and a body fighting for safety at the same time.
Z and Ty are in weekly treatment, taking multiple medications a day, and undergoing ongoing surgeries all while their mother tries to hold this family together. And here is the reality most don’t know:
💔 They still do not have safe, secure housing.
💔 Mom cannot work as she is the full-time caregiver to two medically fragile children.
💔 Their older sister also cannot work given the complexity of the kids needs.
💔 They have no steady income, not even enough to cover daily basics.
💔 Every medical appointment, every bandage change, every meal is a sacrifice.
The city has moved on.
But this family is still living June 23rd every day.
Now, I want to be very clear:
As we enter this holiday season, I am overwhelmed with emotions and questions…
What about them?
What about two children learning to walk again in their own skin?
What about a family facing disability?
What about a mother grieving her partner while caring for two children whose bodies bear the scars of that day?
It has been 24 weeks.
I am writing to oppose the proposed development of 5 townhomes at West 47th Street and Taylor Court.
My primary objection is the use of tax abatements for this project. We live in a highly desirable neighborhood where demand already outstrips supply; buyers do not need financial incentives to move here. Granting abatements in a thriving market is fiscally irresponsible. It shifts the tax burden for schools and infrastructure onto long-term residents like myself, effectively forcing us to subsidize new luxury housing while our own costs rise.
Placing 5 units on these specific lots represents a density that is uncharacteristic of our street. Other developers have worked with the neighborhood block club and designed homes that better fit the historic nature of our street (which makes Ohio City a desirable place to live in the first place).
I am writing in objection to the proposed development of five townhomes on West 47th Street and Taylor Court. As a homeowner on West 47th Street I have had to watch two century homes damaged and left open to the elements until eventually being demolished this year. These were not unrepairable homes, and what happened to them is completely unacceptable. Our historic housing stock is an asset to the city. Do not set a precedent that developers who operate with a blatant disregard for the community, its residents, and its laws can do as they see fit with our neighborhood.
• The developer, DiGeronimo, should not be rewarded for being duplicitous, disrespectful, negligent, and dishonest. The developer purchased the properties and intentionally allowed the homes to fall into disrepair, over five years, to demolish them to maximize his ROI. In the meantime, the houses were dangerous and an eyesore.
• Five townhomes are too concentrated and not in keeping with the residential street. Three townhomes would be an appropriate size for redevelopment. In any case, DiGeronimo has ignored requests by the Block Club for updates or input.
• I vehemently oppose tax abatements for these units. There is enough of a market in the Ohio City neighborhood to attract residents without tax abatements. We have lived in our home, on W. 47th, for 20 years and have to shoulder the burden of constant tax hikes. It is unfair and unnecessary.
The City of Cleveland should prioritize the needs of residents over the desires of developers. As taxpayers we are supporting city services, raising our children in the city and advocating for the city. The City should advocate for its residents.
I DO NOT THINK WE SHOULD GIVE APPROVAL TO SOMEONE GOING THROUGH HOUSING COURT!!
1.) the street floods in this location to the point that home at 1820 and 1836 have had water at the top of their porches! Redfin rates this area as high flood zone
2.) there is not enough clearance in the alley with the other houses for 5 town house
3.) a multi family house would be more appropriate like a four plex similar to many houses on this street
4.) putting town houses where change the feel of the center of the street.
5.) the developer requesting this deviation purchase two house that sat vacant for almost a decade and didn’t pull permit to guy and start demo without official approval! They allowed an open pit to sit in a very family friend area and I don’t think the city should be giving people what they want when they miss treat our neighborhood!
Again our street has many four plex and multiplex that look like single family home that would be more appropriate for this area.
This is in reference to the parcels 1827 & 1832 West 47th Street. I think you should be armed with the full contextual history of this developer's conduct.
Both parcels are owned by Donnie DiGeronimo under DFDIG LLC. Same DiGeronimo family of DiGeronimo Companies, Independence Excavating, and donors to the Mayor's campaign.
He purchased 1831 in 2017, and 1827 in 2020 after years of pestering the woman that owned it prior to sell. He hired a crew to gut both structures shortly after and never took out permits. There was a large walnut tree they knocked into one of the houses. For years both sat empty and unlivable while the yards became overgrown with weeds and inhabited by animals. They excavated behind the house on 1831 that caused the soil beneath the neighbors fence to erode away, damaging the fence. The neighborhood filled out many 311 reports that finally gained them Building & Housing violations. There are currently 3 open Housing court cases against the owner. A month ago the two houses were finally demolished.
Mr. DiGeronimo and his team shared their plans a number of years ago to build 5 individual homes, 3 facing W47th, 2 facing Taylor court. Based on other development projects in the area we provided the feedback that 3 houses total may be more fitting. There is a minimum profit figure that Mr. DiGeronimo cited as the reason he can build no less density than what he is proposing. I see the language on the city council agenda now mentions townhomes so it may be fair to assume the plans have since changed. I have emailed and called Mr. DiGeronimo and his team in the past but they do not feel any obligation to be responsive.
A few key issues this all raises for me:
1 - Any opposition to development usually comes across as "NIMBYism". We are in favor of the parcels being developed in a way that enhances the neighborhood. Mr. DiGeronimo said we should be thankful since he figures our property values will increase. We are not investors, we are residents and this only means our taxes increase while these new structures get tax abatement. This gives an overall sense that those with money can come in and profit off the hard work that communities have put in and we are left holding the bill.
2 - It is a fact that we face a housing affordability/availability crisis. Mr. DiGeronimo rendered two houses unlivable via demolition by neglect. Three families could have been housed between the two structures (one was a duplex) for years. So it comes across as a joke that this developer would use this crisis to advocate for his project.
3 - The current development process is a complete mystery. I don't know how to hold the developer accountable, I don't think the developer even knows the process, as evident from the violations. But so far it seems as though he has been able to proceed without any oversight. The recent Housing Court cases inspire hope, but it seems that the new development will proceed in parallel.
I sincerely implore the powers that be refuse to allow this project to move any further until the existing cases settled, fines are paid, and infrastructure needs are met.
My name is Monica Mullins, and I am a resident, business owner, and nonprofit leader in Old Brooklyn. I am the Founder and Executive Director of the Ohio Selfie World Foundation, an organization that has served thousands of families, youth, entrepreneurs, young adults,seniors, and local artists in our community.
I am here today because, despite our dedication and impact, we have never received recognition, support, or even a simple acknowledgment from our council representative or the Old Brooklyn Development Center. Not once.
Our foundation has created free and low-cost programs, supported local families in crisis, served youth and creatives, workforce development, education, resources and brought diversity and inclusion to a neighborhood that needs it. And yet we have been told directly that we are being boycotted because we bring “too much diversity and inclusion” to Old Brooklyn.
Let me be clear:
Inclusion is not a threat. Diversity is not a problem. And supporting all residents should be a basic responsibility of leadership.
Our programs welcome everyone, regardless of race, gender, background, or circumstances. We are here to serve, uplift, and empower — not divide.
Over the past 3 years, I have invested my personal finances, sold my home , sacrificed my health, and poured my heart into helping this neighborhood and surrounding communities. We have applied for grants, sought collaborations, and reached out repeatedly for support — and we have been ignored or dismissed.
Recently, Its been brought to my attention that we only help Black People, Im l’m Caucasian and love everyone . Someone even approached me with a substantial offer of money to leave Old Brooklyn entirely. Imagine being told that instead of helping you grow your community work, the solution is to pay you to go away.
I also attended the recent Old Brooklyn city council meeting. Not a single person greeted me. The few I approached did not make me feel welcome at all. I came not as an outsider, but as a community leader, a resident, and a taxpayer who has done the work to uplift this neighborhood when no one else would.
Right now, my team and I are preparing to help 1,000 families for the holiday season. We have asked for donations, volunteers, and support. And the people stepping up? Most don’t even live in Old Brooklyn. Many are from other states. Meanwhile, our own community institutions remain silent.
This is unacceptable.
I am not here to point fingers or stir division.
I am here to demand dialogue, transparency, equity, and accountability.
Old Brooklyn deserves leadership that supports all community organizations — especially those that are providing real services and real solutions.
I am asking for:
• A meeting with our council representative
• Recognition of our nonprofit’s verified community impact
• Inclusion in neighborhood opportunities and collaborations
• An end to discriminatory practices, boycotts, and exclusion
• True partnership in the work of improving our neighborhood
Old Brooklyn is my home.
I have invested in it, served it, and fought for it.
I am asking that our leaders do the same.
Thank you.