Hundreds protest Shoreway Shopping Center’s ‘slumlords’
Stephen Szucs | The Chronicle-Telegram
SHEFFIELD LAKE — The mailboxes of Shoreway Shopping Center owners Marc Levin and James Ratner should soon be stuffed full of mail from Sheffield Lake.
Postcards preprinted with their addresses were passed out to hundreds of Sheffield Lake residents who flocked to the shopping center Monday in an effort to convince the owners to sell what many called a defunct “eyesore” ravaging the city’s economy.
“A lot of the signs you’re carrying make reference to slumlords holding the city hostage,” said Sheffield Lake Mayor John Piskura from atop a flatbed semitrailer. “The truth of the matter is they’ve been playing games with this city for over 30 years.”
Piskura asked residents to fill out the cards, supplied by a city resident, to help spur a reaction from the owners.
“It’s one of the last things we haven’t tried,” he said after the rally. “We need to raise awareness because I don’t think the beneficiaries of the trust (who own the shopping center) know what’s going on here. I think when they do, they’ll take interest and do something.”
Only six of the center’s 21 storefronts are occupied, but much of the anthem for change came after the July announcement that Giant Eagle — the center’s anchor tenant and the city’s largest employer at 60 employees — would vacate the property Nov. 1.
The Levin Family Trust in McLean, Va., owns 76 percent of the shopping center, while the Ratner family, which owns Forest City Enterprises in Cleveland, owns the rest.
Piskura told the crowd that the city has tried for years to get the inattentive owners to sell it, but they have pulled out repeatedly.
“Levin and Ratner need to change their ways, or we need to get them out of our city,” Piskura said.
Resident Debbie Belaska helped coordinate the rally and made 1,400 phone calls to residents to get the word out.
While busily passing out signs depicting a rat sticking a nail through a heart with Sheffield Lake written on it, Belaska told another resident the community needs to stick to its guns.
“We need to make the effort,” she said. “This is what it’s all about — our community.”
Mark J. Erdei, a 52-year-old resident from Sheffield Lake, took the opportunity to address the crowd, and re-emphasized the potential behind the 20-acre property.
“You always hear the phrase, ‘If you build it they will come,’ ” he said. “We will come.”
Contact Stephen Szucs at 329-7129 or sszucs@chroniclet.com.
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Filed by Stephen Szucs | The Chronicle-Telegram August 19th, 2008 in Top Stories. Popularity: 12% |
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Comments
Comment from
johnbear
August 19, 2008, 8:37 am
Folks, I hate to burst the bubble, BUT! At one time, this shopping center was full and I remember it well. Well, these places did not close because they were making tons of money. If you were truly coming, it would still be full. It will never be rebuilt and nothing is going in there to lose money, which is guaranteed!! The best solution is to demolish now and turn into a park to complement the empty docks across the street. IT’S ALL OVER!
Comment from
Big T
August 19, 2008, 9:43 am
If these people see so much potential, why don’t they buy the place out and do what they please with it.
They are not entitled to a shopping center. If there were potential to make money there, someone would be doing exactly that. These people need to get a job and find a new place to shop.
Comment from
Dan S.
August 19, 2008, 1:38 pm
I wasn’t sure of what it was the protesters wanted, until I read the article a second time.
It seems the mayor wants the owners of the property to sell.
Well, now that’s just fine and dandy!
Why doesn’t the mayor get up on the back of that truck and list all of the offers that have been made to buy the broke down property?
This politician accuses the owners of playing games.
What kind of game exactly?
How is it determined who the “winner” of the game is?
This mayor reminds me of an 11 girl, in some kind of after school special called “Save the Dolphins” or “Let Your Tiny Voice Be Heard.”
Is the city using any of the property for government offices, a charity based youth center or a police substation?
If not, maybe they can work out a deal where the unused properties can be rented to the city, with all rent monies going towards improving the property as a whole.
Seems, they’d rather throw a huge temper tantrum instead.
Does anyone really believe their post card is going to be read, for any reasons other than having a good laugh?
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