April 14, 2011
Mayor Mike Bell
One Government Center
640 Jackson
Suite 2200
Toledo, Ohio 43604
Re: Stratford Place, Old West End, Toledo Ohio
Dear Mayor Bell,
I am writing to you today to express my concern for the safety of my family, neighbors and neighborhood and to ask for your help. My husband, 4 ½ year old son and I live on Stratford Place in Toledo’s Old West End. Stratford Place has been a wonderful one block street between Parkwood and Scottwood Avenues, although we now fear living in the City and are considering our options. We really want to stay in the City of Toledo, but we have to protect our child from further trauma.
On January 12, 2011, at 12:00 in the afternoon, the steel back door of our house was kicked in and our belongings were stolen. Nearly $9,000 worth of electronics, a few pieces of jewelry including a very sentimental diamond ring, miscellaneous items, and cash were stolen or destroyed. Thankfully no one was hurt, although we feel violated beyond belief. We do have homeowners insurance, but the “good feelings” about the neighborhood are tarnished. After this incident, we had a security system installed in our home.
The Old West End has an Email Alert System, tirelessly monitored by a fellow neighbor. Over the past 6-8 months, we have been alerted of what seems like dozens of robberies or attempted robberies, many more than I have ever heard about in our 9 years living in the Old West End.
This past Saturday, April 9th, at 4:30 pm, our house was broken into again. This time they broke a window in one of our front door side lights, gained entry and violently hacked into our interior wall with an axe to disable our new alarm system. When the door was opened and the thieves walked in, our alarm and motion sensors were set off and our security company dispatched the police to our home. The police arrived promptly (I love the City of Toledo Police), within 10-12 minutes as near as I can tell. My husband and 4 ½ year old son were at the park and I was out running errands when this happened. We arrived home to 4 law enforcement cruisers in our front lawn only to find ourselves again robbed of electronics and irreplaceable heirlooms, victimized but alive.
The Old West End is truly a gem of a neighborhood. The largest collection of late Victorian, Edwardian and Arts & Crafts homes make this neighborhood one of the most beautiful areas in the United States. The Old West End is on the National Register of Historic Places. The rich and glorious history, architecture, and people, make this a wonderful place to live. The Old West End is home to countless historic homes and churches, the Mansion View Inn, The Toledo Museum of Art, the Toledo Symphony Orchestra TMA Peristyle, Rosary Cathedral, Collingwood Arts Center, etc. and has recently been featured in a 3 part series in American Bungalow Magazine. Our neighborhood hosts the Old West End Festival, Garden Tours, Concerts in the Arboretum, and Tours De Noel, all of which bring countless visitors from all around who put money back into our neighborhood and surrounding businesses.
We love our neighborhood. We love our neighbors. We love living in a front-porch community. We are proud to live in such a beautiful and diverse area. We had no intention of leaving our wonderful neighborhood, but we are scared and worried how to manage our trauma and how to see a safe future for our child within the City of Toledo.
The economic downturn has definitely taken its toll on our wonderful neighborhood, with foreclosures, boarded up homes, and now…more crime than we ever imagined.
As the Chief of the Toledo Fire and Rescue Department for 16 years and the lead for Homeland Security efforts in our region after the September 11 terrorist attacks, it is apparent that the safety of our great City is of utmost importance to you. I know the City of Toledo Police Department monitors our area. We also have block watches in place and the Old West End Security. While all of these efforts are greatly appreciated, they are not enough. Please help us!
Several of the notices received from our Email Alert System state that witnesses have seen 3 teenage/mid-twenty year old males with hooded sweatshirts and backpacks approach houses and knock on the door. It appears their MO is to make up a name and ask if that person is there if someone answers the door. If no one answers, they attempt to make entry. The thieves efforts have been thwarted on occasion by brave neighbors.
My parents taught me the same valuable lessons you live by, that you must treat people fairly and nothing good comes easy. Our family and home have been violated by people who do not live by these same lessons. I am now fearful to be in my home and fearful to be away from my home. This is no way for anyone to live. We are good people, we work hard for our possessions, we pay our bills, we help when needed, and we volunteer. We do our part to be upstanding citizens of the great City of Toledo and the wonderful Old West End.
I ask that you increase security in our area and that you consider addressing one of our monthly neighborhood meetings to let us know what is being done to help the wonderful people of the Old West End win this fight against crime. I know there are countless people in our neighborhood who would like to know what additional measures the City of Toledo is taking, or will be taking, to keep us safe.
Thank you in advance for your immediate attention to this matter. My family, and the residents of the Old West End look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Deb Owens-Newland
Proud Resident of Toledo’s Old West End
Ct: Chief Michael Navarre, Chief of Police
1 comment:
"dear Mayor Bell" my name is stephanie cole,my address is 958 Dix Lane,toledo,ohio 43609 my home phone number is 419-290-8053,my email address is tanyatalks2U@aol.com...i am writing to you because i don't know what else to do or who else i can talk to about my situation....In 2008 i was put in a 1st time home ownership program where my home could be reparied at no cost to me,i was put in the lead program by betty galloway because all my grandchildren tested positive for lead i completed the program and recieved a certificate.I had a lot of people from the city come to my house to see what all needed to be done,they replaced the furnance because of a carbon monoxide leak they redone the electrical wiring,they said they would be back to do my basement because of the mold and termite damage and redo my front porch because of the lead paint and foundation that has crumbled,i was told by my homeowners insurance company that my insurance would be cancelled if the problem was not corrected and i expressed this to betty galloway,jodi pruitt,toni thomas,larry wagner and councilman martinez,since my homeowners insurance has been cancelled i have been contacting all these people at the goverment bldg.and i was told that the contractor who got the bid and said that the front porch was done i have told everyone all they have to do is come to my house and see that the work was not and still has not been done,i was told by larry wagner that someone was coming to my house to take pitcures to verify that this work was done i have not seen or heard from anyone and my front porch is falling apart,and my homeowners insurance has been cancelled after 15 years and i am on a fixed income and can not afford to pay the lump sum that it cost to start a new policy!!!!Mayor Bell i need my front porch reparied since the money was allotted to have it done and these people seem to think that it was done and payed for by the city program!!!!i recieved a phone call from larry wagner to go into another program to have the front porch done and take out a loan and the city would put a lien on my house untill i pay the loan back!!!!Mayor Bell this is not the program i was initally in nor do i want to be in i want my front porch done and all the lead removed i am still raising 5 grandchildren from 10 years to 2 years old and i have raised all my children in this house, and i don't know who's front porch was reparied but it was not mine Mayor Bell can you PLEASE help me get this work done....ThankYou,Sincerly,StephanieCole
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