Month: March 2011

Categories
Business News Politics

Cincinnati Park Board implements innovative budget-saving measures to spare cuts

City governments across the United States have been struggling with budget deficits for years as the economy has struggled. Those struggles will more than likely worsen for Cincinnati, and other cities in Ohio, as they deal with a 50 percent reduction in state support.

Parks are one of those locally impacted items. For 2011, the Cincinnati Park Board saw a 34 percent cut to its general fund as city officials looked to close a budget deficit. Fortunately, park officials were able to avoid closing any parks and maintain its current number of employees through a variety of innovative measures.

“A 34 percent cut in the park board’s budget is fairly typical for what we are seeing around the country – perhaps even worse than average,” stated Peter Harnik, Director, Center for City Park Excellence with the Trust for Public Land.

One of the innovative measures employed by the Cincinnati Park Board is a new program that is utilizing student labor from the University of Cincinnati. The 75 students, park officials say, are able to gain career-related experience while the park board maintains its service levels. The students’ wages are 75 percent paid through a federal grant, while the park board picks up the remaining amount.

“Substituting partially-federally-subsidized student workers for traditional park workers is certainly a creative approach to a very bad problem,” Harnik said.

The director of the Center for City Park Excellence also expressed concern that the 75 student positions might be replacing higher-paid, and potentially, family-supporting workers.

“Nevertheless, from the parks’ perspective, it’s a very good solution, and the agency’s creativity and can-do attitude is to be applauded.”

To help deal with budget cuts the park board is also implementing new trash collection policies, implementing the national Leave No Trace program, and reducing operations at some parks throughout the city.

Piatt Park photograph by UrbanCincy contributor Thadd Fiala.

Categories
News Opinion

Cincinnati Brain Drain: Neil Clingerman

For those of you who don’t already know, over the last 10 to 20 years a large part of one of Cincinnati’s most historic neighborhoods has been lost. Back when I was in college, around 2005 or so, block after block of old houses were destroyed around the University of Cincinnati in order to develop new housing for students and young professionals. One of the hardest hit areas was Corryville, where literally about every other morning I’d be woken up by the high pitched sounds of construction equipment tearing through layer after layer of solidly built brick.

At that point in time Cincinnati was at a low point: the riots were still fresh in everyone’s memory, crime was way up, many cool places had shutdown due to “slowed business” and anyone who was young was jaded about what Cincinnati had to offer to those of us not enamored of living the suburban lifestyle.

These demolitions are what made me the most bitter about the city. When I was a kid, I lived in Warren County, and visited both Dayton and Cincinnati with my parents. Dayton was never a draw for me – it kind of felt just like many other older towns I also visited, like Columbus, or Indianapolis.

Cincinnati was different. I loved the city; it felt like a visualization of how a “big city” was always presented as in popular media, with its many densely built brick townhouses and apartments, and it felt like the place I could go to escape the overly manicured, sterile and cold humdrum of suburbia.

When presented with an option of what university I wanted to go to, part of my decision was based upon living in Cincinnati because of its character and urbanity. These demolitions took away that character and replaced it with something I could find in the suburb I grew up in. As a result I wanted very badly to leave and I did in 2007 after graduating. I felt as though Cincinnati had no future as it was throwing away its best asset, its built environment.

In talking with people down in Cincinnati about the city, over and over again I got the same opinion; “This place sucks”, “Cincinnati is no fun”, “This place doesn’t have anything to offer me as a young person”. When I presented to people how beautiful the architecture was they’d respond with a shrug. One person I knew even proposed turning OTR into a giant parking lot.

All of this negativity made me feel like I was powerless to make a difference against the march of redevelopment that was being lead by developers like Uptown Properties to turn Corryville from a classy but somewhat run down urban neighborhood, into a suburban-like wasteland of student apartment complexes and the occasional “fast casual restaurant”.

Fast forward a few years later. I’ve traveled to almost all of the great cities in the US, and now live in one of them; Chicago. While Chicago is great, I kept wanting to find a neighborhood that was like a restored Over-the-Rhine or Corryville. While there are places that come close, nothing really has the classic grandeur of those neighborhoods in Cincinnati. Traveling to the East Coast was a different story. I was met with large areas in famous cities like Boston and New York City that felt like larger and more lively versions of what I left behind in southwest Ohio.

Recently I decided use to Google StreetView to see how many US cities actually had the kind of built form and character Cincinnati had. Upon doing this, I found a lot more “Indianapolises” than “Cincinnatis”. I came to the conclusion that almost all the other cities that had Cincinnati’s level of urban character were nationally known places; Savannah, Charleston, New Orleans, Boston, San Francisco, and parts of Brooklyn.

I found out that Cincinnati was in the same league as major tourist destinations that drew tourists and residents alike to them for their beautiful old buildings. The question I began to ask was, why is Cincinnati not part of the party? Why is Cincinnati not thought of in the national consciousness at least at the level of Savannah as a place to go to be immersed in an old beautiful urban environment?

I felt that the answer was that Cincinnatians don’t care enough about their amazing assets to really use then to their full potential, and that the nonchalant way that Corryville was being demolished block by block was a symptom of one of the city’s biggest ills.

More recently, I’ve noticed an increased awareness and interest in Cincinnati’s history. With this increased awareness I took a few tours of OTR when I was in town, and realized just how important Cincinnati was in its heyday. This renewed interest in Cincinnati’s history, combined with a growing preservationist movement, made me passionate to work towards righting the wrongs that were committed against my old neighborhood in Cincinnati – Corryville.

It is up to city council, the city manager, and the mayor to fix the regulations currently in place that allow our historic buildings to be torn down at such an alarming rate. Ensuring that these wrongs that are being committed against the urban assets that could make Cincinnati a nationally known city, be stopped dead in their tracks.

If you show your support towards preservation and against demolitions, Cincinnati would be in a far better position to sell itself as one of the most beautiful places in the Midwest. If developers like Uptown Properties continue to get their way, Cincinnati will be a fading memory, a once grand proud city, dying away, slowly being turned into a wasteland of failed projects and failed dreams- a place that is no longer unique or culturally significant on a national scale.

Last weekend, I was talking with friends about how our generation handles civic duty. In this discussion, I brought up the activism I’ve been working on for preservation in Cincinnati. A waitress in her 20s or early 30s, paused and asked me to provide more detail. She then told me that she used to live in Cincinnati and was shocked anyone down there actually believed in how amazing the city’s built environment was and how it could be used to the city’s advantage.

She had felt that the attitude in Cincinnati was one of destroying it all, and was afraid that rumors she had heard of Over-the-Rhine being completely demolished would come true. She finally felt that if the city and its citizens actually cared about what made Cincinnati great, then maybe people like me and her wouldn’t be chased away from it. It was an interesting random encounter I had up in Chicago that made an excellent point. Cincinnati is losing population, enough people don’t like living there that they want to leave. The question that should be asked instead is what can Cincinnati do to make itself draw people again? The answer lies in part in preservation of its best asset: its historic architecture.

Here I am in Chicago. I could very easily not care about Cincinnati anymore as I don’t live there. Yet, Cincinnati is so unique as a city that it should do everything in its power to preserve that uniqueness. This uniqueness makes it not only an issue of local significance but of national significance too, as neglect of its high quality old buildings will cause this country to lose one of its greatest treasures.

The city council meeting earlier this week was exactly about this kind of issue. It’s about preserving the beauty of Cincinnati so that everyone in this country can enjoy it and consider living in it, and so that people who live in and around Cincinnati can be proud of it’s grand old buildings like the ones slated for demolition in Corryville as a hallmark feature of their great city.

Neil Clingerman is a 27-year-old IT professional working in the Financial Industry who lives in Chicago, but never fully took his heart away from Cincinnati. He was born and raised in southwest Ohio, and moved to Chicago after graduating from college in 2007 at the University of Cincinnati with a BBA in Information Systems. He describes himself as someone who is passionate about many different subjects including history, cities, politics and culture.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

‘End Days’ a quirky ETC production featuring young talent

End Days, a play by Deborah Zoe Laufer, is an amusing and philosophical comedy now showing at the Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati. The divinely inspired comedy by Deborah Zoe Laufer enjoys its regional premiere at the Ensemble from March 16-April 2, 2011. It is directed by guest director Michael Evan Haney, Associate Artistic Director at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.

The show features two young local actors who both make a stunning debut at the Ensemble. Lily Hidalgo plays the lead, Rachel Stein, and is a freshman at St. Ursula Academy. Her character’s beau, nerdy Nelson, is played by Richard Lowenburg, a skilled magician and seasoned performer having worked with Playhouse in the Park, CCM Prep, SCPA, Xavier University, and Cincinnati Music Theater, attends the School for Creative and Performing Arts.

Other performers include Amy Warner and Barry Mulholland playing Rachel’s parents, and Michael G. Bath in an interesting double billed role as both Jesus and Stephen Hawking.

End Days tells the story of the dysfunctional Stein family, who left New York after 9/11. With a depressed father and a newly religious mother, youngster Rachel Stein has nowhere to turn but her teenage angst and her obnoxious, Elvis-impersonating neighbor, Nelson.

When Nelson persuades Rachel to read Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time, she becomes interested in physics. Eventually he ingratiates himself in the Stein family. With the help of a secret confidante, the family and friends join and realize that togetherness can make life worthwhile, even despite a coming apocalypse.

End Days was awarded the 2008 American Theatre Critics Association Steinberg Citation. It received its NYC premiere at Ensemble Studio Theatre through an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Grant. End Days is listed in the Burns Mantle Yearbook as one of the best regional plays of 2008, and is published in The Best Plays of 2008.

With great acting and fantastic lighting, the show had audience members laughing out loud. Get down to ETC and enjoy this regional premiere for a rollicking good time and look at life, love and faith.

End Days is on stage now through April 3 at Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, located in historic Over-the-Rhine at 1127 Vine St. in the Gateway Quarter. Ticket Information
Single tickets are $34 to $42, depending on the day. Children’s tickets are $16 for all performances.

Rush Tickets: $15 rush tickets are available for all performances 15 minutes prior to curtain and are subject to availability. Senior/ student, Cincinnati Public Radio Perks Card, ArtsWave Fun Card, AAA, and Enjoy the Arts discounts available. ETC accepts all major credit cards, Over-the-Rhine Merchant gift cards, and Downtown Cincinnati gift cards. Group rates are available for 10 or more people.

Patrons may purchase tickets in person at the ETC box office, by calling (513) 421-3555, or online.

image provided by ETC.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

University of Cincinnati Urban Design Exhibition at The McAlpin Condominiums

The University of Cincinnati’s top-ranked Interior Design program took center stage this Wednesday at the inauguration of a month-long Urban Design Exhibition at The McAlpin Condominiums downtown.

Students from UC’s nationally renowned College of Design, Art, Architecture & Planning (DAAP) opened a showcase of over 25 unique designs proposals for a 3,350 square-foot high-end condominium and 4,500 square-foot mezzanine retail venue. These two spaces, both currently awaiting development, sit within the historic McAlpin Building, which was originally constructed between 1859 and 1873 by architects James McLaughlin and James Keys Wilson, to house the John Shillito Company and the Robert Mitchell Furniture Company.

With a nod to the building’s rich architectural heritage and historical acclaim, the current Urban Design Exhibition gives a younger generation of local designers the chance to try their own hand at proposing a designing for the structure’s redevelopment. In Wednesday night’s opening ceremony six awards were given to Interior Design students whose work received acclaim from the property’s developers, local design educators, and the general public.

“The opportunity to work with so many young minds to explore so many creative designs has been terrific” Joseph Straka, head developer for 4J Redevelopment at McAlpin, remarked at the exhibit’s opening. “We thrive on innovative design.”

And with so many inventive development schemes, who could disagree? “How many interior design students across the country have the opportunity to design in a renovated 150-year-old building in the heart of the urban core?” asked Geoff Scholl, 4J’s project manager at the McAlpin. “When UC’s School of Architecture & Interior Design inquired about using our shell mezzanine retail space and one of the unfinished residential units we were happy to oblige, both for our benefit and students’.”

Rachel Harris, a second year Interior Design student whose work was featured in the Urban Design Exhibition, concurred, explaining how beneficial it was to be given the opportunity to take on the challenge of designing for a real interior space.

“By working with the developers of the McAlpin we were able to fully understand their plans for the space,” she said, gesturing to the whitewashed walls of the exhibit that will one day be transformed into tiled and painted finishes of an upscale urban condominium, “after experiencing the space in person I was actually able to picture myself inside while developing my design.”

“This is the real world,” remarked Professor Edson Cabalfin, one of several University of Cincinnati Interior Design educators in attendance, “and this studio provided an exciting experience for students to be in the space they are actually designing for.”

Scholl couldn’t agree more, and added that from a developer’s perspective, “partnering with a local institution like DAAP gives young students experience while providing us with ideas and designs that are on the cutting edge.”

Mayor Mark Mallory was also present to give a keynote speech. He summed up the excitement of the event by saying that the innovative designs produced by the University of Cincinnati’s Interior Design students are part of his vision for “putting creative young minds to work… the students at the University of Cincinnati have been given a voice in this design challenge and have shown their desire to step up and make an impact.” He continued, adding that, “Cincinnati needs to reduce its brain drain and take advantage of the young local talent by allowing students and young graduates to do meaningful work in high-profile urban spaces such as The McAlpin Condominiums.”

Since re-opening several years ago as a premier downtown residence, the McAlpin has also served as host for past Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon receptions, several Opening Day celebrations, as well as scores of Downtown Residents Council and Business Chamber events.

Scholl continued his praise for the Interior Design program, boasting “not many cities have a top five design school like DAAP, let alone one that willingly extends itself to its community. When we heard that the university was looking to do not one, but two studios in the McAlpin, we seized the opportunity to help them increase their presence in Cincinnati while providing us the benefit of being the backdrop against which their talents were shined.”

“We’ve worked with nationally recognized professional designers in the past,” added Straka in his opening speech, to a gallery packed with over two-hundred eager visitors, “and honestly, some of the work represented by these students tonight is on par with, or better, than what we have seen anywhere else in the country.”

The Urban Design Exhibition at the McAlpin will run through April 3rd at the McAlpin Condominums, 15 W. 4th Street in downtown Cincinnati. Contact mailto: g.scholl@themcalpin.com with questions or inquiries regarding the ongoing Urban Design Exhibition.

Urban Design Exhibition photograph by UrbanCincy contributor Jake Mecklenborg.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

2011 Tunes & Blooms concert schedule released

With spring just around the corner it is almost time again for the nationally-acclaimed Cincinnati Zoo to host their outdoor concert series Tunes & Blooms, sponsored by 89.7FM WNKU.

This series of concerts runs during the month of April on Thursday evenings at 6pm. The music plays just inside the zoo’s recently renovated historic Vine Street Village entrance. All those interested in attending are treated to free admission after 5pm.

While all acts are local to Cincinnati and play numerous shows around town, the opportunity to catch them for free and outside as the weather starts to turn is a unique experience. The full schedule can be found online.  Two of the bands are “can’t-miss” Cincinnati acts, which both performed at South by Southwest (SXSW) this week in Austin, Texas.

The first of these two bands, Walk the Moon, performs on April 14 with the No No Knots. Since their official album release of “I Want, I Want” late last year, these guys have won over crowd after crowd in Cincinnati and are starting to win them over outside of their hometown too. Aside from playing at SXSW this year, they also recently signed a management deal with Mick Management, which is a boutique firm that works with a small stable of artists, including John Mayer and Ray LaMontagne. Things are happening at a lightning pace for Walk the Moon, and the sky seems to be the limit, so take this time to catch them in an intimate outdoor setting, as they put on a phenomenal live show.

The following Thursday, April 21, another band that has been gaining national respect, albeit at a little bit of a slower pace, The Seedy Seeds will take the stage at the zoo. They too played SXSW and recently released their newest album “Verb Noun” at the Southgate House. The Seeds, as they are affectionately known to their ardent fans, play a unique style of music that has been referred to as “folktronica” and it should translate well when they take the stage with The Tillers in a little over a month.

Tunes & Blooms offers free admission, but parking costs $8 at the zoo’s official parking lot. Conert goers are welcomed to bring their own food to the concerts to further enjoy the spring weather in Uptown. Those choosing not to drive can utilize Metro’s Trip Planner or find free bicycle parking nearby.

Tunes & Blooms photograph by UrbanCincy contributor Thadd Fiala.