Saturday, June 21, 2008

Portune’s follow-up on the WLWT report

Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati

Yesterday, before knowing when WLWT’s report about handicapped accessibility would air, we contacted Todd Portune for comment.  Here is the letter he sent in response to The Cincinnati Beacon.

[Dean]:

Kelly Leon, formerly of Chanel 5, and now the PR person for 3CDC, was sent to be the 3CDC representative.  Kelly is a very nice person who wanted to emphasize all of the good things happening in Cincinnati.  She also expressed 3CDC’s desire that I had come to them first if I still had a concern about the garage, or if I felt they had not done what they had represented they would do.

I responded rather directly that I had gone to them and received assurances that the matter would be dealt with but they did not do so.  The facts are the facts.

3CDC also wanted to make sure that Channel 5 not depict the entire issue as 3CDC’s fault, asserting that the failure to have taken advantage of $43 million and address the lack of handicap access to the Westin from the garage was the city’s fault.

To her credit, Kelly was visibly distressed about the conditions in the garage that expose people with disabilities to severe safety hazards and about the lack of any appropriate signage warning people that the curb cuts at the 5th street entrance area take you to a steep flight of steps - a “road to nowhere” for people with disabilities.

The specific issues I pointed out were:

1.  Handicap spaces in locations that force wheelchair bound persons to navigate blind curves in traffic to get to a curb cut;
2.  Handicap spaces without any, or in other cases handicap spaces without adequate, striping adjacent to the space to ensure that a wheelchair bound person can get out of and back into a vehicle;
3.  Inadequate signage marking the location of handicap spaces, or conversely, markings that lure people with disabilities to certain doorways, or elevators, only to find that they, in turn, only lead to non-navigable flights of steps; and
4.  The ongoing failure to have provided for any handicap access to the Westin when able-bodied persons have direct access.

John London documented all of this.  Kelly Leon promised me I would hear back from 3CDC about what they would do and when they would do it.

Todd

P.S.  On another front I read the article in the June 2008 Streetvibes about the personnel agency and other local company that are forcing immigrants into slave-like working and living conditions.  I tendered a formal request to open an ivestigation into the issue to US Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Greg Lockhardt; to Ohio Attorney General Nancy Rogers; to Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters and Sheriff Simon Leis.  The conditions are deplorable and, I suspect, illegal.

Socializer!

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R says:
21 Jun 2008  at  03:57 pm | #

I appreciate Commissioner Portune’s efforts, as I said in a previous post, but something in this sounded too much like what I went thru with my cancer event.

First, When I asked the City Mangers office via e-mail whom I would contact regarding the Square, and what I would do, I recieved a frantic phone call from the Manger of Fountain Square, worried that I had voiced a complaint to him . I didn’t, but in hindsight , I might as well have. It was voiced to me by Bill, with great concern, that the city not think that they ( Fountain Square mangement) was not doing it’s job.  He was fanatical about that perception

I was also told “it was the cities fault”, and the e-mail that is posted on the Beacon( and that is only ONE single document, there are many more) clearly shows that the fault lies with the Square management, who did not disclose a meeting in which major road construction was switched so it would not impact one event, to a date that would impact mine.  In Fact, the Square Mangement denied ever knowing or attending the meeting, which again, the e-mail clearly states that he had. I was told, it was the cities fault.  It was everyone in the cities fault, but no one at 3cdc, Fountain Square managemnt. This was a blatant lie.

So,When I hear another “ please dont let them say it was 3CDC fault, and while I would trust the Commissioners perception, I got a completely different perception .  The statement below sounded exactly like the one I got from Bill. 

“3CDC also wanted to make sure that Channel 5 not depict the entire issue as 3CDC’s fault, asserting that the failure to have taken advantage of $43 million and address the lack of handicap access to the Westin from the garage was the city’s fault. “ The Garage ramp IS 3cdc’s fault.

It has been my experience that they are very quick to get defensive . Why?  They don’t get any press that is negitive, and as this story is a prime example of what should be in the newspaper, and on every television station, Kelly wants to “ make sure that channel 5 does not depict the entire issue as 3CDC fault.” Failing to take advantage of 43 million and address the lack of handicap access ...... “ Are they not in Charge of the garage?  are they not in charge of the square?  Were they not in charge of the project?  The documents I have seen sure say they are, in Justins and Deans video, even the Employee’s say this is their Garage. She said “ this is a private garage”.. I also heard something like “ did you get permission to video tape, and one the the guys “said from who?”.  She replied 3cdc.  So that certainly would imply a direction to notify if anyone is filming etc etc.  They say it’s there garage, the are, and were management of the project, so now it is the cities fault?  What’s going on here?

Commissioner Portune and the Beacon brought this to their attention over a year and a half ago. Were they not distressed then at the Safety hazzard? A post recently from the Square manager indicates not. “ Before you make an a** out of yourself , go get a professional to explain to you ADA code.....” ?

This is TEXTBOOK why the pledge to have an oversight board for 3cdc and the Fountain Square Mangement should be implemented immediately. I hope I wouldn’t have to mention that the oversight board not include memebers of 3cdc, but I am going to say it.

There is something seriously wrong going on here and this would be one of those instances where it would be time to be proactive and not reactive.  Something is not right.

I found it strange that someone is distressed WLWT was going to actually do a negative story, and she was “distressed?  Why ?  distressed is an interesting word when it is used in conjuction with a negative story about 3CDC . Its a shame out of town Newspapers have to be the one’s looking into all this .  I think the local press should also dig into these people a little closer . Some interesting things.

I do thank the Commissioner for staying on this, but I also think it is time for someone to disclose the story.

All I wanted was a written Appology.  Never got one, and doesn’t look like I will.  a YEAR and a HALF, and the issue is not corrected.

Once again, alot of people should be ashamed of themselves, and at the same time, alot of people are doing the right thing and looking out for their community.  They ashamed group, once again… You know who you are.

Curt Braman says:
22 Jun 2008  at  02:18 pm | #

Commissioner Portune,
If you are following this thread, I would like to comment on the Postscript to your post above:

“P.S.  On another front I read the article in the June 2008 Streetvibes about the personnel agency and other local company that are forcing immigrants into slave-like working and living conditions.  I tendered a formal request to open an ivestigation into the issue to US Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Greg Lockhardt; to Ohio Attorney General Nancy Rogers; to Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters and Sheriff Simon Leis.  The conditions are deplorable and, I suspect, illegal.”

Its admirable that you deplore the unjust treatment of the Cincinnati Processing workers, and have referred the matter to the appropriate legal entities. As you know legal and regulatory remedies for exploited workers have been seriously eroded over the last several decades. In addition, the barriers to unionization have been raised by lax National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) enforcement, and when enforced, often, minimal penalties for employers and their ant-union lawyers and PR firms.

The case, reported in Steetvibes, came to light through the efforts of the Streetvibes staff, and through those of a citizen’s Workers Rights Board, an independent board that is dedicated to listening to workers’ testimony about abusive workplaces, and if warranted bring their concerns to the employer and to the community. This Board was organized by the Cincinnati Interfaith Worker Centers and the Butler & Warren Counties Workers Center with the invaluable assistance of the United Food & Commercial Workers, Local 1099. It has evolved into an independent body and continues to seek justice for all low wage workers, primarily, in Butler and Warren Counties.

Commissioner, your leadership in developing a similar Workers Rights Board in Hamilton County and the City of Cincinnati would offer workers the same kind of venue to seek justice through the good will and moral vision of our community. There are workers that find themselves outside the protections of union contracts without ready access to legal or regulatory representation. It would say much about Hamilton county if working people had the ear and support of a group of local Civil Rights, Religious and Community leaders as they struggle to provide for themselves and their families.

I’m sure the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center would work with you to make Hamilton County a leader in the movement for worker justice.

Sincerely,
Curt Braman

P.S. Many of the people effected by the companies referred to in the article are not immigrants. They are Puerto Ricans, and of course, US citizens.

R says:
24 Jun 2008  at  11:43 am | #

They fix it yet?