August 20, 2018 [Courtney Astolfi, cleveland.com]
EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio — Eighty homes within a 15-block radius are being torn down in a push by the Cuyahoga Land Bank to clear out a swath of blighted properties in this impoverished suburb.
The demolitions began in July and will conclude at the end of October. Dozens of houses have already been cleared out in the neighborhood between Shaw, Manhattan, Scioto and Hayden avenues.
And on Monday, officials held a news conference to talk about the effort and celebrate what has been accomplished.
East Cleveland Mayor Brandon King grew up in the neighborhood, and called it “the belly of the beast” for abandoned and vacant homes, due to the high concentration of houses in need of demolition in such a small area.
Though it is bittersweet to see the demolition of homes of families he knew as a child, King said the effort was a necessary step to make way for the future of East Cleveland.