Larry Petrus's Ideas for Improving Cleveland

Dear Sirs: This concerns the downtown area. First of all, Putting up a lot of boutiques and more restaurants isn't going to do it. All those do is fill the pockets of the owners or whoever put up the money and cater to the tastes of suburban folk. There's enough of those kind of eateries already and they only segregate people from the rest of the community. There's a parking lot, I believe , just west of the square that could be converted into a park. There and the square should be made family friendly where perhaps some outdoor sculpture designed for kids are installed. A competition could be held for that. The idea is to attract families who can stroll down paths or sit on benches and just converse with others. Instead of having art shows in some far off town south of Cleveland, invite them to set up on the Square on special days in the summer, and have an art Fest with music. Also invite the art group of Cain Park to do the same. Get a jazz group out of the dark bistros in the Warehouse District and have them play on the Square, or even a combo from the Institute of Music. Homeless Grapevine could set up a booth. Some homeless should be screened and organized to take turns to man the booth and perhaps serve coffee and just show folk that they are real people too. The whole idea is People. Do things for the people and not just think in terms of money and providing investment opportunities for entrepreneurs. What we need to do is not for them and their profit, but for the people for their soul. That's the key to success for Improving Cleveland. Sincerely, Larry Petrus, Rocky River.