Triozzi: Key and National City weren’t villainous enough to make Cleveland’s suit
When Mayor Frank Jackson announced that the city was suing 21 banks for predatory lending, the move seemed to spawn more questions than answers.
Readers naturally wondered why Cleveland’s National City and KeyBank were absent from the list of defendants? Until 2006, both were involved in the very subprime loans that have left thousands of city homes in foreclosure. At one point, National City’s CEO even said the bank would no longer lend in the city if the rules were tightened to protect homeowners. Can you say “redlining,” boys and girls? But Cleveland law director Robert Triozzi says the suit isn’t intended to give local villains a pass…
This article appears in Jan 16-22, 2008.
On the way home this AM on the north marginal road for I-90 in my neighborhood I noted that virtually EVERY block had at least one house boarded up. My own street has two board ups-down from three last summer.
The wave of foreclosures has worsened the visual appearance of my neighborhood which had already been slowly but steadily deteriorating for years. I am totally surrounded by signs of decline. A rusting junk car has been languishing in the driveway of a neighboring duplex for the past two years. Last year the rotten back porch of an occupied rental home behind my residence literally fell off. It has not been replaced. Another home behind mine has been abandoned for months. Its second floor porch door wide open with the screen torn. Complaints to City Hall about the junk car were met with inertia so I’ve said nothing about the rest.
Cleveland pols make hay by suing wall street for creating vacant, run down properties but where’s the help for property owners who are struggling to maintain their homes?
After living in North Collinwood for nearly 15 years I’ve decided to sell and leave while I still have any equity left.