CLEVELAND — Residents and leadership in Cleveland's Buckeye neighborhood are on a mission to keep the Huntington Bank branch from leaving their community.
Bank customers and residents told News 5 they were stunned when they received a notice that the Buckeye Road branch was planning to close permanently on Feb. 9, 2024.
Huntington customers spent the day on December 13 in the branch parking lot taking signatures on a petition they will submit to corporate headquarters, hoping bank leaders will reconsider and keep the location open, which has been a part of that community for 20 years.
Bank customers like Lucille White told News 5 that if the branch is closed, it will burden low-income residents and seniors, who often don't have online banking access or a vehicle to easily get to another bank location.
“I don’t think it’s fair because when you say customer service, they know what customer service is," White said. “They’re trying to talk about trying to build up a community and the neighborhood, but when you take a bank with history away from us it will make it difficult."
Huntington Bank customer Tamara Chappell believes customers who walk to the branch will lose out on some crucial financial services.
“They need the bank, they need somebody to help them, they need money orders, they have their savings accounts here, their social security checks are deposited here," Chappell said. “This whole Buckeye/Shaker are is very strong and every organization is sending petitions out, on the web page we have a QR code.”
Rob Render, East 128 Street Block Club President, told News 5 he believes crime issues along the Buckeye Road business corridor are a key reason for Huntington Bank's announced departure after the front of the branch was hit by a volley of gunfire earlier this year.
“Bank employees said they ran for cover, when they heard the bullets they hit the ground and they’re saying they no longer feel safe in this neighborhood," Render said. “They said there were 26 incidents of violent crime in this corridor, they said that’s the sole reason that they were closing.”
But in a statement to News 5, Huntington Bank Corporate offices made it clear crime problems did not play a role in its decision to close the branch.
“We regularly review our distribution network and make adjustments and improvements to ensure our mix of branches, ATMs, and online and mobile banking continue to meet our customers’ evolving needs.”
Still, Antoine Tolbert with New Era Cleveland, which provides safety patrols in the Buckeye neighborhood, said everyone must be part of the solution in helping to reduce crime.
“If you own a business if you’re a stockholder, a resident in this neighborhood you have an obligation to address the crime that’s going on here," Tolbert said. “We hear the gunshots, we were out here a few months ago when Rally’s got robbed.”
Meanwhile, Buckeye neighborhood leaders said Huntington Bank has agreed to take more public input on its decision to close the branch during yet another meeting set for mid-January.
News 5 is committed in following through on this developing story.
