EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio — Aurora Rivera came from Puerto Rico to Northeast Ohio with a group of musicians and dancers in 1994, eventually purchased a home in East Cleveland and signed up for the city homeowners improvement grant program in 2022.
But Rivera reports the grant program has left her with incomplete work, electrical and plumbing problems, and nothing but headaches.
“He put in a panel for the electricity that I didn’t need," Rivera said. "Now the second floor, the third floor, the porch and the bathroom have no electricity. I’ve been calling this guy every day.”
Under the grant program, qualifying East Cleveland homeowners can sign up for a $3,000 grant utilizing federal ARPA funds to make repairs to their homes. But Rivera told News 5 that incomplete and unneeded work to her home by city-approved contractors has left her with a host of issues, and so far, Rivera reports the city has not sent out inspectors to hold the people who did work accountable for the job.
“The water service in the bathroom, I have no cold water, no cold water since the first day after that person left,” Rivera said. “No supervisor was sent to the house to check the job that this jerk did.”
East Cleveland Ward 2 Councilwoman Juanita Gowdy told News 5 she's received complaints from other homeowners who received city grants and were left with home repair problems.
“It was a program that was put in place by the Mayor, and these are the results that we get for the residents about their homes not getting repaired the way they need it repaired," Gowdy said. “It’s dangerous, and the city needs to follow up with the residents. Since they put this in place, they need to be responsible and be held accountable.”
Gowdy said some homeowners have received good results from the program but said East Cleveland City Council has not been given enough information about the program and contractors being used to allow council to formulate crucial oversight on program results.
“We don’t have a track record on what is happening at city hall when it comes down to this program, Gowdy said. “It’s shocking to me to even have the residents crying out and saying, 'Hey, I signed up for this, but I’m not getting the benefits out of it.'"
News 5 contacted the East Cleveland Mayor's office and the city building department about issues brought up by homeowners and whether the city would send inspectors to Mrs. Rivera's home, but so far, we're still waiting for a response.
The East Cleveland web page reportsthe city has reached its grant program limit of 1000 homeowners or the program in 2023, and it's not clear if the program will be available in 2024. East Cleveland also has ahome program, an emergency repairs program and a paint program that residents can utilize.
Meanwhile, Rivera is hoping she will finally get the city grant home repairs she requested 11 months ago completed in the coming weeks.
“This has created for me so much stress that yesterday I had to go back to the clinic," Rivera said. “I am old, but I’m not an idiot, I’m not stupid.”
News 5 is committed to following through on this developing story, and we will provide updates as soon as they become available.
