CLEVELAND — Cleveland city leaders and Cleveland Buckeye neighborhood resident groups shared their concerns about trash and dumping issues they said continue to plague the Family Dollar store on Buckeye Road.
Nina McLelland with the Morelands Group neighborhood association said the Family Dollar location has been the subject of crime and litter concerns for the past couple of years, with News 5 reporting on issues raised by residents in December of 2022.
“It is really disgusting is what it is, it's a terrible example, absolutely terrible example," McLelland said. "There are a lot of owners of businesses here that are trying to build up the community, we have the infrastructure project with trees and benches, the city is doing its part to upgrade the area and there’s no excuse for this.”
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East 128 Street Block Club President Rob Render told News 5 the company has made promises to improve property maintenance and security, but he believes no permanent upgrades have been made.
“You were out here a couple of years ago, nothing has changed, this is a bad business," Render said. "The is only thing they are concerned about is maximizing their bottom line, their profit margin, they don’t give a damn about it, particularly in neighborhoods of color, it’s just about profit.”
Render said he believes the City of Cleveland will take the enforcement steps needed to get Family Dollar to make the maintenance steps that his neighborhood deserves.
“They have drawn a line in the sand and said we’re going after these bad businesses and these bad actors in the Buckeye neighborhood," Render said. “This neighborhood and neighborhoods like ours that are challenged are looked upon as a dumping ground for bad businesses and bad actors.”
Cleveland City Council President Blaine Griffin said he's trying to work with Family Dollar and Dollar Tree headquarters and its attorneys but said tougher city enforcement is on the way.
“They would not do this in their neighborhood; they would not do this in their community, Griffin said. “As egregious as they are to do this in the Buckeye neighborhood and to do this in our community in the City of Cleveland, they deserve every fine and every piece of enforcement that we can send their way.”
News 5 contacted Family Dollar, Dollar Tree headquarters and it responded immediately with the following statement:
We take pride in the appearance of our stores, inside and out. We are committed to doing what it takes to keep our property clean and to be good neighbors in the community.
Griffin said he'll be calling on Cleveland's Director of Building and Housing to send inspectors to the property in the coming days in an effort to look for violations and help officiate a clean-up.
“They need to be better partners and better neighbors," Griffin said. “As you can see they don’t treat the community like it’s their own."
News 5 will continue to follow through on this developing story.
