CLEVELAND — Cleveland Councilman Richard Starr is calling on the city's Department of Building and Housing and other departments to examine the permit and inspection process during building demolitions after a massive July 20 wall collapse at the vacant Empire Plow Company building on East 65 Street.
Homeowners like Aleta and Kathy McDonald, who live just 200 feet from the collapse, are demanding the City of Cleveland have greater oversight during the demolition of large vacant industrial buildings, which are located in all parts of the city. They are hoping the city will conduct a series of follow-up inspections during the demolition of these structures, which often take several months or longer to complete.
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Aleta McDonald showed News 5 her surveillance video of the wall collapse, which narrowly missed hitting a car passing through the Saint Hyacinth neighborhood on Cleveland's east side.
“You heard a boom from the thunder, and then you heard a big crash; it shook the house," McDonald said. “It was scary. It was unbelievable. I’m still in shock from it and stuff. Coming out here and looking and seeing the building and realizing hey we got cameras, let’s go check the cameras.”
Kathy McDonald, President of the Hyacinth Street Block Club, told News 5 she and her neighbors have been trying to have the vacant Empire Plow Company building taken down for years.
“I had a dream three nights before this happened that it was going to happen, and we have been after them for a long time," Kathy McDonald said. “It looks like a war zone out here, and it still does. It still looks like a war zone. It still looks like someone came and bombed it down.”
News 5 contacted Jim Wallace, owner of the Jim Wallace Company, which is handling the ongoing demolition and salvage of the Empire Plow Company building. Wallace responded immediately, putting up safety fencing, cones and warning signs at the demolition site. Wallace told News 5 he believes he's currently following all safety protocols and is working carefully with the city during its investigation of the wall collapse. Wallace said he believes the collapse was caused by high winds during July 20 thunderstorms.
Still, Councilman Starr said he's looking for ways to better monitor safety during extended demolition efforts at old vacant industrial buildings.
“So this does get alarming to figure out exactly what needs to be done as far as the permitting and making sure we’re doing it in a great way," Starr said. “I think it’s very crucial to examine the process, making sure we do our due diligence, making sure we do our own assessment of the permitting process and as well as the demolition so we can understand how to ensure safety."
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