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Cincinnati Announces Details Of 2017 Neighborhood Enhancement Program

Jay Hanselman
/
WVXU
Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley, City Manager Harry Black and others annoucing 2017 communities for the city's "Neighborhood Enhancement Program."

Cincinnati officials announced Tuesday say this year's neighborhood enhancement program will focus on East Westwood, Westwood and the West End.  

The programbrings a 90-day blitz of city services to a community.

Some of the focuses areas include:

  • Concentration on building code enforcement
  • Cleaning streets, sidewalks and vacant lots
  • Beautifying landscapes, streets and public right of way
  • Engaging residents to create and sustain a more livable neighborhood
  • Finding and cooling crime hot spots

Mayor John Cranley said the program makes a difference.
"If you've ever talked to other neighborhoods who've had the great advantage of being in this program, you will see and feel the difference," Cranley said. "It will renew pride; it will renew a sense of purpose."

The program is a collaboration between city departments, neighborhood residents, community organizations and corporate partners.

"This program gives us a chance to work with residents and partners to make meaningful, lasting investments in our neighborhoods," City Manager Harry Black said in a press release. "This program is a true catalyst for community capacity building, but the City cannot do it alone."

The program for East Westwood and Westwood is unique for 2017.  Last year, the police department started its "Place Based Investigations of Violent Offender Territories" (PIVOT) program in those communities.  The first location focused on the McHenry corridor between Harrison and Baltimore Avenues.  The city said "key results included a dramatic reduction in shootings, violent crime and weapons-related calls."

The NEP program in that area is meant to help make sure the crime does not return to that corridor.

The neighborhoods will also receive community gardens thanks to the Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati.

The enhancement program for East Westwood and Westwood will run from March through May.  The one for the West End will be from mid-August to Mid-November.

The communities are selected "are identified through an analysis of building code violations, vacant buildings, disorder and drug calls for police service and drug arrests, as well as incidences of graffiti, junk autos, litter and weeds."
 

Jay Hanselman brings more than 10 years experience as a news anchor and reporter to 91.7 WVXU. He came to WVXU from WNKU, where he hosted the local broadcast of All Things Considered. Hanselman has been recognized for his reporting by the Kentucky AP Broadcasters Association, the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists, and the Ohio AP Broadcasters.