(Plain Press January 2026)

To the editor:

   Here we go again spending gobs of taxpayer money with high-priced consultants to decide how Cleveland’s lakefront might be developed. And like ravenous hogs at the overflowing trough of public money, private interests are scrambling breathlessly to find ever more creative and clandestine ways to gorge themselves with taxpayer largesse any way they can.

LETTER

   Our history in Cleveland has defined the term “public private partnership” as a crudely brutal mechanism to socialize business costs and privatize business profits, i.e. using public funds to fuel private fortunes. “Trickle-down” economic development has been nothing but a cruel, cosmic lie in Cleveland, Ohio. We remain one of the poorest big cities in the United States, despite decades of massive public subsidies to the private sector.

Which raises a pertinent question. Should Cleveland develop its lakefront? Well, that depends. It depends on what is meant by “develop.” It depends on exactly who benefits, and who pays.

   The answer is a resounding “NO!” to more public subsidies for swank hotels, expensive restaurants and bars, gambling parlors, sports facilities, abandoned meeting spaces, tax-abated luxury apartments and anything that expands the deep income and wealth chasm that exists in this community. Anything that perpetuates or increases the endemic racism, inequality, inequity and gentrification we have witnessed, tolerated and in many ways promoted in this city in the last 50 years must not be entertained.

   Anything that predominantly delivers more cash to the already rich while ignoring the chronically needy in our community must be rejected. The idea of even more lavish public subsidies to the private sector must be expunged at the concept stage of this project.

   The answer is “Yes, of course!” to development if the lakefront can benefit everyone, and especially those who now cannot access it or afford it.

   So, what would lakefront development for everyone look like? It could look like a lot of things.

   Great cities have an abundance of large parks and gardens, with huge swaths of public land solely devoted to public enjoyment, not private profit. Obvious examples jump to mind in cities like Paris, New York and San Diego.

   Cleveland’s lakefront should be a people’s lakefront, family-friendly and natural as much as possible, easily accessible by RTA, with FREE transportation from all areas of the city. Expansive PUBLIC land. And perhaps most critical: lakefront amenities and attractions must be AFFORDABLE, and for the most part, ENTIRELY FREE.

   The possibilities for the public are endless, energetic and can address the concept of the lakefront being a place for healing.

   How about foresting the lakefront? A huge forest. I’m no arborist and not sure if pines would thrive here, but imagine what that would be like and how healing that would be? A beautiful tall pine forest. A massive Park for the People.

   How about a bird sanctuary, engineered wetlands, walking and biking paths, fishing piers, more public beach area, fields for sports like soccer and softball, picnic areas, a free music open pavilion, an outdoor theatre for free plays and movies, outdoor nature classrooms, a toboggan run, a cross country ski trail, a downhill ski hill, a skating rink, skateboarding decks, playgrounds, rock climbing areas, a miniature golf course, a fairgrounds area for arts and crafts fairs, a dog park, a sculpture garden, a public vegetable, flower garden and greenhouse, an exercise and fitness course, a Ferris wheel, a kite flying field, tennis, pickleball and squash courts or a roller blading and running course and walking meditation paths, to identify just a handful of people-centric, family-oriented possibilities.

   Unlike many public areas in the city, public restrooms MUST be provided in close proximity to all spaces.

   The point is the lakefront must not be myopically focused on commercialism and making money for a few. We have plenty of that now in downtown Cleveland, and a lot more is planned and on the way. The lakefront can be FOR THE PEOPLE, ALL THE PEOPLE and as such, we need to find ways for ALL the people to be able to easily access it, use it, profit and learn from it and be able to AFFORD it.

   To the extent commercial ventures are launched, they must be accessible and affordable to use and THEY MUST PAY LIVING WAGES WITH BENEFITS TO CLEVELAND RESIDENTS.

   With that said, can business and manufacturers be induced to locate on the lakefront to finally deliver ample family supporting salaries to Cleveland’s endemically poor urban population?

   The massive construction needed to make this all happen must be awarded to preferentially minority and women-owned businesses, domiciled in the City of Cleveland. It’s time to bring to an end the obscene economic extraction that outside entities enjoy; plundering the fiscal vitality of our city’s heritage and natural resources to benefit an elite few.

   To the extent housing is contemplated, it must be predominantly affordable and workforce, and there must be ample housing that people can purchase and own. We have more than enough fancy high-end, rental palaces that are making investors, property owners and managers, developers, bankers and landlords fabulously wealthy, feasting on the “can’t lose” backstop of cheap land, extravagant tax abatements, Opportunity Zone and other tax advantages and sky-high rents driven up by their supply side market manipulation.

   The “bottom line” or “net net” is simply this: lakefront development must be as natural as possible, family-oriented and benefit all the people, especially those that have suffered the insidious indignities in this community of forced segregation, racism and poverty. The key is affordable attractions and leisure pursuits as well as ample high-quality, full-time jobs with benefits for Cleveland’s chronically disenfranchised residents.

   It’s finally time to invest heavily in Cleveland’s people, rather than catering doggedly to developers’ profit and investors’ profit demands.

Arthur Hargate

Ward 6, Little Italy