• Cudell Park out of peril? Residents to monitor paused Marion Seltzer Elementary rebuild as CMSD considers levy

    PHOTO COURTESY OF NIKKI HUDSON AND SAVE CUDELL PARK Cudell Commons Park and the surrounding neighborhood take the name of Frank E. Cudell, a German-American architect whose locally significant designs include the Tiedemann House or “Franklin Castle” and the Perry-Payne building on West Superior Avenue. by Collin Cunningham    (Plain Press July 2024) A nearly…


  • Mayor reaches out to Friends of Cudell Park

    To the editor:      (Plain Press May 2024) On Monday, April 22nd, Earth Day, Mayor Bibb personally called members of the Friends of Cudell Commons Park group to convey that he’s been following what’s going on with Cudell Park and that the Mayor’s Office of Capital Projects (MOCAP) and CMSD are working on a new…


  • Pilot aims to transform community response to mental health crises

    PHOTO BY CHUCK HOVEN Monday, April 22, 2024; A sign sponsored by the Alcohol Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board of Cuyahoga County promotes calling 988 for mental health and addiction crisis services. by Abe Kurp    (Plain Press May 2024) Residents of some Cleveland neighborhoods will soon have access to a new tool…


  • Friends of Cudell Park bring their concerns to the Board of Education

    PHOTO BY CHUCK HOVENSunday, March 3, 2024; Friends of Cudell Commons Park rally and candlelight vigil, Cudell Commons Park just east of Cudell Recreation Center at Detroit Avenue and West Boulevard: Nikki Hudson, a member of Friends of Cudell Commons Park, speaks of plans to continue advocacy to save the park from becoming a school…


  • Cudell family descendent urges Mayor Bibb to honor donor’s vision for Cudell Commons, keep green space forever

    To the editor: Open letter to Mayor Justin Bibb,    (Plain Press April 2024) My name is Gail Lundberg.  I am a direct descendent of the Cudell family. Please take the time to hear my message re: Cudell Commons.  LETTER    Frank Cudell was a leading architect in the late 19th century. He devoted his…


  • Open letter urges Mayor Bibb to save Cudell Commons

    To the Editor: (Plain Press February 2024) Dear Mayor Bibb and Area Leaders:      We are writing to you to voice our concerns about Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s plans to build a new Marion Seltzer Elementary School on what is now parkland at Cudell Commons Park, land that was gifted to the City of Cleveland…


  • Cudell residents save historic trees for now

    PHOTO BY MARY JO HOVEN Monday, September 4, 2023; Cudell Commons Park, W. 98th Street, just North of Madison Avenue: A view of the Bald Cypress tree from below. The tree is one of about forty mature trees that Friends of Cudell Commons Park would like to save from being torn down to make way…


  • Protesters urge Board of Education to save trees at Cudell Commons Park

    PHOTO BY CHUCK HOVEN Tuesday, August 22, 2023; Cleveland Metropolitan School Board Meeting; East Professional Center, 1349 E. 79th; Faouzi Baddou, Nikki Hudson and James Pieknik, Friends of Cudell Commons Park, protesting the planned demolition of a historic cypress tree in the Cudell neighborhood. by Chuck Hoven    The Friends of Cudell Commons Park came…


  • Residents Rally to save historic trees

    PHOTO BY CASANDRA VASU Cudell Commons Park, W. 98th Street, North of Madison: The Cleveland Metropolitan School District plans to build a new Marion C. Seltzer school in what is now Cudell Commons Park.  Plans call for eliminating trees to make way for the new school building. This Bald Cypress is one of the mature…


  • Cleveland Schools’ Segment 8 taking shape

    by Erik Ault    (Plain Press, November 2022) Plans for renovation and new construction of several schools on Cleveland’s west side are finalizing. The Segment 8 construction program affects the Marion C. Seltzer, Clark, Joseph M. Gallager and Lincoln West schools. Several community meetings have been presented to give updates about the progress of this…