The Residents of the Westside of Columbus. Ohio

As the older neighbors who owned the homes and raised their families have passed on many of these homes have been purchased by absentee landlords who in many cases work for our city government. Many have invested the bare minimum money into these homes many of these homes are located in Franklinton or as many call it “the Bottoms”. The homes are old

Victorians they need allot of work done to them many are over 100 years old. The landlords “slumlords” don’t care about these homes or who they rent them to because they don’t have to live in them. They live up north in the rich neighborhoods just out of reach of the blue-collar workers. They ask for high rent the unsuspecting new tenants don’t know that their heating bill is going to be much higher than their rent come winter. Because in most cases the house has no insulation in the walls 100 years ago animal hair and wool was used for insulation and that has slipped to the bottom of the walls. Because they live on a month to month lease with the landlord it doesn’t take them long to find out they cannot afford to live in these conditions and they live out their deposit then move out. So the houses stay empty for long periods of time vandals and vagrants move through them stripping them of the plumbing, wiring and anything that they can sell. Some landlords try to resell them to others just abandon the properties and they have become eye-sores and drug dens. There are very few residents left I know sex offenders

to fight the battle of the influx of sex offenders at the town meetings.

need someplace to live but do they have to outnumber the homeowners in our neighborhood? The City of Columbus tore down 70 to 80 percent of the derelict buildings on the eastside making it a better place to live. The Westside was promised the same thing and this has not happened they have taken their time saying “the money ran out”.

I’m so tired of our mayor dragging his feet. answer to the problem.

I know that moving out is what people say is the

But I believed that a major change to Franklinton was going to happen

and my husband and I invested allot of money in our house when we had our business with the idea that change was going to happen and it has been over 17 years since we renovated our home. I plan on forming a group of homeowners and long-term renters to go to the mayor with an agenda and find out what is on his agenda for rehabilitation of Franklinton and the surrounding neighborhoods. Push hard for change get people involved that want this change to happen. I I

see it is going to be a hard sell getting people with young families to move into this situation.

want people to sign our petitions and bombard the mayor’s office with letters, emails, and phone calls for change. I will form large groups of residents to go door to door with petitions, to go

out during evenings covering the Westside of Columbus, Ohio.