Thursday, July 14, 2005
Fountain Square Whine
"Quite honestly, we feel like we've been trampled in this whole thing," saidI mean, okay, business will likely decline during construction. And I have no problem with them communicating their issues with 3CDC, and working with 5/3 to talk about lease terms/rates/etc. But why comment to the paper? I am sure they were called for comments, but the response should be "No Comment". You're not helping your cause.
Doug Christman, general counsel for Rock Bottom restaurants.
But that wasn't the worst part of the article to me. This was:
BRAVE DOWNTOWN! And you're a freaking downtown business owner? Don't go into the PR business. If anyone feels like they're brave because they went to Rock Bottom on Fountain Square, you need a reality check."You've got to have access, you've got to have visibility and, of all
things, you have to have a comfort level before you brave downtown
Cincinnati for dinner," he said.
I won't even comment on Smitherman... wait yes I will... Here he goes again. Before the first shovel is in the ground, see I told you so... I don't know wizkid Smitherman, maybe this quote from you explains exactly why we DID move ahead:
"If you look around most of the area, there are really no other businesses
there," Smitherman said.
Yeah... that's the point. There are no businesses on fountain square, that's why they're doing the project, not a reason to go SLOWER.
Damn, I keep trying to end this post and then find another ignorant comment in the story.
The businesses say they were not consulted before the city made the
decision to revamp the square. Christman said Rock Bottom learned about the
renovation when a manager approached a surveyor working on the square.
This is a joke right? I'm not sure if he was refering to recently or maybe a few months ago that they saw a surveyor on the square. But man... 3CDC has been around for 2 years and when created it was announced that they were in charge of revamping the Banks, Fountain Square and OTR, with Fountain Square going first. So how you 'learned' about by seeing a surveyor doesn't say a lot about you ability to manage your businesses. Take an interest in the area you do business in. Not to mention Rock Bottom doesn't OWN fountain square. It's public property, so if the city wants to redevelop it they do it. Do you think the Cincinnat Park Board takes a poll of Mt. Adams when they plant a new tree in Eden Park?
Shut up... stop whining! Quit talking to the newspaper, and figure out how you can be a part of the project, how to best make your business successful. YOU WILL BENEFIT from this when it's done. Work behind the scenes to figure out the best way to run your business for the next 12 months.
No Joe the cafe doesn't own the public property in front of his cafe but as a businessman who invested in the business, he has a right to expect that the city government doesn't cut his feet from under him. But the message that future potential investors will receive is that the city may cut your balls off if they feel like it. Unfortunately the city counts on potential investors not to see how the city operates and in this case apparently Rockbottom failed to do their homework or they would have read how Cincinnati treated Sullys, and Batsakes, and a long list of our fellow citizen neighbors who weere raped by this city. It is totally insensitive and stupid for joe to criticize Rockbottom. Perhaps Joe need to experience investing in a business and have a similar experience, but then for Joe to invest in a business might take some guts.
Joe also has a problem with reading comprehension and probably a touch of racism when he accuses Smitherman of making the statement about no businesses being on fountain square. Here's what was said in the article:
"Councilman Chris Monzel said he thought the city could have done a better job informing the businesses, but that the effects of construction would be minimal because only a few establishments, like Rock Bottom, are actually on the square.
"If you look around most of the area, there are really no other businesses there," he said."
In Joe's mind the city government can do no wrong; he would have made a good nazi. Joe says that these people should not complain about the government. Gee isn't that what the Gestapo said?
I guess Joe thinks that it is the duty of every citizen to keep informed about every rumor that 3cdc put forth. First 3cdc is not even mentioned in the city charter, so what is a citizen to do to keep up with all the rumors. Most Cincinnatians don't even know what 3cdc is or that it exists. What a pompous little twit!
: 10:22 PM And was it the planning commission that also complained as well?
I would think that 3cdc would have made a special effort to actually walk to the individual owners of the businesses that were going to be affected and discuss it with them, But what do I know. And I didn't know Rockbottom was being defensive. And how does Snarky know the lengths that 3cdc went to; does hre work for them or the city?
And does Ellen think that all people in the burbs have shit for brains? Has she ever been to the burbs to see the activity out there? Or was hers the standard parochial city hall view?
I still have seen no apology for attributing the faux pas to poor Mr. Smitherman, who has apparently raised the ire of Joe.
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