City West residents urge Cincinnati council to halt sale, demand $4 million relief

Dozens of City West residents and advocates urged CincinnatiCity Council during the public-comment period to stop a proposed sale of City West property and to forgive or cover what speakers described as a roughly $4,000,000 debt tied to the development.

"Stop the sale of Cincy West," said Iko Kamara, a resident who opened a cluster of comments about the neighborhood and yielded time so others could speak. Other speakers described persistent housing problems, alleged mismanagement by private managers and fear of eviction among senior residents.

The requests included concrete asks: forgiving or covering a claimed $4,000,000 shortfall, offering rent-to-own or cooperative-ownership options and ensuring any buyer would accept existing residents. One commenter referenced a federal rule in the transcript as "federal law 24 CFR 96 4.7," arguing that residents should be offered the property before an open-market sale.

Several speakers described long-running maintenance and safety issues. "I lost over 30 pounds being sick," said Stacy Smith, who said she suffered health impacts after a gas leak that she alleged was not promptly fixed. Judith Jones, describing her work with Neighborhood United, asked council to "clean this back up and get City West back on track" and to prioritize residents in any sale.

The council responded by asking the administration for a direct response. President Johnson asked the city manager to explain "what exactly is going on from the city's perspective when it comes to City West." City Manager Long said the administration had been in regular contact with Director Greg Johnson and stated plainly: "anyone who wants to remain at City West will remain at City West." He also recommended a "more fulsome and comprehensive conversation" in an appropriate council committee so the city could "articulate the facts" to the community.

Speakers pressed for faster action and clearer protections. At least one speaker urged that the city could "forgive the debt" by working with the Cincinnati Development Fund and noted residentsclaims that City West is worth about $200,000,000 and that the asserted $4,000,000 debt represents a small portion of that value.

What happens next: council leaders said they will ask for a committee-level hearing so the administration can present detailed information and next steps to the public. The public-comment period closed and council moved on to the business agenda.

Source: Public comments and council responses during the Cincinnati City Council meeting (public comment segment; City Manager response).