 |
 |
Tuesday, October 19, 2004 - 10:10 PM
What the city can do to take its place at the top
By Michael Kellerman
Cincinnati has received some great press lately. In April, USA Today rated Cincinnati in their top 10 “Cities That Rock.” Partners for Livable Communities, a national, non-profit organization, rated us one of the United States “Most Livable Cities.” Newport-on-the-Levee was even ranked as one of the top family destinations in the country (snooooozze). However, despite these accolades, we are still not where we need to be.
I’m sorry, but please don’t try to compare Cincinnati to New York, Chicago, San Francisco, or D.C. I’ve been to all of these cities and I know what they have that we don’t: hoards of twenty- and thirty-somethings in search of a good time.
While the infrastructure does exist for Cincinnati to attain and maintain a competitive status against large, popular cities culturally, it’s still same old song and dance: all talk, not enough action.
So what can Cincinnati do to take its place at the top? I have all of the answers. Please read carefully.
Get rid of the family image
 |
|
Frankly, every time I hear that Cincinnati is a great place for families, I want to vomit. Yes, children can and should have great experiences in the city. However, no city should target or depend on families for survival. It’s foolish. So please, drop the pictures of riverboats in front of stadiums from our advertisements. You’re embarrassing us. P.S. Church festivals are lame, stop writing about them in the paper.
|
Structured and culturally themed neighborhoods
Mt. Adams has it right for the yups. Clifton (a.k.a. Ludlow) has it right for…well almost anybody. These neighborhoods alone can do little to sustain this city’s need. Gay brothers and sisters, where’s our neighborhood? We need gay themed stores and restaurants that are clustered in one neighborhood instead of a few, and this neighborhood needs to be easily accessible to gay tourists.
 |
|
I propose either taking over Main Street or claiming all available buildings between Sixth Street and Court, and Plum Street and Vine for our own. Both areas already have many urban, gay, city-dwellers. However, these areas have almost no gay owned stores. Hamburger Mary’s, Nero’s, and MetroNation are awesome, but they are not enough. Why not add in a leather shop, a few more gay-owned boutiques, and some cosmetics stores? The neighborhood could be anchored by The Dock, which would relocate from its Pete Rose Way location. As a gay tourist, I always hit up these neighborhoods first. If I were a newcomer to this city, I wouldn’t have the faintest idea where to go; maybe a gay guide for Cincinnati is in order.
|
Furthermore, have you ever noticed that most large cities have a Chinatown, Little Italy, or Germantown? Cincinnati should capitalize on our differences by clustering these businesses into districts. If Northern Kentucky wants to compete with us, why not give many of our downtown streets back their original German names and create a German District downtown? To all of my Chinese friends reading this, don’t let a certain economic advisor tell you that you can’t run a good business! Gather together and show him, and the city, your economic power!
Shopping
We have a lot of room for improvement in this area. As a young person who shops regularly, I can tell you that we do not have the stores that young people flock to. An H&M, French Connection, Kenneth Cole (Downtown), Sephora, The Body Shoppe, or Guess (Downtown) would be nice. Why not more Bolero’s or Nero’s type shops also? Listen up 3CDC! We don’t need humdrum stores from the suburbs!
Transportation
It’s really sad that I have to fly across the country to ride a Cincinnati street car. People in this city completely underestimate the need for comprehensive mass transit. Besides the fact that streetcars give a city character and attract tourists, streetcars also make it easier to get around town for urban dwellers and tourist alike. Why not return to the days when Cincinnati was actually a real city? Bring back the inclines! Bring on the streetcars! Who cares if suburban Cincinnatians don’t want them? Make Cincinnati unique and interesting for those that want to live in the city. I guarantee when Cincinnati becomes unique and interesting, young people will want to live downtown and people from across the country will want to visit our city.
URBAN DWELLERS WANTED
While Cincinnati has taken a somewhat proactive approach to attracting urban dwellers, more needs to be done. Nevertheless, the all-knowing Michael Kellerman has a solution. Remember those “Go-To-Town” commercials and advertisements that we used to see and hear? We need to see those…everywhere!
The City of Cincinnati vs. Hamilton County
I’m so tired of the fights between the city and the county that I’m proposing the following solution: Cincinnati needs to become its own county.
There are two ways to go about achieving this task. Either Cincinnati can follow in the footsteps of Louisville (Indy, Columbus, Lexington…) and combine the county and the city, or Cincinnati can leave Hamilton and go it alone. Nearly four years ago, Louisville voters decided to merge their county and city. In doing so, Louisville became leaner and much more competitive. They were able to merge departments and become more efficient, develop a single budget, merge the county and city councils, and be lead by one mayor.
I think this approach would work in Cincinnati, under one condition: All the conservatives who think families rule, church is the sole social outlet of our city, and gays have no rights, need to move to West Chester and Mason with the other conservatives.
If Cincinnati and Hamilton County could merge without losing it’s democratic stronghold, our possibilities for growth would be endless. Our competitive edge among the rest of country would be tremendous.
In contrast, if Cincinnati had to go it alone, we would still be left with a population much more in tune with the real needs of the city. We could foster a city where hatred and bigotry are unacceptable; we could lead the nation with interesting culture, vibrant youth, and technological superiority.
Capitalize on our famous former and current residents
 |
|
Larry Flynt should be free to open a large adult superstore downtown. I can assure that 99 percent of citizens living with a three-mile radius of downtown would not care. Lastly, build a museum/bar/store dedicated to the legacy of King Records. There should be speakers outside blaring the music of this legendary company for all to hear. The museum could hold a star-studded opening ceremony, featuring the King of Soul himself, and former King Record’s recording artist, James Brown. Maybe some famous Cincinnatians, Sarah-Jessica Parker, Nick Lachey, George Clooney, Peter Frampton, and Carmen Electrica (Maybe Dave Navarro could join her?!) would consider being part of the ceremonies. Don’t you think an event like this would get the country’s attention?
|
Now that you’ve read and agreed with this ingenious plan for Cincinnati, it’s time to go to work. Please don’t waste our time with a study that will take five years, followed by a fund raising campaign that will take another five years. Recalibrate our current efforts to improve our city image now. Ease up restrictions that currently turn potential visitors and urban dwellers off. Let’s start being realistic!
Michael Kellerman and Simone Monet-Williams write “Search for Culture in Cincinnati” in each edition of QCF Magazine. The column is honest and raw, geared to the young, vital exploration of the drinks, dining, people, sexual orientation, and arts in the city---to name a few things.
Links
· Cincinnatiusa.org --- Family Events/ Arts and Culture
· Historic streetcar paths in Cincinnati: where they used to be
· Cincinnati Enjoy the Arts --- “20 Days and 20 Nights of Arts & Culture”
· Cincinnati Online Events Calendar
· Chicago’s Culturally Themed Neighborhoods
Contact Information
· michaelk@queencityforum.com
· simonemw@queencityforum.com
|
|
| |
|
|
|
