Danny Kelly hears pushback to proposed gas station West 98th Street resident Diab Dar-Issa was the first of two commenters to express opposition to a proposed gas station at West Boulevard and Madison Avenue on the city’s West Side, an idea supported by Ward 11 Council Member Danny Kelly. “I am here to stress that this is definitely not the highest and best use [of the property] and that there are other practical options for us to explore,” said Dar-Issa. Dar-Issa said a gas station in that space would “put our children and those who walk, bike, roll and play in the surrounding area in danger.” Regular public commenter and Cudell Park supporter Faouzi Baddour returned to the mic to oppose the gas station, calling it a danger to local children.“Greedy business owners don’t care about our kids,” Baddour said.The legislation awaits discussion in council’s committee meetings. Support for New Era Cleveland leaderFive residents spoke in support of Antoine Tolbert, also known as Chairman Fahiem, amid recent indictments for intimidation and extortion. He is the president of New Era Cleveland, a community group that organizes food giveaways and armed safety walks.Ward 17 resident Dallas Eckman, a leader in the local pro-Palestinian movement, said he and others were ticketed by police at a Juneteenth event alongside New Era Cleveland and believed it to be an act of intimidation. Cleveland resident Andrew Carpenter, who is 15 years old, addressed gun violence and told his story of hardship, saying, “It’s hard when you gotta go through people trying to kill each other and I can’t even be a kid.” He credits the summer camp he attended through New Era Cleveland for helping him. “I actually feel like I have a life,” he said. Ward 15 resident and attorney Maryam Assar, who said she is representing Tolbert, criticized the recent indictments. Members of New Era Cleveland were de-escalating violence in Lee-Harvard and wrongfully accused of trying to intimidate a local gas station owner, Assar said. In 2023, Tolbert settled a civil lawsuit for wrongful arrest against the city for $85,000.Polensek commends police work on fatal hit-and-run accidentWard 8 Council Member Mike Polensek used the miscellaneous portion of the meeting to commend Cleveland police and partner law-enforcement agencies for their work in arresting Donald Mynatt, the man accused of killing 7-year-old Amir Prewitt in a hit-and-run car accident in Polensek’s ward on Aug. 16. Polensek said Prewitt’s death “weighed heavily on me every day.”During the resolutions of condolence read earlier in the meeting, Polensek asked to include remembrances for John Frato of Lyndhurst. Frato was a leader in the restoration and reopening of the original Euclid Beach Grand Carousel, now housed and still in use at the Western Reserve Historical Society. Read the live-tweet thread from Documenter Dan McLaughlin:Hello – it's Monday, September 9 2024 and here's a thread covering this evening's @CleCityCouncil meeting for @cledocumenters & @signalcleveland #CLEdocumenters!— Danny Mc (@dmcbillion) September 9, 2024The post Proposed Ward 11 gas station, support for New Era Cleveland leader mark public comment appeared first on Signal Cleveland.First published by Signal Cleveland.