A local minister resorted to impersonating his wife on the phone after ESOP and Concerned Citizens took direct action against the couple, demanding that they finally do something about their properties that are dragging down a local neighborhood.
ESOP (Empowering and Strengthening Ohio’s People) and the Concerned Citizens (a grassroots community effort organized by ESOP), took direct action against slumlords (Karla Shim and Evon Gocan) who live in Cleveland Heights but own condemned and dilapidated properties in the Mt Pleasant neighborhood of Cleveland. Karla Shim and her husband Evon Gocan failed to meet prior demands given by residents during a community meeting on August 9th 2011 concerning their dangerous properties – some of which have been vacant for five years. One such property owned by Shim at 12025 Continental Ave was declared unsafe for human habitation by the Ohio Department of Health due to lead paint.
The direct action involved residents of the Mt Pleasant community and ESOP. “Mother” Beulah Carter, a leader of Concerned Citizens and a Mt Pleasant community resident, said “This was my first time going on something like this and this experience taught us a lot and opened our eyes to what we want to accomplish”. Mother Carter led the action with Betty Ewing, another Concerned Citizens leader and President of the E. 139th Street Block Club.
More than 50 people participated in the hit on Karla Shim, whose last known address listed her as a resident of 2832 E. Derbyshire in Cleveland Heights. Though she wasn’t home during the start of the action, the Concerned Citizens left a letter for Shim and began chanting and passing out flyers to her neighbors. The flyer showcased the slumlord’s contact information, asking residents to call Shim and tell her to clean up her properties. Karla actually drove by and asked, “What are all these people doing around my house?” before turning around and speeding off.
”When I got into it, it felt great,” said Betty Ewing. “To know that Karla drove up and saw our numbers, then left not wanting to face people who have dealt with the condition of her properties for years- it was a great feeling.”
ESOP and the Concerned Citizens received a call from Karla Shim on Tuesday, September 13th, stating that she was ready to talk about her properties. When we called her back, Evon answered the phone and refused to let us talk to Karla. Evon then called us back, impersonating Karla on the phone. Betty Ewing has called Karla Shim back and left a message for her reiterating our demands to donate her properties at 3417 E 139th St and 12025 Continental to the Cuyahoga County Land Bank.
JOIN US IN CALLING KARLA SHIM AND EVON GOCAN AT 216.409.0869 AND TELL THEM TO DONATE 3417 E 139TH ST and 12025 CONTINENTAL TO THE CUYAHOGA COUNTY LAND BANK
