克城消息

市政府關心唐人街發展繁榮
派員視察克城亞洲城市中心

     【本報訊】2011年3月14日星期一下午Councilman Jeff Johnson和Stclair Superior development corporation Project 主任Jamar Doyle一起前往克里夫蘭東38街與Superior Avenue 轉角處于去年4月新開的亞洲城市中心,兩位去這家亞洲城市中心的目的是代表市政府表示關懷並和東主相互加深瞭解,以促進發展和繁榮亞洲城。
      新開的亞洲城市中心的東主是原31街和St. Clair Avenue上的亞洲食品店。嶄新的亞洲城市中心設計新穎,是一所寬敞明亮的二層建築,佔地面積4英畝,包括空間在內約有11.5萬平方英尺,還有16,000平方英尺的辦公空間,是克里夫蘭唐人街最大的華人超市。

      現今的亞洲城市中心是家族經營管理形式,亞洲食品公司提供來自中國,越南,菲律賓,泰國,老撾,韓國,日本等地的食物和雜貨。每天提供新鮮熱乎的烤鴨烤鷄等熟食,每天出售新鮮麵包,還有新鮮肉類及海鮮,新鮮蔬菜水果和農産品,同時還提供匯款和匯票服務。
     亞洲城市中心建于1922年,最初用于倉庫和製造業,屬於工業大廈。東主花了近十年時間設計裝修,克里夫蘭慈濟基金會曾租過這座大樓。目前克里夫蘭的韓國族裔星期六也在這里開設課堂指導學生學習韓文。
     亞洲城市中心在去年中秋節和中國新年都舉辦了大型慶祝活動,尤其是中國新年,來了上千位客人,克里夫蘭電視台等媒體都做了報道。亞洲城市中心的開業繁榮了克里夫蘭唐人社區。
      Councilman Jeff Johnson説現在的克里夫蘭亞裔人數在增加,希望等經濟好起來後,有更多的亞裔能來克里夫蘭投資。Councilman Jeff Johnson十分關心亞洲城市中心的安全治安,Stclair Superior development corporation Project 主任Jamar Doyle也希望他們的公司能爲亞洲城市中心提供服務。

Education Jeff was born in Cleveland, Ohio and attended the Cleveland Public Schools at Collinwood High School where he played three varsity sports. After graduating he attended John Carroll University briefly, and later transferred to Kent State University, graduating in 1980 with honors in Telecommunications. Jeff played one season of football with John Carroll, and two years for the Kent State football team. He was later elected by his peers as President of the Kent State Black Student Union, and Homecoming King. He was a writer for the school’s newspaper, the Daily Kent Stater where he wrote a bi-weekly column called “The Black Perspective,” covering the many issues of campus life experienced by the school’s Black students. He also worked as a Resident Staff Advisor. Following graduation Jeff accepted a fellowship to study City Planning and Development from Cornell University for a semester before attending law school at Case Western Reserve University. He graduated in 1984 with his law and Master’s degree (Political Science). During his time at CWRU he was active in student affairs and was elected by his peers as Senator of his law class.
Professional In 1981, Jeff was hired and trained in dispute resolution as a counselor and Mediator in the Cleveland Prosecutor’s office handling neighborhood disputes. The same year he joined the Glenville area Ward 8 Club and began volunteering within the community with then Councilman Michael R. White. He assisted in food basket give-away programs for the poor and elderly, was the editor of the Ward 8 newspaper, and directed the annual community parade. Jeff was a volunteer community organizer assisting Councilman White in his efforts to respond to the major issues impacting the area residents.
In 1984, Jeff was appointed as Councilman for Ward 8 as White was appointed to the Ohio State Senate. He was then elected as the Ward 8 Councilman 90 days later and re-elected two times in 1985 and 1989. Jeff served over 5 years in Cleveland City Council, and was co-sponsor of the city’s first Fair Housing law and led the successful effort to establish Cleveland’s Sex Crime and Child Abuse Investigative Unit in the Cleveland Police Department. During his tenure, the Ward 8 area received new economic and housing development projects including the Glenville Plaza, Eastside Market and Abyssinia Towers, a senior citizen apartment complex. He was recognized and honored for his public service by local community groups.
In December of 1989, Jeff was appointed to the Ohio State Senate following Senator White’s election as Mayor of Cleveland. He was elected to the position in the fall of 1990 and re-elected in 1994. During the 9 years he served in the Ohio Senate, Jeff sponsored a law creating the Ohio Infant Health Commission, and co-sponsored diverse legislation covering major issues including workplace discrimination, education reform, economic development, criminal justice reform and more. He led the successful fight to keep Central State University open in 1997 while serving as President of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus (OLBC). Jeff served on many special commissions and committees including the Ohio Sentencing Commission, the state Correctional Institution Inspection Committee, Ohio Minority Health Commission, and more. He has received many awards and recognition for his leadership including Legislator of the Year.
In 1998, Jeff was convicted of campaign fundraising related violations and sentenced to 15 months in prison. After serving 9 months, he completed a 4 month halfway house program. Jeff returned to Cleveland City Hall in 2002 when he was hired as an assistant to then Mayor Jane Campbell. He was promoted to the Mayor’s Cabinet a year later as Director of the Department of Community Relations. During his years as Director, Jeff was responsible for overseeing the city’s police and community outreach initiative, mediation of neighborhood disputes, and implementation of the city’s Fair Housing program. He was recognized by community groups for his outstanding leadership.
In 2006, Jeff founded his community and political affairs consultant firm, Prime Strategy Group, LLC , and was selected to be the Ohio Field Director for the Barbara Sykes for State Auditor campaign. He coordinated campaign field operations in the state’s 88 counties.
In 2007, Jeff became the Executive Director of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus where he was responsible for overseeing the organization’s public policy agenda and its political action committee projects. He also directed the OLBC Foundation, a non-profit group focused on public policy development and community outreach. Today, Jeff is involved full time with his consulting firm.
Honors Jeff is the recipient of numerous awards and honors during his over 25 years in public service. The Oho Democratic Party, Ohio Bar Association and the Ohio Trial Lawyers Association all honored him as Ohio Legislator of the Year. The National Black Caucus of State Legislators recognized Jeff with the Eagle Award for Outstanding Legislator. He received Outstanding Service awards for his leadership as President of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus, and as Director of the Cleveland Department of Community Relations. The Call and Post Newspaper Foundation also recognized Jeff as among Northeast Ohio’s Most Influential, and he received the Foundation’s prestigious W.O. Walker Award for Community Excellence in 2008. Jeff was also inducted into the Collinwood High School Hall of Fame and received the Alumni Community Service Award from Kent State University. He previously was recognized by Ebony magazine  as one of the nation’s 30 Leaders of the Future.