Polish Village is #1

By Kathryn Mabin

The votes are in and Polish Village in Parma, Ohio was voted #1 in Channel 5’s Building Better Neighborhoods. The Building Better Neighborhoods program began in the spring of this year, when Channel 5 chose 25 cities at random in the 5 counties in their viewing area. A Community Safety Forum, sponsored by Channel 5, was presented in each community. Five neighborhoods or streets were chosen within each to compete. Residents from the viewing area were given the opportunity to vote their choice on NewsNet5.com. The winner is featured on a Channel 5 news segment. Polish Village won by a slight margin over Ukrainian Village for the number one slot in Parma.

On Friday, June 13th, newscaster Leon Bibb met with representatives of Polish Village to present the Building Better Neighborhood’s sign. The festivities commenced in the parking lot adjacent to St. Charles Church. Accepting on behalf of Polish Village was Ward 2 Councilwoman Debbie Lime. On hand were many residents of Polish Village, Boy Scout Troop 221 from St. Charles Church, Miss Pre-Teen Ohio, Mika Smith, as well as Detective Sergeant Kevin Riley, Public Information Officer for the Parma Police Department, Ward 4 Councilman Brian Day, Parma City Treasurer Tom Mastroianni with wife Kelly Schurdell Mastroianni, City Director of Communications Jeannie Roberts, as well as a group from the upcoming 2014 Flamingo Fever committee, and others too numerous to list.

To complete the celebration, two Polish Village businesses – Colozza’s Bakery and P. Jay’s Pizza – donated pizza and cake for the festivities that followed.

Polish Village is in Parma’s Ward 2 and runs along Ridge Road between Pearl Road and Thornton Avenue. It is the heart of Parma’s historic downtown, which encompasses the business district on Ridge Road, where shops offers a variety of international food delights, as well as a large number of medical offices.

Did you know that the City of Parma recently ranked 3rd in the 2014 Neighborhood Scout’s Top 100 Safest Cities in America for cities with a population of over 25,000? This is based on statistics collected by the FBI. Parma is safer than 90% of the cities in the U.S. Movoto Real Estate also ranked Parma as America’s 3rd Safest Suburb, based on statistics from 120 suburbs surrounding 50 of the U.S.’s largest cities. That is a pretty big accomplishment for the second largest city in Cuyahoga County.

Building Better Neighborhoods: Keeping You Safe Where You Live, is not just about safety, but also about getting involved in the community where you live. Neighborhoods thrive when residents are active within their communities. Take an active role within the community where you live. Volunteer for a cause, make your voice heard, be it soft or loud. Participate for an hour or a day. The rewards are great for you, your neighbors, and your community. The cost is your time. You can make a difference while having lots of fun.

Councilwoman Lime attributes Polish Village’s success to the community volunteers who have worked so hard within this community through the efforts of Polish Village’s Community Development Corporation, the Annual Polish Constitution Day Parade, Friends of Parma Theater, Flamingo Fever, Treat & Greet, and other sponsored events like the First Ever Annual Garage Sale with Wards 1 and 2, or the upcoming pocket park on Ridge Road.

BE PARMA PROUD! Thank you residents of Polish Village for Building Better Neighborhoods!

To view a clip of parts of the celebration for Building Better Neighborhood’s Polish Village presentation go to NewsNet5.com, under the Building Better Neighborhood’s tab, or on the City of Parma, Parma Observer, or Polish Village Facebook pages. For information on getting involved with Polish Village, or information on upcoming events, go to PolishVillageParma.com, Facebook.com/PolishVillage, and Twitter.com/PolishVillage.

Source: http://www.parmaobserver.com/read/2014/07/01/polish-village-is-1