Due to the recent restaurant and bar mandatory closings, many restaurants and bars in Hyde Park are offering takeout, delivery, or curb-side pick-up. This is a great way to support small businesses in our community!

An article by Cincinnati CityBeat lists all restaurants and bars in the greater Cincinnati area offering takeout, delivery, and curb-side pick-up.

If you are a restaurant or bar in Hyde Park offering takeout, delivery, or curb-side pick-up, please send us a message! We are working on gathering information so we can share it with the community.

With confirmed cases of COVID-19 (the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus) now in Ohio, HPNC would like to remind everyone to please consider taking precautions to keep yourself and your neighbors from becoming ill.

• Cincinnati COVID-19 Prevention Health Poster (dated 2020-02-27)
• Hamilton County COVID-19 Fact Sheet (dated 2020-03-02)

While the Cincinnati Health Department does have a webpage about COVID-19, it currently (March 11) recommends to refer to the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) for up-to-date information.

The Cincinnati Park Board, Cincinnati Parks Foundation and private donors are funding a renovation of the park at the center of Hyde Park Square. Quoted here from the Cincinnati Parks page:

• Installment of a new, architecturally appropriate, 36″ black metal fence around the park perimeter. This will ensure clear visibility at crosswalks for safety.
• Removal of dead hedgerows around the perimeter of the park, to be replaced with new boxwood hedges on all sides of the park.
• Replanting east-end and west-end flower beds with new flowering perennials.
• Replacement of the misshapen Spruce tree at the east-end of the park with a new, fast-growing 10’ Blue Spruce.
• Renovation of the center lawn with new soil and turf.
• Replacement of the two benches at the west-end with backless benches to afford better views of both sides of the park.

The renovation is expected to be completed in 2020. The site plan can be found on the Cincinnati Park website (PDF). If you have any comments or feedback on these plans, please share them with cincy.parks@cincinnati-oh.gov . This project will be presented to the Board of Park Commissioners for approval on Friday February 28 at 9 AM, 950 Eden Park Drive and the public is welcome to attend. Speakers cards need to be filled out prior to 9 AM.

Please join us at a meeting on Tuesday, December 3rd, at 7 PM in the Social Hall at Knox Presbyterian Church to learn more about the most recent proposed plan for the City Homes at Wasson Way project.

All are welcome to attend. Contact Us if you have any questions.

The second phase of the Wasson Way bike trail officially opened today (November 09, 2019) at 10:22 (AM). Phase 2 extends the existing Wasson Way trail across I-71 to Montgomery Road near Xaiver University.

The opening was again celebrated by a large crowd; today's coffee and hot chocolate were provided by Coffee Emporium and bagels by Bruegger’s Bagels. Entertainment was provided by a live band as well as the Withrow Marching Band, which led the crowd to the ribbon cutting at the bridge above the I-71 exit ramp. Speeches were given by Wasson Way Board President Sean McGrory, Cincinnati Mayor Cranley, Cincinnati Council-member Murray, Norwood Mayor-elect Schneider, State Senator Wilson, and Alisha Loch of the Wasson Way Marketing Committee.

Future plans - The Wasson Way was awarded a $6M Federal grant; this will be matched by $2M+ in private donations to add 4 miles of trail. In several years, one will be able to go over 5 miles from Avondale/Uptown to Ault Park and Red Bank Road (eventually reaching Armleder/Lunken and the Little Miami Trail). Special thanks to OKI, City of Cincinnati, Green Umbrella's Tri-State Trails and the CROWN Fundraising team for making this happen!

For more information visit: Wasson Way website / Phase 2 ribbon cutting event page on Facebook / Wasson Way Facebook page

The dumpster for the Hyde Park Blitz will be set up on Monday (11/4), emptied Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and removed on Friday (11/8). It will be placed on Burch Ave. between Madison and Erie.

The roving trash trucks will be out and about on Friday! If you are unable to make it to the dumpster and require a garbage pickup, please send us your address by Thursday afternoon through our Contact Us page.

What is the Blitz Dumpster? The Blitz Dumpster allows residents to dispose of furniture, mattresses (do not need to be wrapped in plastic), sofas, TV’s, and other trash. Tires must be placed on the ground and stacked in front of the dumpsters. Liquids are prohibited (paint, oil, gasoline, paint thinner, chemicals).

🍁🍁 Happy Fall Cleaning! 🍁🍁

With support from Hyde Park Neighborhood Council and Cincinnati's Neighborhood Support Program, a new musical Playground has been installed at Hyde Park School. Come and enjoy the new sounds in the neighborhood!

The application for the zone change (SF-6 to SF-2) for the Wasson Way City Homes project will not appear on the October 15th Economic Growth and Zoning Committee agenda. We will continue to provide updates as they come in.

The issue of the SF-6 to SF-2 zone change on Wasson Road for the proposed City Homes development got back-to-back hearings at Cincinnati City Hall on Wednesday, Sept. 25. The issue was first discussed at 11am in the Economic Growth and Zoning Committee, chaired by Council member Amy Murray. After hearing comments from Ken French, his lawyer, supporters of the project, a lawyer representing a Hyde Park resident who opposes the project, and a very large group of Hyde Park residents and members of the Hyde Park Community Council, Murray voted to oppose the zone change and Council member Jeff Pastor abstained, saying he could see both sides of the issue. Council and the Economic Growth and Zoning Committee member Christopher Smitherman was absent. Without a majority vote either in favor or opposition of the issue, it passed on to City Council without a recommendation from the committee.

The issue was on the agenda for the 2pm City Council meeting. Both sides again made public comment, and the item was brought up for a vote. After some discussion – and Council members noted they were very impressed with the extensive community engagement in opposition to the zone change, including the 2,000 signatures on the petition – Council members said they had a lot of questions about the project and felt they could not make a decision at this time. A motion was made, seconded, and passed to refer the item back to the Economic Growth and Zoning Committee for further information, discussion, and a vote of recommendation.  Council member Sittenfeld also said he hoped the residents and developer would meet and try to find a way to compromise, to reach a win/win before that meeting.

HPNC has set up an ad hoc committee to meet with the residents and the developer to continue the discussion about the project. The issue will be on the agenda for the October 15 EDZ meeting, at 11am in Council Chambers, Room 300 City Hall. We encourage all residents and interested parties to plan to attend this session.

HPNC and the residents sincerely thank all the City Council members who took time to come out to see the site and hear our concerns prior to the meetings: Amy Murray, Jeff Pastor, David Mann, Chris Seelbach, Greg Landsman, Wendell Young, and P.G. Sittenfeld.  

‍

‍

The Hyde Park Neighborhood Council (HPNC) hosted a Public Meeting on August 8 and heard Jason Williams, Principal-Director of Design for Phoenix Architecture, spokesman for a new team seeking to develop the site at 2680 Madison Road (the former Huggs/Pig & Whistle site).  The Architect, Developer and Operator team introduced themselves, presented an eight story hotel concept,  answered questions from the audience and HPNC Trustees.

The developers plan a 100 room, seven story hotel with 104 parking spaces.  The proposed hotel use is a principal permitted use for the CC-A zoned property.  The adjacent Besuden Court SF-6 zoned properties are not part of the project and will remain residential.  LaRosa restaurant property is no longer part of the project. Several Madison Road fronting properties currently zoned Office Limited (OL) will be used for hotel parking and access.

At the meeting, the primary concerns expressed were traffic, lighting, security and construction issues.  The traffic study shows a hotel will have lowest impact of any of the CC-A uses.  Most of the traffic issues mentioned at the meeting are beyond the scope and responsibility of this project.

By developer statement and zoning committee review, it is anticipated no variances, special exceptions, zone change and consequently no public hearing. The Zoning Committee believes that this development offers lowest impact to neighbors compared to other principal uses in the current CC-A zoning district.

With this new proposal, the earlier plan by the CIG group to develop the property is no longer in play.