Ohio law has clear answers. Here’s what every Birdtown renter should know.

Your landlord has to maintain a livable home.

Ohio Revised Code 5321.04 establishes what landlords are legally required to provide. Landlords must supply head, hot water, and running water at all times. They must keep electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems in good working order. Common areas, such as hallways, stairwells, and shared spaces, must be kepy safe and sanitary. In buildings with four or more units, landlords are required to provide trash receptacles and arrance for their removal. And landlords must comply with all applicable building, housing, health, and safety codes.

Pest controll falls under this umbrella as well, particularly in multi-unit buildings. When infestations move through shared walls and ventilation systems, courts consistently place responsibility on the landlord rather than individual tenants.

These are legal oblifations, not amenities. They cannot be signed away in a lease. If your rental agreement asks you to waive your right to habitable housing, that language is not enforceable under Ohio law.

Your landlord needs your permission to walk in.

Under ORC 5321.04, landlords must give at least 24 hours notice before entering a tenant’s unit for non-emergency purchases, such as repairs, inspections, or showing the unit to prospective tenants. The entry must happen at a reasonable time. The only exception is a genuine emergency, such as a burst pipe or fire. A landlord who enters without proper notice is violating state law.

Your security deposit belongs to you until proven otherwise.

Under ORC 5321.16, when a tenant moves out a landlord as 30 days to return the security deposit. If the landlord withholds any portion of it, they must provide a written itemized statement of damages along with the partial refund. A landlord who fails to meet that requirement can be liable for double the withheld amount plus attorney fees.

Reporting a problem is protected. Retaliation is illegal.

Under ORC 5321.02, a landlord cannot raise a tenant’s rent, cut services, or threaten eviction in response to three specific actions: reporting a health or safety violation to a government agency, submitting a written repair request to the landlord, or organizing with other tenants to negotiate rental terms collectively. A landlord who responds to any of those actions with a rent increase, a service reduction, or an eviction threat is engaging in retaliation, which is prohibited by state law. Tenants facing retaliation can use it as a legal defense in eviction proceedings and can sue for damages and attorney fees.

There is one important caveat: Ohio state law does not prohibit a landlord from refusing to renew a lease when it expires. That gap leaves month-to-month renters more exposed than tenants with long-term leases. Renters in that situations who are concerned about retaliation should contact Legal Aid before taking any action.

If your landlord isn’t meeting their obligations, document everything.

Whether by text, email, or certified letter, repair requests and complaints should always be submitted in writing. Verbal complaints are difficult to prove in court. Written documentation creates a record that protects tenants if a dispute escalates.

If a landlord ignores written notice, Ohio law provides options including rent withholding and legal action. Rent withholding is governed by strict procedural requirements under ORC 5321.07, and tenants who don’t follow those procedures precisely can face eviction. Anyone considering that route should speak with Legal Aid first.

Free help is available right now.

The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland operates a free Tenant Information Line for Cuyahoga County residents. Legal Aid provides free legal services to low-income residents and can answer questions about repairs, security deposits, eviction notices, and lease terms. Their full landlord-tenant law brochure is available at lasclev.org.

The Lakewood Community Services Center, based in Birdtown, provides housing assistance including case management, referrals, and emergency help with rent and utilities for Lakewood residents at risk of losing their housing. More information is available at lcsclakewood.org.

The Birdtown Coalition’s full resources page, including these and additional neighborhood resources, is at birdtowncoalition.org/p/resources.

One of the most passionate issues we discussed at the start of the year was litter and dog waste management. The Birdtown Coalition has successfully hosted two Flock & Pick litter clean up events with neighbors, and collected well over 30 pounds of trash both times. Come out and join us for the next one. We meet the third Saturday of every month at 5pm at a pre-determined location. In August, we’ll meet at the Thrush and Halstead intersection by the entrance to Madison Park. Bring gloves and a bucket – we have grabber tools!

From the administrative side, we officially asked about having dog waste stations installed around the neighborhood. I’m happy to say that the city and public works is now looking into the cost of putting a dog waste station on the path too Madison Park. This is a huge first step to creating cleaner and safer Birdtown streets.

Now, we’re trying to plan a few more formal (Block Party) and informal (Porch/Garden Socials) community events. Read on for a few more updates on our end.

Gathering Resources and Making a Guide

We’ve been building our resources page here on our website! You’ll find practical resources for living in Birdtown — whether you’re new to the block or have been here for years. Renter and homeowner resources are covered separately, along with general neighborhood information that applies to everyone (This is still a big work in progress, too). There’s a parking map, information about city leadership, who to contact for complaints, and more in one centralized location.

Check Out Our Resources Page

With the new resources page, I want to include tips from neighbors! What is something you learned way too late that you think new residents should know now? We’ve had great input at some of our community meetings like Apples to Apples for energy rates, using the MyLakewood App to report issues, and to text FirstEnergy when there’s a power outage. What else would you tell a new neighbor about? Let us know here!

Quail Street Construction

The construction was an asphalt resurfacing project and is the only one scheduled for our neighborhood, according to the city’s website!

More updates around the city:

Lakewood Arts Festival is Saturday, August 1. More on their website >

The W. 140th St. entrance ramp to I-90 eastbound will be closed through December for ramp reconstruction and work on the adjacent I-90 bridge. ODOT’s announcement >

The City of Lakewood wants you to adopt your nearest drain. Read more about Adopt-A-Drain >

Lakewood City Council is considering taking legal actions against FirstEnergy. WKYC covered the story >

That’s what this is.

The Birdtown WhatsApp Community has group chats for each street in the Historic Birdtown District so you can connect with the people closest to you, plus a community-wide chat for all of Birdtown. Join the groups that feel relevant, start new ones, react to announcements, vote in polls. Want to put together a book club, a parents group, or a pickup basketball game? Go for it. This space is yours as much as it is ours.

This community is open to everyone within our Madison to Plover bounds. If you know a neighbor who’d want in, bring them along.

Join the Birdtown WhatsApp Community →

If you’re not on WhatsApp yet, it’s free and takes about two minutes to set up. Download it on iPhone or Android and then tap the link above. We think you’ll find it’s worth it.

That instinct is still here. The Birdtown Coalition exists because of it.

How We Started

For a few years, the complaints were familiar to anyone paying attention to the neighborhood Facebook group. Snow-covered street corners sitting untouched after the plows came through. Trash accumulating on sidewalks for months. Noise pollution impacting the neighborhood. The frustration was legitimate — Birdtown is geographically isolated, accessible only from Madison and Athens, and hyperlocal issues sometimes have a way of getting lost in city bureaucracy.

What became clear was that we residents didn’t need to wait. Neighbors were already snow blowing entire blocks. The willingness was there. The equipment was there. What didn’t exist was a way to coordinate it. We are building that system.

That’s the model. Find what neighbors are already doing. Build the structure that makes it more effective.

What We Do

The Coalition organizes around three things.

Community. Regular events that give neighbors reasons to show up together. In May 2026 we held Chalk the Block and the Vote outside Harrison Elementary — about 30 neighbors showed up throughout the event, the League of Women Voters provided ballot information on-site, and Birdtown Brewing served lemonade. We’ve attended neighborhood picnics. Every third Saturday, Flock & Pick brings neighbors out for a block cleanup (Bring gloves — everything else is provided).

Mutual aid. Practical, neighbor-to-neighbor help and shared resources. No prerequisites. The immigrants who founded this neighborhood took care of each other before any institution offered to help. We’re organizing around that same instinct — building the connective tissue that makes this block function better for everyone on it.

Advocacy. We bring neighbor concerns to city council and local partners and we follow through. Dog waste stations. Better forestry upkeep. Noise reduction. Small, specific things that add up to a neighborhood that works. We show up to those conversations organized, and with neighbors behind us.

Where We’re Headed

We’re early, and want to be honest about that.

The Coalition is building toward something more substantial — a neighborhood organization with real resources, real programs, and real investment in the livelihood of Birdtown residents. Not just repaved roads. The kind of investment that makes a neighborhood feel like a community: a place where people know each other, look out for each other, and have a say in what happens here.

That takes time to build right. We’re building it right.

How to Stay Connected

Follow along on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Subscribe here on Substack for neighborhood updates, event announcements, and coalition news.

And show up. Every third Saturday. Bring gloves.

The Birdtown Coalition is neighbor-led, nonpartisan, and volunteer-run. Founded by Danielle Kirsh and co-led with Mary Brown and Mary Piunno.

We’re thinking Thrush would be the best place to hold it, between Lark and Dowd, so that there’s full street access on Magee and Halstead still. We have two dates that we want you to choose from – one in August and one in October.

This initiative is the most requested one. Life is busy and I know we’re not answering knocks at our doors anymore. So, during the week, we’re going to have the survey outside on a table for neighbors to come by and sign. I’ll have it outside from 8am-9pm most days.

Come by the yellow house next to the tree farm at Dowd and Thrush and sign the survey! Let us know if and when you want this block party to happen!

We are launching our monthly litter clean up, thanks to feedback from our Birdtown neighbors! Flock & Pick is the perfect opportunity to talk with neighbors while we all work toward a cleaner Birdtown.

We’ll meet the third Saturday of every month at a designated location (announced in advance) to pick up litter around Birdtown and clear any obstructed storm drains. The coalition *should* have enough litter pick tools to lend to volunteers, you just need to bring gloves!

Next Saturday we’ll meet at the corner of Quail and Thrush on the Harrison Elementary sidewalk and pick up litter from 5-6ish. See you there!

p.s. Be on the look out for another email about Block Party planning soon! The Birdtown Coalition is getting started on that initiative now.

Come out and meet some neighbors this Saturday for LakewoodAlive’s 12th annual Birdtown Picnic, sponsored by Birdtown’s own Shinn Law Firm.

The Birdtown Coalition will be there with invites to some of our upcoming events and initiatives (they will be sent via email and social media after the picnic). We’ll also have a few tchotchkes for you to take home and temporary tattoos! Let us know about some of the things you’d like to see in the community next.

We’re working on some of the initiatives you all brought to us in March, including trash pick up and dog waste remediation. We want to keep expanding to meet our community’s needs.

Come out, socialize, eat, get involved. We’ll see you there!

We are trying to finalize some of our plans for the summer, including community building events and street beautification work, and need your input! We want these programs to be community-driven. Here’s what we’re thinking.

Clean Streets Initiative

We want to officially organize a trash clean up program for the streets of Birdtown. We need to get a better understanding from our neighbors about the cadence they’d like to see the streets cleaned and more.

Community Building Aspect

With the help of survey responses, we will coordinate a regular street cleaning initiative that will encourage neighbors to meet up on a pre-determined day and time and walk the streets and clean up trash together.

Committee Work

We’re starting to take the necessary legislative steps needed to get dog waste stations around Birdtown. We’ll keep you updated on the status of that endeavor.

Front Porch Performance Series

We would like to organize a single weekend day this summer to have all our neighbors host performances from their porches while others can walk by and watch. We want to expand beyond music and invite performances like improv, poetry slams, storytelling, whatever you want to do. Let us know your interest in the survey.

Community Building Aspect

We hope this will bring our neighbors out to engage and explore our streets!

Committee Work

Once we have an idea of interest in the survey, we will start formally organizing, which includes a call for performers and putting together a neighborhood map of people who want to perform.

Please take our survey here

Other Things to Know

The City of Lakewood needs our input on the pool renovations at Madison Park.

Do you live near a storm drain in Birdtown? Consider adopting it through Lakewood’s new program. You will help prevent localized flooding and protect our region’s waterways and infrastructure!

Follow our Facebook for more interesting posts about Birdtown and regular posts from the coalition.

Reminder as we make our way into power outage season: Text OUT to 544487 (LIGHTS) to report your power outages. It helps FirstEnergy prioritize recovery and it shows where their infrastructure is failing.

The Birdtown Coalition wants to host another community meeting to discuss our next initiatives and how neighbors can get involved. We’re looking at trash clean-up as our next major program to implement and will be expanding voter outreach in partnership with some local organizations and elected representatives.

✨ ICYMI: We hosted our inaugural voter outreach event, Chalk the Block.

Tentatively, we will meet at the Madison Park pavilion (weather permitting) for about an hour. The Coalition will send out an event invite with an agenda and updated time once it is decided.

Please vote below on the meeting time that works best for you. We will take that into consideration when planning the next community meeting. Thank you!

Reminder: You don’t have to live in Birdtown to participate in our coalition! We even had some Ward 4 residents show up to Chalk the Block. We’re building a community. Our impact and outcomes is all that matters.

The event brought together neighbors, local partners, and community leaders for an afternoon of chalk art, conversation, and civic awareness. The League of Women Voters of Greater Cleveland provided on-site ballot information for Ward 4 voters. Birdtown Brewing supplied complimentary lemonade for attendees. Ward 4 City Council Representative Matt Bixenstine attended to engage directly with constituents.

“Birdtown has a large renter population and many newer immigrant communities who are still finding their footing in the democratic process. We wanted to bring awareness and encourage more of our neighbors to participate,” said Birdtown Coalition Founder Danielle Kirsh. “The neighborhood has one of the lowest voter turnouts in Lakewood — not just in midterms, but in every election. We want to change that.”

Bixenstine said the event reflected the kind of organizing he values most.

“Community building takes many forms, but one of my favorites is when it occurs organically at the grassroots level,” Bixenstine said in a Facebook post. “I’m proud of the Birdtown Coalition and look forward to seeing what this neighbor-led group accomplishes next.”

The coalition’s decision to anchor the event at Harrison Elementary was intentional. The school sits at the heart of the neighborhood and serves as the voting site for Birdtown residents, making it a natural gathering point for a community focused on building civic participation from the ground up.

Chalk the Block and the Vote marks the first in what the Birdtown Coalition intends to be a series of neighbor-led events focused on mutual aid, civic engagement, and community connection across Birdtown, a nationally registered historic district.

About the Birdtown Coalition

The Birdtown Coalition is a neighbor-led organization serving residents, property owners, and local stakeholders in Lakewood’s historic Birdtown neighborhood, a nationally registered historic district established in 1892. The coalition organizes volunteer-driven initiatives focused on safety, mutual aid, shared resources, and community connection across the neighborhood’s bird-named streets between Madison and Plover avenues. Learn more at birdtowncoalition.substack.com.

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Media Contact
Danielle Kirsh
kirshdanielle@gmail.com

Steering Committee

The Coalition is seeking more residents to join the Steering Committee. The Committee will help guide future development of the coalition and will have a hand in creating the mission, vision, bylaws, and actions. Committee members must live or own a business within the bounds of Madison to Plover, Magee to Halstead. If you are interested in joining the Steering Committee, please send an email to birdtowncoalition@gmail.com.

Birdtown Coalition is seeking partnerships with local businesses and foundations, but will need an official committee to get financial backing for bigger projects like a community shed and trash cans for dog waste.

We also wanted to clarify that you do not have to live within the Birdtown bounds to volunteer and participate in actions and events. All are welcome and encouraged.

Event: Chalk the Block & the Vote – May 3

Join us outside Harrison Elementary School on Sunday, May 3 from 12-2pm to Chalk the Block, register to vote, and learn about the voting process and the issues on the ballot this year! Come socialize with neighbors, make art on the sidewalks around Harrison Elementary and Birdtown to encourage people to vote on Tuesday, May 5. Bring chalk, or borrow some from our organizers. Here’s the event on Facebook.

Updates

Other than that, the committee has been working with the city on numerous things, like overgrown branches, Neograf, and parking. I’m hoping to have a Birdtown renter resource network live on Substack within the next few weeks.

As for the concerns about gas line work in Birdtown, Ralph P. found out that Enbridge has informed Lakewood that no work is on the schedule for Birdtown for years 2026 or 2027. No road work for us! They did put a disclaimer that if a pipe breaks or other unplanned maintenance problem occurs, they will have to immediately address it.

Our Ward 4 council rep, Matt Bixenstine has also been advocating for Birdtown-related issues. Here’s what he focused on a few weeks ago:

I recently participated in a meeting with leadership from Lakewood City Schools because I’m advocating on behalf of future Pre-K students from Harrison families who lack access to transportation. With the district’s plan to create a centralized Pre-K at Lincoln that’s 2.5 miles from Birdtown, I’m hopeful van transportation will be offered for families in-need.

– Matt Bixenstine

Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns. Matt Bixenstine also encourages residents to reach out to him if parking and Neograf continue to be a concern. He can be reached at Matt.Bixenstine@lakewoodoh.gov.

He also reached out to Birdtown Brewing to address loud patio music at night. Bixenstine said the owner wants to be a good neighbor and will be more mindful of the music. If the issue continues, the owner would like to host a neighborhood meeting at the brewery to meet the brewery’s neighboring residents.

Poll: What should we do next?

Help the Steering Committee decide on what the biggest priority is right now. This poll focuses on things we can do that don’t require city bureaucracy. Based on feedback from the inaugural meeting, I’ve found that the following actions won’t require bureaucracy. Vote on what you see as the biggest priority!

And I wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who reached out so far offering to volunteer for certain things – I hope to meet some of you at Chalk the Block!

–– Danielle Kirsh

At Friday’s inaugural coalition meeting, we started off talking about things that we love about Birdtown, including walkabilty, greenery, its quietness, diversity, and affinity for its history. One neighbor’s grandma even worked in the old Birite — now Birdietown, Phoenix, and the Heyday Collective. It’s no wonder we all want to come together to build and preserve a community here. I think it is important to foster camaraderie to ensure it’s a safe and welcoming place for everyone to live and visit.

I shared brief remarks from our city council rep, but included it fully at the bottom of this wrap-up. Our neighbors discussed some of the needs that we all thought would be nice to achieve and create a framework for. I also tried to organize all of your ideas under the appropriate program headings (let me know if you think it should be changed!). Here are the ideas pitched:

• Community shed: Houses things like shovels, a snow blower, and other lawn tools that can be accessed by residents and renters.

• Trash receptacles down the street for dog waste (bonus if it has baggies attached).

• Cleared sidewalks: Improved accessibility on sidewalks by volunteering to trim shrubs and manage tree branches — like a variation on Lakewood Alive’s work but specific to Birdtown.

• Signage and art: Promote keeping the neighborhood clean (could post with trash cans), and pick up poop signs from the NEORSD. Commission local artists to put up murals or art exhibits.

• Little Libraries especially on walks to school.

• Boost voter turnout: Organize a door-knocking campaign, in partnership with the League of Women Voters.

• Community events: There was a lot of interest in forming a Block Club + other events, such as a Halloween event and yard sales.

• Traffic calming: Specifically around Quail, Thrush, and Dowd around Harrison Elementary.

Next Steps

Mary Kennedy, my co-organizer, discussed the possibility of funding through some of the Lakewood neighborhood grants (Mary has experience with grant funding as a member of several Lakewood committees). Some neighbors pitched participatory funding or the Healthy Lakewood Foundation. However, to get funding, we would need to formally organize with a board/steering committee.

The neighbors also suggested partnering with Birdtown businesses, such as Oktober’s, Birdtown Brewing, Phoenix, and Stem. There is already a Birdtown business group run by Stem’s owner, so we see potential for partnership down the road.

Our core programs will focus on Safety, Mutual Aid, Community, Advocacy, and Communication. You can find examples of what would be in those programs by going here to the Programs page.

Next steps will be to form that steering committee to establish solid values and start working and collaborating with the city. The committee will have 3-8 Birdtown neighbors on it, including at least one renter. Committee members will be leading some of the core program initiatives and projects as needed.

If you are interested in joining the steering committee, let me know by sending an email to kirshdanielle@gmail.com or by responding to this email.

Thanks everyone for your interest! We will coordinate another meeting soon — hopefully a little later in the evening so people can come from work.

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Remarks from Ward 4 City Council Representative Matt Bixenstine

First off, congratulations! I applaud this effort to build community at the grassroots level in Birdtown through creating a neighborhood coalition. I am happy to support this effort however I can.

Secondly, I apologize for my absence from this first meeting. I had an obligation that took me out-of-town today and tomorrow, but I look forward to attending future meetings when I am able.

Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to offer updates regarding three Birdtown-related items I’m working on:

NeoGraf Noise Issue

I recognize that this is a quality-of-life issue for impacted residents, and I’m committed to doing whatever I can to seek a solution. During February, my first full month on Council, I held meetings with impacted residents and City of Lakewood leadership regarding this issue. This past Monday, a member of the mayor’s staff and I met with Ben Stewart, NeoGraf’s new director of operations.

Ben wants to cooperate with us in trying to seek a solution. However, he’s not currently clear on the specific source of the noise in question. Consequently, we established a plan whereby my group of 10 impacted residents will text me whenever they hear the problematic noise, and I will relay this information to Ben in hopes that this start/stop/date/time data will enable him to pinpoint the source. Once we understand the source of the noise, we will reconvene with Ben to discuss potential solutions.

Birdtown Parking Issue

While parking is a problem everywhere in Lakewood, it is especially acute in Birdtown, where many residents are renters who lack driveway space and Birdtown Brewing is getting set to open with a capacity above 200 and only 22 off-street parking spaces.

This past Wednesday, I met with the City’s Planning Department to discuss potential solutions that can help alleviate parking pain. I’ve also recently spoken with our Ward 4 police officer, Melissa Mazor, and the Lakewood City Schools’ director of operations, Chris Donahoe, about this issue.

Potential solutions we’ve discussed include small changes like switching signage for several street spots on Quail near Harrison School from “Weekend Only” to “No Parking 8 am to 4 pm” to open these spots during evenings. They also include more significant changes like incorporating two-sided street parking on Plover, which is the only street in Birdtown wide enough to support two-sided parking under current City ordinance. And they include exploring use of overflow parking at Harrison School and Madison Park.

I look forward to providing future updates as we continue to explore ways to alleviate parking pain.

Edit to add further clarification from Bixenstine: Under current city law, no streets in Birdtown are wide enough to be considered as a one-way street due to the need to maintain access for emergency vehicles, refuse trucks, snowplows, etc. However, Plover is wide enough to be considered for two-sided parking (even as a two-way street).

Increasing Block Club Participation

City Council has a stated goal to increase block club participation city-wide. Birdtown currently does not have any officially-recognized block clubs and I’d like to see that change. To this end, our City Council recently convinced the Mayor’s Office to reduce the threshold of signatures needed to get a block party permit from 75% of a block’s residents to 60%. Still a tall task to get 60% of residents to sign off. but at least a bit easier than before.

City Council is also exploring hosting a yet-to-be-named block clubs workshop in the coming months designed to obtain feedback on how we can better support block club creation and growth. I run a block club across the park on Clarence, and I look forward to supporting efforts to create a block club in Birdtown.

Reach out to Matt Bixenstine if you have questions about parking, NeoGraf, or Block Club logistics.
Council Office: 216-529-6055
Matt.Bixenstine@lakewoodoh.gov

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