CLEVELAND — It's been a battle for months.
"I'm angry," Bob Render says. "Why should I have to leave my neighborhood to go find a bank to maintain my accounts?"
A Cleveland group has been fighting to keep the Buckeye Road branch of Huntington Bank open after the company announced it was closing due to violent crime in the area, saying it wasn't a safe environment for employees or customers.
"I don't understand why they're leaving in a neighborhood that is beginning to pull itself back together," Tamara Chappell pondered.
However, signs posted on the branch location that initially said it will "permanently close" now say it will only be "temporary."
"I have never seen a bank back off closing," Chip Bromley said, "so that's a victory and a testament to those people who collected 750 signatures to keep this branch open."
Bromley, Render, and Chappell are a part of the Save the Buckeye Huntington Bank Branch Committee. A Huntington Bank spokesperson shared the following statement on the future of the branch:
"As a bank and an employer, Huntington’s priority is the safety of our customers and colleagues. Unfortunately, due to the violent crime in the area around the Buckeye branch property, we had to make the difficult decision to temporarily close this branch as it was no longer possible for employees and customers to work or visit in a safe environment.
"We appreciate that our Buckeye neighbors and city leadership are committed to addressing this difficult issue. We continue to work with the city to seek meaningful solutions that will allow us to operate safely. In the months to come, we will closely monitor this situation and, if meaningful progress is made, we will take steps to reopen the branch.
"We remain committed to serving our customers and community in Buckeye. In addition to maintaining the ATM at its current location, we have eight other branches within five miles of this location. Additionally, we will continue to work with our neighborhood partners to advance programs that serve the Buckeye neighborhood, such as digital access, home repair programs, transportation and local small business entrepreneurship."
"We've already seen results — one, brand new lights in the back," Bromley shared. "They were worried about crime, put up lights — what a concept. They had a police car here today; that's another concept."
And those who fought for it to stay open said this will hopefully lead to an improvement for the whole neighborhood.
"There's a serious strategic plan that is supposed to come about with input from the residents, the stakeholders and others, churches," Render said.