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Cincinnati City Council members questioned the city’s response to an East Price Hill property after 14-year-old Rakeem Blair Jr. was shot outside the home Aug. 18. The property had generated a community complaint four days earlier, while its owner, Second Avenue, was pursuing an eviction involving unknown occupants. Council members are now considering whether Cincinnati needs a more centralized process for coordinating quality-of-life complaints across city departments.
The quality of life concerns in Cincinnati are drawing renewed scrutiny after a 14-year-old was shot outside a vacant East Price Hill home.
It has also prompted City Council members to question whether city agencies responded quickly enough to complaints about the property.
The discussion followed the Aug. 18 shooting death of Rakeem Blair Jr. at 3752 Warsaw Ave. Blair, 14, was shot outside the home and later died from his injuries.
Cincinnati police arrested a 16-year-old in connection with the death and charged him with murder, felonious assault and having weapons under disability, according to WCPO.
The property is owned by Second Avenue, a Florida-based institutional landlord with about 100 single-family rental properties in Cincinnati.
Council members questioned company representatives Sept. 9 about the property’s condition and the steps taken to remove people who were occupying the home.
According to WVXU, Second Avenue had already started an eviction case involving unknown occupants before the shooting. A magistrate granted the eviction July 1, and a writ of execution was signed July 9. The company ultimately executed the eviction Aug. 31.
Quality of life concerns before the shooting
However, the concerns for the quality of life at the Warsaw Avenue property existed before Blair was shot.
City Attorney Mark Manning told Council that police received a community complaint and visited the property Aug. 14, four days before the shooting.
The officer found that the property appeared unsecured and that people were coming and going, Manning said. The city then contacted Second Avenue to determine what was happening at the property.
Second Avenue told the city that the house was supposed to be vacant and that it had previously secured the property June 20. The company also said it was pursuing an eviction involving unknown occupants.
Manning said the city faced legal limits at that point because it had not issued a vacate order and an eviction case remained pending. He said the city could not simply enforce trespassing laws against the people inside the property under those circumstances.
WCPO reported that Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney questioned whether the city responded quickly enough after the Aug. 14 complaint.
The timing has become a central issue for Council members because the shooting occurred only four days after the police visit.
The city does not say that earlier action would have prevented Blair’s death. Instead, the Council discussion focused on whether Cincinnati’s existing process provides a sufficiently quick and coordinated response to properties that generate repeated complaints.
Cincinnati quality of life response after shooting
Cincinnati quality of life concerns escalated after Blair was shot. City officials returned to the property with a Second Avenue representative Aug. 19, one day after the shooting.
Manning told Council that the inspection resulted in a vacate order. The order determined that the building was unsafe and not suitable for human occupancy, giving the city additional enforcement authority if people illegally occupied it.
However, the property remained accessible afterward.
WVXU reported that a reporter visiting the home Aug. 20 found a back door and window wide open. Police responded to the property Aug. 21 and found trespassers, according to the city’s timeline presented to Council.
City representatives returned Aug. 25 and 26 to barricade the property again. Police found trespassers at the home again Aug. 28.
Second Avenue then executed the court-approved eviction Aug. 31, about six weeks after the magistrate granted the eviction and nearly two weeks after Blair’s shooting.
Second Avenue field representative David Stewart told Council that the company had cleaned and prepared the property for rent after its previous tenant left in May. He said trespassers later entered the property.
Stewart also said the company did not believe it was safe for its workers to enter the home while people were occupying it.
Quality of life system faces Council scrutiny
Cincinnati quality of life concerns can involve several city departments, depending on the circumstances. Manning told the Council that the Police Department, Law Department’s Quality of Life Division, Health Department, Fire Department and Department of Buildings and Inspections may all become involved.
He said the departments communicate regularly and meet to coordinate their work.
Some Council members, however, want the city to establish a clearer point of responsibility for these cases.
Councilmember Jeff Cramerding said the city should work toward having one point of contact who can coordinate multiple departments and be held accountable for the response.
“I know it’s complex, and I’ve had some conversations with the [city] manager, but I think something like that has got to be our end goal,” Cramerding said.
Councilmember Anna Albi also called for additional attention to the city’s Buildings and Inspections Department and Quality of Life Division during the next budget process.
“Please, when we come through budget season, make these asks explicit because I think all of us sitting here never want to see something like this happen again,” Albi told Manning.
Meanwhile, Councilmember Scotty Johnson separately told WCPO he was concerned by what he heard and saw during the Council hearing. He said residents should be able to expect property owners to properly maintain their properties.
Second Avenue faces broader city lawsuit
Furthermore, the quality of life concerns extend beyond the Warsaw Avenue property. Cincinnati filed a public nuisance lawsuit against Second Avenue in August 2025, alleging problems involving the company’s management and maintenance of rental properties.
According to WVXU, the city alleges Second Avenue acquired distressed properties and failed to maintain them or maximize their productive use. The city also alleged the company owed about $137,000 in civil fines tied to building and health code violations, along with about $2,200 to Greater Cincinnati Water Works.
Those claims remain allegations because the lawsuit is pending. Second Avenue has disputed some of the city’s allegations and has said it has worked with city officials to address property concerns.
The lawsuit also led to Second Avenue properties being included in Cincinnati’s Residential Rental Inspection Program. The program allows the city to conduct regular inspections of properties that meet certain criteria, including a high number of code violations within a short period.
WVXU reported that, as of Sept. 2, Second Avenue had scheduled inspections for 42 properties, with 64 remaining. The Warsaw Avenue property was among those still awaiting inspection.
WCPO reported that Second Avenue has since completed inspections on roughly 60 properties, with more than half passing. The company said it has been working with Cincinnati officials as properties move through the inspection process.
The Warsaw Avenue home did not qualify for the city’s vacant-building monitoring program because it had not been vacant for 180 days, according to WVXU.
Council considers changes after Price Hill shooting
The Council discussion has raised questions about whether Cincinnati’s current system adequately connects residents’ complaints with the agencies responsible for enforcement.
The Warsaw Avenue case involved police, the Law Department, Buildings and Inspections and a private property owner. The city also had to coordinate with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office for the execution of the eviction.
The case illustrates the different legal and administrative steps that can apply to one property. Council members now want to determine whether those steps can be coordinated more efficiently.
The shooting investigation remains separate from the city’s property-management concerns. Police have charged a 16-year-old in Blair’s death, but the charges are allegations and the case remains pending.
For Council members, the immediate policy question is how Cincinnati responds when residents report an unsecured or troubled property before a serious incident occurs.
Cramerding said a centralized quality-of-life contact could help residents navigate the city’s system while ensuring that multiple departments coordinate their response.
The Council’s discussion does not establish that a different city response would have prevented Blair’s death. It does, however, put Cincinnati’s process for handling problem properties under renewed scrutiny following the fatal shooting.
FAQs
What happened at the Price Hill property?
Rakeem Blair Jr., 14, was shot outside a home on Warsaw Avenue Aug. 18 and later died. Police arrested a 16-year-old and charged him with murder and other offenses.
Did the city know about the property before the shooting?
Yes. A Cincinnati police officer visited the property Aug. 14 after a community complaint and found it appeared unsecured, with people coming and going. City officials said the city had limited enforcement options because an eviction was pending and no vacate order had been issued.
When did Second Avenue execute the eviction?
A magistrate granted the eviction July 1, and a writ of execution was signed July 9. Second Avenue executed the eviction Aug. 31, nearly two weeks after Blair was shot.
What changes are Council members considering?
Some Council members want the city to establish one point of contact for quality-of-life complaints. The proposed approach would coordinate responses among agencies such as police, Buildings and Inspections, the Health Department, Fire Department and the Law Department.
