Abstract

In this 2025 interview, piano technician and business owner Mr. Mike Kaplowitz describes the history of Bill Kap Piano Company and his role as its second-generation owner. He discusses the business’s origins, the influence of his father, and the services the shop provides. He also comments on East Cleveland’s economic changes, community institutions, and ongoing revitalization efforts. The interview concludes with his views on public perceptions of the city and the importance of local engagement.

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Interviewee

Kaplowitz, Mike (interviewee)

Interviewer

Mays, Nicholas S. (interviewer)

Project

East Cleveland

Date

9-10-2025

Document Type

Oral History

Duration

47 minutes

Transcript

Nick Mays [00:00:03] My name is Dr. Nicholas Mays and today is September 10th, 2025, and we are at Bill Kat Piano Company in East Cleveland conducting an official oral history interview for the East Cleveland Oral History Project. I am a historical consultant. I am joined by Mr. Mike Kap [Kaplowitz], second generation owner of Bill Kap Piano, a family business serving the community since 1955. [00:00:33] This interview will be part of our historical archive initiative to preserve the stories and contributions of past and present East Clevelanders, as well as historical sources that will inform the production of a scholarly historical article in digital documentary. For the record, please state your name, your age and the year you was born.

Mike Kaplowitz [00:01:01] Hi, Nick. My name is Mike Kap [Kaplowitz]. My age is 59 years old. I was born […] 1966.

Nick Mays [00:01:14] Mr. Kap, thank you for being here. To begin with, would you briefly introduce your role yourself and your role at Bill Cap Piano today?

Mike Kaplowitz [00:01:30] My role here in this business is I’m the second generation owner of Bill Kap Piano Company. My father started this, like I said, in 1955, and I’ve been being groomed for this position my whole life, whether I knew it or not. So when it came time, my father passed the torch on to me and I took over the business. [00:01:52] And basically, I just try to walk in his shadow and walk in his shoes and try to emulate everything he did. And fortunately, it seems to work for us. We have a great following in Cleveland community. We’re synonymous with pianos. So anybody that needs piano service, sales, tuning, repairs or moving, they know who to call.

Nick Mays [00:02:19] For people who don’t who may not know your shop, the piano shop, what does BillCap Piano offer today?

Mike Kaplowitz [00:02:32] Well, Nick, I just kind of stated that we do sales, we do service, we do tuning, we do a lot of moving of pianos, and we can refinish and rebuild pianos. So if it has to do with the piano, there’s nothing that we can’t do. We have a full service shop, refinishing, building, movers, trucks, everything that has to do with the piano. [00:02:54] We’re the professionals. There’s nobody better in the state of Ohio, in my opinion.

Nick Mays [00:02:59] Can you expand on servicing? What does that look like? Give us an example of what servicing a piano is.

Mike Kaplowitz [00:03:09] All right, well, servicing a piano can encapsulate a lot of things, but there’s 88 keys on a piano, and within that 88 keys, there’s thousands of moving parts that have to work in harmony to get that piano to perform properly. So there’s a lot of manipulation and a lot of fine adjustments to make sure that that Piano is a performer or even concert ready for performer to play again. [00:03:38] There’s 88 keys. There’s 12 different manipulations to each key. So if you do the math, that’s thousands of manipulations that have to be made in order for every key to perform harmoniously with the predecessing key or the following key. So everything’s got to perform in harmony with one another. All 88 keys. And it takes a lot of patience and it takes a lot of fine tuning to get that piano to perform the way it’s supposed to. [00:04:11] And that’s where we come in, because we’ve been doing this a long time. We know what we’re doing.

Nick Mays [00:04:16] Who’s your clientele? Who do you sell pianos to?

Mike Kaplowitz [00:04:20] Well, the institutions buy pianos, churches buy pianos, Private individuals buy pianos. I’ve got a lot of clientele. You know, we’ve got the University Circle down the street. You got Cleveland Institute of Music. You’ve got the Cleveland Music Settlement. They’re great institutions. They need pianos. You’ve got University Hospital and Cleveland Hospital, all the doctors and nurses. [00:04:46] It’s a great way to meditate and relieve stress. So a lot of those professionals play pianos. And then in the Heights, you got Shaker Heights, Cleveland Heights, University Heights. There’s a lot of individuals there that the family promotes the playing of a piano. Or even the schools like Laurel Schools and Shaker Schools and whatnot, they promote liberal arts and they promote, you know, music education. [00:05:17] So there’s a lot of interest still in Cleveland. It’s a melting pot. And there’s a lot of interest in Cleveland when it comes to music and pianos in particular.

Nick Mays [00:05:28] Thank you. Moving on. Can you share a little bit about your father’s background and how did your father’s original vision shape the business you run?

Mike Kaplowitz [00:05:40] Now, that’s an interesting story, Nick. My father was a. He was a self made man. He grew up during the Depression. I don’t think he even had shoes and socks when he was growing up. And he just knew how to hustle from a very early age, from, you know, during the Depression and World War II. [00:06:03] He was scrapping cardboard and aluminum to make ends meet, you know, and then he. There was a time when his mother owned a little grocery cart. She would sell groceries in Flint, Michigan off the grocery cart. And he would buy candy bars and he would take a little cardboard box, wrap it around his neck, and go to the office buildings during lunchtime and sell candy bars. [00:06:27] He’d buy them for a nickel apiece and he’d sell them for A dime apiece. So he was an entrepreneur from day one. When he grew up, he started his own vending machine company. And he would put vending machines in office buildings and factories throughout Cleveland. And then from there he kind of. He started with a partner. [00:06:51] They figured they could pull pianos out of basements from Salvation army and Goodwill and work their craft and kind of figure out how to fix them and then sell them. And then it kind of snowballed. It was a snowball effect from there. He ended up. He had a brand new Cadillac. He sold his brand new Cadillac, put himself through Oberlin, where they have a piano technology school. [00:07:15] So he put himself through college and he studied piano. Piano and tuning and repair and whatnot. And then it was a snowball effect. He just kind of grew from there and he figured, this is going to be the way I’m going to make a living for me and my family. So he, he just, it was, it was. [00:07:37] It wasn’t a passion of his to begin with, but it became a very passionate thing for him because he, not only did he enjoy what he did, but, you know, he enjoyed making money and in servicing the community and providing, you know, he always said, I’m not in the business to sell pianos. [00:07:58] I’m in the business to sell happiness. He goes and he goes, that’s what I’m here to do, is to make people happy. And he did pretty good at it for last 70 years. He did a really good job of it because a lot of people have fond memories of my father and he brought a lot of happiness to a lot of people.

Nick Mays [00:08:19] Thank you. Thank you for your response. What about vision or his goal or his aim? How do you think that shaped the business that exists today?

Mike Kaplowitz [00:08:33] That’s a good question. That’s a hard question to answer. I don’t, you know, I know he had a. He had. He was always a driven person and he always loved people. That was, he was a very. He was very people oriented his whole life. He would sit on the phone or he’d pull you into his office and he’d talk to you for hours just because he wanted to know everything about you. [00:08:57] And he wanted. He just loved people. That was more important to him than the sale or making the bottom dollar or whatever. He just loved to enjoy. He enjoyed talking to people and he was a student of people his whole life. He knew how to. He knew how to ask you certain questions and get certain answers out of you and get you to divulge all kinds of information that you would not divulge to the normal person. [00:09:30] So he loved talking to people. He had a way about him. He was a very charismatic person. He had a lot of highfalutin friends in Cleveland, like Dorothy Fulltime and Joel Rose and all these celebrities that. He knew them all and they were good friends. But it was more about community and getting to know people than it was about making a ton of money. [00:09:59] Because, you know, pianos. You know, you sell one piano, you’re probably good for a while. So, you know, because they’re pretty expensive instruments. But he just loved what he did. Is that what it. And I think that it showed. And a lot of people understood that. And they just. They have such fond memories of my father. [00:10:18] Every time I pick up the phone and they’re like, oh, is this Bill? And like, no, this is his son. And like, oh, I remember these. And they start telling me stories about Bill all the time, and it just warms my heart because they’re always. They always have fond memories of him. So that’s. [00:10:32] That means a lot that he was more people oriented than anything.

Nick Mays [00:10:37] Fascinating. Very interesting. You alluded to 70 years. What year did your father open?

Mike Kaplowitz [00:10:48] Right around 1955, he started. We were across the street at. In the beginning, and we had a shop across the street. And then probably back in the early 70s, this side of the street opened up. So my father bought. Bought the building on this side of the street. So it was a short move right across Euclid Avenue. [00:11:14] So that worked out pretty well for us. And this. This building has been our home for quite a while. And it’s. It’s very accommodating. I mean, as you’ve seen, it’s a beautiful. It’s a beautiful establishment. We invest a lot of money into the building, and it just. It’s just very accommodating for a piano store. [00:11:34] It just. It fits. It’s a perfect fit for us.

Nick Mays [00:11:37] Why East Cleveland?

Mike Kaplowitz [00:11:40] East Cleveland used to be millionaires row at one time. Back in the 30s and 40s, it was millionaires row. When my father first started in business back in the 50s, East Cleveland was still a beautiful place. It was still a beautiful place. It was controlled with an iron fist. You know, it was a prospering community. [00:12:00] So we established roots here back in the 50s. And many people over the years had told my dad, now it’s time to move out. It’s time to go to the suburbs. You know, it’s just East Cleveland’s unsafe. Whatever they said all kinds of horror stories about East Cleveland. We’ve never had a Problem here, the whole community respects us for being. [00:12:25] Sticking around 70 years. It’s right on a main thoroughfare, Route 20. And, you know, it’s just. We love this community. We’ve always said. My father always said. He goes, you can’t get me to leave East Cleveland. I love East Cleveland, and I’m going to support it. And I feel the same way. We’re still a continued supporter of East Cleveland and their programs and everything that they do here. [00:12:54] So good or bad, we still support them.

Nick Mays [00:13:00] One more. One more question regarding your dad, and then we’ll pivot. What does it mean to you personally to carry your dad’s and the family legacy through this shop in the city of East Cleveland?

Mike Kaplowitz [00:13:18] You’re gonna. You’re gonna. I’m gonna shed a tear, Nick, because it means a very. It means a whole lot to me, you know, to carry on my dad’s legacy, to do what he started and again, to walk in his shadows and try to emulate him the best I can. That means more to me than anything in this world. [00:13:40] You know, I feel privileged to be able to do this. And I’ve been told by his counterparts that I. I do a pretty good job at it. So that even makes me feel better, because I know my father’s looking down on me right now and smiling because I’ve been able to. I’ve been running this business for about nine years, and we’re still viable. [00:14:06] We’re still providing a great service to Cleveland, you know, Greater Cleveland. And I think I do a reasonable job. I’m not as good as my dad. I don’t think anybody would be as good as my dad to do this, but I do. I do a reasonably good job every time I come into work. [00:14:24] And I feel honored to be able to come in here and again walk in his shadows and emulate him and sit at his desk and just carry on the legacy that he started. That’s very important to me, and I’m honored and privileged to be able to do that.

Nick Mays [00:14:46] And one more. You know, your dad was an entrepreneur, and you talked about that, but what about the. Can you talk about some of the things that your dad did in the community and why it was important to him?

Mike Kaplowitz [00:15:03] Sure, sure. Yeah. My father was. My father was always involved with the city and in the schools and whatnot. And he always tried to. He always tried to pass it forward, whether it be on the East Cleveland. He would discuss with the East Cleveland City Council or if they needed. There was a time when they had a program that was Clean up East Cleveland. [00:15:36] And my father headed that. That program. And, you know, he’d have the shop cleaners, like, washing their windows and cleaning up their sidewalks every morning and doing stuff like that, you know, because my father’s very proud of this building because it’s all glass front, so the windows always had to be clean, the sidewalks always had to be swept. [00:15:59] Everything had to be looking, you know, it’s a thoroughfare. It had to be looking good, you know, for anybody that traveled down Euclid Avenue. So he was very stringent about that. He liked a nice, clean storefront. And then with the schools, well, it was Kirk Junior High back then, but he would give the junior high schoolers tour of the piano store, and they were always real respectful. [00:16:27] And we still have letters to this day from some of the students. They were thanking him for the tour. You know, he’s got the music box collection and the piano store. It inspires kids. A lot of thing was about inspiring young kids. Shaw High School, being able to donate time and energy and pianos to them, that meant a lot to my father. [00:16:50] Even the library across the street or the theater next door, we would donate time and energy to all that or. Or whatever. Money, it didn’t matter to see them prosper. So my father always said, he goes, if I’m going to spend my money, I’m going to spend it in East Cleveland first, because I want to see this city prosper first, you know, because this is my home. [00:17:15] And so he always put East Cleveland before anybody else, and that meant a lot to him, too. This city always meant a lot to him, and we’re looking forward to the future here. I think there’s going to be some exciting things going to happen here in East Cleveland. It’s got to happen because we can’t go any. [00:17:33] We can’t go any down any further. We can only go up from here. So I’m looking forward to the future in East Cleveland.

Nick Mays [00:17:40] This is a good segue to pivot. What does the city of East Cleveland mean to you, and what are some of the. What are some of the things you’re doing in a community to add on with what your dad did?

Mike Kaplowitz [00:18:00] All right, well, I still support all the. I support all these nonprofits, like the library and the school systems and whatnot. I support them The. The city as a whole. You know, I’m getting involved a little bit more involved in politics these days because I would like to see the political system do better, for lack of a better term. [00:18:28] I want to see the city the City just do better and get on a financial stable ground. And then, you know, I would love to see. Well, we got community involvement in some respects. You know, I’m friends with Gladys Walcott. She does the community gardens, and she was good friends with my father and. [00:18:48] And a lot of the old timers in East Cleveland, they have nothing but good intentions for East Cleveland. And I’m still friends with all of them and we work together in that respect. I would love to see people reinvest in this community. There’s a lot of beautiful homes that can be restored. There’s a lot of. [00:19:10] If we can bring a tax base back to the city. I know we lost GE and we lost. We lost a big chunk of tax base there. But if we can attract some business in here and we can attract some communities to reinvest in their streets, I think in a short period of time, we’re going to turn this city around. [00:19:35] We’re going to see great things, because again, University Circle has nowhere to go but East. So if they’re going to buy a property or invest in money, they’re going to invest it in East Cleveland because there’s nowhere else to go. And then I just think. I think there’s. You watch. I think in the near future, some very positive things are going to happen for East Cleveland. [00:20:00] I can see them.

Nick Mays [00:20:03] I was reading the East Clevelander and I saw some ads in the East Clevelander. You support the East Clevelander? Do you support the East Clevelander? And why do you support the East Clevelander magazine?

Mike Kaplowitz [00:20:19] Well, I love. I love the publisher and I love the, you know, the editorial department of the East Clevelander magazine. They try to put East Clevelander or East Cleveland in a positive light. So that’s. I think that’s important because there’s a lot of good that goes on in East Cleveland that doesn’t get reported. [00:20:38] You always get reported, the bad things, you know, because that makes the news. But there’s a lot of good things that go on here and there’s a lot of community support and community leaders that are trying their best to work with the public and everything and trying to make things happen. And. Sorry, what’s her name? [00:21:01] Tyisha [Blade]. Tyisha. She’s a wonderful. She’s a great person. She’s smart. And I applaud everything she does in the magazine because again, she reports on the good. And there’s not enough good news coming out of East Cleveland. But with Tyisha’s support, we’re gonna. We’ll get more good publicity out of here. And I think it’s got, it can only help the city.

Nick Mays [00:21:28] After you took over the shop, you stayed in East Cleveland. Why was it important for you? Or have you ever thought about moving the shop outside of East Cleveland? If you haven’t, why was it important for you to remain in East Cleveland?

Mike Kaplowitz [00:21:45] Low rent. Listen, Nick, it’s this. Listen, we’ve got a. We’re established here after 70 years of being in same location. We’re the oldest business in this city. And again, this is a beautiful building. You obviously walk through the building. It’s gorgeous in here. We’ve invested a lot of money in this building. Furthermore, you know, it’s just, why would I, how would I uproot anyways? [00:22:16] I mean, there’s so much inventory and there’s so much history here. I’d be uprooting a tradition and a legacy. To try to take everything out of this building and put it in another building. It would be a monumental undertaking that I’m just not willing to do. And plus, I still do love the city and I love coming to work every day. [00:22:43] It’s just home to me. This is home. This is home.

Nick Mays [00:22:47] Can you, can you talk about your training to be able to take over this shop and do the work that you do and the services that you do? Was it formal education or was it being groomed or being trained by your dad? And if that’s the case, what was your training?

Mike Kaplowitz [00:23:09] I was being trained since I was knee high to a grasshopper. Nick, listen, when I was, when I was old enough to dust a piano or push a vacuum, I was coming to work every weekend and all summer long. So I, you know, one of my other buddies were out in the woods playing or playing ball or doing whatever. [00:23:29] I was coming to work every day. I didn’t have the choice. It was something I was expected to do and I just, you know, I just did it, you know, I didn’t know anything else. So. And then through osmosis, through working in the back shop and working with great technicians, they taught me quite a bit how to repair and rebuild pianos. [00:23:58] I worked with the refinisher. My father sent me out in a refinishing building with a dust mask and said, here, sand this piano, strip this piano, paint this piano. So I had to learn every facet of the business. I go out and move pianos and I’m only 135 pounds soaking wet. But you know, it’s all about technique. [00:24:19] So I went out there and I helped move pianos till I could move them by myself. I Prefer not to, but I still can. But I learned every facet of the business. And then just being exposed to how my dad conducted business throughout the years and see how his rapport with people and how he did things in the office, you know, I was exposed to all that. [00:24:43] So, you know, it was just again, I think it was through osmosis I learned all the facets of the business and again, I just try to emulate him as the best I can. Not that it’s perfect because, you know, he was old school, you know, he’s still pen and paper or typewriter. And I still use a typewriter. [00:25:04] Believe it or not, I still use a typewriter. Kids come in here and they’re like, we’ve seen them in museums, but we never seen anybody use a typewriter. I’m like, well, this is how I was trained and sometimes the old way is the best way. So I’m not, you know, I probably should update the way I do things, but it works for us. [00:25:23] So. So that’s the way it is, you know.

Nick Mays [00:25:27] So I want to pivot. Thank you, Mr. Kat. I want to pivot and talk a little bit about change over time. From your earliest memories to today. How has East Cleveland changed over the decades? Whether East Cleveland as a whole along Euclid, the corridors. Talk about how you saw the city evolve from again growing up till now.

Mike Kaplowitz [00:26:02] Well, the city has evolved quite a bit, you know, from the time that I was a little child in East Cleveland where, you know, I remember going to Peter Pan Donut Shop and buying a dozen donuts and bringing them back to the shop here and eating donuts till I got a sugar high, you know, or Hatton’s Bar. [00:26:27] We’d go over there for lunch and buy these greasy burgers and you walk into the bar and it’s dark and dingy, but they, yeah, come on in here kid and get your burgers for the shop. You know, I remember stuff like that Ivanhoe restaurant. We used to go down there and all the cops would sit in there and eat lunch and. [00:26:45] Or Angela Mia’s. Angela Mia’s Pizza store. The cops would go in there and we’d eat pizza with the cops there. So there was a lot of, you know, it was a little. I figured the community was a little bit smaller there back then. Back in the 60s and even the 70s, you know, everybody kind of knew each other and you know, it was still relatively close knit society back then in East Cleveland. [00:27:20] Now nowadays, you know, we don’t have that community feeling anymore. I don’t think there’s still parts of the community that they kind of stick close together again. Like some of the older folks that I know, they still come visit me and we’ll have a cup of coffee and we’ll chop it up and we talk about my father and talk about the old times and stuff like that. [00:27:46] It’s nice. But the community as a whole, I think it’s kind of. It’s kind of spread apart a little bit. And they’re not as. They don’t have the same interaction. You know, you could walk down the street and you basically know everybody that you walk by back in the 60s and 70s, and that’s not the same today.

Nick Mays [00:28:10] You brought up an interesting. Or you brought up some businesses. You said that the name of a couple of businesses. I’m wondering what other businesses. Well, first and foremost, does those businesses that you brought up, do they still exist today? And can you talk about more generally some of the businesses that exist that maybe thrived in East Cleveland that no longer exists today? [00:28:46] I know Peter Pan, he said, was one of them. Yeah, supermarkets, banks, you know, restaurants.

Mike Kaplowitz [00:28:55] True. Yeah, Nick, there’s. There’s a lot of the businesses have. They no longer exist. Like Washington’s Dry Cleaners.

Mike Kaplowitz [00:29:04] They still exist. One of the oldest. One of the. Aside from us, one of the oldest businesses here in East Cleveland, Washington Dry Cleaner. So they still provide a service. Angela Mia’s still there. Earl Ciprione used to own it. Of course, he passed away. But there’s still Angela Mia’s Pizzeria Restaurant there. And they still. [00:29:30] Everybody claims that’s the best pizza you can get. You should try it. If you haven’t tried it, you should try it because it’s really good pizza. Again, Hatton’s Restaurant. There was a Hattons here in East Cleveland. There was also a Hattons downtown. And it was always just, you know, beer in a shot kind of bar. [00:29:48] But they served these nice greasy burgers that. Boy, I could live on those things. And they no longer exist.

Nick Mays [00:29:58] What about supermarkets or banks?

Mike Kaplowitz [00:30:01] There’s nothing. There’s nothing in East. There’s no supermarkets in East Cleveland and there’s no banks in East Cleveland anymore, which is a kind of a shame. There was Key Bank. They were the last to go. And then there was. Well, I think there might still be a supermarket down here. Down by. Between Superior and Forest Hills. [00:30:28] I can’t think of the name of the rest or the supermarket, but I think they might still be there. So there may still be a supermarket here in East Cleveland. But, you know, even. Even Wendy’s, you know, Wendy’s, a fast food chain, they closed up. There was Mr. Heroes. They closed up. So, you know, it’s a. [00:30:49] It’s. It’s not an easy place to maintain a profitable business in East Cleveland. You know, it’s just. It’s just. It’s, you know, it’s a depressed society. Very little income and very little tax base here. But, you know, the furniture king, he still does all right. We’ve been doing all right. There’s a lot of companies, you know, if they’re stable, companies, they can maintain. [00:31:24] I applaud anybody that wants to make a go of it in East Cleveland, and I know quite a few people that do that, and they’re trying their hardest to keep afloat here.

Nick Mays [00:31:37] Is this the transformation that stands out most to you? In fact, the businesses that existed that, you know, has no longer existed over the decades? Or if not, if that’s not the transformation that stands out most of you, what transformation over the decades stands out, whether positive or negative, stands out most of you changes over time?

Mike Kaplowitz [00:32:10] Well, Nick, I’ll tell you, you know, I don’t think it’s a more. I don’t think it’s about the business community because Euclid Avenue, again, is a thoroughfare and there’s. It’s. Regardless how long it takes, there’s going to be businesses down Euclid Avenue. It’s just going to happen, you know, and if they play their cards right, they’re going to do all right, you know, regardless if it’s East Cleveland or Cleveland or Euclid or whatever. [00:32:38] I think you’re on a main thoroughfare here. This is a State Route, U.S. 20. You couldn’t ask for a better location. So in that respect, I don’t worry about the business community so much. But if you get off the main thoroughfare, you go down Hayden, you go to some terrace, you go down some of these side streets, and you see just the degradation of the buildings that’s going on. [00:33:08] It looks like a war zone because some of these buildings have been so abandoned for so long and they’re in such disrepair that there’s no hope for the building. They gotta be torn down. And there’s only so much money to tear down these buildings. They can only do so much. For instance, the big high rise on Terrace, they talked about tearing that place down for years. [00:33:29] And it’s just a big. It’s an eyesore. And it’s not a good. It’s not a good it’s just not a good facility. It needs to be torn down. But it’s, it would take, it would probably take a million dollars to tear the building down. It’s so big, you know.

Nick Mays [00:33:44] So moving on and pivoting. Thank you for that, Mr. Kat. There are revitalization efforts going on in East Cleveland. There are organizations, institutions, but then there’s local citizens, you know.

Mike Kaplowitz [00:34:06] Right.

Nick Mays [00:34:06] Young entrepreneurs and like the East Clevelander and other civic engaged leaders who’s, you know, who’s adamant about being a part of the positive force that takes East Cleveland to, you know, to, to the next level to support the rebuilding of East Cleveland. So in terms of revitalization efforts and development efforts in general, do you support the current efforts of organizations and institutions who are in East Cleveland doing that work and what outcomes do you want to see?

Mike Kaplowitz [00:34:59] Well, yeah, I do support anybody that wants to invest in the infrastructure of East Cleveland, I would say go for it. You know, I don’t care if it’s. Again, you know, there’s all, there’s, there’s sects of the community that are like, we don’t want University Circle coming into East Cleveland. I’m like, I could care less east. [00:35:20] So University could come into East Cleveland. All they’re going to do is invest money in East Cleveland, you know, so I think that’s a good thing. You know, it’s a, it gives you a tax base and it gives you, you know, investments in there and you can only improve what’s already there. Right. [00:35:39] I would like to see a more local or, you know, more grassroots people doing the same thing because there’s East Cleveland’s a. Even though it’s not an enormous city, there’s a lot of, there’s a lot of potential here. So, you know, if somebody were to invest in East Cleveland, and I know people that do invest in Cleveland, me is one of them. [00:36:08] You can only add to the tax base and you can only add to the, just the community and make it help prosper, you know, so, and I’ve told this to several people over several years. You know, I’d be willing to invest in East Cleveland. I’m willing to invest in East Cleveland. I’m willing to take on properties in East Cleveland. [00:36:32] I’m willing to do something with them. But I get stonewalled by City Hall a lot of times, so. And I’m not the only one that that’s happened to. But, but yeah, there’s a lot of, there’s a lot of people that are willing to invest money in East Cleveland, you know, and it, and it’s not only to enrich themselves, but to enrich the community and the properties that they own, you know, so I’m thinking, you know, if we can we get some kind of grassroots movement here, all these beautiful homes can be restored. [00:37:14] We can. Some of these buildings can be restored or at least torn down and repurposed. So I have hope for the city and I’d be willing to invest my own time and money into the city to help see that through.

Nick Mays [00:37:32] I want to unpack something you said, you said the city has potential. What does that mean? What do you mean by the city has potential? What is that?

Mike Kaplowitz [00:37:43] Well, I mean, we’re a small fish in a big pond. East Cleveland’s just. We’re surrounded by Cleveland and you know, it’s just this little small city within itself, you know, and with, you know, with just a lot of. It’s got a lot of assets here. I mean, we got the property, the community. [00:38:09] You know, you got, you got business leaders that are willing to work and invest money in the city again, I’d be part of that too, if we can see that through. So, yeah, I think if we could, Nick, in my opinion, if we can root out all the evil out of East Cleveland and City hall and all the glad handing and all the under the table stuff, we get rid of that and we get legitimate people in there, we’re going to start seeing people come in and want to invest in this city and wanting to build and wanting to do stuff that helps make this city prosper. [00:38:56] I think, like I said, we got nowhere to go but up at this point.

Nick Mays [00:39:01] And then finally, what do people most get wrong about East Cleveland today? In other words, what is misunderstood or overlooked about the city of East Cleveland?

Mike Kaplowitz [00:39:22] Well, I think East Cleveland has got a bad reputation for being, you know, a den of hoods and being den of criminals. You know, I’ve been here my whole life, since I was old enough to walk. And I used to walk these streets and I still walk these streets today. And I never experienced bad things. [00:39:49] You know, nobody tries to mug me or rob me or, you know, or give me a hard time. People actually, they give me a lot of respect around here. A lot of these business owners on Euclid Avenue are my friends. And we communicate and we discuss things together. So for one thing, I think the people in the Heights and West side and whatnot, they’re like, oh, you have a piano store in East Cleveland? [00:40:19] Well, I’m not coming down there. It’s dangerous. It’s not dangerous. It’s not dangerous. We’re right on Euclid Avenue. I always tell people I stay in my lane. I don’t go where I don’t belong. I’m not out there looking for trouble. Trouble doesn’t come and find me. And I said, and if you’re coming down here to look for a piano, you’re not coming down to look for trouble. [00:40:40] You park on Euclid Avenue or you park in my secure parking lot. Nobody’s gonna bother you. They respect us here. It’s fine. So that’s one thing that’s a misconception that a lot of people have, that East Cleveland is a dangerous community. I don’t think it is. I never thought that way. And then, you know, if we could just. [00:41:03] And there’s a lot of good people in city hall too. There’s, you know, for the one or two bad ones, there’s a lot of good people in city hall. There’s a lot of good cops, there’s a lot of good city employees, and I’m friends with a lot of them. But, you know, one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch, so to speak. [00:41:24] So. But, you know, if we can, we can get some powers to be in there that are legitimate and have the sole purpose of helping the community and improving the community. I see. I think we can change the misconceptions of how East Cleveland is ran and how it’s perceived to the suburbs and stuff like that, and I think it’ll be a big change.

Nick Mays [00:41:48] Well, thank you, Mr. Kat. I appreciate you telling us your story and thank you.

Mike Kaplowitz [00:41:56] My pleasure. Thanks for talking with me, Nick. All right, Bill, can I ask a follow up question? Sure. Last one. That’s okay. Why do you think there is a misconception of having a bad reputation? Well, I think it’s, it’s evolved over the years because you, you know, you hire one bad mayor and then you, that mayor gets prosecuted, then you hire another bad mayor and another bad mayor. [00:42:24] And it was, it was, it was been generational for quite a while. These mayors that, you know, they, you know, they had bad intentions when they got in there. And, you know, there was a time when East Cleveland, you know, Mayor Davis and whatnot, they had good mayors here and everybody, everybody towed the mark and everybody. [00:42:50] East Cleveland was a profitable city. They weren’t in the red, they were in the black. You know, that hasn’t been that way in many, many years. You know, because you. First of all, nobody gets out and votes only maybe 10 to 14% of the people in East Cleveland vote. And then who are they voting for? [00:43:12] They’re voting for the wrong person. You know, so you get these wrong people in there and that’s. And they run amok. And then the FBI comes in and cleans house. You know, this has happened time and time and time again, but I think this next. Well, we just had an election yesterday. I don’t know what the results are yet, but I’m hoping for the best.

Nick Mays [00:43:38] This inspired another a follow up for me. You know, you have institutions like Shaw High School, you have East Cleveland Public Library who are very respected and trusted. That’s not a part of the wider discourse about East Cleveland. Can you just briefly discuss and describe Shaw, what it means to the community and the East Cleveland Public Library, why I trusted and respected so much?

Mike Kaplowitz [00:44:10] Well, you know, I think Shaw has done a great job offering the kids as much education and much as much potential to get, to be honest with you, to get out of East Cleveland. You know, they give them a. You’ve got great teachers there, you got a great music program, got a great football program. [00:44:33] You got. The programs there are outstanding, you know, and they’re supported very well. You know, there’s the last. Was it a year ago or two years ago? The valedictorian graduated from Shaw. He went to Harvard. So I mean, there’s, you know, even though you come from modest beginnings, you know, the sky’s your limit. [00:45:00] And I’d known a lot of people that went to Shaw and doctors and lawyers now. So there’s, you know, you can get a good education and you can take that and you can run with it and you could become somebody of great affluence and importance if you put your, if you put your mind to it, you know, so Shaw’s got the potential to turn out great people. [00:45:22] And then with the East Cleveland Public Library, you know, you’ve got a great entity there that’s a. That building was built by Carnegie as part of the, you know, the public library system. It’s a beautiful building. They put a $3 million sound stage and auditorium in that building. I mean, it’s just the, the people that run it do a very, very good job. [00:45:44] You know, there’s things they could do better, but they’re doing great things there too. And, you know, I think that’s a great entity and I’m happy it’s right across the street. We’ve always supported them. So, you know, there’s these cells of greatness in East Cleveland and we need to expand that and grow on that. [00:46:08] And I could think it, you know, it could spread and flourish if the right people are in the right places, you know.

Nick Mays [00:46:17] Well, thank you again.

Mike Kaplowitz [00:46:18] Sure. Sure. Nice.

Nick Mays [00:46:23] Thanks a lot.

Mike Kaplowitz [00:46:23] You’re welcome.

Nick Mays [00:46:24] Great stuff. Really appreciate your story. It’s going to be for history, and we’ll ensure.

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