Kennedy Heights

Kennedy Heights is a mostly residential neighborhood just east of Pleasant Ridge. It's mostly African American as well, but it still has more diversity than some other Cincinnati communities. It's a quiet neighborhood of modest, older homes as well as four-family and moderate sized apartment communities.

Like any near urban neighborhood, the community has a few reported crimes, but Kennedy Heights Community Council and residents are always working to help keep the neighborhood a family friendly and safe place to live. They sponsor clean up days, community events and Citizens on Patrol.

Businesses
The business strip along Montgomery has seen a lot of businesses fade away in the past. There's no shopping to speak of in the neighborhood, but the Kenwood shopping area is 5 minutes northeast on Montgomery Rd. They have a number of restaurants as well.

There are also several businesses in Kennedy Heights that have been in the same locations for a number of years. Blossoms Florist (blossomsflorist.biz) at the corner of Kennedy and Montgomery Rd. has been a staple in the neighborhood for just about 30 years. The owner, Carol Ruffin, has a flair for floral design. For years she's been the florist for many families, including mine.

Kalawentz Naturals (www.kalawentz.com) is another longstanding Kennedy Heights small business located at 6564 Montgomery Rd. The African American hair and skin care product manufacturer and distributor has been featured on MSNBC's Biz on the Side.

Arts
Kennedy Heights Art Center offers a thriving program of arts to the neighborhood. Their large old beautiful building hosts changing exhibitions, art programs and camps and public art events

Kennedy Heights Cultural Center- On June 14 the community broke ground to begin the conversion of the vacant building at Kennedy and Montgomery into the Kennedy Heights Cultural Center. The building housed a Kroger years ago, then a furniture store; but it's been vacant for years. Kennedy Heights Montessori will re-locate to the building. Cincinnati Art Museum will use the facility as an off-site outreach center for an archived collection of art. It will also serve as a satellite location for Kennedy Heights Art Center

Recreation
Daniel Drake Park on Red Bank Rd. was the original site of the annual Juneteenth festival that's now held in Eden Park each year. It's a grassy tree-filled park that sits on a hill high above I-71. It's got picnic areas, a playground and a great view of eastern parts of the city. Kennedy Heights Park is a small park tucked located at the bottom of Robinson at Woodford Rds.

Cincinnati Public Schools
Woodford Paideia Critical Thinking Academy (woodford.cps-k12.org) 3500 Lumford Place  

Private Schools
Kennedy Heights Montessori Center (kennedyheightsmontessori.org ) is an award winning program located on at 6120 Ridge Rd in Pleasant Ridge

There are no medical centers in Kennedy Heights, but Jewish Hospital Kenwood is five minutes.

Kennedy Heights is located in the northeast corner of Cincinnati along the busy thoroughfare of Montgomery Road, one of the main surface arteries of the Cincinnati area. It is a neighbor to Pleasant Ridge, but with less of the commercial amenities to offer. Kennedy Heights is predominantly a lower-middle class African American community, although the population as a whole is diverse. The houses are older and often times smaller and less well-kept than in neighboring Pleasant Ridge, bringing the property values down to very affordable levels.

Kennedy Heights shows signs of urban blight along the Montgomery Road corridor as many empty businesses and abandoned buildings sit along its route. The large empty building at the corner of Montgomery and Kennedy used to be the neighborhood Kroger, now long-closed. There are plans currently underway to redevelop this space into a cultural center, making it a hub of community activity. A little further down Montgomery Road finds the Kennedy Heights Arts Centers, one of the highlights of the community. The arts center offers classes for children and adults, summer camps, art exhibitions and more.

Once you venture from Montgomery Road onto the side streets, you find a quiet, residential community filled with older single-family homes. Kennedy Heights Park offers a mature landscape spanning more than 12 acres of rolling hills. Daniel Drake Park offers sweeping views of the surrounding area, along with 66 acres if its own natural beauty. Drake park also offers a playground, picnic shelter, and walking paths.
Kennedy Heights Montessori provides early childhood education for children ages 3-6. As Kennedy Heights is within the City of Cincinnati, neighborhood children attend Cincinnati Public Schools.

Kennedy Heights is known to have more crime than the surrounding areas, but less so than in other parts of the city and certainly less than in other metropolitan areas of the country. Cincinnati tends to be a small, big city. We are a big enough city, but still maintain that small town mentality where any crime freaks us out. So, use your judgment. Overall, Kennedy Heights is a fairly safe, relatively quiet, modest neighborhood with affordable housing. While it may be lacking in its own amenities, it is conveniently located to communities with excellent shopping and dining.