Khadejah Cunningham yanked helplessly on the locked doors of Cleveland City Hall Tuesday afternoon.
He quickly began to panic.
The government building's closure was more than an inconvenience: Cunningham said it was the difference between being able to see his child or not. He needed a birth certificate to establish his paternity to begin his bid for custody of his daughter, but he left tearful and empty-handed.
"I've been trying to breathe for the last few hours... I went to police stations... They all directed me here, so I just went and paid for parking, got my other daughter a babysitter to come down here," Cunningham said. "And I guess I'm not going to get anywhere today at all."
Cunningham was one of many residents impacted by City Hall's closure Tuesday — the second day in a row after an unspecified cyber threat shut down most public-facing city operations.
Others who were turned away at the locked doors were there seeking building permits, business licenses and housing inspections.
For some, being able to get timely documentation meant the difference of having a roof over their head.
Earnesta Johnson, who is currently unhoused, said she needed a birth certificate to get proper identification to secure housing through the Cleveland Metropolitan Housing Authority.
"I've been homeless for a long time," Johnson said. "I've been praying, and I finally got my prayer answered, and now I can't get a birth certificate to go to my appointment. So hopefully I don't lose my apartment. Then I’ll be back on the list again. Back on the street."
Daveyelle Spears said she may soon be in a similar situation. Her lease is about to end, but her new rental needs a city-mandated electrical inspection before she can move in. She said she and her landlord had been unsuccessfully calling City Hall to get one scheduled for a week before she decided to head Downtown in person on Tuesday.
"Right now, I'm stuck. My lease is up. I'm trying to move into our house. I can't do it. I don't even have a timeframe of when to move in or anything like that. By then, I could be homeless," Spears said. "I got a stepdaughter and a whole family I'm trying to keep together and everything."
City officials told reporters at a press conference Monday afternoon that residents will have to wait for such documentation until City Hall reopens.
Officials announced Tuesday evening that City Hall will reopen on Wednesday at 11 a.m.
"We understand and empathize with the frustration and fear being felt by the community, as well as their desire and need for more information," a city spokesperson said in a written statement to Ideastream on Tuesday. "These are extremely complex, nuanced situations. If we could provide more details without compromising the investigation we would, as transparency is a cornerstone to local government; however, we need to follow best practices and the technological guidance from experts in the field who have dealt with these exact situations in the past."
