I am still feeling a need to revitalize the strength of the Belle Isle Branch.
That said, I have become discouraged about Detroit's failed fight on blight. To me the surest sign of this is the forgotten promises of demolition. About a week ago I was going down a street where I had last been in Detroit back in December. Back then there were several houses with signs prosising soon the houses would be down. Those same houses had the same signs three to four months later.
In other neighborhoods the city has abandoned putting any date on the signs. The worst example I know is a house in the 7 Mile and Evergreen area that has had up the sign promising demolition since 2014.
Yesterday I was driving through the area south of McNichols east of Van Dyke. This area has blocks where probably 5 out of 50 past houses are left. Still, of those 5 remaining houses only maybe 2 are lived in.
In fact there is at least one block in that area where the only think left are maybe three foundations that used to support a house.
One cannot help envying even south Warren. It may have crime and problems, and more blight than Mayor Fouts wants and new houses on smaller lots than one would wish. Still it lacks any burned wreckage, they actually do build new affordable housing, they actually clear lots, and they build new houses to conform to bigger lots, although they need more of that.
That said, I have become discouraged about Detroit's failed fight on blight. To me the surest sign of this is the forgotten promises of demolition. About a week ago I was going down a street where I had last been in Detroit back in December. Back then there were several houses with signs prosising soon the houses would be down. Those same houses had the same signs three to four months later.
In other neighborhoods the city has abandoned putting any date on the signs. The worst example I know is a house in the 7 Mile and Evergreen area that has had up the sign promising demolition since 2014.
Yesterday I was driving through the area south of McNichols east of Van Dyke. This area has blocks where probably 5 out of 50 past houses are left. Still, of those 5 remaining houses only maybe 2 are lived in.
In fact there is at least one block in that area where the only think left are maybe three foundations that used to support a house.
One cannot help envying even south Warren. It may have crime and problems, and more blight than Mayor Fouts wants and new houses on smaller lots than one would wish. Still it lacks any burned wreckage, they actually do build new affordable housing, they actually clear lots, and they build new houses to conform to bigger lots, although they need more of that.
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