Cockrel vows to fix blight near Seven Mile Project
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Cockrel vows to fix blight near Seven Mile Project
Leonard N. Fleming / The Detroit News
Detroit -- Mayor Kenneth Cockrel Jr. today assured members of the Arab American and Chaldean Council that his administration backs revitalization efforts in the region along Seven Mile, where abandoned buildings and homes sit as eyesores.
The mayor, who also talked about crime prevention and financial difficulties during a 40-minute speech, said he is supportive of the ACC'shttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adT...lass_10x10.gif Seven Mile Project, a community and neighborhood development initiative that is seeking to bring new development between John R and Woodward Avenue.
Cockrel, who said nearly $600,000 has been committed to the area from the city, encouraged the members who gathered at the organization's Youth Recreation and Leadership Center to tell him which buildings are abandoned so that his administration can quickly identify "trouble spots."
Isa Hasan, the director of the Seven Mile project, told the mayor that his group has been trying to get the city to tear down abandoned buildings that could be used for parking lots for years to no avail.
"We have been trying to get the city's attention to do something, to tear down these eyesores," Hasan said. "You have inherited a lot of problems, and we are rooting for you to succeed."
The mayor also touted his crime prevention initiatives as a way to make businesses and residents feel safe and vowed that he will lead the effort to improve police response time.
Cockrel told the group that he is meeting with Police Chief James Barren and Chief Financial Officer Joe Harris to explore applying for President Obama'shttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adT...lass_10x10.gif economic stimulus dollars that could help the city hire 150-300 more officers. But his concern is whether the city can pay the additional officers after the federal dollars run out.
"The economic stimulus dollars do open the door to us perhaps being able to put additional officers on the streets," he said. "We are very likely going to be submitting an application to the White Househttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adT...lass_10x10.gif to qualify for cops' funds. Assuming that the pension and payroll issues can be worked out, we will be submitting that request before the end of this month."
Haifa Fakhouri, president and CEO of the council, said she would like to have heard Cockrel talk about how he plans to help youth in Detroit but is encouraged by his vision for the city.
"Definitely the economic development is important to us," Fakhouri said, adding that the neighborhood where the development is taking place is rampant with drug use.
"We would like to look at this specifically and to clean the neighborhood," she said.
lfleming@detnews.com [[313) 222-2072
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...n+Mile+Project
