In the thread about the shooting at Mandee's, someone talked about getting all the residents from the surrounding buildings to sign a letter. Well, I did one better...I wrote the letter and have completed a mail merge on MS Word to cc: to the following recipients:

Mayor Bing and City Council Members
Chief Godbee, Detroit Police Department
Commander Williams, Detroit Police Department, Central District
Lieutenant Fitzgerald, Detroit Police Department, Central District
Chairman Ilitch, Olympia Entertainment
Chairman Gilbert, Quicken Loans
W. Robert Bates, Kales LLC
Tony Ferlito, Kales LLC
Chairman Jackson, Detroit Economic Growth Corporation
Members, DEGC – Downtown Development Authority
Members, Michigan Economic Development Corporation

The text of the letter is below. If you like the letter, send me a private message along with your name and return address and e-mail address, and I'll e-mail you a .pdf file with your name in the letter and all 20 recipients already addressed. All you need to do is sign them and send them.

If you're not feeling ambitious, you could just send to Mayor Bing and the City Council by choosing only to print those pages. And if you don't like my letter, let me know and I'll send you the whole MS-Word file and you can edit the text yourself to say what you want it to say.

I'm not pretending to speak on anyone's behalf...I'm just trying to make it easier for any of you who want to send the letter but don't have time to write it, format it, look up all the addresses, or do the busy work

BrushStart....I'll be looking for your private message...



Mayor Dave Bing
City of Detroit
Coleman A. Young Municipal Center
Detroit, MI 48226

Dear Mayor Bing and Members of Detroit City Council,

I am writing to express my concern about recent instances of violence stemming from patrons of nightclubs downtown. On July 12 at midnight, there were gunshots near the Cobra Lounge at the corner of Griswold and Grand River. An hour later, three people were injured and taken to the hospital after a nightclub shooting at Mandee's Club on the 1300 block of Broadway just after 1:00 a.m. the same night. Several months ago there was a shooting at Kingdom Nightclub at 415 East Congress St.

This violence must not be allowed to continue. There has been a slow resurgence of development and population growth in the downtown area that must be sustained if Detroit is ever to be a successful city. The residents moving into the area are highly educated, middle- to upper- income, young, open-minded, and free from the fears which plagued those who moved away in decades ago. I moved here recently and have been excited to continue this growth, which is why I’m fearful that these isolated incidents are part of a trend that is worsening.

That brings me to the other reason for this letter. A new nightclub called, “LAX”, recently opened up nearby on W. Adams in Grand Circus Park [[GCP). Since its opening less than a week ago the following has taken place and can be directly attributed to its patrons:
- Noise from the cars driving by has been so loud that you can hear it from inside the mid-level floors of the Kales Building,
- Adams St. has been impassable by car because patrons have triple-parked on the street illegally,
- A patron was illegally parked, blocking the exit from the underground parking structure at GCP
- Guests were driving cars with music so loud that the bass from their subwoofers was setting off nearby car alarms,
- The sidewalk on the north side of W. Adams was almost impassable to pedestrians because crowds were loitering after exiting the club,
- Fistfights have broken out in the street, and
- Gunshots were fired on the corner of Parks and Adams after an argument ensued.

Grand Circus Park is one of the most public “faces” of downtown. Tourists from all over the state descend upon it to see baseball games at Comerica Park. It’s visible from the Westin Book Cadillac, the Detroit Opera House, the Detroit Athletic Club, and Comerica Park. How can you ever expect to fill Broderick Tower, the Whitney Building, and the other downtown developments when visitors in the area come down and experience an environment that appears to be one step away from violent tragedy?

Frankly, I was excited when I first heard that LAX was opening and would include a steak and lobster restaurant on the second floor, along with good music on two levels. I imagined an upscale experience that would attract a well-behaved, well-dressed crowd searching for a night of dining, drinking, and dancing. What I have seen has been highly disappointing and borderline frightening: fighting, yelling, gunshots, and rowdy unsupervised behavior that must end.

I urge you to explore all legal means of persuading LAX to shut down completely. But as an alternative, I reluctantly would request that – at minimum – the following actions be taken:
- Strictly enforce all “No Parking” designations as well as double- and triple- parking ordinances at Grand Circus Park. Doing so would generate thousands of dollars for the city, as well as free up the driving lanes on W. Adams.
- Prohibit cars from using W. Adams as an outdoor party, driving slow [[or at a standstill) with their music blaring from the radio.
- Provide a large police presence so to prohibit loitering on W. Adams [[or anywhere nearby, for that matter). 41,000 guests leave Comerica Park when it’s at full capacity. You don’t see several thousands of people loitering on Woodward Ave. a half hour after the game is complete. I don’t think it’s unfair to expect the same of the patrons at LAX
- In Royal Oak, nightclubs and restaurants are required to pay the city in exchange for extra police enforcement. Consider enacting an ordinance which would require venues with high capacity to do the same.
- Require nightclubs to allow police to randomly provide metal detectors at entry points. Though the club owners are not required to have them, they should not have any objection. Detroit Police Department should be prepared seize unregistered weapons and make citations for violation of concealed carry laws.
- LAX likely has a capacity of 1,000 guests. They are all parking somewhere. Make sure the parking areas are well-lit and highly patrolled. Also enforce loitering ordinances here as well.

I enjoy living downtown, although friends, family, and co-workers question whether or not moving here has compromised by safety and security. Generally speaking the answer has been, “no”, so far. However, unless problems from nightclubs are curbed immediately, their [[and my) fears about the city will be proven true. And not only will the city lose me as a resident, but also the many friends of mine that are seriously considering moving here to join me.

Thank you for your attention to this problem.


Sincerely,

[your name goes here]

Cc:Chief Godbee, Detroit Police Department
Commander Williams, Detroit Police Department, Central District
Lieutenant Fitzgerald, Detroit Police Department, Central District
Chairman Ilitch, Olympia Entertainment
Chairman Gilbert, Quicken Loans
W. Robert Bates, Kales LLC
Tony Ferlito, Kales LLC
Chairman Jackson, Detroit Economic Growth Corporation
Members, DEGC – Downtown Development Authority
Members, Michigan Economic Development Corporation