The Old Miami needs your help.

[Django]

The Old Miami, if you have not been there in a while, now has a beautiful back yard to lounge in, complete with koi pond, grill, seating, stage, and a laid back atmosphere only an old Cass Corridor resident could create. If your not familiar with the Old Miami, Its an old Vet bar owned by a Viet Nam Vet [[Army special forces). I remember one old review out of the Metro Times many years ago that stated its "probably the safest bar in the corridor due to the fact that all the homeless are scared of the Veterans who hang out there" The Miami has come a long way from the rough and tumble days of bikers and guns and has strangely transformed into the hangout of many local artists. The owner, who I call Pops, has moved along with the times and with the help of his fiance has transformed a hole in the wall bar into a pool for thoes who live and play in Detroit. The pool maybe isnt the cleanest, and if you dont like it you can go to the Whitney around the corner, but character it has plenty of.

To get to the point of this thread, the mechanics business who recently moved in next door to the Miami has been making complaints about the Miami's new backyard, all due to the fact that there is a possible dispute over an alley way that is between the two businesses.

Anyone wishing to help the Miami should stop in, have a beer or three and sign the petition to help keep the back yard open, just ask the tender where to make your mark. Anyone with some experience in this type of dispute would be welcomed to leave some advice here.

[davewindsor]

Do you have a picture?

[Blarf]

What does a property dispute over an ally have to due with closing the entire back yard?

[EastsideAl]

Sounds like what you need is a decent lawyer experienced in property disputes, rather than a bunch of signatures that will decide nothing.

[Django]

I agree, a good lawyer is whats needed, the signatures are just a start, to get word out really. When ppl sign a petition its something they tend to remember and therefore talk about. So come down and sign the petition and talk about it.

[Blarf]

I don't see how signing the petition is going to have any influence over a property dispute. Maybe trying to raise money to hire a good attorney would be a better way to go.

[BigD]

Hire an attorney. Don't bother with the signatures.

[HazenPingree]

You fellas make it sound like such a terrible idea! Signing the man's petition won't hurt anyone, and it will raise awareness. Django, I will sign your petition the next time I'm at the Miami.

www.AndrewLinnForDetroit.com

[BigD]

Not to be a downer, but if this is truly a legal issue [[and it sounds like one) no amount of signatures will change anything. Any energy spent on gathering signatures is wasted energy. Believe, me, I love the Old Miami, and the backyard. Spend the time calling a good real estate attorney - maybe someone will take it pro bono.

[Django]

The signatures are just a way to raise awareness, I understand perfectly that they will probably have little effect. I was hoping to raise the issue here on Dyes to get some tips from someone whos possibly been in this situation. Gheeesh.

thank you Andy

[Designerguy24]

Andrew Linn good luck on Tuesday I'm rootin for ya! I like your ideas.

[kraig]

Keep checking with the Planning & Development Department just in case the neighbors try to get the alley closed/vacated. The Department should inform all of the neighbors anyway since at least 2/3 of the neighbors would have to agree by signing a petition. But sometimes these matters have a way of slipping through the cracks. So it's probably in your best interest to monitor the situation yourself.

As far as the petition. Andy is right. It not going to hurt to have someone sign a petition. In fact, it would probably help to show that you have support in the area, especially in an election year. Good luck.

[gnome]

There is no harm in signing a petition. In contrast to firebombing the mechanic, it seems like a perfectly gentlemanly thing to do.

I'll stop in this week.

[Django]

Cool, Gnomes bringing fireworks?

[reddog289]

Django, You should give a location for the uninformed. OR those who like directions.

[Whaler]

I signed it last week....On Cass Ave south of Willis...Great hideout

[Meddle]

Location is ID'd by martini glass. The alley in question appears to run ENE from behind and appears to have been closed off so it doesn't exit to Cass Ave. Generally when they close an alley, half goes to each adjoining property. So it depends on where this courtyard is and if it encroaches on the other half of the alley.

[diver1369]

Maybe the mechanic's views should be shared with the rest of us before appealing to the sentiment of a sympathetic audience.

[diver1369]

Andy Linn, Don't you think this dispute should be settled by a surveyor's report rather than a petition. There is a body of law regarding such disputes that transcends public sentiment. I'm surprised and disappointed that you would ignore that considering you are seeking a position to rewrite the city charter. It's entirely possible the Old Miami mistakenly built their enclosure during the absence of an owner of the property the mechanic now occupies. This discrepancy may have been discovered when the survey was done for the mechanic's property.

[cloud_wall]

Andy Linn, Don't you think this dispute should be settled by a surveyor's report rather than a petition. There is a body of law regarding such disputes that transcends public sentiment. I'm surprised and disappointed that you would ignore that considering you are seeking a position to rewrite the city charter. It's entirely possible the Old Miami mistakenly built their enclosure during the absence of an owner of the property the mechanic now occupies. This discrepancy may have been discovered when the survey was done for the mechanic's property.

Read what he said. He said it can't hurt. Also, it might turn out to be good for business. Andy is not proposing that we substitute petitions for rule of law. Again, that would have been discovered through reading.

[Blarf]

I'm still confused over why an ally dispute would result in the closing of the entire backyard. Why wouldn't they just fence off the ally?

[Sludgedaddy]

...Turn the backyard pond in to a backyard 'Nam and convert the pond into a rice paddy. Dress hot Asian B-girls in black pajamas and let them waitress. By placing punji sticks and tiger cages around the area, the mechanics may get the message. Recordings of Hueys in formation along with Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" will further stress the message.Shouting " Jane Fonda, American Traitor Bitch" at odd hours may also work.

[Gannon]

I believe the issue relates to said mechanic's use of the garage door that faces the patio directly adjacent to the Miami's side door...even with half an alley, it is relatively useless to him.

If he doesn't fight for it, later on everyone can say it had no value to him, not unlike upholding patents, I'd guess.

They would simply need to find another route to the backyard, IMHO. It wouldn't be that tough, there is no reason the whole back area would be at risk.

Only stuff that would need to be relocated would be the two portable fire pits...if they were smart they'd GIVE him the whole alley to the rear of his building so they could have a shared legal fence-line with their house...split it in half, just not lengthwise.

It sounds like Danny and Julie didn't do this legally, but regardless...some compromise should be available for them to make it right without losing the whole damn thing!


Save the Poi pond...there are few actual places to ponder in the ghetto!

[Gannon]

[[good lord, having this alley cut off is a GREAT thing...back in the day, my roomie and his drunken friends used to blast through them bashing dumpsters with their Grand Marquis' anyways, an everyday smashup derby)

[Stosh]

The following Sanborn map might shed some light on this. I thought that the alleyway may have corresponded with the other alley on the block. Boy was I wrong. The alley runs along the Miami's South wall, then makes a left turn. Was the rear alley ever legally vacated? Or the south alley?

Attachment 2587