The future of East English Village

[Eastside]

0pps- you guys are correct, I misread the explanation.

Onward and upward!

[Det_ard]

det_ard,
Don't forget that many people strip their own homes before they leave and let the bank foreclose. I know of more than one home where the homeowner removed their entire kitchen just before they walked away. They still had ownership at the time but apparently were "packing" their things... People take furnaces they recently put in, whatever. It happens all over the place, not just in the city. It is what it is.
Also, I was the chairperson for our private security patrol for 5 years. I can tell you from experience that we do get police response and that it has been better in the last few years than it was when I started. I'm ok with your view that police response is not what it needs to be in the city, but please don't roll EEV into that. We have worked hard to form good relationships with DPD and the community police department. We are being served well.
And yes, I love my neighborhood. So do most of the residents, and perhaps that's what sets us apart in some ways. We try to remain positive even though we may be in the minority at times and we work to make change, however small, for the better. If that ideal appeals to someone, we want them to consider EEV because that truly is what we are about. Houses are important, but only one part of the equation for a successful and appealing neighborhood.

I'm glad your distinctive neighborhood is dealing with the foreclosure problem in a way that minimizes the damage. My experience is more with the average neighborhoods in the city and in the surrounding suburbs. While I've been a in few suburban foreclosures with missing light fixtures or vanities, I've seen some city homes absolutely destroyed by scrappers and vandals.

Having been through many vacant homes, the difference is like night and day. My female real estate agent refuses to personally show homes in Detroit or Pontiac anymore, having been surprised by squatters or druggies too many times. We're not talking about the fancy neighborhoods, just the typical brick 3-bedroom 1-2 bath types. The city just doesn't have control anymore in most areas.

[crawford]

EEV has a FAR worse foreclosure rate than almost every other zip you posted. As in 10 times worse or more.

The reality could be even worse. Zip codes are supposed to be roughly equal in terms of population, but are only reapportioned every few decades. Since Detroit has been hemorrhaging population for decades [[and the suburbs haven't), it's likely the Detroit zip codes have fewer residents than suburban zip codes, and thus an even higher rate of foreclosures.

And, more important, not all foreclosures are considered equal. Unlike in Detroit, a Bloomfield foreclosure won't result in a stripped house, many fires, and a colony of crackheads in the basement.

[jonesy]

Not sure if this adds to the discusion or not, but of the 9000 or so tax foreclosures auctioned off by Wayne county, only 2 were in EEV.

[loralei]

EEV has a FAR worse foreclosure rate than almost every other zip you posted. As in 10 times worse or more.

The reality could be even worse. Zip codes are supposed to be roughly equal in terms of population, but are only reapportioned every few decades. Since Detroit has been hemorrhaging population for decades [[and the suburbs haven't), it's likely the Detroit zip codes have fewer residents than suburban zip codes, and thus an even higher rate of foreclosures.

And, more important, not all foreclosures are considered equal. Unlike in Detroit, a Bloomfield foreclosure won't result in a stripped house, many fires, and a colony of crackheads in the basement.

Crawford,
You are mistaken. Perhaps you're thinking that EEV constitutes the entirety of zip code 48224. We consist of 2100 homes.We took a count in August and logged every vacant home on a database, along with what condition it was in, if it was open to trespass, etc. At that time we had less than 10% vacant homes of which 61 were for sale. We know currently that number is lower because we have had several sales since then. We drive the neighborhood constantly and make note of homes in question, as well as any abandoned cars, trash cans that are out, street lights that need repair, and people who need to be ticketed for blight. We report monthly to the police and our issues are resolved.
We have alot of engaged residents who know their neighbors and watch their blocks and report any suspected drug and/or squatter activity. We have a tip line and publish the proper phone numbers for them to call.
We don't have colonies of crackheads in basements. I resent the generalization, however, I understand that you may be on the outside looking in, at least in our neighborhood. You should come to one of our meetings and learn more about what we do as a neighborhood to combat these issues. Maybe we could change your point of view. Either way, just wanted to put it out there so that people keep an open mind and come to investigate.

[lahinchlaw]

I own one of the most beautiful homes in EEV, IMHO. On Bishop, prime location. Absolutely love the neighborhood -- very very quiet block, with not one problem since 1999. Looking to move [[not b/c of the neighborhood) and would be interested in selling the house to someone who truly loves EEV and its unique architecture. My home has it all -- elaborate stonework, stunning plasterwork, archways, columns, 10.5' ceiling in living room, no bad updates. If anyone happens to be interested, let me know.

[mwilbert]

Zip codes are supposed to be roughly equal in terms of population, but are only reapportioned every few decades.

I have no idea where you got this idea, but it isn't true.

Zip codes were never set up to be the same size.

The boundaries rarely get moved. They don't really have boundaries anyway--they are sets of addresses generally on a connected group of streets, but they are not defined as areas.
Zip codes may be extended to cover new streets, or new zip codes may be created to handle major new development, but otherwise they generally don't get changed, for obvious reasons. Sometimes people petition to get their street moved to a different zip, usually for some kind of weird prestige reason.

I personally have received mail in zip codes with populations varying from 0 to 100000. [[some zip codes are just one non-residential building, population zero, which I how I managed the zero.)

[stinkbug]

EEV has a FAR worse foreclosure rate than almost every other zip you posted. As in 10 times worse or more.

The reality could be even worse. Zip codes are supposed to be roughly equal in terms of population, but are only reapportioned every few decades. Since Detroit has been hemorrhaging population for decades [[and the suburbs haven't), it's likely the Detroit zip codes have fewer residents than suburban zip codes, and thus an even higher rate of foreclosures.

And, more important, not all foreclosures are considered equal. Unlike in Detroit, a Bloomfield foreclosure won't result in a stripped house, many fires, and a colony of crackheads in the basement.

Jesus Christ, don't you ever get sick of being wrong all the time?

The Renaissance Center has its own Zip Code - do you know how many people live there? Do you know what the Renaissance Center is?

Ditto to what the above people said about EEV.

[sumas]

EEV is a great place to live. I attribute this in great part to our neighborhood organization. Currently there are serious bargains here. Taxes in the city are an issue but we have a NEZ designation which drops taxes dramatically for new home buyers.

If I were in this buyers market I would not hesitate to invest in this community. Beautiful homes and great neighbors. We know and engage with most of our neighbors. Know many others from different streets who walk dogs, walk or bike through here.

This is not Nirvana but it is a great oassis for urban living.

[Eastside]

"And, more important, not all foreclosures are considered equal. Unlike in Detroit, a Bloomfield foreclosure won't result in a stripped house, many fires, and a colony of crackheads in the basement."

It would be great living next to this guy! I wonder if he ever smiles or has anything positive to say.

Jez...

[stinkbug]

<P>

EEV is a great place to live. I attribute this in great part to our neighborhood organization. Currently there are serious bargains here. Taxes in the city are an issue but we have a NEZ designation which drops taxes dramatically for new home buyers.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>If I were in this buyers market I would not hesitate to invest in this community. Beautiful homes and great neighbors. We know and engage with most of our neighbors. Know many others from different streets who walk dogs, walk or bike through here.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>This is not Nirvana but it is a great oassis for urban living.

</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>Since they've extended the 1st time homebuyer tax credit, I'll probably be moving there within half a year or so. There's a property I've got my eye on.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>Why:</P>
<P>Quality of homes you won't find in this region outside of Grosse Pointe.</P>
<P>St. Clare of Montefalco School.</P>
<P>Walkable to businesses.</P>
<P>Tree-lined, quiet.</P>
<P>Diverse. </P>
<P>Houses not as expensive or impractially large as Palmer Woods, Indian Village, Boston Edison.</P>
<P>Personal recommendations from former and current residents.</P>
<P>Drive down the streets at any time of day and people are raking leaves, tending their gardens, walking their dogs - not just loitering. </P>

[Diehard]

<P></P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>Since they've extended the 1st time homebuyer tax credit, I'll probably be moving there within half a year or so. There's a property I've got my eye on.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>Why:</P>
<P>Quality of homes you won't find in this region outside of Grosse Pointe.</P>
<P>St. Clare of Montefalco School.</P>
<P>Walkable to businesses.</P>
<P>Tree-lined, quiet.</P>
<P>Diverse. </P>
<P>Houses not as expensive or impractially large as Palmer Woods, Indian Village, Boston Edison.</P>
<P>Personal recommendations from former and current residents.</P>
<P>Drive down the streets at any time of day and people are raking leaves, tending their gardens, walking their dogs - not just loitering. </P>

Good luck with the purchase and welcome!

[stasu1213]

How far into detroit will Grosse Pointe take over?

[Scout]

I went on the home tour and am pretty much sold. I'm looking at a house on Grayton. As far as Detroit neighborhoods go, I don't think you can ask for much more.

I used to live in a house on Grayton that was on the home tour....it was a *great* house and we had great times in it. I hope it finds a new owner soon. Maybe you're that person!

[crawford]

Jesus Christ, don't you ever get sick of being wrong all the time?.

LOL, right on time with the usual defensive nonsense. Next time, please come armed with a point!

The Renaissance Center has its own Zip Code - do you know how many people live there? Do you know what the Renaissance Center is?

Thanks for confirming my post. The RenCen has a zip code based on the number of USPS customers, just like EEV has a zip code based on the number of USPS customers.

You do realize that a "customer" is a resident in a residential neighborhood, and an employee in a business neighborhood, right?

To repeat, since zip codes are only reassigned every few decades, the massive population loss in Detroit means that most Detroit zip codes will have fewer residents than the more stable suburban zip codes.

Ditto to what the above people said about EEV.

Great, so finally we agree!

BTW, you may want to check out this weeks' local papers. They go even further than I do, and claim that EEV is basically THE epicenter of the foreclosure crisis in MI, and that the neighborhood is being devastated by the resulting abandonment.

http://www.freep.com/article/2009111...ors-to-trouble

[mwilbert]

Thanks for confirming my post. The RenCen has a zip code based on the number of USPS customers, just like EEV has a zip code based on the number of USPS customers.

To repeat, since zip codes are only reassigned every few decades, the massive population loss in Detroit means that most Detroit zip codes will have fewer residents than the more stable suburban zip codes

Crawford, zip codes were never created with equal populations, nor do they get "reassigned every few decades" to account for population changes. See my earlier post after you said this the first time. And you didn't originally say "customers", you said population.

Originally Posted by stinkbug
Jesus Christ, don't you ever get sick of being wrong all the time?.

LOL, right on time with the usual defensive nonsense. Next time, please come armed with a point!

You aren't wrong all the time, but you do make a fairly large number of avoidable errors. In combination with your consistently negative attitude, it isn't surprising people get annoyed. If I were you, I wouldn't worry about it, but then I don't criticize people who correctly point out my errors either.

[Diehard]

LOL, right on time with the usual defensive nonsense. Next time, please come armed with a point!

Thanks for confirming my post. The RenCen has a zip code based on the number of USPS customers, just like EEV has a zip code based on the number of USPS customers.

You do realize that a "customer" is a resident in a residential neighborhood, and an employee in a business neighborhood, right?

To repeat, since zip codes are only reassigned every few decades, the massive population loss in Detroit means that most Detroit zip codes will have fewer residents than the more stable suburban zip codes.

Great, so finally we agree!

BTW, you may want to check out this weeks' local papers. They go even further than I do, and claim that EEV is basically THE epicenter of the foreclosure crisis in MI, and that the neighborhood is being devastated by the resulting abandonment.

http://www.freep.com/article/2009111...ors-to-trouble

"Devastated" is a pretty strong word. If you were to take a spin through EEV today, I doubt that you'd call it devastated. The point of the article is that EEV residents aren't giving up and are doing everything they can to keep things stable in the face of an unprecedented financial crisis.
I wouldn't say houses are "abandoned" either - just vacant. A group of EEV neighbors got together today to clean up and do yard work at some of the empty houses, and I always remove flyers and pick up any trash from the empty houses on my block. When things do rebound, they'll be here and in decent shape for the right buyers.
The reason the foreclosure rate is so high is because nearly all the original houses are still standing and most are occupied. When there are 24 houses on a block and five are vacant, that's a lot different than those truly devastated areas where only a few houses are still standing.
As with much of the nation, there were a lot of people buying places over here in the past ten years who had no business getting loans in the first place.

[sumas]

Thank you Diehard for a well reasoned defense of EEV. As always I credit a strong neighborhood organization. The following is what makes EEV so appealing.

-Monthly meetings with a strong turn out
-a monthly Newsletter
-funding from Next Detroit
-weekly curbside recycling
-an Easter party for the kids
-an area wide Christmas party
-easy access to bus routes
-one area wide garage sale yearly
-an area wide street party with a rotating location per annum
-snow plowing
-evening security service
-active garden club
-landscaped markers defining our community
-new lamp post banners
-monthly clean ups
-a proactive hotline resulting in decent police response
-a Saturday Farmers market
-viable businesses
-great neighbors
-great housing stock
-dead ash trees removed and aggressive re-forestation

The financial/mortgage crisis and job losses have impacted this community like every other in the state. EEV is meeting these challanges head on.

[Patrick]

Taxes in the city are an issue but we have a NEZ designation which drops taxes dramatically for new home buyers.

How long are they dropped for before going back to the normal levels?

[x97winkler]

I believe it is for 15 years.

[Eastside]

Greetings Fellow EEV Residents--

I believe crawford's [[and others) goal is to stir things up by making assumptions that aren't true. I also believe we've all made a strong case for EEV, what we've achieved and how we are handling issues in a positive manner. It's easy for outsiders to "throw stones" from a distance and hide behind "here say" and inaccurate information. I know and I believe all residents of EEV and [[other neighborhoods) are concerned about foreclosures and how they impact their lives. That's a given in any area. I also believe we are making a difference through "positive" initiatives as outlined throughout this thread.

I would like to personally invite those who are "throwing stones" to visit our neighborhood to see what is really going on. You don't have to be afraid to cross Mack or 8-mile or whatever street it is to get here. In fact, I'll set up a personal tour to show you what EEV is all about. The would include the good and no so good.

It's all about reality!

From this point forward, I officially refuse to address the negatives posted by outsiders.

Later-

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Not once have I ever heard anything "POSITIVE" come out of Crawford's mouth. He's the voice of doom.

[stinkbug]

Not once have I ever heard anything "POSITIVE" come out of Crawford's mouth. He's the voice of doom.

Devastated by abandonment or whatever that was was my favorite line of his. I just drove through the "devastation" today. Oh the horror of those tree-lined streets and people raking their leaves outside of well-maintained brick bungalows and returning from church.

What a pill. Jesus Christ, you'd think his whole family got chopped to pieces on
Bishop street.

Or somebody just doesn't have a lot going on...

[cman710]

Eastside, I would love to take you up on your offer of a tour of EEV the next time I am in town. I have not gotten to spend time in the area and I think it would be fantastic. I admire what all you have done to help maintain your neighborhood.

[Eastside]

Eastside, I would love to take you up on your offer of a tour of EEV the next time I am in town. I have not gotten to spend time in the area and I think it would be fantastic. I admire what all you have done to help maintain your neighborhood.

Great, just let me know when you're in town.