Area north of MCS- most desolate?

[mikefmich]

Would you guys believe that speculators have purchased empty parcels in North Corktown and have them listed through Century 21 for 80K a piece? The signs have been there for years!

You cant be serious. I would want 3-4 sq blocks for 80k.

[stingwicki]

If you ever have a chance, read the book Who Killed Detroit by Johannes Spreen.
It disucsses how the police chief begged for more police in the sixties and city council laughed in his face and crime continued to escalate and balloon out of control.

[detroitcorky]

I know that area well. The city was using it to dump road debris for years. Now it's a tax-free industrial development zone. If you ever get a chance to drive around over there, do so, it's a trip. The area was once a solid neighborhood built in the late 1800's and there are still the tell tale signs if you look closely. The remnants of short block curbs that used to run along alleyways are still there, and the grass has all but enveloped the curbs and sidewalks installed in the later years. The residential infrastructure is basically still there, it's just blocked off by barricades to stop a**holes from driving in to dump their boats and tires, which they've managed to do anyway.

Basically, we keep a database of all the vacant properties within Corktown's boundaries, MLK/ M-10/17th st./ Porter st. and their vacancy histories. I drive around checking the vacant structures for signs of illegal activity, update my records, and notify the proper departments. If the structure is in what I call "emergency status," like it's been broken into and left wide open, then I procure boards [[and strong guys) to nail them up, mainly to deter the house from being stripped and to keep kids away. We do research on all the properties so that we know who they belong to, just in case it needs to be reported or someone wants to buy them. Keeping records builds a history so that if we need to contact the police or the city, we have some standing against the property owner. We also apply for grants to help shoulder the costs, maintain the empty lots the neighbors aren't already maintaining, provide resources to the community to try and prevent foreclosures, and have some support from other community groups.

Recently, since Karla Henderson was appointed to BS&E, we've had success with getting some of the worst blight removed, even before the whole "downsize the city" thing started. But we had a huge setback when the county's NAP was defunded. That program was how we were able to take control of Spaulding Ct. [[there's a recent thread about that). The neighbors are also a great help. They can report a changed status anonymously through our google group, and call or e-mail me directly.

That's it in a nutshell.

THANK YOU Detroitsgwenivere for all that you do!!! You and the CVPTF. I also walk the area every week with my spouse. It is mostly a tight knit community of diverse residents... with a few trouble spots that all of us can work to address.