Lisa Johanon

Yes, cops can afford to live in our neighborhood.

While we as longtime Detroiters empathize with Detroit City Council President Pro-Tem Gary Brown's concerns about the affordability of living in the city, we wanted to set the record straight about our neighborhood — Boston-Edison — in particular. Home ownership there can cost less than the national standard.

While much of the attention has centered on Mayor Dave Bing's efforts to lure residents to targeted areas, those of us who live and work in the Boston-Edison Historic District have been working diligently over the last several years with a collaborative to save our neighborhood. The first phase of that effort — done through a public-private partnership — was the purchase of 10 vacant homes, three of which have already been sold.

Because our historic neighborhood is home to stately, mansion-like homes, it's easy to forget that there are smaller houses here, too. The collaborative's first phase is to rehabilitate houses that range from 2,600 to 3,100 square feet.

Boston-Edison has been hard-hit by foreclosures and will experience further decline without market intervention. Approximately 20 percent of the homes in Boston-Edison are vacant, signaling a community in distress.