ASSOCIATED PRESS

Detroit is reaching Mayor Dave Bing's goal of demolishing 3,000 blighted and dangerous houses in one year.

Bing planned this afternoon to mark the 3,000th demolition under the effort at a house on the city's east side that's to be torn down.

The goal was to have 3,000 leveled by the end of April. The city has thousands of vacant structures as it deals with the effects of a shrinking population.

The mayor has vowed that another 3,000 houses would come down by April 2012. He wants 10,000 demolished by the time his four-year term ends in December 2013.

Only 860 empty houses were torn down by the city in 2009.


http://www.freep.com/article/2011042...00-demolitions