Detroit Mower Gang hosts 'Mowtown Mowdown'

DETROIT – The members of the Detroit Mower Gang spent their Saturday in a 12-hour event across the city.

The Detroit Mower Gang started six years ago with one member.

Tom Nardone had a lawnmower and noticed the city parks were not getting cut. He stepped up to help.

The gang has grown since then and Saturday they gathered for the “The Mowtown Mowdown.”

Craftsman tools donated $18,000 in equipment including five riding mowers.

“The amount of stuff they sent is amazing,” Nardone said. “Craftsman, they sent five tractors.”

It seems the Detroit Mower Gang has a sponsor.

“It’s awesome,” Deanna Gaugahn of Craftsman tools said. “The minute we got here they got on their mowers and they started going, no socializing, no nothing, they hit the ground running.”

The city is now taking care of parks and the Detroit Mower Gang is shifting to mowing and sprucing up playgrounds at 27 shuttered DPS schools.

“Some of these things have $100,000 in playground equipment in really good condition,” Nardone said. “All we have to do is trim and mow under it.”

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About the Author:

Local 4 Defender Shawn Ley is an Emmy award-winning journalist who has been with Local 4 News for more than a decade.