DETROIT – Homeowners on Detroit’s west side are frustrated over the dilapidated homes in their neighborhood that aren’t being torn down.
Aiyisha Daniels has owned her home for six years and she’s had seven break-ins. Three of those were this year with the latest two weeks ago.
“We woke up to my glass sliding door hitting my dining room table and a man standing there,” Daniels said.
She scared the man off and called police. She believes the reason it keeps happening is right next door.
The vacant home is covered in overgrowth and Daniels fears for her safety and the safety of others.
“I’m always watching to make sure no little girls get snatched and taken in there,” Daniels said. “I don’t even want my daughter, I’m not comfortable with her coming out here to play because of this.”
Unfortunately for Daniels, the house is outside the city’s “Hardest Hit Zone” and there is no federal money to pay for demolition.
“I know it’s frustrating seeing things going on around you, four blocks away, six blocks away,” District Manager Marshall Bullock II said. “But what we’ve done for those neighborhoods is start the block club for boarding up houses. We supply the wood, neighbor’s supply the work.”
Daniels has resorted to using signs to scare off criminals in case there’s a next time.
“Being a single woman, it’s devastating because this time he ran out but what if the next time he don’t?” Daniels asked.
The schedule for Detroit’s demolition is available here.