DETROIT – Kim Marble never stopped fighting for change on her block.
Living between two vacant homes isn’t ideal for anyone, but it’s what Kim Marble has dealt with for the last 20 years.
She’s been fighting for something to be done, and Wednesday the big equipment came and knocked both homes down.
Marble cheered from start to end, because she knows while it’s the end of those vacant homes, it’s a new start for her neighborhood.
“If they’ve (neighbors) been here less than 20 years they see nothing but this (vacant homes). They don’t know what could be. I do,” Marble said.
She likes to go as “Ms. Kim” in the community and has big plans to use the empty lots where vacant homes used to sit. The goal is to create a community garden, a play area for kids, and places where neighbors can gather to do yoga and self-defense classes.
Detroit Demolition Department director LaJuan Counts said she took note of Marble’s passion.
“Ms. Marble is kind of the resident that kind of set my whole strategy in place for which properties we would take down first,” Counts said.
Proposal N is what made this demolition, and many others in the city possible. Counts’ department recently launched an online dashboard to keep track of all of them.
“You’re able to isolate on the map to see exactly what else is happening. So if there are side lots that are available or if there are demos that have been completed or demos are upcoming,” Counts said.
Knocking down vacant buildings can be a messy job, but the joy Marble had Wednesday morning makes it worth it for people like Counts.
“It’s always a positive feeling for me to know that one, we took out this this hazard, this issue that you were worried about every night, but then we also gave you the opportunity to create something on your own.”
To help with Marble’s community efforts you can donate here.
Since May, 56 vacant properties were demolished or stabilized in the Mapleridge Neighborhood under Proposal N. There are another 221 planned demolitions and 109 stabilizations.