DETROIT – You may not be able to see it at first glance, but on Woodmont Street between Joy Road and Ellis Avenue in Detroit, trees are growing out of what’s left of nine abandoned basements.
It’s one of the many hazards neighbors in Asbury Park say they’ve been dealing with for years — on a stretch of road that they say many kids take as a shortcut to a school and a playground.
Neighbors say the overgrown lots attract more than just wildlife — they’ve become hotspots for stripped cars and burning vehicles, abandoned animals, prostitution, drug activity, and illegal dumping; mountains of it.
“You got this pile here. That’s over 40 bags there,” said Darnell Lloyd, who’s lived on nearby Asbury Park for over three decades.
His lot backs up to the street, and he has caught people in sexual acts and has found dead bodies — people and animals.
Lloyd walks the stretch regularly, even mowing and cleaning lots on his own time. He’s placed “No Dumping” and “No Trespassing” signs pleading for respect in an area where he says it’s common to find used condoms, used needles, shell casings, and worse.
Local 4 was out on Woodmont Avenue on Wednesday (July 23), and we discovered a shell casing and a used condom within minutes.
Lloyd says he catches people having sex and yells for them to move.
“I’m like dummies, move,” said Lloyd. “They look up. ‘Oh, my bad.’”
It’s not just nuisance behavior. In 2020, a woman’s body was found in the trunk of a burning car. The charred outline still remains.
Years before that, Lloyd said kids using the abandoned road as a shortcut to a nearby school stumbled upon a man’s body after he Lloyd said it appeared he overdosed.
And then there’s the basements. Nine of them.
“That was a brand new basement, and that’s all down here,” Lloyd showed Local 4. “You got one guy who says he wants to buy all of them, but who wants to buy this stuff?”
The basements have trees growing out of them and garbage around them. To the point that our crews could barely get back there safely.
“I’m scared one day somebody’s gonna find a kid back here,” Lloyd said, climbing through the heavy brush. “Something is gonna happen with a kid.”
On Wednesday, following calls from Local 4, the city of Detroit responded within two hours, sending crews to begin clearing debris.
Detroit police were also on scene, searching for shell casings. Lloyd said he had made calls to the Detroit police and Detroit Land Bank before, but stated that he received the runaround.
He decided to contact Local 4.
“I had to call somebody,” said Lloyd. “Because I see now that I got in touch with y’all, everybody is coming out to do their job.”
The city said crews will return Thursday to finish picking up trash and will work to address the massive overgrowth.
Officials encourage residents to report problems through the “Improve Detroit” app or website.
They can even track their progress.
Detroit police ask neighbors to report non-urgent matters to “See Click Fix” or the “Improve Detroit” app or website.
However, they urge anyone who witnesses criminal activity — including what Lloyd describes — to call 911 immediately.