DETROIT – Residents in Detroit’s Brightmoor neighborhood say blight is becoming impossible to ignore, and they’re pushing the city to take action.
On Monday, neighbors on Burgess Street invited city crews to walk the block and see problem areas firsthand. Roosevelt Johnson said he asked the city to come out because he’s “tired of looking at blight,” while Tony Bradley pointed to properties he says are not being maintained, with grass growing “extremely high.”
The walking tour brought together staff from Detroit’s Construction and Demolition Department, the Department of Neighborhoods, and the Detroit Land Bank Authority.
Neighbors highlighted ongoing issues on both private and city-owned properties, including cracked and uneven sidewalks, dead trees, dumping, rodent concerns, and neglected vacant homes.
“Our sidewalk, we’ve got a big old dip in it,” Bradley said. “Somebody can fall on the ground.”
Tim Palazzolo, director of Detroit’s Construction and Demolition Department, said the goal of on-site meetings is engagement, giving residents real-time updates and helping departments coordinate potential next steps.
“We see a number of issues up and down these streets with the sidewalks,” Palazzolo said. “We see some buildings here that we know we’ve secured. So our job is to stay on top of these and make sure that these structures stay secured.”
When asked what happens with the information collected during the walk, Palazzolo said staff acts on it.
“We use it. We act on it. We collect it. We take it in. We figure out what the next steps are. And then we execute,” he said.
During the community walk, neighbors and city staff also spotted an open vacant house.
A Detroit Land Bank Authority crew moved quickly to board it up.
Johnson encouraged others to speak up about problems in their neighborhood. “Cry out your cries,” he said. “Let them know that you are really concerned about your area.”
City officials said similar block-by-block visits can be arranged for other streets upon request from residents.
This week is Neighborhood Safety Week in Detroit. The Construction and Demolition Department is hosting a career and resource fair on Wednesday, April 15, at the Northwest Activities Center, 18100 Meyers Road, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Nearly 30 vendors are expected to be on site with job opportunities in construction, demolition, and other skilled trades.