DETROIT – Some residents in Detroit’s Yorkshire Woods neighborhood say a vacant apartment building on the city’s east side has become a magnet for squatters.
They want the city and the property’s owners to take stronger action.
Sterling Dickerson, who lives nearby, said the steady stream of people going in and out of the building has brought harassment and apparent drug use into the area.
“They overrun our neighborhood,” Dickerson said.
Dickerson pointed to the building at 10030 Cadieux as the center of the problem.
“The constant squatting and the people that’s harassing us. The drug use is amazing over here,” Dickerson said.
He said nuisance activity happens throughout the day and that nearby vacant properties have also seen problems.
Dickerson said he recently recorded video of Detroit police conducting a raid near the building.
“We are so frustrated over here,” Dickerson said. “I’m talking to you today because of this.”
Local 4 learned the building at 10030 Cadieux has been on the city’s radar for some time and is among properties tied to Real Token, a group that has drawn controversy over its ownership of hundreds of properties across Detroit.
Detroit Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett, Jr. said the city has tried multiple times to secure the building.
“This property has been boarded up at least three times. We’ve had DPD out here,” Mallett said.
Simply boarding up a building with plywood hasn’t been enough to keep people out, Mallett explained.
He said the city may need to use stronger measures.
“Securing the buildings with plywood does not seem to be effective. We are probably going to have to upgrade securitization, to the point where we are probably going to have to do something called clear-view, or even steel grading, in order to keep people out of unsafe buildings,” Mallett said.
Mallett said the owner is currently under court-ordered receivership.
On Monday (Aug. 10), building inspectors posted Notice to Vacate warnings around the site as city staff prepared to secure the building again.
Detroit City Council member Latisha Johnson represents District 4.
She said the city needs to hold property owners accountable — but also stressed the importance of getting long-vacant properties back into use.
“It’s important for us to hold the owners of the properties accountable, but at the end of the day we have to get these properties occupied. A vacant property of any sort is no good for the community.” Johnson said.
Detroit’s law department and council staff are urging residents dealing with problem properties to keep reporting issues to the city.
They say those reports help investigators build cases against public nuisances.