Grandmont Rosedale Vacant Property Newsletter

Grandmont Rosedale
Vacant Property Newsletter
Your Neighborhood
V O L U M E
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Representatives
North Rosedale Park:
Clarenda Webb
(313) 313.330.7844
Quick Response from Detroit Water Dept. for Vacant House Emergency
While at a vacant property for a
photo shoot with Reuters News
(who’s doing a story about their
volunteerism), North Rosedale
Park residents Clarenda Webb
and Beverly Frederick noticed
running water was flooding the
property’s basement. Fast thinking as she is, Clarenda Webb
immediately called the Detroit
Water and Sewerage Depart-
Rosedale Park:
GRDC
313.387.4732
Minock Park:
Ken Wolfe
313.255.5776
Grandmont:
Diane Patterson
313.836.3736
Grandmont #1:
ment to report the problem (she
has their phone number saved in
her phone). Not even 15 minutes
later, city workers pulled up to
the property and were greeted
by cheers from Beverly and Clarenda. As the crew attempted to
turn off the main valve in front of
the house, they needed more
water than they had on hand to
finish the job. Beverly Frederick
grabbed a handy container and
asked a nearby neighbor to offer
some water. With the extra
water secured, the crew was able
to loosen the valve enough to
turn it and cut off all water to
the house. Another environmental emergency averted due
to the fast actions of Grandmont
Rosedale volunteers and Detroit
City Workers! Thank you!
Harold Harris
313.272.9165 or
Jerry Anderson
313.836.2389
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE:
Board Painting
2
Scrapping Legislation
3
Demolition
4
Get Involved
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Above: North Rosedale Park residents Beverly Frederick & Clarenda Webb
with Detroit Water and Sewerage Department workers
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A few more vacant houses painted in Grandmont Rosedale
We’ve found that it’s important
to paint plywood on boarded
properties to match the overall
color of the property in order to
help beautify the community
and to help reduce crime.
More properties remain that
need to be painted. GRDC can
provide paint and supplies to
volunteers in the community
who wish to get involved. If you
are interested in volunteering
or learning more information,
contact GRDC Volunteer & Outreach Coordinator, Chelsea Neblett at 313.387.4732, ext. 116.
Neighbors were surely pleased
with the work of Chelsea Neblett and Becki Kenderes who
recently painted several
boarded-up houses in Rosedale
Park and Grandmont #1.
Their efforts resulted as a follow-up to a separate painting
event where volunteers from
Wayne State University came
painted over a dozen homes in
the Grandmont Rosedale community.
Right: Before and after pictures of newly
painted vacant house in Rosedale Park
GRANDMONT
ROSEDALE
VACANT
PROPERTY
N EWSLETTER
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Proposed “Scrapping” Legislation
Recent Scrap Metal Reform Efforts- Please see below for a summary of anti- scrap metal theft legislation HB
4593-4595, proposed by Rep. Rashida Tlaib and others with the intent to “help stop theft and the destruction of
our communities”. According to Rep. Tlaib, the legislation is supported by the Michigan State Police and Michigan Department of Transportation, Michigan Farm Bureau, Michigan Credit Union League, Sanilac County Sherriff's office, Prosecutor's Association of Michigan, and so many others. Please email Representative Tlaib at
[email protected] or call at (313) 550-8222 for further information.
HB 4594 (Rep. Tlaib)
State Rep. Tlaib
"Scrap metal" now includes BOTH ferrous (iron and steel) and nonferrous metal (copper, brass, platinumbased metal, aluminum, bronze, lead, zinc, nickel, or a mixed alloy)
Scrap metal dealers must pay a seller with:
A check or money order, but retain a photo of the check and money order
An electronic payment card or receipt for ATM which will take a photo of the seller
There is NO CASH TRANSACTIONS for the following items,
1. Catalytic Converters
2. Air Conditioners, AC evaporator coils, AC condensers, or parts of both
3. Copper Wire
A dealer must wait 3 days to pay through direct deposit or electronic transfer to the seller's
account at a financial instruction OR by mailing a check or money order (payable to seller) to
a street address (not a PO box)
Scrap metal cannot be purchased if it is delivered by a vehicle without a license.
Requires dealers to train employees on legal requirements
Dealers must make copies of seller's ID's and take thumbprints
HB 4593 (Rep. Muxlow)
Dealer must maintain purchase records for 1 year
Dealer must take the name, address, thumbprint and license plate number of the seller or the seller's representative
State Rep. Muxlow
Records, including photo of the scrap metal purchased, and the scrap dealer who authorized the transaction must be taken if the seller is not a commercial or fixed business entity.
Includes DO NOT PURCHASE list:
Public Fixtures
New metal materials from manufacturing or construction
Equipment or tools belonging to contractors
Materials clearly marked as belonging to someone else
Commemorative, decorative, or other cemetery- related materials
Railroad materials
A felony punishable by 5 years of imprisonment and/or up to $5,000 in fines for purchasing or selling an
item that they have reason to know was stolen.
Would allow a person to sue a seller or dealer for stolen scrap metal property
HB 4595 (Rep. Ananich)
Amends the penal code to include scrap metal theft as larceny.
State Rep. Ananich
GRANDMONT
ROSEDALE
VACANT
PROPERTY
N EWSLETTER
VOLUME
2,
ISSUE
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Quick fix efforts in demolition may leave basements intact
An article in the Detroit News by
Christine Macdonald revealed that the
City of Detroit may start leaving basements in tact following demolition of
dangerous buildings.
Here is part of the article:
The City is considering relaxing demolition rules to expedite its uphill blight
battle against nearly 30,000 dangerous buildings.
State officials and the son of a firefighter killed in a fire in a vacant home
are lobbying Detroit to change ordinances to allow crews to leave most
basement walls and floors during
demolitions. That and other proposed
changes could shave up to $2,500 off
the $8,500 per home cost, allowing
Mayor Dave Bing to raze more in his
quest to demolish 10,000 by the end
of his first term this year.
Detroit and most other cities have
required contractors to remove base-
ments since the late 1990s to prevent
drainage problems and lower redevelopment costs. Some say the discussion illustrates just how desperate the
city is to make headway in its blight
fight. Bing has demolished nearly
7,200 homes in three years, but the
city has 31,000 structures on its dangerous buildings list.
Foundation. Hill-Harris serves on the
group's board.
"It's unfortunate that these have to be
our options because of the overwhelming blight," said the Rev.
Jerome Warfield, of the Mt. Vernon
Missionary Baptist Church in Brightmoor, a neighborhood with some of
the highest concentration of the city's
dilapidated homes. "We've allowed
things to deteriorate so much that … it
is one of the choices we have to consider. There's no clear winner."
Most cities nationwide, however, require
demolition crews to remove basements,
said Alan Mallach, a senior fellow at the
Center for Community Progress, a nonprofit focused on vacant and abandoned
properties. Experts warn changing the
policy would drive up redevelopment
costs and lead to other problems.
The idea is being floated separately by
Michigan Department of Human Services Director Maura Corrigan and the
newly formed Detroit Blight Authority,
a private demolition campaign led by
developer Bill Pulte and the Kresge
Karla Henderson, a city group executive of
planning, said it may make sense to
"eliminate blight at the ground level and
worry about development later," but the
city wants more feedback from residents
before making a decision.
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VOLUME
2,
ISSUE
4
Report vacant
properties & squatters
Do you have any vacant houses on your
block? Do you suspect squatters may be
occupying a vacant house on your block? If
so, please contact your Vacant Property
Task Force representative. Please note: we
use this information to track the vacancies in
the Grandmont Rosedale community, however, we do not have any funding sources
for vacant property maintenance at this time.
Grandmont: Diane Patterson 313.836.3736
Grandmont #1: Harold Harris 313.272.9165
Minock Park: Ken Wolfe 313.255.5776
North Rosedale Park: Clarenda Webb
313.330.7844
Rosedale Park: GRDC Vacant Property
Hotline 313.387.4732, ext. 117
You may also email
[email protected]
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Share your photos & stories
We’re always looking for more content to add to our Vacant
Property Program Newsletter. Please e-mail Becki Kenderes
at [email protected] if you have a photos or
stories about vacant properties that you’d like to share with others.
Keep us in mind as you volunteer in the community and remember to take pictures of your hard work. You can also share
your stories on the new neighborhood website:
www.mygrandmontrosedale.org!
Contact Us
Phone—313.387.4732, ext. 117
Email— [email protected]
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