A Detroit house ablaze after downed power lines sparked fires throughout the city. Residents complained that DTE Energy and the City administration did not respond adequately to calls for emergency assistance.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
Bing to address devastating Detroit fires
By MATT HELMS
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Detroit Mayor Dave Bing's office said he and other city officials will
hold a news conference this afternoon to address the dozens of fires
that swept across the city overnight, devastating several
neighborhoods.
Bing, Deputy Mayor Saul Green and Fire Commissioner James Mack will speak with the media at 2 p.m. at City Hall, Bing spokesman Dan Lijana said in a news release.
As many as 85 fires erupted Tuesday night across the city, fanned by
high winds, but blocks of homes near Gratiot south of 7 Mile were hit
particularly hard. About nine houses on one block of Robinwood were destroyed apparently after a downed power line set a garage on fire, and winds blew hot ash and flames onto nearby homes.
The smell of smoke was still heavy on Robinwood as residents and
property owners came to see the damage in daylight. Smoke wafted from least one home, though it appeared the fire that destroyed it had been extinguished.
Louvenia Wallace, 31, a hair stylist and mother of three, said she and
her kids fled the neighborhood Tuesday night and were up until 2 a.m. before they were able to find a place to sleep for the night at a
neighbor's home outside the fire zone.
"It was like blankets of smoke everywhere and the next thing I know
everybody's house was in fire," Wallace said through tears this
morning outside the duplex she rents.
Fire damaged the exterior of the second story of the home, but she
lived in the lower unit and was told she was safe to stay there after
the fire was out. But the smell of smoke was too.
"My kids couldn't because it smells like smoke," Wallace said. "My
daughter is asthmatic, so she can't be around here now way."
Wallace said she wasn't sure whether she wanted to keep living in the home on a block that was all but wiped out by flames.
"I don't have the money to just move," she said.
Read more: Bing to address devastating Detroit fires
http://www.freep.com/article/20100908/NEWS01/100908019/1318/Bing-to-address-devastating-Detroit-fires#ixzz0ywoZKoob
Posted: 9:44 a.m. Sept. 8, 2010
Bing tells City Council of plan to revitalize Detroit
By SUZETTE HACKNEY
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and members of his administration this morning are addressing City Council about efforts to strengthen the core of city neighborhoods, improve the delivery of services and attract businesses to Detroit.
Bing began his presentation by stating that the 12-18 month initiative
reaches far beyond land use, though the city has about 60,000 vacant
parcels and has experienced a 60% population decline over the last
four decades.
“Yes the scope of the challenge is large, but I believe too often we
underestimate the assets we have here,” Bing said.
The mayor said Detroiters must be part of any urban renewal process that is intended to move the city forward for the next 10, 20 or 30 years. Bing acknowledged that previous city leaders have attempted to implement various land strategies, but have not been successful.
“Judge this administration and this effort on what we’ve done, not on
what others have failed to do.”
Council President Charles Pugh encouraged Bing to also engage City Council in every step of the process.
"We are here to be used on the front end," Pugh said.
Karla Henderson, a Bing group executive for planning and facilities,
told City Council that citizens will begin to see changes during the
12-18 month process. She said the administration will continue to
target and coordinate federal resources and dollars to demolish vacant structures, for example.
“Every part of this process is being done with an eye toward
implementation,” Henderson said.
Henderson said there are 1,867 residential structures in the 2010
demolition process as of Sept. 1, and the administration is developing a plan to remove blighted commercial structures, as well.
Read more: Bing tells City Council of plan to revitalize Detroit
http://www.freep.com/article/20100908/NEWS01/100908020/1001/news#ixzz0ywqIRoA5
Last Updated: September 08. 2010 10:24AM
Bing presents reshaping plan to Council, ensures no one will be forced out
Christine MacDonald / The Detroit News
Detroit -- Mayor Dave Bing shared his goals to reshape the city with
the Detroit City Council this morning, promising the effort is not a
"land grab or giveaway" and people won't be forced out of their homes.
"I realize mistakes have been made in the past and residents have a
long, long memory" Bing said. "This plan ultimately belongs to the
people of Detroit. We won't succeed without their support and
cooperation.
"We will not take the position of forcing people from their homes."
Bing said he's waiting for a report on the severity of last night's
fires to determine whether they have to change their plan to demolish
homes. As a part of reshaping the city, Bing has promised to tear down more than 10,000 homes by the end of his term.
Council President Pro Tem Gary Brown said he expects the toughest part of the reshaping process will be choosing where the city's scarce resources will be focused.
"This is going to come down to me to one basic issue ... identify the
winners and the losers," he said. "Some neighborhoods are not going to be viable, and we are going to find ways to give incentives to move people out."
Bing's staff said the plan to reshape the city is a broad effort to
improve the city, looking at everything from boosting jobs to
improving public services such as transportation. A series of town
hall meetings on land use kicks off Tuesday at Greater Grace Temple, 23500 W. Seven Mile, to help officials form plans. The city plans to study the issue for 16 months. A plan will be implemented at the end of the study.
Controversy has surrounded the debate about how Detroit should
reinvent itself to save viable neighborhoods as population has
declined from a peak of 1.8 million in 1950 to less than 900,000
today. The plan to reshape the city could include relocating residents
and mothballing neighborhoods.
Bing has ruled out annexation of Detroit land, and his staff has said
residents will not be forcibly moved. Bing said they may use
incentives to urge people to move from their homes but is prepared for the backlash.
"There absolutely will be pushback," Bing said.
Council President Charles Pugh said he's glad Bing is starting by
listening to residents.
"This is Detroit," Pugh said. "We've been through a lot of situations
where government has imposed its will and people are not happy."
Foundations are paying for much of the planning process, including the salary of urban planner Toni Griffin.
Griffin told the council the media is focused on whether this
reshaping can work and it could be a model for the nation.
"If we can't make this work I think we are in trouble, but I think we
can," Griffin said.
Bing said he doubts urban farming could become a major industry in Detroit.
"We want to be open minded and look and see where it does make sense," Bing said. "(But) for it to become a major industry in the city of
Detroit, I haven't bought into that yet."
cmacdonald@detnews.com (313) 222-2396
From The Detroit News:
http://detnews.com/article/20100908/METRO01/9080403/Bing-presents-reshaping-plan-to-Council--ensures-no-one-will-be-forced-out#ixzz0ywrHCN4k
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