Brightmoor blight removal gets major boost

 

You may not be able to pinpoint on a map of Detroit, or give a stranger directions to this little known, bastion of neglect and blight, but you know it when you’re in it. This four-square mile neighborhood on the city’s northwest boundary is bordered by Puritan to the north, CSX railway to the south, Evergreen Rd. to the east, and Outer Dr. to the west.
Now this neighborhood in decline, which residents sadly refer to as ‘Blight More’ instead of Brightmoor is getting some much deserved and needed attention after more than 40 years of decline. The Brightmoor neighborhood, is undergoing a major transformation, thanks major gifts from the Fisher Foundation and Ajax Paving.
Last week, City of Detroit contractors began demolishing 19 homes in the area near Samuel Gompers Elementary School as part of the first phase of the plan.   Crews also will begin clearing the overgrown shrubbery and eerily naked trees which has turned the areas with over 100 vacant lots into an illegal dump and debris filled urban prairie.   Additional work will be done as residents identify more properties that they want addressed.
The project is being paid for with $500,000 from the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation, and another $100,000 from Ajax Paving. They are the first major private donations the City has received for blight removal since Mayor Mike Duggan ramped up the city’s efforts early last year.
“Brightmoor is full of possibility” said David Sherman, Vice Chair of the Fisher Foundation, and grandson of Max and Marjorie Fisher.  “For the last seven years we have been proud partners of so many dedicated and talented people there.  Groups like Motor City Blight Busters, the Brightmoor Alliance, Neighbors Building Brightmoor, and Rising Advocates for Young Children are just a few of the resident driven efforts already doing fantastic work to transform the neighborhood.   It makes total sense they decide how to spend these resources in their community.”
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan praised the Fisher Family and Ajax Paving for their generosity and commitment to Detroit’s neighborhoods.
“This tremendous gift from the Fisher Foundation and Ajax Paving signals a strong belief in our blight removal strategy,” said Mayor Mike Duggan. “It sets a great example for how the private sector and philanthropic communities can aid in the rebuilding of our neighborhoods.”
Since May of 2014, more than 200 vacant structures have been removed from the Brightmoor neighborhood, often for repurposing greenspace for urban gardens and other community uses.
Although the beleaguered 12,000 residents in this former community of 25,000 residents have had their hopes raised in the past as land speculators and property horders descended on the community in the past with pie-in- the-sky ideas of just to pick the neighborhood’s bones clean, residents and developers have established a consensus for new development plans, of which Brightmoor residents and stakeholders were integral to the planning process. The residents’ plan centered on the idea of safe passage to school, especially along Pierson and Lyndon streets.
“The City came to us with all of their data, and trusted us to come up with a plan for Brightmoor” said Reverend Larry Simmons, Executive Director of the Brightmoor Alliance.  “It is refreshing to have an administration recognize our value and expertise when it comes to our own neighborhood.”
John George of Motor City Blight Busters echoed Reverend Simmons. “For the last 28 years this neighborhood has targeted blight removal as a top priority.  We see blight as a cancer.  This support will help us continue our efforts to remove the cancer of abandoned homes and overgrown lots to clear the way for brighter futures for our children and families.”
The residents’ plan centered on the idea of safe passage to school, especially along Pierson and Lyndon streets.