(10-14-2015 06:31 AM)CardFan1 Wrote:  I was last there in late 1969, not long after the Riots. I was amazed then how the Burned down buildings were still lying there in piles of charred rubble. I heard it was still there years later. Seeing all of that now green space around the city make Me think there isn't a lot of infrastructure still being done to bring folks back from the Suburbs like a lot of Southern cities are having growth with as young professionals want to move closer to Their work and play.


The sad reality of it. even nearly 50 years later.
http://www.detroits-great-rebellion.com/

You should stop back up. Those things are actually now happening!

Detroit Hustles Harder: The All-American Comeback City
Here's What 5 Years Of Community Restoration Looks Like In Detroit

(10-14-2015 09:25 AM)Redwingtom Wrote:  

(10-14-2015 06:31 AM)CardFan1 Wrote:  I was last there in late 1969, not long after the Riots. I was amazed then how the Burned down buildings were still lying there in piles of charred rubble. I heard it was still there years later. Seeing all of that now green space around the city make Me think there isn't a lot of infrastructure still being done to bring folks back from the Suburbs like a lot of Southern cities are having growth with as young professionals want to move closer to Their work and play.


The sad reality of it. even nearly 50 years later.
http://www.detroits-great-rebellion.com/

You should stop back up. Those things are actually now happening!

Detroit Hustles Harder: The All-American Comeback City
Here's What 5 Years Of Community Restoration Looks Like In Detroit

and yet things aren't happening
http://motorcitymuckraker.com/2015/07/30...-to-fires/

Quote:Detroit firefighters were racing to a reported house blaze in an outdated fire engine on a recent Sunday afternoon when they heard a loud thud. Behind them was the rig’s gas tank, ruptured and spewing fuel onto the west-side street and into nearby drains, triggering a hazardous materials cleanup.

Turns out, the maintenance shop passed off the replacement rig to the crew of Engine #30 after crudely fastening the tank to the bottom of the rig with what appeared to be a frayed and broken seatbelt. Another crew refused to drive the pumper because of wiring problems and a windshield bound together by a sticky goo. Over the next two days, the fire engine was responding to emergencies when it overheated and wouldn’t start because of a broken alternator.

It’s an all-too-common problem in a city that routinely violates state and federal safety laws by sending dangerously defective ladder trucks and engines to fires in occupied houses, high-rise apartments and commercial buildings, delaying response times, hampering rescue efforts and endangering firefighters, an 18-month Motor City Muckraker investigation has found.

In fact, at least 47 people have been injured or killed in fires where defective rigs were sent since Jan. 1, 2014, according to an analysis of thousands of records.

Quote:To blame are chronic issues that have plagued the fire department for decades – shoddy maintenance, poor management decisions and reckless budget cuts.

“Years of neglect and mismanagement have resulted in a situation where the fire department struggles every day to complete its mission,”wrote TriData, a national public safety consulting firm, in an in-depth report about the fire department’s serious troubles.

The reported added: “The DFD fleet is currently in a critical state, with chronic long-term management, maintenance, and replacement issues.”

Quote:Nearly all of the city’s 60 fire engines and ladder trucks are outdated, unreliable and have a long history of serious, repeated mechanical problems, from failing pumps to defective transmissions.

Fire rigs broke down en route to emergencies or at the scenes of fires more than 235 times since January 2014.

Some rigs can’t pump water or raise a ladder, so their sole purpose is to ferry firefighters to fires.

The fire department often defers routine maintenance until rigs break down, causing more expensive, time-consuming repairs.

The city’s mechanics lack formal training, and the Fire Department was unable to provide records to show the mechanics are even certified.

The city’s 368 high-rise buildings are especially vulnerable because half of the city’s ladder trucks, which are used to rescue people and extinguish fires from the air, don’t have operable aerials because they failed safety inspections. Among them is the ladder that protects downtown Detroit, the Cass Corridor and Midtown.
Many hoses are rotting and breaking because the city has not inspected them in at least six years, despite national firefighting standards that call for annual testing.

The city’s active fleet has dropped from 66 rigs in 2010 to 48 today, leaving many areas without immediate fire protection and forcing aging firefighters to battle blazes with less manpower.

Without enough reserve rigs, firefighters whose ladder trucks and engines are broken down often rely on a mini-pumper that is the size of a pickup truck to respond to more than 100 reported fires in occupied houses and buildings, even though it was designed to extinguish car and trash fires and contributed to the death of a little girl in 2011.

Not one of the city’s speciality rigs works. Detroit no longer has a foam truck for gas fires or a pumper to protect the city’s airport. And Detroit’s fire boat recently failed to pump water, rendering it useless.

http://motorcitymuckraker.com/2015/10/08...iscovered/

Quote:When firefighters dash into burning houses and buildings to rescue people and knock down fires, they wear high-pressure air bottles to breathe.

But beginning Tuesday, there weren’t enough life-saving air bottles for each Detroit firefighter to use following the discovery that 173 of the 420 tanks were overdue to be tested in violation of state and federal safety laws.

As required by law, the city removed the uncertified air bottles after Motor City Muckraker revealed the serious and potentially criminal violations Tuesday.

Untested air bottles are dangerous because they can malfunction while firefighters are deep inside a smoke-filled house or building, and the high-pressured canisters can explode.

Second Deputy Commissioner Craig Dougherty, who is in charge of ensuring the equipment is compliant, lied to Mayor Mike Duggan’s office about the severity of the problem, saying only 31 tanks were noncompliant. Since then, Duggan’s office has closely monitored the Fire Department’s handling of the noncompliant tanks.

Duggan spokesman Dan Austin said the city delivered 21 re-certified air bottles to firefighters on Wednesday evening. Firefighters usually have two tanks – one as a backup when air runs out.

Neither Dougherty nor Executive Fire Commissioner Edsel Jenkins responded to requests for interviews, and many firefighters expressed frustration that they were kept in the dark about such serious safety issues.

http://motorcitymuckraker.com/2015/09/22...m-detroit/

Quote:The city of Detroit turned over more than 1,000 records of broken fire hydrants after Motor City Muckraker filed a lawsuit under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act.

The records show the city grossly misrepresented the number of broken hydrants earlier this year, as first documented in our series about the city neglecting fire plugs in April. The city said approximately 70 hydrants were broken, but records show nearly 1,000 were nonfunctioning.

So go visit Detroit and watch Shakespeare, just pray that the theater doesn't catch fire because if the fire apparatus by chance makes it it still might not pump water....if the hydrants in the area are working. Then you have to wonder if the firefighters are going to have air cylinders to effect the rescue.

(10-14-2015 09:19 AM)Redwingtom Wrote:  The residents didn't champion the policies that failed to the extent that their elected officials were crooks and lied and robbed them blind. Also, Detroit wasn't ready for the collapse of the manufacturing base and those two combined is what led to its demise more than anything.

Now, they are coming back. Development is on the rise and folks are moving back downtown.

I'll agree that most of the elected and/or appointed officials over the past 60 years were either incompetent or crooks. But I think the promotion of divisive racial policies further exacerbated Detroit's tenuous economic position.

I do think administratively that the city limits for Detroit need to contract. Whatever resurgence occur I don't think Motown will ever return to its population height.

If the Gov of Michigan could appoint a CEO of Detroit and grant the position for full power and autonomy, maybe it could
recover. No elections for like 10 years. CEO hires and fires at will, closes whatever agencies he/she wants to.
Position pays multi million annually. Police/Fire still
get unions, nobody else. All schools go private, over a transition period. State covers agreed to budget shortfall up to
so many years, no crazy amount. This what you are dealing with.

https://www.google.com/search?q=abandone...oRAqYkM%3A

No Kaplony...nobody is saying everything has been fixed. It took decades to ruin...it's going to take more than a few years to fix.

(10-14-2015 11:09 AM)Redwingtom Wrote:  No Kaplony...nobody is saying everything has been fixed. It took decades to ruin...it's going to take more than a few years to fix.

Especially when they are throwing money at fluff instead of critical infrastructure.

(10-14-2015 12:36 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(10-14-2015 11:09 AM)Redwingtom Wrote:  No Kaplony...nobody is saying everything has been fixed. It took decades to ruin...it's going to take more than a few years to fix.

Especially when they are throwing money at fluff instead of critical infrastructure.

You really have no idea what you're talking about. I visit Detroit several times a year. It's easy to see the fixes taking place.

(10-14-2015 01:11 PM)Redwingtom Wrote:  

(10-14-2015 12:36 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(10-14-2015 11:09 AM)Redwingtom Wrote:  No Kaplony...nobody is saying everything has been fixed. It took decades to ruin...it's going to take more than a few years to fix.

Especially when they are throwing money at fluff instead of critical infrastructure.

You really have no idea what you're talking about. I visit Detroit several times a year. It's easy to see the fixes taking place.

I think its a matter of priorities. Your contention that a rise in intown living and a new light rail line are signs of revival while Kap sees neglected fire services and ancient water transport systems as a greater importance. It's ultimately a chicken/egg type problem. Those city services require an expanded tax base, something that can't be recognized without the superficial enticements.

(10-14-2015 01:11 PM)Redwingtom Wrote:  

(10-14-2015 12:36 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(10-14-2015 11:09 AM)Redwingtom Wrote:  No Kaplony...nobody is saying everything has been fixed. It took decades to ruin...it's going to take more than a few years to fix.

Especially when they are throwing money at fluff instead of critical infrastructure.

You really have no idea what you're talking about. I visit Detroit several times a year. It's easy to see the fixes taking place.

I know plenty about the condition of the fire department because it's been well publicized in the fire service trade publications and on message boards by current and former Detroit firefighters. I know that there is absolutely no way that Detroit FD meets any of the national standards. I know at one time the city even considered supplementing their fire department by utilizing "fire tourism"....letting firefighters from elsewhere pay a fee and come fight fire in Detroit.

http://www.firerescue1.com/fire-departme...ise-money/

I suggest you find the documentary Burn:One year on the frontlines of the battle to save Detroit and give it a gander and learn that underneath the shiny facade Detroit is rotting away. There are third world countries with better fire protection systems than the city of Detroit.

(10-14-2015 01:19 PM)vandiver49 Wrote:  

(10-14-2015 01:11 PM)Redwingtom Wrote:  

(10-14-2015 12:36 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(10-14-2015 11:09 AM)Redwingtom Wrote:  No Kaplony...nobody is saying everything has been fixed. It took decades to ruin...it's going to take more than a few years to fix.

Especially when they are throwing money at fluff instead of critical infrastructure.

You really have no idea what you're talking about. I visit Detroit several times a year. It's easy to see the fixes taking place.

I think its a matter of priorities. Your contention that a rise in intown living and a new light rail line are signs of revival while Kap sees neglected fire services and ancient water transport systems as a greater importance. It's ultimately a chicken/egg type problem. Those city services require an expanded tax base, something that can't be recognized without the superficial enticements.

Yes, but there's WAY more going on than just a rise in intown living and light rail. Detroit has some big backers with big money who are bringing businesses back. Dan Gilbert from Quicken Loans and Mike Ilitch with Little Caesars just to name two.

Five years in, and Dan Gilbert's just beginning

(10-14-2015 02:34 PM)Redwingtom Wrote:  

(10-14-2015 01:19 PM)vandiver49 Wrote:  

(10-14-2015 01:11 PM)Redwingtom Wrote:  

(10-14-2015 12:36 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(10-14-2015 11:09 AM)Redwingtom Wrote:  No Kaplony...nobody is saying everything has been fixed. It took decades to ruin...it's going to take more than a few years to fix.

Especially when they are throwing money at fluff instead of critical infrastructure.

You really have no idea what you're talking about. I visit Detroit several times a year. It's easy to see the fixes taking place.

I think its a matter of priorities. Your contention that a rise in intown living and a new light rail line are signs of revival while Kap sees neglected fire services and ancient water transport systems as a greater importance. It's ultimately a chicken/egg type problem. Those city services require an expanded tax base, something that can't be recognized without the superficial enticements.

Yes, but there's WAY more going on than just a rise in intown living and light rail. Detroit has some big backers with big money who are bringing businesses back. Dan Gilbert from Quicken Loans and Mike Ilitch with Little Caesars just to name two.

Five years in, and Dan Gilbert's just beginning

I'm familiar with both. Both neither one of them are buying new fire trucks or paying for road improvements or rebuilding the sewer system at large. Nor am I saying it's there responsibility as I simply used light rail and intown living as flippant examples.

Look, I want Detroit to come back and as you acknowledged earlier that will take some time. The question ultimately is that despite Gilbert and Ilitch efforts, neither are elected officials. Someone is going to eventually have to get rectify the city's pension situation, transportation mismanagement and wastewater improvements and improve its bond rating.

Reflexively going to the 'raise taxes' well IMO will shatter the vary growth that Detroit is trying to cultivate. Not so much about the taxes themselves, but more so the fear they they will be squandered as before.

(10-14-2015 02:34 PM)Redwingtom Wrote:  

(10-14-2015 01:19 PM)vandiver49 Wrote:  

(10-14-2015 01:11 PM)Redwingtom Wrote:  

(10-14-2015 12:36 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(10-14-2015 11:09 AM)Redwingtom Wrote:  No Kaplony...nobody is saying everything has been fixed. It took decades to ruin...it's going to take more than a few years to fix.

Especially when they are throwing money at fluff instead of critical infrastructure.

You really have no idea what you're talking about. I visit Detroit several times a year. It's easy to see the fixes taking place.

I think its a matter of priorities. Your contention that a rise in intown living and a new light rail line are signs of revival while Kap sees neglected fire services and ancient water transport systems as a greater importance. It's ultimately a chicken/egg type problem. Those city services require an expanded tax base, something that can't be recognized without the superficial enticements.

Yes, but there's WAY more going on than just a rise in intown living and light rail. Detroit has some big backers with big money who are bringing businesses back. Dan Gilbert from Quicken Loans and Mike Ilitch with Little Caesars just to name two.

Five years in, and Dan Gilbert's just beginning

Downtown, although empty at night, has not been that bad, even before Gilbert moved Quickin there. It is about entire neighborhoods business and residential entirely vacant. A hipster enclave of a few hundred or thousand won't help much.

Detroit — Detroit has had more homes foreclosed in the past 10 years than the total number of houses in several suburbs — or all of Buffalo, New York.

Since 2005, more than 1-in-3 Detroit properties — 139,699 of 384,672 — have been foreclosed because of mortgage defaults or unpaid taxes, property records show. The vast majority are houses, and the tally is so huge it shocked even those who spent years working on foreclosure in Detroit.

"When you see it on a map, it's absolutely terrifying," said Chris Uhl, a vice president of the Skillman Foundation that is working to prevent foreclosures.

To get a sense of the loss, consider all the houses in Warren, Livonia, Royal Oak, Southfield and Allen Park.

Empty them. The number is still less than all the foreclosures in Detroit


By the numbers

36 percent of all Detroit properties went through foreclosure from 2005 to 2014.

139,699 total homes foreclosed.

56 percent of all mortgage foreclosures are blighted, need to be demolished or have been foreclosed again for nonpayment of taxes.

76 percent of the 84,000 properties on the city's blight list are foreclosures.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/sp.../27237787/

Here's another interesting development with the Detroit saga: the construction of the new Gordie Howe International Bridge.



http://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/s...nal-bridge

It'll be interesting to see how this new bridge project affects the city. Moroun is not happy I imagine, especially since his bridge up the river is falling apart.

I think this shovels the last load of dirt on Delray. First the freeway cuts it up, and now the road structures associated with this new bridge are going to dice it.

(10-14-2015 03:17 PM)SuperFlyBCat Wrote:  

(10-14-2015 02:34 PM)Redwingtom Wrote:  

(10-14-2015 01:19 PM)vandiver49 Wrote:  

(10-14-2015 01:11 PM)Redwingtom Wrote:  

(10-14-2015 12:36 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  Especially when they are throwing money at fluff instead of critical infrastructure.

You really have no idea what you're talking about. I visit Detroit several times a year. It's easy to see the fixes taking place.

I think its a matter of priorities. Your contention that a rise in intown living and a new light rail line are signs of revival while Kap sees neglected fire services and ancient water transport systems as a greater importance. It's ultimately a chicken/egg type problem. Those city services require an expanded tax base, something that can't be recognized without the superficial enticements.

Yes, but there's WAY more going on than just a rise in intown living and light rail. Detroit has some big backers with big money who are bringing businesses back. Dan Gilbert from Quicken Loans and Mike Ilitch with Little Caesars just to name two.

Five years in, and Dan Gilbert's just beginning

Downtown, although empty at night, has not been that bad, even before Gilbert moved Quickin there. It is about entire neighborhoods business and residential entirely vacant. A hipster enclave of a few hundred or thousand won't help much.

Detroit — Detroit has had more homes foreclosed in the past 10 years than the total number of houses in several suburbs — or all of Buffalo, New York.

Since 2005, more than 1-in-3 Detroit properties — 139,699 of 384,672 — have been foreclosed because of mortgage defaults or unpaid taxes, property records show. The vast majority are houses, and the tally is so huge it shocked even those who spent years working on foreclosure in Detroit.

"When you see it on a map, it's absolutely terrifying," said Chris Uhl, a vice president of the Skillman Foundation that is working to prevent foreclosures.

To get a sense of the loss, consider all the houses in Warren, Livonia, Royal Oak, Southfield and Allen Park.

Empty them. The number is still less than all the foreclosures in Detroit


By the numbers

36 percent of all Detroit properties went through foreclosure from 2005 to 2014.

139,699 total homes foreclosed.

56 percent of all mortgage foreclosures are blighted, need to be demolished or have been foreclosed again for nonpayment of taxes.

76 percent of the 84,000 properties on the city's blight list are foreclosures.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/sp.../27237787/

But they have a rail line!

(10-15-2015 10:14 PM)CameramanJ Wrote:  Here's another interesting development with the Detroit saga: the construction of the new Gordie Howe International Bridge.



http://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/s...nal-bridge

It'll be interesting to see how this new bridge project affects the city. Moroun is not happy I imagine, especially since his bridge up the river is falling apart.

I think this shovels the last load of dirt on Delray. First the freeway cuts it up, and now the road structures associated with this new bridge are going to dice it.

If the old one did not help too much how would the new one? Serious question..

(10-16-2015 09:33 AM)Bull_In_Exile Wrote:  

(10-15-2015 10:14 PM)CameramanJ Wrote:  Here's another interesting development with the Detroit saga: the construction of the new Gordie Howe International Bridge.



http://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/s...nal-bridge

It'll be interesting to see how this new bridge project affects the city. Moroun is not happy I imagine, especially since his bridge up the river is falling apart.

I think this shovels the last load of dirt on Delray. First the freeway cuts it up, and now the road structures associated with this new bridge are going to dice it.

If the old one did not help too much how would the new one? Serious question..

The old bridge is privately owned. It represents one of the two Canadian crossings. They need a few more

Don't let William Hull anywhere near Detroit.

(10-16-2015 03:42 PM)HarmonOliphantOberlanderDevine Wrote:  Don't let William Hull anywhere near Detroit.

Re-elect Pingree

St. Gilbert makes another power play, so bumpitybumpbump

http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index...._site.html



This could get interesting