Going Home

just read the article about the airport buffer & people waiting for the city to buy up those homes, like i said before, there was always talk even when i was a young girl about them buying up the houses to extend the airport, it would surprise me if that would be done now.
55,000 to 65,000 for the homes that are left, we barely got that back in 78 when we moved from that area, i hate to be negative but those people that are still there waiting, will be waiting for along time to get anything from the city especially if the airport has no intentions of getting any bigger.
what i want to know is what do you want, the area to stay the way it is & upgrade for the people that are there or for the city to give them a fair price for their homes so they can get out of there?
that area will never, ever be the same as it was when we(i) grew up, alot of the beautiful homes are gone now,sorry to be like this, but you can only do so much
the city of detroit will spend money to get the downtown area looking as good as possible but as far as the neighborhoods its up to the people to keep their homes, properties looking as good as they can, which there are still some beautiful areas & homes in the city.
donna s

Hi everyone this is Mike Brachakowski reporting again....judging by the way the City of Detroit moves it may be 60 more years before any buffer is built by city airport....if the federal government approves the money or whatever, who can stop the Detroit politicians from stealing and misapproriating the money for other purposes...that has been going on in Detroit for far too long...in my other comments I mentioned that King Kwame only wants money spent in downtown Detroit to enhance the stadiums and the gambling casinos where people deposit their money freely and stupidly into the hands of big business......it is hard to say at this point if anything will happen to the 6 and VD area......for one thing the news reported that flying, flights and most activity has been way down at the city airport for some time....it will be hard to justify using the money on an entity that has been in a decline....who knows???
That should not deter the neighbors at 6 and VD to stop from working on the homes and the neighborhood.....a neighborhood is only as good as the people living there...when everyone surrenders like they did after the riots the whole city suffers.
Just make the politicians accountable for how they spend your money....any business or financial institution in today's world must submit financial reports to their customers for review...the city of Detroit should do the same. That might stop some of the stealing of the money. Mike Brachakowski*******

It doesnt matter what their intentions are, the main thing is we do what we can for the kids of the neighborhood. Theoretically the Park has to be restored outside the buffer zone, and the area from Gilbo to Van Dyke is not part of the buffer zone. As a matter of fact it looks like they have only purchased the property in the 750' zone from the runway, which doesnt quite reach to gilbo. It could take them another 20,30,40,or 50 years to purchase the next 500', if it ever gets done at all. Which leaves us with a bunch of kids that have squat for resources in a neighborhood that resembles urban decay years after a nuclear war, and that is what we need to continue to take care of, the kids in the hood!(am I being the consummate optimist or what?)This, I know we can continue to do in spite of the nay sayers.Its a fact, we are doing it and will continue. Im thinking that is what God has in mind, I could be wrong but Id rather be wrong and know we did what we could for the children, how about you Mike?

hey,denise butki here,I went to holy name,graduated in72,graduated with Kensicki,Robinson. Went to Dominican high,left after 10th grade,my mom and I moved to Inkster,MI.My brother Tom kept the house on Almont,he soldit in 86.It's not there anymore. Does anybody remember Mark Rowjeski(Roje), He use to hang out with Dave Smith,from Almont and Greg Browne.Or also Alice Morris? Hope to here some responses from some of you guys.I wish I had found you guys during the planning of getting together to see Holy name school.I still come to the eastside once a year,I go to my mother and dad's graves at Sweetest heart of Mary's at 6 and mound. I live in Livonia.hope to hear from you,if not have a great Christmas.

During this (timely) Season of Hope, the answer to the question, “What to do next?” is to look to the future --- keeping your eyes (and prayers) on the prize, and continuing to focus on the real mission – reaching out to the people who are the benefactors of the hard work you have been doing (that includes the current residents and former residents who have come together through your efforts!)

In addition to the layers and layers of issues plaguing the rest of the City neighborhoods, the airport quandary has complicated life in ways that would take huge amounts of time and energy (and financial resources) to sort through (to find out why this has happened). Very sad, but this neighborhood has definitely experienced the flip-side of the benefits of air-travel on society. Did the City officials allow or even exacerbate the situation of the neighborhood’s declining property values? Probably so, but to what extent do we want to expend energy to get them to admit it? And is there any way to undo all of the damage that has been done to so many victims (current residents and a whole slew of past residents) of this fiasco.

This is where doing the right thing now, and allowing God to judge those who did/do not, is much more productive. Yes, imploring the City to lay out concrete plans for the future. Recognizing that unless you are fortunate enough to be located in a ‘popular’ area (where money is flowing) a fragmented Detroit moves very slowly. But, taking a look (optimistically) at the Detroit City Airport–Improvements site, there is mention of “better housing for those who will need to relocate” (notice it doesn’t say “ALL”, but unfortunately, no such luck in this imperfect life.) It also states, “Foreign Trade Zone designation to help local industries take advantage of growing global markets”. This really is a huge plus - if it really comes about – perhaps, more private and corporate flights in conjunction with the Metro Airport Detroit to China connection and Cobo expansion (again - Season of Hope thinking!) Even if the City (unfortunately) doesn’t (do the right thing and) revitalize this area for its own residents, surely there would be pressure from the corporate-types who want to take off and land in a nicer-looking and safer “Industrial Park” setting, as the plan mentions.

Sincerely, my heart goes out to the past and current residents in this unfair situation – as John Mogk (WSU) states, this project’s slow pace “may set a record” in urban development – a record that those responsible should be ashamed of (especially who ever shut off the street lights and other essential services). But, I say we just chalk up the question of ‘why a buffer zone is needed now’ to the equivalent of why we put our children in NHTSA-approved car seats (you may be too young, but I remember driving through the neighborhood with my Mother holding a baby sibling in her arms in the front seat – YIPPES!)

I think best approach for 2008 is to continue strengthening the bridges you have been incredibly successful at building during 2007, and perhaps looking into a plan for relocating (portions of or all??) the park to keep the memories alive and keep up the positive momentum.

There is always hope --- for caring people to work together – in whatever small or large ways that is in keeping with God’s overall plan.

Merry Christmas All!

P.S. Chuckled out loud when I heard “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth” today. Yes, I was taken back to our Christmas concert (way back when - which was recently referenced – thanks for the reminder;) We came onto the stage ‘wearing’ our Sunday best, and Black Jack gum on our two front teeth. After singing the “Intro”, we had to turn around, politely remove the gum into the wrapper, and hold it (discreetly) while we sang the rest of our set. Wouldn’t it have made a great scene in The Christmas Story movie!

Denise - I graduated from HN in '72 also (but I think Robinson was a year behind us) with you and Kensicki, Shaw, et al. My brothers John and Norm and I spent some time together this Christmas reminiscing about the old neighborhood and my brothers (particularly John) remember way more than I do. I do remember Roje playing hockey on the ice rink my dad made every winter behind our house on Dubay. We still have 8 mm movies with Roje losing his pants while playing.