- Detroit-based demolition contractor Gayanga Co. announced it is shutting down on May 7.
- The company was previously suspended by the city for allegedly using contaminated dirt to backfill properties.
- Founder Brian McKinney is filing a defamation lawsuit against the city of Detroit’s Office of the Inspector General.
- McKinney was also involved in a controversy last year regarding his relationship with then-City Council President Mary Sheffield.
Gayanga Co., the Detroit-based demolition contractor accused by city officials of using contaminated dirt to backfill properties and now at the center of a federal investigation, announced Thursday, May 7, that it is shutting down, and filing a defamation lawsuit.
Brian McKinney, founder of Gayanga Co., said in an email that the company is officially closing its doors “as of Thursday, May 7.” McKinney touted the company for creating opportunities for Black workers in Detroit by providing them careers and living wages, and advocating for “smaller Black contractors who struggled to gain access to opportunities in the City,” he said.
However, McKinney found himself at the center of controversy last year when a series of ethical concerns involving Detroit officials, including Mayor Mary Sheffield — then the City Council president — prompted criticism of the city’s conflict-of-interest rules.
Sheffield, while on the council, voted to approve $4.4 million in contracts for Detroit-based Gayanga in 2019, the year her office said she and McKinney were together, according to a Free Press review of council records available online. She voted to approve at least $54.6 million more for the company from 2020-22, according to the Free Press review.
Detroit’s Office of the Inspector General also suspended Gayanga last September from doing work in the city after investigators said they found the company was using contaminated dirt to backfill residential demolition properties. The suspension was lifted on March 11, as the city’s debarment ordinance limits suspensions to 180 days.
“Over the past year, we remained largely silent while navigating an intense public and legal process. Beyond the temporary OIG suspension of Gayanga Co. and myself, much was discussed publicly about my personal relationship with Mary Sheffield, and I understand it became a tactic during last year’s mayoral race. I have already acknowledged the pain my affair caused while I was married, and it is not something I am proud of. Out of respect for my ex-wife and my family, I will not discuss private details further,” McKinney said in the email.
McKinney noted that after privately defending himself and his company for the past year, “we believe it is finally time to seek answers through the courts.”
He noted that he and his company have filed a defamation lawsuit against the city of Detroit OIG Office and Kamau Marable individually.
“This action arises from false and materially misleading public statements made by Defendants City of Detroit Office of Inspector General (the “OIG”) and Kamau C. Marable (collectively, “Defendants”) that portrayed Plaintiffs Brian McKinney, Sr. (“McKinney”) and Gayanga Co LLC (“Gayanga” or the “Company,” collectively, “Plaintiffs”) as responsible for widespread environmental contamination in the City of Detroit (the “City”) and resulted in the destruction of a Detroit-based, Black-owned demolition company and its owner,” the lawsuit states.
Last year, former Mayor Mike Duggan asked the Detroit Police Department to investigate potential fraud by Gayanga, which may have used backfill dirt from unapproved sources. Duggan pointed out that removing and replacing dirt at the site of a single home demolition costs about $18,000 and replacing the dirt at hundreds of sites could cost at least $8 million. However, the FBI took over the investigation without notifying Gayanga officials, company spokesman Shaun Wilson previously told the Free Press.
“Much has been made publicly about investigations by DPD and now the FBI. We want to make clear that no investigation has resulted in findings of wrongdoing by myself or anyone at Gayanga Co. We also find it deeply troubling that the OIG referred this matter to DPD despite never interviewing any of the contractors, truckers, or other parties directly involved before making sweeping public statements,” McKinney said in the email.City data obtained through a public records request that reflects 533 properties where contamination is suspected shows 297 locations are connected to Oakland County-based Iron Horse of Michigan — where the city found it sourced potentially toxic dirt to Gayanga — and 235 are connected to Gayanga. The city has said another 100-plus locations of suspected contamination are privately owned and that it is seeking permission from those owners to test them.
City Council mulls costly site testing
Detroit officials are currently mulling whether to spend millions of dollars on an environmental consultant to test neighborhood demolition sites that may contain contaminated dirt.
City Council members Gabriela Santiago-Romero and Denzel McCampbell said they are concerned about safety, due diligence and the hefty cost toward taxpayers during a committee meeting May 7. McCampbell said he could not support the $4.5 million contract to Mannik & Smith Group because the city “should have been doing more” to protect residents.
Santiago-Romero said she was conflicted with spending millions, however, she does not want to dismiss the issues Detroiters are facing by living alongside contaminated sites.
“I think this is just gonna be a hard pill to swallow, and a conversation that I welcome at the full table,” Santiago-Romero said during the committee meeting regarding the contract.
In addition to resolving potential environmental impacts on Detroiters, Santiago-Romero pressed City Attorney Graham Anderson about whether the city would be paid back for the work. Anderson assured the councilwoman the city would look to recover costs and total damages, though it could be considered in court.
Santiago-Romero echoed McCampbell’s concern, pointing out that the city gave Gayanga a lot of contracts and went through layers of government, “and still, we’re here. And this is why people don’t trust the government,” she said.
“We’re being asked to pay and fix, but still we have more contracts and so we have more work. Where are we going to truly ensure protections and ensure good service?” Santiago-Romero said.
McCampbell said he also has a memo with nearly a dozen questions to Timothy Palazzolo, director of the Construction and Demolition Department, on flagged properties, testing timeline, plans to replace contaminated dirt, safety measures and how often the department inspects those sites. Responses are expected to be available by the end of the week or early next week.
“Now, we are dealing with a situation where we are having to be asked to pay to rectify this. We also now have holes throughout the city that pose a safety threat. We also have questions now about whether or not … the soil is safe for our residents,” McCampbell said. “At the table here, as we push for caution on a lot of things that are happening, it is because of this reason that we’re not trying to get to a place where we’re having to go back …”
Free Press investigative reporter Violet Ikonomova contributed to this article.
Dana Afana is the Detroit City Hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact: dafana@freepress.com. Follow her: @DanaAfana.