This week in the notebook:
- Gas station clerks can’t trap
- Solar fields are taking root
- Another chance for Parade Co.
- Reparations recommendation
Welcome back. I’m still Malachi Barrett.
An early shutdown of riverfront parks for the annual Ford Fireworks frustrated some Detroiters who feel downtown events prioritize the experience of non-residents.
The city’s social media accounts were bombarded with complaints after posting the park closures. The entire RiverWalk was inaccessible and virtually all east side city parks along the water were closed.
Complaints largely focused on how closing public spaces feels exclusionary for Black Detroiters. The situation drew comparisons the accommodating NFL Draft and a recent police shutdown of Cinco de Mayo.
The Detroit Police Department said riverfront parks were closed “to ensure the safety of all attendees,” limit congestion and dedicate officers to the official fireworks viewing party at Hart Plaza.
No arrests were made in areas designated for viewing during the fireworks, police reported. No arrests were made last year either.
Police detained 19 minors who were unaccompanied past curfew overnight Monday. Tickets were issued to their parents.
Council President Mary Sheffield submitted a memo posing questions late Monday.
Sheffield asked how long DPD has been closing parks for the fireworks, who approves park closures and whether DPD can keep parks open in the future.
Sheffield said she wasn’t aware that parks were closing early until residents voiced concerns on Monday. She also heard from disappointed seniors that couldn’t access local parks several hours before the event.
“This year, for some reason, we got a lot more concerns,” Sheffield said. “That’s what raised the issue.”
“People deserve access to these public spaces.”
Park closures weren’t new to this year. The same locations, most of which are in Sheffield’s district, were inaccessible in 2022 and 2023. No fireworks were held in 2020 or 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
City parks normally close at 10 p.m., roughly the same time that the fireworks were scheduled to launch. Sheffield said they’ll see if can parks stay open later next year.
The council signed off on a special events permit application by the Parade Company without discussion on June 11. Council members later approved an annual curfew for minors connected to the fireworks.
The permit did not include a request from the Parade Company to close city streets or parks. It outlined a plan for a VIP rooftop party, plus food trucks, live music and other attractions at Hart Plaza.
Council President Pro Tem James Tate said in an interview that residents opened the door to discuss changes for next year’s event.
Tate said the success of recent large-scale events suggests that Detroit could handle open parks. But it may not make sense to change a plan that has largely kept the fireworks safe, Tate said.
“A lot of the plan is presented to (City Council) at the last minute,” Tate said. “We have to keep in mind it was a successful event. We have to figure out how we keep it successful and open up more viewing spaces to more people.”
Tate illustrated the balance by recalling a 2004 incident. Tate was a spokesman for the police department when a man shot nine people near Hart Plaza. He said following year’s event “looked like a police state.”
“Officers were lined up and down the street,” Tate said. “It was not a good feeling. It’s a matter of having a situation where you want to keep those numbers (of violent incidents) down. Sometimes we may go beyond what is necessary.”
What page are we on?
Today’s notebook covers the June 25 formal session. Council Member Gabriela Santiago-Romero was absent.
Dig into the agenda, read Detroit Documenter notes or watch the recording for more details.
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Council Member Mary Waters is hosting a town hall on the Detroit Land Bank Authority from 1-3 p.m. June 29 at The Atmosphere of Praise Community Center (8615 Puritan St.)
The land bank plans to hold meetings in each City Council district, starting with District 5 in July. More details will be released soon.
Sheffield is hosting a housing resources event from 4-7 p.m. June 27 at Breakers Covenant International Church (8801 Woodward Ave.)
Gas station lock ban locked in
The killing of a Detroit man who was trapped inside a gas station with a gunman inspired a new law against locking people inside businesses.
The council voted 7-0 to prohibit the use of remote door locks to stop patrons from leaving.
It was introduced by Tate and Sheffield as a direct response to the death of Gregory Karlos Samuel Fortner-Kelly in 2023. Sheffield said she promised his mother that Detroit would adopt the ban.
It only applies to Detroit businesses that put their cash register behind bulletproof glass. Clerks can lock the doors on people who are suspected of stealing, but not when another person is present.
“If you find yourself in a position where you are protected and you expose patrons to being unsafe, that sends an extreme message about what you believe their value is,” Tate said.
Tate said gas station attendant Al-Hassan Aiyash “corralled and contained” people inside the store after Samuel McCray allegedly attempted to leave without paying for less than $4 worth of items.
McCray allegedly shot three men, killing Fortner-Kelly, before the clerk unlocked the doors.
Fortner-Kelly’s mother thanked the council for passing the ordinance “so no one ever experiences this again.”
People who violate the ordinance can be charged with a misdemeanor.
Another misdemeanor can be charged if the person locks someone inside the store who has a weapon or has intent to harm others.
Neighborhood solar gets a charge
The City Council had a mixed reaction to progress on Mayor Mike Duggan’s solar farms plan.
Duggan is recruiting neighborhoods to host solar energy fields aimed at putting land to use and powering municipal buildings. He announced on Monday the selection of Gratiot-Findlay, State Fair and Van Dyke-Lynch neighborhoods.
Five other neighborhoods are under consideration. Duggan’s Chief Strategy Officer Trisha Stein said 200 acres could be redeveloped.
The council has authority over contracts with solar companies and resolutions establishing the justification to purchase private property.
Council Member Angela Whitfield-Calloway said it was “premature” and “disrespectful” of Duggan to hold a press conference before the council process started.
“I hope we slow this train down,” she said. “We should not be putting solar fields in the middle of a neighborhood. People need housing, not solar farms. It’s not the answer to tall grass, it’s not the answer to blight.”
Council Member Fred Durhal III said residents in District 7 have been supportive of the plan.
“There is an opportunity to revitalize neighborhoods in a way that we are moving forward,” Durhal said.
Tate said “I’m not there yet,” and many of his constituents in District 1 are “completely unaware” of the solar plan. Sheffield said she’s not sold either, and her constituents are not interested in putting solar farms in District 5.
Detroit Sustainability Director Tepfirah Rushdan said 21 owner-occupied homes agreed to buyouts with the city. Homeowners can sell for double the fair market value, or a minimum of $90,000.
Homes located within a community benefits boundary will receive $15,000 to $25,000 in energy efficient upgrades that could shave 10% to 20% off utility bills.
Council Member Coleman Young II said the proposal will help residents who are spending too much on energy costs.
“For the greater good of Detroit, this legislation needs to pass,” Young said.
The plan also advances a 2019 sustainability goal. The council sought to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 30% by 2025 and completely eliminate emissions by 2050.
The “solar neighborhoods” have a large number of vacant lots. Roughly 75% of the land is owned by the city or Detroit Land Bank Authority, officials said Tuesday.
Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett said solar sites are exempt from city zoning regulations because it’s a public use.
Planning Commission Director Marcell Todd said solar fields could considered industrial uses and council members indicated more discussion is needed.
Boston-based Lightstar Renewables would create solar fields in the Gratiot-Findlay and State Fair neighborhoods. DTE Energy is up for the remaining contract to build in the Van Dyke-Lynch neighborhood.
Brodhead Armory fundraising marches on
The Parade Company was given another chance to raise funds for rebuilding the historic Brodhead Armory, but council members warned it could be the last.
The city entered a development agreement in September 2021 to sell the riverfront site at 7650 E. Jefferson. The Parade Co. since raised a third of what’s needed to buy and rehabilitate the building.
Parade Co. President Tony Michaels said they have $14.5 million out of $45 million. He’s assured council that fundraising efforts would bear fruit.
City Council members reluctantly agreed to extend the closing deadline by one year to June 30, 2025, with construction required to start by Oct. 1, 2025 and end by Aug. 1, 2027.
Durhal said he’d rather stick with a developer that he knows rather than starting from scratch, but said there’s a “long journey ahead.”
“I’m in support of this because we are too deep in the game,” Durhal said during a committee discussion earlier this month. “I don’t want to be in the same place next year for another extension.”
Michaels said there is a massive hole in the roof and standing water inside. He described the building as “horrible” and “destroyed.”
But he argued the historic structure and artistic elements inside can be salvaged. The Parade Co. plans to build a new headquarters and complex for youth summer camps, a veterans office and events.
Steve Brodhead, grandson of the armory’s namesake and Union Civil War Gen. Thornton Brodhead, voiced disapproval with the Parade Co. retaining control of the site.
Sheffield said the veterans group was turned down because it didn’t have sufficient funds to restore the site. The Parade Co. hasn’t done much better, she said.
Sheffield said the city has been patient with “prime real estate” on the riverfront.
“My main issue is the city, in some situations, is picking and choosing what projects we want to give this leniency and the ability to extend, and it’s not quite fair,” Sheffield said.
“Several projects from minority developers I’ve fought for, if they can’t show sufficient funding they can’t even bid. I will not approve any more extensions moving forward.”
Tate said the council is also hoping the armory will receive similar treatment to Michigan Central Station, but there’s a key difference.
“Right now we don’t have a developer before us with a whole lot of money,” Tate said on Tuesday. “That is the challenge.”
The agreement was previously extended at the discretion of Planning Director Antoine Bryant, without City Council approval.
The Detroit Law Department argued that Bryant was within his right to do so. Tate and Sheffield sided with an analysis from the Legislative Policy Division.
Bryant faces an ethics investigation focused on approving contracts without council’s permission.
Revenge of the film incentives
The City Council is advocating to restore income tax credits for film productions in Michigan.
Detroit locations were featured in a range of popcorn classics, including “Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” “8 Mile,” “Transformers” and “It Follows.”
The council adopted a symbolic resolution supporting two bills introduced in the Michigan Legislature. The bills would replace a film incentive that was eliminated in 2015 with a tax credit used to offset production costs.
If signed into law, it would apply to feature films, TV shows, commercials, commercial photography and short films. Productions could receive tax credits up to 30% plus a separate 30% credit for hiring Michigan residents.
The previous credit was created in 2008 to boost tourism and local economies. The state spent $500 million over the life of the program.
Critics argued it failed to produce significant revenue or full-time jobs for Michigan communities.
Since then, Michigan has fallen behind other states in hosting film projects. Thirty-eight states offer some form of tax break.
The new incentive is expected to provide $2 billion in subsidies over 10 years.
Supporters say the incentive will help Michigan attract new job opportunities for young people and established artists.
Rosa and Raymond Parks Flat
A historic study was commissioned to honor the former Detroit home of Rosa Parks.
Current owner David McGraw requested a local historic designation for the Virginia Park two-family house. Historic Designation Advisory Board Director Janese Chapman recommended a study.
Parks and her husband Raymond lived at 3201 Virginia Park Street for three decades. The home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2021.
Rosa Parks was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1913 and married Raymond in 1932. They came to Detroit in 1957.
The Parks’ spent roughly a year in the North End before moving to the Virginia Park address, where they would stay until 1988.
She’s widely known for her refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man in 1955, leading to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. She had been active in the civil rights movement previously and remained a key figure throughout her lifetime.
Her Virginia Park home is documented as being in the geographic heart of a growing radical Black movement.
Parks later worked for Detroit’s longtime Congressman John Conyers, and secured an endorsement from Martin Luther King Jr.
Parks lived in other locations around Detroit before her death in 2005.
Designating her Virginia Park home as a local historic district requires City Council approval. Durhal said it’s a “no-brainer.”
City Council’s apology to Black Detroiters
The City Council issued a formal apology to Black residents for “its historical role in perpetuating systemic racism and discrimination.”
A resolution was suggested by Keith Williams, who leads the council’s reparations task force and is chair of the Michigan Democratic Party Black Caucus. It was unanimously approved without much discussion.
Williams said the resolution is an important first step “in repairing the cause and effect of Detroit’s racist past.”
It outlines several specific incidents and larger injustices in Detroit’s “painful history from the 1920’s to the present day.”
Examples include the 1943 Detroit race riot and 1967 uprising, multiple eras of police brutality and the 1992 murder of Malice Green, a failure to address the educational needs of Black students, redlining, construction of freeways and industrial factories in Black neighborhoods.
The task force is studying similar incidents to make a case for municipal reparations programs. The document includes a series of notable pledges:
