Friday, July 5, 2024     |     www.detroitmi.gov

Mayor announces opening of new round of applications to expand reach of successful ShotStoppers program

Mayor Mike Duggan announces plans to expand the successful Community Violence Intervention program, also known as ShotStoppers.

Mayor Mike Duggan announced plans to expand the City’s ShotStoppers community violence intervention (CVI) program and seek applications for two additional community groups to serve as ShotStoppers.

The City is expanding ShotStoppers based on highly promising results in the program’s first year. ShotStoppers groups achieved reductions in violence of 30 to 70 percent during late 2023 and early 2024, achieving significantly greater reductions in violence in chronic hotspots than the overall trend in areas of the City not served by CVI.

To begin the process, the City is soliciting proposals from interested community organizations, with applications due in early August. Organizations interested in applying will be able to find application details on the City’s website.

Contracts for two new CVI community groups are expected to begin October 1, with each group having one month to ramp up before performance measurement begins on November 1.

In addition to accepting new applications, the City will continue funding for five of the original ShotStoppers groups for another year, through summer of 2025. City Council approved year-long contract extensions for four groups, and the Administration will put forward an extension for the fifth group, Detroit 300, shortly.

City, residents celebrate Farwell Rec Center’s new $4 million gymnasium

The City of Detroit’s Construction and Demolition Department Director LaJuan Counts speaks about the efforts to improve Farwell Rec Center.

The City of Detroit General Services Department, Parks and Recreation Division, alongside residents, celebrated the opening of Farwell Recreation Center’s new gym this week.

Contractor DeAngelis Diamond broke ground in August 2023 and completed the project June 2024. The new gym is 9,000 sq. ft. and features two inclusive restrooms, one of which will have a shower stall. The total cost of construction is about $4 million and was paid for by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.

An additional $665,000 of ARPA funds will be used to improve the original building, including two dual EV charging stations, parking lot and site enhancements, and IT upgrades. To commemorate the completion of the new gymnasium, the City hosted a community celebration with basketball clinics, gym activities, laser tag, voter registration, face painting and more. Recent improvements at Farwell Rec Center are examples of the City of Detroit’s commitment to quality recreation centers. All 13 Detroit recreation centers are in the process of being refreshed; that includes upgrading existing buildings, updating furniture and fixtures, introducing new gear or equipment and more. All refresh projects will be completed by June 2025.

As part of the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grants, the Biden-Harris Administration awards $20.7 million to the Joe Louis Meets the Iron Belle: Connecting Communities in Detroit Project.

The goal of the project is to build two-shared paths in Detroit that will be part of the Joe Louis Greenway (JLG) and Iron Belle Trail (IBT). The two trails will overlap at Woodmere and Dequindre Streets and feature signage, benches, trees and landscaping.

$10.5 million of the RAISE funds will go towards extending the current Dequindre Cut Greenway north of Mack Avenue to Warren Avenue (photo attached).  Construction will include removing one traffic lane in both directions on Dequindre Street, to build a shared-use path.

The remaining funds will go to constructing a similar shared-use path on Woodmere Street between Vernor Highway and Fort Street for the Iron Belle Trail.

Joe Louis Greenway (JLG) is a 30-mile regional greenway connecting 23 Detroit neighborhoods to three cities: Dearborn, Hamtramck, Highland Park. Iron Belle Trail (IBT) extends more than 2,000 miles from the far western tip of the Upper Peninsula to Belle Isle in Detroit.

For more information on the Iron Belle Trail go here. The Joe Louis Greenway map is located here.

Nearly 400 individuals and families living across eight aging low-income apartment buildings in Detroit will see their units renovated and their rents kept affordable, thanks to a $6.1 million investment announced this week by City of Detroit officials.

The City funding will help cover much of the cost of the renovations in exchange for the owners keeping rents affordable for 389 households for another 15-25 years.

Projects approved for the funding so far include six buildings at affordable housing developments in the Hubbard Farms and Mexicantown neighborhoods. The remaining two buildings are pending approval from City Council. Without the funding, the buildings would be at risk of converting to market rate, potentially displacing longtime and elderly lower income Detroiters.

In April, City officials announced that it and its partners had invested more than $1 billion into affordable housing in Detroit in the past five years.

Detroit Economic Growth Corporation announces leadership changes

The Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC) announced this week several key leadership changes following the departure of Chief Operating Officer Kenyetta Hairston-Bridges to another position.

New appointments include:

• Derrick Headd joins DEGC as Senior Vice President of Public Policy and Operations.
• Jacqueline Young has been named Senior Director of Business Development.

Additionally, DEGC announced two internal promotions:

• David Howell has been promoted to Vice President of Development Services.
• David White has been elevated to Vice President of Business Development.

The organization is also actively recruiting a Business Retention Manager who will report to White.

Detroit Economic Growth Corporation is a non-profit organization that serves as Detroit’s lead implementing agency for business retention, attraction and economic development.

DEGC is led by a board comprised of business, civic and community leaders. Its staff provides services for key public authorities that facilitate incentives and other forms of financing for projects that bring new jobs and investment to the City.

DEGC also manages important initiatives to support small businesses and grow neighborhood commercial corridors. DEGC is dedicated to inclusive development and access to economic opportunity.

The City of Detroit’s Office of Disability Affairs invites the public to the Disability Pride Celebration happening on Friday, July 12, at Spirit Plaza.

Join us for a day filled with joy, community, and pride as we celebrate the incredible contributions and resilience of the disability community.

Learn more here: Office of Disability Affairs.

William Shaw fulfilling his community service sentence. Photo by Elonte Davis

Following charges made in July 2023, Melvindale business owner, William Shaw, has recently been sentenced to 40 hours of community service for violating city sign regulations by the repeated hanging of commercial signs without proper authorization. Ordered by a 36th District Court judge, Shaw removed illegal signs other business owners have posted in Detroit.

Last week, Shaw began his sentence by removing illegally posted signs in the area of 7 Mile Road and Evergreen Road and proceeded with the City’s blight team to additional locations.

Violations of sign regulations are considered a public nuisance because they create visual clutter. Shaw was charged with 59 misdemeanor counts of violating city sign ordinance.

From February 2022 to July 2023, the City used funds and manpower to take down more than 615 of Shaw’s signs, found in every corner of Detroit.

Summer registration is now open in all City of Detroit Rec Centers. Join now here.

Construction is significantly underway in the Old Redford Arts Alley behind Artist’s Village.

Construction has begun on five Arts Alleys being constructed across the city, thanks to funding from the $5.4 million in federal funding from President Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

The City Council approved a contract to hire Major Construction to transform dilapidated alleys into artistic oases. The five alleys are the first phase of a neighborhood beautification project that will eventually include nine alleys.

Major has begun construction on alleys in Old Redford, Southwest Detroit, Northwest Detroit and Jefferson Chalmers to bring new surfacing, landscaping and amenities, while partnering together with local artists and residents to imbue these improvements with a sense of history.

Detroit Arts, Culture & Entrepreneurship (Detroit ACE) oversees the City of Detroit’s investment in the fine and performing arts, culture and history with a special focus on supporting the city’s creative workforce.

Mayor announces first three solar neighborhoods: Gratiot/Findlay, Van Dyke/Lynch and State Fair

Mayor Duggan joined lifelong State Fair resident, Jean Holt, who spoke on the City of Detroit’s commitment to transform the neighborhood and provide energy efficiency upgrades to neighbors.

Residents in three Detroit neighborhoods who have lived for decades adjacent to some of Detroit’s worst blight got a clear message from Mayor Mike Duggan: You have not been forgotten.

The Mayor joined Department of Neighborhoods Director Ray Solomon, City Councilmembers Coleman A. Young II and Fred DurhaI, and residents last week to announce the Gratiot/Findlay, Van Dyke/Lynch and State Fair communities were selected as the first three solar neighborhoods.

Combined, the three areas would create a total of 103.9 acres of solar arrays and bring Detroit halfway to its goal of creating approximately 200 acres of solar arrays to generate enough clean energy to be used by all City municipal buildings.

Mayor Duggan, along with family and former students of Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson, unveiled a statue and dedicated a plaza to the memory of the Tuskegee Airman who helped win World War II and returned home to rise above discrimination to become a celebrated educator.

The event took place at the plaza on Jefferson Field at the corner of Spinoza Drive and Joy Road in Rouge Park, where Lt. Col. Jefferson flew model airplanes later in his life. The plaza is open to the public.

Jefferson’s flying unit, called Red Tails for the colors on their plane tails, escorted bombers into action in Europe – and lost so few planes that bombers requested the unit for flying runs.

Mayor, President Biden’s ARPA Chief, launch Round 2 of popular Down Payment Assistance Program

Mayor Duggan and local leaders joined Round 1 Down Payment Assistance Program recipients Megan & Micah Williams, and their 1-year-old daughter.

Mayor Duggan joined with President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan Chief Gene Sperling, City Council members and other partners to announce Round 2 of the Down Payment Assistance Program.

Through its first round, funded with $12 million in ARPA funds, 434 longtime Detroiters realized the American Dream of becoming first-time homeowners.

Round 2 of the program opened last week and is expected to help up to 300 more Detroiters go from being renters to homeowners. Applications are available at detroitdpa.org.

To apply for this program, you must:

1. Find your lender and get pre-qualified for a mortgage
2. Find your home and have a signed purchase agreement
3. Take a homebuyer education class
4. Apply to the DPA Program

To learn more about program details and eligibility requirements, and to apply, go to detroitdpa.org or call the Detroit Housing Resource HelpLine at 866-313-2520 (option 3 after the language prompt) to be connected to program partners.

Saturdays in the D kicks off 2024 with $150,000 donation from Ally Financial

The City of Detroit and Ally Financial announced last week that the nation’s largest digital-only bank will contribute $150,000 to support Saturdays in the D, a free summer camp for Detroit youth and an adult learning program.

The adult learning program begins July 6 and is designed to provide education and training to individuals looking to improve their job prospects and advance their careers. The program offers a variety of courses ranging from computer literacy to professional development.

Registration for both camps and adult courses can be found at saturdaysinthed.org.

Motor City Match winner Medicina Scarlett opens in southwest Detroit, boosting healthcare access

Mayor Duggan congratulates Motor City Match winner, Scarlett Idema, on the opening of Medicina Scarlett.