Semi-permanent structures

This is a horrible eye sore in our community. No other city allows this to go on but Detroit. Please clean this up!

Technically, Ferndale is allowing on the other side of 8 mile! Either way, it needs cleaned up!!

Keep our community clean and family friendly. These people are abusing their freedom. They are not being considerate of the families in our community when they litter, engage in sexual activities in public areas, use and sell drugs, and are abusive to citizens who pass by on bikes or walking. They should not have the freedom to create a residence on a street that is owned and used by the public.

These people are abusing their freedom. They have created a place to reside in a public area. They are disrespectful to citizens in the area because they litter, they engage in sexual activities in publuc, they urinate in private yards, they use and sell drugs, and they are verbally abusive to citizens who walk or bike past them. They should not have the right to put their belongings on public grounds. The sidewalks are there for the community to use not for 3 or 4 people to take over for their own private use.

who resolves this issue? Those corners were cleaned up once last year.

I can't walk to my neighborhood grocery, because I'd have to walk past all that garbage.

Home and Business Owney are not allowed to keep their property like this...So why is the City allowed to keep its property this way???

They occupy city regulated space so they I responsible. We aren't allowed to maintain our parcels any kind of way nor should they.

Littering laws need to be enforced.

The Detroit Planning Director is promoting walkable neighborhoods in the City. Perhaps he can offer a constructive solution to our problem. I had the opportunity to speak with him about it in November and he said he'd get back with me. Still waiting.

I have an idea - what if police ticket the drivers who give money? It's an actual offense called "obstructing traffic" that has no points. If we can stop the money, the people living under the bridge will move on.

This is an extremely unsafe environment for pedestrians and motor vehicular traffic. As well as a danger to the surrounding neighborhood residents who have witnessesed and experienced numerous occasions of drug trafficking and attempted threats upon persons property and persons. The accumulation of individuals trash and bodily excremental has created a welcome home for the breeding of rodent (mice and rats) communities.
Please help clean this mess up!

Thank you for submitting your concern. A work order has been issued to have this investigated to facilitate any required debris removal.

The trash is out of control. There hasn't been a pickup in weeks from all the homeless peoples trash and furniture. Please do something about this contineous eye sore at 8 Mile and Woodward. The stitch of rotten food and urine is unbearable when you drive by to go to Meijers. This is totally unacceptible. Please do something!

Aug 2017.. Oakland County Press .. news Article about Abe... entitled "Ferndale working to clean up 8 Mile-Woodward intersection, help homeless".

Disappointed that this area is now becoming an eye store driving through that intersection. Please so something about this. It is getting out of control

You can't even ride past with your windows down. It smells awful.

Today on my way to Planet Fitness, my wife and I saw multiple vagrants shooting up, tying off, and preparing their needles. This has to stop.

Despite the city’s acknowledgment, this persists and is getting worse by the day.

I'm assuming that the city will respond, but will their response be for a one-time only cleanup and nothing more? I agree, the city should have addressed the problem before this!

Under the bridge

North west side of the south west corner - the mess is expanding.

West side of the south east corner. This man was impeding traffic moments later to take a $2 hand out from a passerby

This is out of control. Ive seen two fights here in the past month. Three years ago my car was damaged because of two panhandlers fighting, one of them bounces off the back of my car. One of the regulars has harassed my wife. They routinely walk in traffic.

The city of a Detroit is clearly not serious about rejuvenating neighborhoods outside of the radius of Ilitch/Gilbert money.

Well they cleaned up the Ferndale side for the most part I don't know how long it will last. The two cities should work together on this matter.

please clean up this area because it is problematic for residence and a danger due to drug activity consistently

this should be cleaned up it is been here too long

Please keep the underpass clean and implore those that choose to congregate there to do the same or face arrest!!! It is a health and safety hazard to ALL pedestrians and it even scares me to drive by sometimes...

What is taking so long? This corner needed attention months ago....or rather years ago.

I agree with all previous comments. The City of Detroit needs to move forward and accept a resposibility that belongs to them. Our tax dollars speak for covering this overdue cleanup. "Nightmare"!😞

I heard some reports from the precinct that this was cleaned yesterday. If so, the bridge trolls sure waste no time spreading trash all over the place. Looks like nothing was done. This is from 8:15 today.

a new and related instance of this issue: https://seeclickfix.com/issues/4712428?poi_token=3f91b8eb9a260afdf74ffe61b08c39e5a0381851

I am going to start calling the police on them. This has gone on for several years, and as noted in several Nextdoor threads, it is threatening the security of the neighborhood. Yesterday, on my way home, one of the guys was walking on the backyard of a Woodstock resident, with his pants down.

I took these photos at 9:15 a.m. today 7/24/18. There were 5 people sleeping under the bridge.

And these.

And these.

It's been 8 days since the city "acknowledged" the issue. No action.

This area is disgusting and has continually gotten worse. One can sympathize with the issues of homelessness and displacement while also wanting a safe and clean community. It shouldn't have to be either/or!

Thank you for submitting your concern. The debris has been removed. This request will now be closed.

This was not cleaned, or was IMMEDIATELY trashed again.

As of 12:20 today. Please clean this mess up and keep it that way.

DPW, get the sanitation contractor to clean this mess now and daily as needed. The community will not tolerate this camp and the trash they generate 24/7.

His needs to be addressed.

My wife told me it had been totally cleaned and, less than two hours later, they had brought out another piile of rags and stuff and proceeded to spread the new stuff out all over again. They seem to have an endless supply and are laughing at any attempt to clean the area. And yes, it appears they are inviting their buddies to join them since it does seem there are more of them.

DPW, this problem is not going away. Find a permanent solution. The residents of Green Acres are through dealing with this.

Please find a permanent solution to this mess! I drove though yesterday w\my windows up & A/C on - STILL smelled the filth. A ‘comeback city’ should NOT allow this situation in ANY neighborhood - let alone a gateway community.

This issue has not been cleaned. It has been ongoing for over 5 years and has gotten worse in recent months. My family cannot even go our normal bike riding route any longer. This has to be considered an emergency issue. It affects our safety, the safety of those in the neighborhood and in the community, and is extremely dangerous and unsanitary.

If this is not allowed at Woodward/Jefferson or Woodward/Warren it should not be allowed here. It seems everyone is pointing the finger at someone else: MDOT, city police, district reps, city council rep....who actually as any power to do anything around here?

The previous request needs to be reopened. The problem at 8/Wd still exists.

Hi Judy, I investigated the area and re-opened the issue with supporting photos.

Great, I'll check it out. And thanks for staying with it.

Indeed. Thanks to everyone for staying on this issue. This has gone on for long enough.

Please contact Councilman CouncilMemberMcCalister@detroitmi.gov

Please Fix this Detroit. It’s not a good look for an up and coming city. It’s not just an eyesore, it’s really becoming a public health issue. It’s getting really bad.

8am today. Trash everywhere. This has to stop.

Drive by this morning — standing in the road, trash everywhere. New vagrants are settling in every day. There are clearly people with mental health issues. The City of Detroit’s refusal to deal with this is appalling. I am in communication with a national news outlet they would like to do a story on the ongoing issue.

Providing them with some large plastic bags is not "addressing" the issue.

Response to bolanrint - thanks for taking the initiative to contact a national news outlet. I can't tell you what the solution is but the City of Detroit certainly has the resources to figure it out... if they decide to do that. It's a shame to go past the area and ponder the rise of Detroit in all the historic photos that someone in a previous position of executive and artistic authority decide to frame and exhibit at the site and see the contrast with the squalor below. Detroit is multicultural precisely because of the previous draw of good paying industrial jobs that attracted people from around the world. That's what made the Eight Mile and Woodward intersection the literal heart of American industry and commerce. Today? It's a dirty campground for the unemployed that have mostly descended into various forms of addiction. You would think that the City authorities would regard this as a terrible stain to be removed. Unfortunately they seem to be wearing blinders and can't see the problem or the glowering contradiction. I wonder what the local businesses think about this? PNC? Meijers? Marshalls? Starbucks? Applebees? McDonalds? Why doesn't the City make arrangements for these folks to take showers and live in the vicinity of that huge basketball gym on the other side of the Fairgrounds while forbidding solicitation at the intersection? There must be a solution. Could people just camp out in front of the DIA or the Detroit Public Library or WSU? I tend to think not.

This situation is untenable. I'm aware that there are 1st amendment rights to be recognized, that DPD has on multiple occasions, offered referrals and medical aid which have been declined, and that Detroit does not have a loitering ordinance specific to this particular behavior. That being said, as many others have noted, this intersection has devolved into an unsafe and unhealthy area, with the population at least doubling in recent weeks.

Perhaps this should be transferred from DPW to the Health Department. Everything about this is unhealthy--to them, to us, to passing motorists, people trying to catch the bus, cyclers, everybody. I recently saw a man with two small children walking past this. The young girl just stared in disbelief. The Dad just tried to get them through there as fast as the kids could walk.

I get the first amendment part, but what about issuing tickets for littering? I'm sure Detroit has an ordinance concerning blight/littering.

This is a multifaceted issue that goes beyond illegal dumping. There is trespassing on the vacant Meijer lot near Woodward where there is open drug use, sex, fires and squatting. Addition to this there is trespassing on the lot Southwest of the 8 mile and Woodward intersection where they go right up to private property fences and use the bathroom and on some occasions have sex. While some of these people are hostile against each other there are several who are overtly aggressive towards drivers by trying to open doors, spitting in windows and verbal assaults. One of my neighbors on Nextdoor reported that one of these people rubbed his penis against the window where her daughter was sitting. It was also noted on Nextdoor that at least two of them, the brothers, actually own a home and schedule people on the corner then take a percentage of the profits. Drugs are being sold here. The Greenacres residents have reached out to a variety of resources, homeless, mental health... Most of these people have said that they do not want to go into shelters. Many of them make more than I make a month tax tree. This needs to get resolved...and not just for the PGA event coming up. There needs to be a long term solution. Depending who is on the corners I don't feel save going through this intersection.

Corner covered in trash today

Looks like nothing has changed. This is the view 24/7. Something to write home about...

Question: how many different "clickitdetroits" are open about the same issue? I seem to be voting on this same issue elsewhere.

Amen to Suski's comments.

Elsewhere, I mentioned that there were new people lounging at the underpass (one guy with no shirt). I didn't notice them asking for money. Has anyone else noticed if they are? And if not, what is their business? After my comment, someone mentioned that she was uncomfortable with not knowing what the new guys are about. Maybe she has a point. After all, this area is the entry point into our neighborhood.

The new guys don’t appear to be asking for money, but they are using heroine- I saw one of them openly inject it yesterday, then pass out on the sidewalk. Something needs to be done, because in addition to the group growing larger, they are getting more brazen. My daughter (21 yrs old) had to walk to Meijer yesterday while her car is being repaired, and they were very aggressive toward her. When she indicated that she didn’t have any money to give, a female in the group stated “You have an iPhone, but you can’t give me a dollar....?” Then proceeded to call my daughter a B*tch.
Please address this situation, for the sake of the entire neighborhood. Attempts to address it and discuss solutions via our neighborhood app have been unsuccessful, and due to people outside of our immediate Green Acres community reporting residents to the administrators for “ranting”, some of us have had our accounts suspended on said neighborhood app. We have exhausted all options- and are looking to the city to at least lend support in eradicating this health and safety hazard ASAP.

Accused of ranting? That's outrageous. Would you accuse a woman who objected to being raped of ranting? There are no personal/individual solutions to problems like these. It requires the intervention of the City. The City has the resources, knows the law, and has the trained personnel to deal with these types of issues. It also has the responsibility. The appropriate person to contact is Sgt. Sherley Bledsoe at the Twelfth Precinct on Seven Mile. She's the DPD Community Relations person for this area. Vagrancy and drug use are police issues and the police need to deal with them immediately before anybody gets hurt.

Clean it up! Enforce the vagrancy laws! The City of Detroit should serve and protect the residents of Detroit.

Sunday, July 29th, 2018, 12:15 PM — the usual suspects and a few new ones. Severa look half-passed out. Rolling around in filth. Falling asleep with cigarettes in mouth. Rotten food and wrappers everywhere.

This pedestrian area is completely unusable.

Enforce the law.

I just arrived back from a trip north on Woodward. One of the panhandlers, I think Abe or Dale, was out cold. It was hard to tell for sure which one it was, as he really looked messed up and unkempt laying back against the railing with his eyes closed, in dirty clothes and in socks with no shoes. Today he is just taking up a spot, as he certainly isn't aware enough to be accepting any money.

What a grand entrance to the city or Detroit from the North. First impression made and it's a bad one.

Loitering next to a pile of trash, occasionally impeding traffic.

Waking from his slumber and preparing his “kit”

Piles of trash re-accumulating. Growing by the hour.

Yes, everyone knows what this area looks like. This is a real issue that affects the neighborhood, but we really don’t need a daily run down of their exact movements especially if snide remarks are being made, like making a “kit”. These people have issues, that I do agree with but we shouldn’t look down on them regardless if we like what they are doing. There are almost 80 comments that all say the same thing... Keep it polite and nice people, call our councilmen and the police because chatting on this app will not help.

Dear E01672,

We are not "chatting on this app." We are leaving direct messages for the above mentioned municipal agencies and departments so they can address the issue. Kindly unsubscribe from the thread if you are no longer interested in receiving updates from seeclickfix.

The situation is getting worse and worse. Hello DPW and other municipal entities. We are not going away. Your attention to this matter is expected.

I'm in total agreement that our intention, by way of messages on "Improve Detroit", is to draw attention to a problem our community has been facing every day beginning "off and on" since 2006... year mentioned by Abe. If, Eo, you think the comments made here are needlessly repetitive and/or boring to you (and others), please stop wasting your time by reading them. My right is to be able to walk on clean sidewalks over to Ferndale with my grandson, or to the gym, without having to migrate, with peril, through broken glass, litter, filthy drug trash, aggressive behavior and pressure to give, and the nauseous smell, so strong that when I'm driving I have to roll up my window. An unobstructed sidewalk is my right to have by law! That's what I want... that's what I am seeking. That's what I am paying for.

What does it mean, "blocked by rejections"? What are the reasons for rejection and who determines that? Please respond, Rejection Committee and answer my questions. Nothing I said should have been considered to be offensive. Leaving messages on this site in order to express our "intention" for wanting a problem solved and expressing a need for the right to walk on clean sidewalks is basically what I said. Now I would like to understand why my comment has been rejected.

Is the city now rejecting comments? Is this beginning to bother someone DPW? We know how they feel, we are kind of tired of the mess and filth and agressive behavior. Fix it and this will end.

I guess I no longer need to seek an answer as to why my previous comment was "rejected" (the one before my "rejection" comment); as I see the Rejection Committee has reconsidered... and my comment has been added. Thank you Rejection Committee☺

This is rediculous to me. All the above comments are logical and true. For those who don't understand, maybe in the next life clarity will come. Is it possuble we must contact Chief Dan Gilbert? Its insannity to keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. DPW what is the PLAN?😕

It’s not fixed, but a new thread should be opened up.

We should NOT open a new thread as this issue has not been resolved and has provided clear documentation of the situation’s progression.

Re-opening.

DO NOT close this thread until the issue has been resolved.

Again, if you do not wish to receive notifications, kindly "unfollow" the thread.

To VinSpee and bolanrint:

I will do as I please, thank you. Especially if I’m getting responses that have been removed already about rape. Totally uncalled for, as is the comment about a “kit” this morning. Y’all need to call the police and the community liaison as stated in an earlier post. Call the POLICE.

We have called the police and community liaison (and will continue to). We will not stop until the city and MDOT solve this recurring safety and sanitation problem.

We have called the "POLICE."

Eo, are you the 'rejection' committee?

The police drive by and do nothing. I witnessed a homeless man who was obviously intoxicated and walking in the middle of 8 mile banging on car windows with his pants falling down. The Detroit police told him to go to the Ferndale side of 8 mile. That was there solution. He was a danger to himself and to those driving near him. There needs the be some action taken with consequences.

To Eo1672 - I don't know if you are with the City or are a private individual but this is a serious problem and there seems to an ongoing effort to pretend that the problem either doesn't exist or has somehow been solved. Neither is true. The people who keep trying to bring this to the attention of the City and/or the DPD also have been the recipients of insults. That's completely unfair.

These are the obvious facts:
1) Vagrancy laws are being broken
2) Illegal drug use has been identified
3) It is highly probably that there are HIV, Hepatitis, and other disease risks associated with needles that people have observed being used and discarded
4) People are relieving themselves in the area and that carries with it disease risks
5) Residents have been repeatedly harassed as they pass through the area on foot or on bicycle
6) The accumulation of trash is also a violation of littering laws

This problem needs to get solved by the appropriate legal authorities. It is not going away on its own or subsiding to the level of a minor nuisance. It is growing larger with the warmer weather.

I have no idea why my comment was blocked. I made the point that the problem was real and ongoing. There was no use of profanity or insults. That's just plain wrong.

You, too, Bob? I agree... with no explanation or a seeming good reason, it is wrong.

The way that you correctly deal with violations of the law is through the application of the law. That presumes, however, that those who are charged with upholding the law... uphold the law. Seems pretty simple and straightforward to me. If I have gotten this wrong - someone please show me the error of my ways.

Please do something about this permanently... my.mom walked through there last weekend and complain so bad regarding the smell, the drug paraphernalia and the debris

So, we’re not allowed to voice our concerns about an ongoing health and safety issue to the city? We, as tax paying residents of the city of Detroit, are asking for the city to enforce the law, and city ordinances, as appropriate in this situation. I certainly wouldn’t be allowed to live in squalor in my front lawn, or the sidewalk in front of my home......these vagrants shouldn’t be allowed to occupy a city sidewalk intended for use by residents. We already suffer from a sub-par school system, little to no police response, and extremely high homeowners/auto insurance rates, as residents; can we AT LEAST get the drug addicts and trash removed from our sidewalks, so that we may use them? We’ve called the police, they have made it clear that they do not want to be bothered with this issue. We’ve contacted representatives, councilman, etc- no one responds to our calls/emails, yet the city has the resources to respond immediately when someone doesn’t pay their water bill, or gets behind on their taxes! I would like to see the city actually address this issue properly, and with a sense of urgency- the same way they address the issue of non-payment to their various city departments.

My content was blocked? The city doesn’t wish to hear about this issue, or their failure to address it, apparently.

ClickFix implies... Click... Fix. There's been a lot of clicks and not much fix on this one. Is there a ClickFix for ClickFix?

I'm sick of people being self righteous and burying their heads in the sand because they don't have to live with the consequences of the garbage dump these inconsiderate and aggressive people have set up, a garbage dump that is growing every day. Our disgust is not due to the fact that they are homeless. Open littering, public defecating, public sex, public drug use, and harrassing young people in our neighborhoods is AGAINST THE LAW. PERIOD. They are not above the law. Our communities deserve to be taken care of in this regard. The hardworking people in our surrounding neighborhoods aren't rich, we're just families trying to raise our kids and keep our environment a clean, pleasant and healthy place to live. That isn't much to ask.

Maybe they people in our community should hold our own protest and occupy that stretch for a day and see what the city does then? That would get a response real quick.

Great idea Roxanne. The only thing is we will probably get arrested so we should prepare to pay to play!!😢

Roxanne. I'll be there.

Fully support enforcing the law and getting this mess cleaned up. My duty as a citizen is to comply and follow the ordinances/laws of our community. When I see violations to the ordinances/laws that are written to protect society I report it.

I assumed Seeclickfix was a legitimate site that the City of Detroit uses and monitors for notifying them of activity they have authority to correct. Is Seeclickfix working as intended? Is there an appeal mechanisms if the response is not adequate from the city employees who are managing this site?

Me, too, Roxanne.. I'll be there with my sign.

There are some facts that have not been brought up here. Two are the hotels just on the north side of 8 mile just west of Woodward. They are the distribution points for heroin in southern Oakland County. There was an effort to get at least one of them closed in the past few years, but it has been stuck in court. Until those drug distribution points are closed it is a problem for fixing this issue.

The next issue is the fact that this location is at the border or two cities and counties. It may make some sense to create a joint task force for this. If you notice the people, in general, stay south of 8 miles because Ferndale is very proactive given the size of the city and resources. They know that Detroit is still rebuilding after the bankruptcy and does not have the concentration of resources to fix this problem.

Maybe someone who is versed in local politics could work with the requisite agencies to create a real fix for this problem.

Just my 2 cents.

Martin Baum
, Sherwood Forest·18 Jul
IMHO It's time to end this discussion. In Talmudic terms, both sides are right. Whether those who don't clean up after themselves, individually or collectively, are there because they have no place else to live/go and cannot navigate the competitive enterprise of daily living, or they are a loose confederacy of adventurers who endure living off the grid as a challenge , or anywhere in between, there is a human waste, health, safety, and even aesthetic problem that affects our neighbors in understandable ways.. This has to be respected. Here is my suggestion(s): (1) Ferndale and the 12th pct form a joint task force, in concert with their respective city attorneys, to find the leaders, or at least the most frequent occupants, and determine who allocates the corners and who maybe pimps off them; (2) inform these "leaders" in strong terms that they have to clean and maintain the area by a certain date and beyond going forward; (3) after which there will be collective law enforcement in the form of citations for loitering, or littering, or disorderly conduct. It is unlikely that they will appear in court, so a default will be entered against them. In this situation, the district court will have control over them in the form of probation for which they can be ordered to clean and maintain the area. These orders can be posted conspicuously in the area with fliers with notice that they and others who aid and abet them will be subject to probation violation. Violation of probation will subject them to orders to leave the area, or jail, and allow swift city measures clean the area. Those who return are subject to contempt of court and further legal action. This coordinated effort has to be firm and assertive. My 2 cents

The conversation will end when the issue is resolved.

Martin,

Great stuff, but again you're looking at the symptoms and not the underlying problem, the drugs. We need to remove the drug hotels to stop attracting homeless people to the area. As has been noted multiple times the majority (not all) of the people who are camping out in that area are coming directly or indirectly due to the drugs. I have lived here for 16 years. This was not a problem 9/10 years ago during the worst part of the economic downturn. So the only thing I see that has changed was the influx of drugs in that small area which then seemed to spring up people over a relatively short period of time.
So I do agree the joint task force is needed but, the target should be the drug hotels on the north side of 8 mile. They are the flowers attracting the bees. No flowers / no bees. I just don't want to waste a lot of time and money attacking symptoms and not the root of the problem.

Thoughts?

HMMMM. How about speed limit type signs on steel posts advising motorists not to give them money?

So, Stephen, what progress is being made toward closing down those drug motels? When there was a hearing on closing the motels, a bunch of us from Greenacres attended the hearing to show our support. We had the impression that the motel on the corner of Wd/8 was ordered closed as soon as housing had been found for the long term residents. I, also, have heard that Subaru had shown an interest in buying that property and tearing down the structure, but the owner of the motel was asking some ridiculous amount of money for the property (it's in a prime location). And, at the time, I heard about crime and prostitution as a result of the influx of drugs at the motels, and weren't their deaths, also... one happened on someone's front lawn?

Just spoke with Sgt. Sherley Bledsoe at the 12th Precinct. This how the DPD sees the problem:
1) Unless panhandlers engage in aggressive behavior the DPD cannot intervene
2) As far as violations of the vagrancy laws are concerned this is viewed as a fairly low priority
3) The DPD night shift will go by the area and "move people along" but once the police leave the vagrants come right back in a few minutes time and the DPD cannot spend the entire night parked at that intersection
4) The revenue stream from panhandling is significant enough to motivate the people involved to keep slipping through the holes in the system
5) As long as people (primarily from outside the area) keep donating money this problem is not going to go away
6) The DPD is hesitant to just keep handing out citations because these people do not show up and many judges are hesitant to allow these infractions to go to bench warrant for fear of clogging the system with these sorts of case. Evidently this is a problem at many other locations in the City.

At this point the City and the DPD are committed to "reining" in the problem - but only to a certain level. They do seem to be considering the possibility of setting up signage designed to discourage people from making donations. That is one direction the effort to clean up the area could go in.

The DPD had an unmarked car out there for four days this spring. They also eliminated the tent city that was erected in the lot to the west of the intersection. Beyond that it looks like status quo.

The City has had social workers and therapists out there trying to help people and these people don't want help. They keep coming back for the money

If you have any bright ideas call Sgt. Sherley Bledsoe at (313) 596-1221. Also, if you see illegal activity more serious than vagrancy violations - call her or call 911 if it's immediately threatening. She was quite polite, answered all of my questions, and told me to call back any time.

There are four points that people stop at when driving through the intersection. People could volunteer to go door-to-door in Greenacres and Sherwood Forest to collect money for Burma Shave style signs that can be erected from the monies obtained. The five consecutive signs could simply (and clearly) explain to people driving through any of those four collection points that:

1) DO NOT DONATE
2) YOUR MONEY SUPPORTS
3) DRUG USE
4) CHRONIC VAGRANCY
5) LITTER AND HARASSMENT

That might put enough of a damper on collections that people would go elsewhere. Anybody want to sign up to collect funds for this? You might even be able to solicit funds from the local merchants.

The City is considering putting up signage but single signs will be hard for people to read and can be easily obscured. It would need to be something effective.

There are four points that people stop at when driving through the intersection. People could volunteer to go door-to-door in Greenacres and Sherwood Forest to collect money for Burma Shave style signs that can be erected from the monies obtained. The five consecutive signs could simply (and clearly) explain to people driving through any of those four collection points that:

1) DO NOT DONATE
2) YOUR MONEY SUPPORTS
3) DRUG USE
4) CHRONIC VAGRANCY
5) LITTER AND HARASSMENT

That might put enough of a damper on collections that people would go elsewhere. Anybody want to sign up to collect funds for this? You might even be able to solicit funds from the local merchants.

The City is considering putting up signage but single signs will be hard for people to read and can be easily obscured. It would need to be something effective.

The City is considering putting up signage. Single signs will be hard for people to read and can be easily obscured. It would need to be something both safe and effective.

There are four points that people stop at when driving through the intersection. People could volunteer to go door-to-door in Greenacres and Sherwood Forest to collect money for Burma Shave style signs that can be erected from the monies obtained.

This could be done without significant cost to the City of Detroit. This intersection is an important gateway to the City and it needs to be cleaned up for reasons related to public safety.

The five consecutive signs could simply (and clearly) explain to people driving through any of those four collection points the following:

1) DO NOT DONATE
2) YOUR MONEY SUPPORTS
3) DRUG USE
4) CHRONIC VAGRANCY
5) LITTER AND HARASSMENT

That might put enough of a damper on collections that people would go elsewhere. You might even be able to solicit funds from the local merchants to support this effort and residents could also make donations. This problem can be resolved.

Who is blocking the content? That's ridiculous. My comment was a suggestion that clearly legible Burma-Shave-style signs be erected at the four collection points of the intersection. These would be consecutive simple signs saying: DO NOT DONATE - YOUR MONEY SUPPORTS - ILLEGAL DRUG USE - CHRONIC VAGRANCY - LITTER AND HARASSMENT.

That's true and to the point. A drop off in collections would lead to people going elsewhere and a dramatic improvement in the situation. I got this idea from Sgt. Bledsoe's comment about the City considering signage. It would have to be something that a motorist could easily read, however without being a traffic hazard.

Stephen, what progress is being made in shutting down the drug motel(s) in Ferndale? I heard Subaru was interested in buying the land on the 8 Mi/Wd corner and tearing down the structure, but the owner was asking a ridiculous amount of money for it. (The other comment I sent, that was rejected, was concerning this.)

Signs need to be erected to discourage donations. The City is already considering this.

This could be done as Burma Shave style signs. Local businesses would probably agree to the installation of security cameras to ensure that the signs were not defaced or torn down. Security cameras are cheap.

Five consecutive signs at the four collection points on the intersection could simply read: do not donate, your money may support, illegal drug use, chronic vagrancy, littering and harassment.

What's with all the rejections? I was interested in what Stephen had to say and was just asking him a few questions.

It's not clear because frequently the comments are posted right away. That means that a moderator is not intervening unless these are presets related to language use. However, they seem to be poorly designed because every time I'm blocked there is nothing controversial in my thoughts or language. It appears to be a bureaucratic snafu.

This content blocking is not going to solve the problem at the corner of 8 Mile and Woodward, and whoever is doing the blocking should be aware that the residents of this community will not go away until the public health and safety issue is resolved, once and for all.

This is awful! They shouldn't be allowed to be there. It's filthy and it stinks at this corner. They aren't allowed to be on the ferndale side so why would they be allowed to be on the Detroit side???

Because the city refuses to do anything about it, citing more important things and small gaps in the law. All BS excuses. Problem for the city is that we are not going away. Whichever city official is reading this should be very aware that this issue will be on the news sooner than later.

Trash has been removed, and people have been transported elsewhere - just drove by.

That's interesting, West412. Thank you.

I just noticed that a couple of comments I made earlier, that were rejected, have now been posted.

Any confirmation on West412's observation? Is there some plan and approach to making this corner safe we should know about?

I don’t know the details - I just observed DPD, DPW, and a DDOT bus as I was driving home earlier. The debris was gone, and an officer appeared to be escorting the last person onto the bus.

Stephen and Judy, as I understand it, 8 Wood Motel will remain open, contingent upon meeting a set of specific criteria, while the Motorama case -- their license was denied and the owner has appealed -- is still in the courts, as of July 2017.

Sounds like the city made a concerted effort to remove the vagrants and their trash. I sincerely hope they will continue to monitor the situation because:

1) The nearby residents are fed up.
2) This is not a good look for the city.

I appreciate the efforts of everyone who has spoken up about this issue and the action taken today by the aforementioned departments. We will continue to stay vigilant in order to put an end to this public safety issue.

Thank you for that information, T. Please keep us updated if you get any additional information in the future.

I don’t see any evidence of a cleanup or removal - if it happened it was undone quickly.

Just drove by, situation normal, no changes.

Do we have to what until Mayor Duggan brings the PGA tour area NEXT YEAR to get this * Mile and Woodward area cleaned up? And to the group in FERNDALE, who have been given the homeless people more stuff after the area is cleaned up. We are going to find you. It is just a matter of time. STOP giving them mattresses and furniture - why not find them a home - oh forgot - some of them ARE NOT homeless. They have been observed after they close shop on 8 Mile and Woodward - they go home to a house in Madison Heights. We will HAVE THAT ADDRESS SOON and will share with the Detroit Police Department and the Madison Heights Police Department. Soon very soon - the CON ARTISTS will be identified.

Agreed. It would also be helpful to identify and speak with the people who keep giving them matresses, dog food, etc. Saw a guy this morning almost certainly shooting up, trying to cover it up with a sheet.

This is a PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE. DPD, DPW.

Question - is it possible that there is a connection between people supplying mattresses, etc. and those selling drugs? This would create a captive population of individuals at Eight Mile and Woodward involved in raising money from an unsuspecting public and funneling that directly to drug dealers much as addicted prostitutes feed their habits (and pimps) by turning tricks. That would be absolutely sick.

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Hi! I just checked the area and found there to be no resolution - still covered in trash on all corners, people out sleeping, filth everywhere.

north west side of the south west corner

south center, under the bridge

closer under the bridge - covered in trash and "camps"

south west side of the south east corner, this is just about ALWAYS there

another shot of the mess under the bridge

This definitely has not yet been resolved. Junk all over the place, and still a very regular area for drug activity. Everything going on is wrong, if I did this crap in my front yard I’d be arrested.

It's almost like, by going there and spraying it down, the city is tidying it up for them -- doing them a favor. I'm sure they appreciate that.

It'd be cool if the city did something for us. You know, it would be nice to ride my bike across the street without having to say "NO" to one of them.

While I'm on that topic, I'll add that numerous people have reported being accosted by them, and there have been at least three notes of indecent exposure.

My car was damaged by a suspect on eastbound 8 Mile, and my wife has been called a "@#$%" by the one dready (not Abe).

This has to stop.

Why is my comment blocked?

why would they mark this as taken care of when it is ONGOING

@Ms. S.: lack of accountability.

Need to double down on pressuring the city of Detroit to resolve this health and safety problem. ENFORCE THE LAWS, the judicial system works and is designed to protect citizens and our community from this mess.

Thank you for submitting your concern. This is a location that Solid Waste services on a bi-weekly basis with a police escort. If you require anymore information you may contact this office at 876-0004. This request will now be closed.

DPW Rep, I understand what you are saying, but that does not mean that this issue is solved. It is far from solved. If you need to transfer it to another responsible party because you do not have the authority to fix it, I understand and please do so. "Cleaning up" once every two weeks is not a solution, as this area becomes filthy within minutes or hours after each cleaning.

So I do have some good news. I talked with the city of Ferndale about the hotel that is the cause of this problem. Apparently, the court case at the county level has been settled and Ferndale will soon be able to move forward in closing the place. How long soon is, I have personally have no idea, but I am positive some action is being taken about the root cause. Now make sure to temper your hope because this is only one of the two hotels which are the root of the problem. But 50% reduction in the near future is still better than what we have today.

Situation is not resolved.

Thanks, Stephen. Looking forward to the closing of the motel. Hopefully, it will make a big difference.

We have at least 3 people SLEEPING HERE on the sidewalk full-time. Every night. The 12th precinct said they were having each patrol stop at least once per shift to move people along. This is clearly not happening.

During the day, too. When I came back to Greenacres, late morning, someone was still sleeping, covered by his/her sheet.

Thank you for submitting your concern. This is a location that Solid Waste services on a bi-weekly basis with a police escort.

This area will be serviced Friday, August 24, 2018.

If you require anymore information you may contact this office at 876-0004. This request will now be closed.

This message is to inform you that the issue you reported to the City of Detroit has been resolved.

Thank you for reporting this concern.

This issue will not be resolved until it remains reasonable. It is not, by any means, in a reasonable or acceptable state. The community wants a solution.

This area will be serviced Friday, August 24, 2018.

If you require anymore information you may contact this office at 876-0004. This request will now be closed.

This message is to inform you that the issue you reported to the City of Detroit has been resolved.

This area will be serviced Friday, August 24, 2018.

If you require anymore information you may contact this office at 876-0004. This request will now be closed.

Thank you for reporting this concern.

This issue has not been resolved. If you need to transfer it to another department, please do so. Do not close an issue that is active.

Issue 4712428 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue.

There are some folks, as mentioned above, who appear to have never left. Three of the vagrants have been here for at least 5 years. The new folks don't even panhandle, they just sit under the overpass, sleeping, and occasionally shooting up under a sheet as if somehow we don't know what they're doing.

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AREA IS BEING SERVICED FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2018.

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This problem has not been resolved. I went by there yesterday and there were more people camped out under the bridge with a related mess than ever before. These people need to be relocated into facilities with adequate sleeping and indoor plumbing resources. Anything else is both a sham and a shame. Not to mention burdening the nearby residents (and their minor children!) with the unsafe and unhealthy consequences of close proximity to adults with obvious substance abuse problems. A quick clean will be done by the DPD, DFD, and DPW today but that will amount to no more than a temporary quick fix and the present deplorable state will reassert itself within a matter of hours.

This thread has become the theatre of the absurd. Every time the DPW "closes" it - they are, in fact, reopening it because all of the people on this thread are immediately notified that it has been "closed" and they respond immediately by reopening it. If you follow the sequence above that has happened multiple times within a single 24 hour period. It almost like listening to the news and hearing Kellyanne Conway prattle on about "alternative facts" or Rudy Giuliani tell the world that "the truth is not the truth". Hello George Orwell. That bullheadedness merely reinforces the distinct impression that people have that the "people in charge" are not listening to the people they are supposed to be serving. Whose really in charge? Who knows? Who should be in charge? How about the local tax-paying citizens for a change. Now that would be a novel experience!

I’m about at my wits end with these people. The city *and the panhandlers.

Nothing is being done. Spraying the curb down and passing out trash bags only cleans the mess up for a minute, and they come right back. It’s almost like the city is doing them a favor by cleaning the area up.

I’ve had enough.

I’m so sick of seeing “Honest Abe” standing here with his sign that says “WILL WORK.” BS. He won’t work. How do I know? He’s always standing on the corner. Oh, an he told CNN,”Being homeless is my business.”

I hate that this has to be related ov r and over but here goes: these people have been offered every kind of help and simply do not want it.

Remove them.

It's been five years or more for some of these people. I'm no longer expecting anything to happen. It's a sad experience to drive by there daily and have to witness the illegal activity. I would never attempt to walk in that area. I bet if I were to participate in any of their type of criminal activities, I would quickly be arrested. I suggest we all stand in front of Abe holding signs that say "I have a job but would like some money anyway"

I drove by there this morning and everything was the same as it has been. Has anyone seen any signs of action today? I read that the area is supposed to be "serviced" today, not sure what that entails.

It was cleared. About 30 minutes later I saw one of the newer ones bringing his stuff from around the corner and laying it on the ground again. Apparently they allow them to move their stuff or hold it off to the side, then they just move it back.

Here's an idea. The City should calculate the costs of moving people out and cleaning up the area every two weeks or so (it must be thousands of dollars). They can then use those funds to find these people a place to stay (beds, indoor plumbing, and some level of supervision). That would represent a net improvement in the living conditions of these folks and eliminate the eyesore and health hazard for local residents. Or... they can continue the ongoing absurdist merry-go-round - year-after-year-after-year. Can we vote on that?

Great to see that they are at least making enough money for Hennessy.

Great to see that they are at least making enough money for Hennessy.

I'm pretty sure public intoxication and drunk & disorderly are still crimes… did the 12th's patrols pick up the perp?

Not sure how anyone could claim this is “resolved”

There are new people hanging out under the overpass as we speak. It is 8:56 PM on August 27. There is one shirtless man and one man who is trying to hide something under a blanket.

And see VinSpee’s photo above — this new character has brought his own fold-out chair!

ENOUGH.

They have a couch now.

Cool!! Someone needs to take them a big screen TV and beer. They can watch the games Saturday and relax. Unbelievable...

Oh, for heaven sakes... what next? Dare I ask?

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Why is the person who started this thread (VinSpee) being "blocked by rejections"? This doesn't make sense. I wish the City would take care of the chronic health and safety problems at this location that keep going on and on. It doesn't serve the needs of these people. They need to be directed to some form of homeless shelter and provided with counseling services to get them onto a better life than living on the street in filth. Watching these people out there all time of the day and night is sickening. The local residents need to get a resolution so that they can get back to leading something approaching normal lives. That would be a win-win. Right now it's a lose-lose.

Notice that they have a bed and a couch among the trash strewn everywhere now. I hope people realize that they are basically laughing at all of the attempts to "help" them. We (my wife and I) have seen them passing a "cigarette" to each other as we drove past. Any solutions about their condition should take into account their own choices about where they are. It doesn't matter at this point how they got there, the evidence is overwhelming that they now prefer this to a situation which would require some degree of regulation and boundaries. My wife worked for agencies that provided for just such individuals (clients they are called). They know regulations and options better than you do. This is a lifestyle, and it is a choice they have made. That is why, while it may seem harsh, the only real way to clear them from the area is to basically harass them into going somewhere else. As long as they can stand on the corner and con money for their "recreation" from the poor naive marks who pass by them, they will be there.

People first please stop thinking of these people as those who can be helped. I am not saying this to be cold, but to be realistic. The reason the people are there is the hotel at the corner and the one next to it. They are the main pipelines for opioids into Oakland County. Ferndale is in the process of shutting one down. The people on the corner are mostly either addicts to the drugs or people selling them which has been outlined previously. Until the drug hotels are shut down we are treating symptoms and not the root cause. Cleaning the area does NOTHING.
This is like bees coming to flowers. Until you cut down the flowers the bees will keep coming.
Please stop thinking of the people as homeless in need of help or anything else, these people are drug addicts who are refusing treatment. Take 5 minutes and talk to them. Other than that group there is a drug dealer who pretends to be homeless and has been working that corner for over 4 years. A simple pole cam over the area would make this obvious to all. But since this at a city/county border it is hard to fix until there is a regional or at least local joint task force between Detroit and Ferndale to fix the underlying problem. Frankly, if it was me in law enforcement I would use the 100 mile from the border rule and pull in State Cops, DEA, FBI and other federal agencies to really put the squeeze on, take the hotels, demolish them and fix the underlying problem. But that would take a lot of willpower by the state initiated by the cites which I don't believe see this as a critical problem given everything else. An even more innovative solution would be eminent domain by Ferndale to take the land and work with a developer to build affordable housing like they are doing at 8mile and Pine Crest.

I am very confused my previous comment was blocked by rejections in 10 seconds. Could the moderator please explain?

I assume it was the length so I will break it up.
1. This problem we are talking about is a symptom of the 2 drug hotels in SW Ferndale that are attracting the people. If you talk to the people the majority are drug addicts there and at least 1 drug dealer.

2. Until the hotels are shut down the problem will not go away. The City of Ferndale has been working to close the one closest to Woodward down for multiple years and looks close to being successful.

3. I love that I am writing these 1. 2. 3. and 1 was stopped, but not two.

4. I commented in order to close the hotels there are two courses of action possible. The first being law enforcement working on a joint task force to close the hotels. Or two the City of Ferndale using eminent domain to take the land and redevelop it.

5. I am curious why my first comment was blocked. I assume it was due to the fact I identified the root of the problem is people on drugs and used specific words describing drugs?

6. So I believe I have determined the root cause of autoblocking WORDS. If you use a word to describe a what a person is addicted to it will autoblock.

7. So my original comment was people who are addicted to "China White" are drawn to this location because the two hotels sell that and supply it. You can just talk to the people. Besides that group, there is at least one person selling the stuff who has been there for years. Maybe a pole cam could help everyone see this problem.

Stephen,

Are you a part of this discussion on Nextdoor? Much of this has already been discussed in detail.

Kim Tandy informed me via email that a solution is being sought in conjunction with the State to make the area unviable for loitering.

I am going to post Stephen Lemelin's comment to Nextdoor. His explanation is the most cogent explanation so far. The couch got placed on the Detroit side because it makes it easy for the drug dealers to maintain a captive population and an ongoing revenue stream. This is both criminal and sick. I noticed a new guy (hadn't seen him before). He seemed to be panhandling but, not really. He was cleaner than the rest and had a very hard-eyed expression. My guess is that he's the dealer. He's about 40, white, maybe 5'10". The panhandling probably gives him an opportunity to appear to be hanging out while monitoring his addicts. This is just my guess.

I just saw you guys posted my stuff on Nextdoor I thought that discussion had stopped and moved here. :) Thanks.

The safety and sanitation issues continue. Please help us!

The issue is not resolved.

We’ve gone full-on occupancy without even trying to hide it. We need a solution ASAP.

Itinalaga ni DPW Environmental Enforcement-ABH ang isyung ito kay DPW Environmental Enforcement - AH

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this is an intolerable situation. it smells so bad when you drive by the even having your car windows up you cannot ignore it. People are here using drugs in the daytime with no regard. something has to be done about this please. hasn't the neighborhood suffered long enough

this has gone on for years please please please let our tax dollars finally be put to good use for cleaning it up

Please ticket the drivers who hold up traffic at this very short light by giving money to the panhandlers.

What started as a few vagrants (they do no accept or want help) hanging around all day has now turned into a tent city, with new arrivals every day. They have folding chairs, tents, sleeping gear.

It is a permanent settlement.

Does the city of Detroit really want this as the first thing people see when entering from the North?

There are EIGHT people sleeping on the sidewalk this morning.

Hey everybody see the good news today?!!? https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/oakland/2018/10/12/motorama-motel-ferndale-court-close/1601189002/
1 of the 2 root causes for this problem is gone. Happy day!

Great news, Stephen. Thanks for sharing the article.

A neighbor cleaned this out of their back yard today. This has to stop.

This is scary!

Thank you for submitting your concern. The debris has been removed. This request will now be closed.

This was taken today st 6:38PM, 17 minutes after DPW marked this issue as resolved. It is NOT resolved.

just drove by here and these people are still out there and there is still plenty of trash as well as shopping carts underneath this bridge on the Detroit side. Why are you all saying that it is cleaned up DPW? You know it is not

Drove by this morning, and a couple of the homeless were moving all the junk across Woodward to the vacant lot on Greenacres. Makes me wonder if DPD/DPW are notifying them in advance of the ‘clean-up’.

Thank you for letting us know, West412. My theory is that they are preparing for winter... creating a tent city on that vacant lot. NOT GOOD!

Who owns that lot?

this is a public health hazard - a safety problem and clearly an ongoing loitering problem. So When Will It Be Cleaned UP City of Detroit ?

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I can also confirm that literally nothing has changed. Garbage is still everywhere.

I saw a garbage truck and police there around 12:30pm today. Looks like the “residents” moved a lot of their stuff to the southeast corner during the DPW visit. I think the clean-ups should also include the adjacent corners!

Police and garbage truck on the Detroit side doing a “clean up”. At least 6 shopping carts parked in the little park bench area on the southeast corner...until the authorities leave.

Please clean this up

Nothing has changed. Garbage is still everywhere.

Nothing has changed. Garbage is still everywhere.

The City of Detroit just cleaned this area up last Wednesday and WITHIN AN HOUR - the trash and garbage re-appeared. Since is HAS BEEN CONFIRMED that a group in Ferndale has been supplying MATRESSES AND FURNITURE - why can't the CITY OF DETROIT get with this group and tell them to stop? They are adding fifth to the area when they should be HELPING THEM TO GET OFF THE STREETS and to housing where they can be warm and cozy. THIS IS NOT HAPPENING BECAUSE the powers that be - are not meeting the problem. ALSO CITIZENS STOP GIVING THEM MONEY WHEN YOU ARE STOPPED AT THE LIGHT. YOU ARE NOT HELPING EITHER. YOU ARE ENABLING THEM. THEY WON'T LEAVE BECAUSE YOU KEEP GIVING THEM CASH. JUST STOP PERIOD.

please please please clean this up because it is a public health hazard. We have tolerated this for years and it is not getting any better. Please use our voices to guide you. We want this cleaned up it is a public health hazard. These people are using drugs in plain open view. They are accumulating trash for no reason in an area that is trafficked by vehicles and cannot see it and sometimes are damaged by driving over it. I can say that it happened to my car. I don't understand why this continues and why it has not been cleaned up. Clean this Hazard up clean up this drug service station put these drug dealers out of business please now

Please clean this up, my young son should not have to see people openly using drugs in his neighborhood!!

As many others have already pointed out, the issue of, "Omg the unsightly homeless! Ew!" Will continue to be an issue until the actual problem itself is resolved.

Perhaps it would benefit everyone if, instead of targeting the homeless and freatibg an uproar, that same energy and vitriol is directed toward an immediate investigation as to why only 5 million- out of 25 million dollars in funding is actually used toward homeless outreach programs and assistance. Again, that os out of a 25 million dollar budget.

If nothing else, perhaps it could fund a few more garbage cans to dispose of the refuse and maybe some big potted plants to camoflage the "distasteful sight". Hell, if they could take several million to paint a tarp over a building instead of fixing it, imagine what could be done here. Maybe some of the people will even be willing to dress in disguise and everything!

Follow the money; not those that obviously don't have any.

@Detroitgrrl....Then we need to research why there have been Mental Health Funding cuts and any other cut to a program that makes a difference. Maybe the message you should have composed should have been to State/City Legislators instead of brow beating us about an issue we shouldn't have to continuously beat the pavement about ESPECIALLY when most if not all of us are paying Detroit Property Taxes which is supposed to assist with the improvement of services being offered to our communities.

This situation has been going on here for "SEVERAL YEARS". There hasn't been a DPW clean-up and wall spray down for several weeks. The filthy and nasty mattress is the latest addition. It smells like urine and rotten trash. Do something about it. This is totally unacceptable.

This issue is only getting worse day by day

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Both sides need to clean up and move those people out of there.

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Over a year...and still nothing done.

It’s an absolute disgrace. Full-on tents, stealing shopping carts, trash everywhere.

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Don't hold your breath for this to be resolved ever. Cleaning the area once every six months or less accomplishes nothing. These folks have been there for more than five years. They have no intention of ever leaving. Why would they? Ignorent people driving by continue to give them money and the city pretends like they don't exist. After we fuss enough the city bends a little and cleans up then it's right back to a mess. It's a health and safety hazzard. Have you seen how much trash has fallen from Eight Mile to the underpass? One day there will be an accident and someone could be seriously hurt or killed. Unfortunately until something tragic happens nothing will change. So sad.

I can't tell you what moves things around here. But I can tell what does not move things - public opinion. For whoever has the power to make a change this is just not on their agenda. At all. This discussion thread is over a year old and the problem has now persisted for a number of years. Like Randy said - don't hold your breath. I've seen these "homeless" people block traffic as they load their signs and other paraphernalia into their late model (better than mine) cars and drive off after spending a few hours asking for help. I can't gauge how the police and other public employees should spend their time. I don't know the priorities. But in a better world the truly homeless would be receiving assistance better than sleeping on concrete under a viaduct and help related to undoubted mental health and drug addiction problems. Right now it's not win-lose, it's lose-lose.

Why are my comments being BLOCKED? DPW still have not done a cleanup of this area in MONTHS. THIS IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE. Today is 9/27/10. Let's start emailing Mayor Duggan on Monday morning.

Thursday 9/26/19 I saw police and DPW cleaning the Detroit side. But I’m reasonably sure that within the hour you would never know it. Perhaps eliminating the sidewalk areas of the overpass is a solution?

They’ve expanded their territory. Please clean up this health hazard.

I believe a neighbor is putting trash bags on the curb in front of an empty lot. GFL, is not picking the bags up. And animals are tearing open the bags. This is on Bloom St between Hilldale and Robinwood. What can be done?

Trash everywhere

Can’t even pass by bike

Don’t want to pass on foot

Hazardous trash.

Stealing cones and making them into grifting signs

Yes it is pretty awful

This has been this way FOR OVER EIGHT YEARS!!. This is 2020 and it is still the same....We need to get the plate number of the WHITE CARGO VAN that has been seen stopped under the bridge and passing out MATRESSES and supplies to them. Can the POLICE do anything? It smells like URINE, Drug Paraphernalia has been photographed and sent to Mayor Duggan, Detroit City Council, Detroit Police Department and NOTHING IS DONE. Why are we tax paying citizens of Detroit being subjected to this filthy scene? We have called FOX2 News. Next we are trying Hank Winchester (Of Hank to the Rescue). We are too sick of seeing this. And by the way, Meijers Corporate office is NO HELP whatsoever. We told them that the nice sitting area they built on the corner is being used as their sleeping grounds and living rooms.