HIRAM E. JACKSON Publisher
A Real Times Media Newspaper 479 Ledyard, • Detroit, MI 48201
(313) 963-5522 e-mail:newsdesk@michronicle.com October 19-25, 2016
Page B-5
CATHY NEDD Associate Publisher KEITH A. OWENS Senior Editor SAMUEL LOGAN Publisher 1933-2011
JOHN H. SENGSTACKE Chairman-Emeritus 1912-1997 LONGWORTH M. QUINN Publisher-Emeritus 1909-1989
Bolstering Detroit’s neighborhoods By David Blaszkiewicz and Tosha Tabron Driving north on Woodward Avenue, the comeback and redevelopment of Detroit could not be more apparent. Cranes dot the skyline, development can barely keep pace with demand, housing occupancy in Midtown and downtown is at 98 percent, the QLine Streetcar construction continues, and new storefronts are opening left and right. Much of this progress and the city’s remarkable turnaround is the result of extraordinary partnerships that are creating innovative solutions to longstanding challenges. While things are looking up, there remains much work to be done. It’s critical that David Blaszkiewicz the revitalization we have seen in Midtown and downtown spreads to the city’s neighborhoods. Under Mayor Mike Duggan’s leadership, private, public and philanthropic leaders are investing in new ways to help neighborhoods thrive again. We introduced a collaborative called the Detroit Strategic Neighborhood Initiative. This new effort takes an inclusive approach to investing in Detroit neighborhoods and is designed to spur more widely shared prosperity. Invest Detroit, Detroit Development Fund, and Opportunity Resource Fund will bring their full suite of financing tools and services to build economic opportunity in targeted communities in Detroit. It is guided by the mayor’s vision that the city can attract and retain residents by creating 20-minute walkable neighborhoods. DSNI is backed by a $30 million Strategic Neighborhood Fund that will focus and leverage resources to promote economic growth and sustainability in several neighborhoods. Fueled by $5 million from JPMorgan Chase, as well as other support from private funds and the city, state, and federal governments, the DSNI will align with the objectives of community leaders and meet the needs of individual Detroit neighborhoods. Specifically, this effort will focus on stabilizing real estate, creating jobs, providing more mixed-income housing and improving infrastructure. This means building new multi-family housing, establishing new places for businesses to thrive, new parks, and improved lighting of our streets and sidewalks. The DSNI’s first projects will kick off in West Village, Southwest Detroit and Livernois-McNichols neighborhoods and will focus on improving access to shopping and services. This collaborative model will then be refined, tailored and redeployed with a goal to revitalize ten neighborhoods in the next decade. Historic neighborhoods, like West Village, have intrinsic strengths and are well positioned to become vibrant, recreation-centric communities. For fami-
lies who have lived there for generations and those moving in, West Village has great assets – close proximity to restaurants and retail stores, the RiverWalk, Belle Isle Park and the coming Belt Line Greenway and Bike Share. That’s why we chose this neighborhood for our first new, mixed-income residential building. Detroit does not lack good ideas or innovative strategies to fuel its comeback. In fact, based on our experiences, there are two approaches that can help drive neighborhood revitalization in Detroit and other cities. First, the private sector views Detroit as a serious long-term investment, and we’ve seen city, business and community leaders come together and lay the foundation to collaborate and spur Tosha Tabron investment. Now, the investment market in Detroit is normalizing, relying less on subsidies and more on traditional lending for important development projects. This sends a strong signal to investors that revolving loan funds, like the one DSNI is creating, can succeed. More businesses are able to repay loans, and those funds can be continually reinvested in other vital neighborhood projects. Second, greater economic activity must spread beyond Downtown and Midtown into surrounding neighborhoods. Cities can only grow if every resident shares in the revival. Communities like Livernois-McNichols have the assets to thrive, including strong historic housing, two strong institutions of higher learning, and commercial corridors that are once again becoming focal points of local business and entrepreneurship. With support from partners like Invest Detroit, Detroit Development Fund, Opportunity Resource Fund, and others, these neighborhoods can thrive. They’re pooling their resources, expertise and partnerships to make sure the success of Detroit’s commercial corridors extend to neighborhoods. We’re excited about Detroit’s future and how this new effort can support the continued recovery. For us, this is also personal. We both want to see the city’s comeback succeed. The thoughtful solutions being put in place by the Mayor, business, philanthropic and community leaders are great for the city, but we all know there’s so much more work to do. We encourage partners to continue to do their part and help ensure that the entire city shares in Detroit’s renaissance. By working together, we can do more. David Blaszkiewicz is president and CEO of Invest Detroit, a Community Development Financial Institution that supports underserved communities, primarily in the city of Detroit. Tosha Tabron, a lifelong resident of northwest Detroit’s University District, is the head of Global Philanthropy in Detroit for JPMorgan Chase.
The ideal time to revive American democratic values By Hector E. Garcia
tion’s own history...
Provided by the American Forum
American democracy unleashed the creativity and “can do” attitude of individual Americans just as democracy in Ancient Greece elicited these distinctive capabilities from many of its people. It was not the “winning-is-the-only-thing” mantra. A school of thought which has become fashionable, and which some today incorrectly assume is the source of the achievements of the United States.
“… that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.” — President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address excerpt Presidential candidates, from different perspectives, have focused on the nation’s greatness. There are roots of greatness and there are trappings of greatness. The roots are the sources of discoveries, institutions, systems and practices thatgain the admiration of other Hector E. Garcia nations and establish landmarks in history. Among the trappings of greatness are winning in business, games, sports and other competitive endeavors. Without the roots, the trappings will eventually wither and die. A sure way for the roots of American greatness to “perish from the earth” is for us to believe that winning is its source and that being number one is imperative regardless of its consequences to the opinions and welfare of others, to ethics and civil behavior, to the essential integrity of our thoughts and our actions as well as to the na-
Our nation faces awesome challenges; yet, I believe they pale before those successfully overcome by the Greatest Generation of Americans. Their actions and those of many before them followed a formula that ensures greatness. They leveraged the fear, the threats and the pain they experienced to rise to new height. Courageous and informed thinking along with corresponding action can again address successfully the systemic dilemma, which is causing the erosion of the building blocks of our society. Yes, the nation has lost ground when compared to other countries in economic mobility, in the size and quality of life of its middle class, in education, in health, crime and justice. Yes, top-down government decisions with disastrous effects have been made over the past decades. But it is not more authoritarian decision-making and a strongman’s manipulation that can solve the dilemma. It is the revival of the exceptional sources of greatness of the nation which will empower us to do so successfully. Hector E. Garcia is a Mexican immigrant and U.S. citizen.
Quote of the Week
“I bristle when people introduce me as one of the top black anchors in the country. That’s insulting. I’m striving to be one of the best anchors in the country.”
— Lester Holt Proposal A best choice for fair community participation in Detroit development By Brenda Jones City Council President
Voters on Nov. 8 will have several important choices to make regarding the future of Detroit. Among these choices are two initiatives that address goals to provide community benefits for local development projects, Proposals A and B. Proposal A, sponsored by Detroit citizens, says that if a developer requests tax breaks or reduced land transfers with a value of at least $300,000 and their project investment is $15M or more, that they should collaborate with the community to discuss benefits Brenda Jones for the immediate neighborhood that will host the project. This discussion results in a legally-binding agreement, enforceable in a court of law. Proposal B, approved for the ballot in a 6-3 City Council vote (in which I voted “no”), says that developers who request tax breaks or reduced land with a value of at least $1M and their project investment is $75M or more, would participate in a discussion of desired benefits, however with no legally-binding agreement as the outcome. While questioning threshold levels that trigger CBA discussions, the answers did not appear to be data-driven. After researching all the developments since January 2014 that have received tax breaks, my office identified 55 projects. Under Prop A, 11 projects would qualify for a community benefits plan. Under Prop B, only one project qualified. The community, frustrated with Council’s slow movement, created their
own ordinance and launched a drive to have the measure placed on ballot. They collected over 5,400 signatures from Detroiters, who agreed they should have a seat at the table of dialogue for development deals. This strong voice of the people of Detroit, those who have encountered high taxes, shootings, increased parking fines, rising water bills and housing foreclosures, spoke loudly to me through their petition drive, so I supported their efforts. Opponents of Proposal A, terrified at the prospect that it might pass, have launched a misinformation campaign to confuse and disoriented voters. They have used the image of former Mayor Coleman Young in a mailing to our seniors who historically vote by absentee ballot, to make them think he supports Prop B. They began a “just say no” drive for both proposals. They claim 100,000 workers are against Prop A, but have not produced petitions or signatures. A local newspaper (not this one) even erroneously reported that a project was fined $500M because they had not hired 51% of Detroiters in trades jobs (to support the claims of Prop B). Some have even attempted to circulate a rumor that I have backed away from Prop A. That is about 200 miles away from the truth. I support Prop A because it is the right thing to do. Prop A will not stop developers from coming to Detroit. It will not stop job growth in our city. To suggest that I wouldn’t want jobs in a city with such high unemployment and “never-been-employed” rates is ludicrous. Some say Prop A invites suburban census tracts to participate in Detroit’s community benefits process, but since they do not grant the tax breaks or free land, they have no standing in the discussion. What I insist on is an ordinance that includes and involves the community in Detroit’s rebirth. Proposal A allows that opportunity to exist.
Donald Trump has shown his true colors throughout his campaign By Dr. Barbara Reynolds Donald Trump has already shown himself as bigoted against immigrants, Mexicans, Muslims, blacks and prisoners of war, such a U.S. Senator John McCain. He is also a man who calls women “pigs” and gloats over his deftness at grabbing their private parts. This may be a titillating résumé for a reality TV star, but certainly not for the president of the most powerful nation on the planet. This entire year instead of being inspired as I watched the election debates, I have felt that the Dr. Barbara Reynolds American public, politicians and the press have been dragged down into the depths of a dark, dank sewer with the manhole slammed shut. The stench has overshadowed real issues, such as the poisoned population of Flint, Michigan, the black men murdered by police for walking or running while breathing, the carnage of murdered little children piling up in our bloody inner cities and the homeless families increasing because of builders like Trump pricing the poor and middle class out of the housing market. As a shining example of what one group the Donald caters to is the new Trump hotel in the nation's capital where one night's lodging starts at $800 and soars into the thousands. If you are not a millionaire or someone who delights in demeaning, despicable conduct, why else would you follow Trump? Historically our democratic system based on a living and expansive Constitution has allowed us through much toil and pain to rise above the base, selfish, ugly acts of dangerous extremisms. As shown in the recently released video tape, what Trump stands for we don't need; in fact, his values demean us here at home and in the world. Groping women is not normal. It is unnatural. It is brutish. It is sexual assault. To pass this off as just “locker
room talk” sends a message that the foulest vulgarity is fine as long as it is shared behind closed doors. Instead of encouraging the public to cleanse ourselves of hateful, demeaning behavior his solution is to offend and assault those you deem vulnerable and of little value. The kind of language Trump uses provides comfort to tyrannical male supervisor, abusive husbands, those who delight in bullying girls and young boys who would see men like Trump as role models. Trump's words, however, are also demeaning to “normal” men — fathers, husbands, friends who value women as undeserving of scorn and do not find vulgar locker room talk as acceptable. In the last debate Trump continued his race to the bottom by dragging into the debate hall a cast of alleged participants in the sex life of ex-president Bill Clinton. Whether Clinton's accusers are right or wrong, Bill is not running for president. Hillary is and she should not be blamed because she happens to be in the midst of men who have or are acting badly. In fact, maybe all this misplaced testosterone may be one more reason why we should elect a woman president. Yet, when I look at this pathetic muddy mess, I am inspired that when I look at President Obama, I see a man who honors his wife, dotes on fatherhood and whose life, both private and public, has not been touched by sexual scandals. We know enough about Donald Trump. Let Trump be Trump and stand alone and continue to embarrass himself while the rest of us prepare to elect someone to the White House who can bring us together and continue an honored career as a public servant. And that of course is Hillary Clinton. From this point on, let Trump star in his own X-rated series alone. The rest of us have had enough of him and we have better things to do like preparing to go to the polls Nov. 8 and taking someone with us. The Rev. Dr. Barbara Reynolds, an award-winning journalist, author, and activist, is a freelance columnist and was a founding editor of USA Today.