SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Since 1918, voters in Detroit have traditionally elected their city council members at-large. Simply put, each elected council member represented the city as a whole, versus individual districts like many other major American cities, such as Baltimore and Los Angeles.
However, after a serious overhaul of the city charter, along with the blessings of city voters, council-by-districts went into effect in Detroit on January 1, 2012, meaning seven council members now represent seven districts respectively. The remaining two council members serve the entire city as elected-at-large officials.
Shortly after officially taking office last January, Mayor Mike Duggan, in keeping with his campaign promises to revitalize city neighborhoods, created the Department of Neighborhoods. He appointed Charlie Beckham to render executive leadership to the department under the auspices of the mayor’s office. Thus, seven district managers and deputy managers were appointed to the seven council districts as liaisons between the respective districts and the mayor’s office.
With council-by-districts now impacting seven city districts, the Michigan Chronicle begins a seven-part series that will take a closer look at each district, its many neighborhoods, and their distinctions of note. The series begins with District 1, which is represented by Council member James Tate. The mayor’s district appointments to this sector are Stephanie A. Young, District 1 manager, and Reggie Reg Davis, District 1 deputy manager.
“I’ve lived in District 1 my entire life, and my wife, as well has lived here her entire life,” said Tate. “So I love meeting with the people and the 46-plus community associations and block clubs in the district to discuss issues. This is a very active community when it comes to addressing the big three issues: lights, blight and crime.”
District 1 is located in the extreme northwest corridor of the city. Its boundaries are West Eight Mile Road to the north; Telegraph Road to the west, with some westerly overlap to Five Points; I-96 to the south, with several streets overlapped even farther to the south; and the Southfield Freeway to the east, with some easterly overlap to Ardmore, sandwiched between West McNichols (north) and I-96 (south).
“You can’t get any more north or west than District 1 and still be in Detroit,” said Davis, who has lived in District 1 for 22 years. “I like to call District 1 the most rural of all the districts. We have areas with woods, creeks, streams, a river and deer. There is also some urban farming in the area, along with people who are into the greening of urban America.”
Overall, District 1 consists of about 15 neighborhoods, including Five Points, Berg Lahser, the Eye, Riverdale, Old Redford, Eliza Howell, Castle Rouge, Brightmoor, Minock Park, Miller Grove, North Rosedale Park, Westwood Park, Rosedale Park, Grandmont-Rosedale and Grandmont No. 1.
According to Data Driven Detroit, a city-based comprehensive data/information clearinghouse of historic city demographics and other indicators, District 1’s population is approximately 106,000 people, of which about 96,000 are African American, 5,000 are White, 975 are Hispanic, with other ethnicities accounting for the balance.
While District 1 has areas that are somewhat rural, it also offers many urbanized neighborhoods with homes of distinction. Young, who has lived in District 1 (Rosedale Park) since 2009, and once served as neighborhood city hall manager, pointed out that the hallmark of the neighborhoods is the hard work and collaborative efforts put forth by neighbors and other stakeholders to get rid of blight and maintain an atmosphere conducive to providing a good quality of life for families.
Davis, a former local radio/television personality (30 years) and former member of Detroit’s Charter Commission, said there are numerous associations and organizations in District 1 committed to improving the district, including Grandmont Rosedale Development Corp, Brightmoor Alliance, Neighbors Building Brightmoor, Schoolcraft Improvement Association and more.
While Rosedale Park is a historic neighborhood and the largest historic district ever nominated to the national register of historic places in Michigan with more than 1,500 properties, nearby Brightmoor is one of the district’s most progressive and improved areas.
“Brightmoor is going to be the poster child for what can be done when residents and organizations have a mind to work together,” said Young. “Nothing stops them. They are doing whatever it takes to strengthen their community. The residents are strong and are closely knit. Collectively, they do not let just anything come into Brightmoor without their needs being addressed.”
To help fight blight in District 1, there are such programs as the Hardest Hit Fund, a federally assisted initiative aimed at blight elimination. To help repopulate the district, the Detroit Land Bank Authority, an organization dedicated to returning the city’s vacant, abandoned and foreclosed properties to productive use, has made contributions.
To help keep District 1 looking good, devoid of blight, is the mission of Motor City Blight Busters. The 26-year-old organization, based in District 1’s Old Redford neighborhood, is operated by co-founder, president and CEO John George.
“Our goal is to save the world, starting with District 1,” said George, who meets with volunteers every Saturday morning at Motor City Java & Tea House to map out and facilitate blight-busting strategies and projects.
“Over its 26-year period, Motor City Blight Busters has amassed more than 658,000 volunteer hours to paint, board up and/or secure almost 400 residential homes and commercial buildings. In addition, more than 300 structures have been torn down.”
Besides the vast residential offerings of District 1, other features of interest are recreational outlets such as Crowell Recreation Center, Rogell Golf Course, Eliza Howell Park, Rouge Valley Parkway and Stoepel Park. Additionally, two roller-skating facilities call the district home: Detroit Roller Wheels Skating Rink and Northland Skating Rink, Michigan’s largest roller skating facility.
Also, many people marvel at the 86-year-old Redford Theater on Lahser Rd., just north of Grand River. According to Young, the theater is District 1’s largest historic landmark building.
District 1 also offers families dozens of schools, including Ford High School and Communication and Media Arts High School. There are also almost 100 churches, including Greater Grace Temple, First Baptist World Changers and New St. Paul Tabernacle. Tate expressed his excitement about the soon-to-be built Meijer, a supersized retail outlet to be constructed on the site of old Redford High School. The store will be the company’s second retail outlet in Detroit.
“The new Meijer will create a huge synergy in this area,” said Tate. “It’s going to greatly impact District 1 and surrounding businesses in general like the Detroit Wholistic Center, Richard Plowden’s Championship Martial Arts Academy and other businesses.”
District 1 is also home to the Gateway Industrial Center, an industrial complex on the Southfield Freeway service drive, just north of I-96. The complex houses about 25 businesses and generates millions of dollars each year. Additionally, there are many thriving cool and chic small businesses in District 1, like Motor City Java & Tea House (Lasher near Grand River) and Always Brewing Detroit, a coffee and conference establishment (Grand River at Piedmont St.).
Young and Davis said they are committed to District 1 and will work with Councilman Tate to bring about improvements to neighborhoods and quality of life for the people. Tate agreed.
“I have had close relationships with both Stephanie and Reggie Reg for a number of years,” said the councilman. “We all have roles and as long as we respect those roles we won’t step on each other toes. After all, we have the same goal. We want a better Detroit and the best District 1 possible.”
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