Detroit Seeing Ovals-Jonathan Munk
The city of Detroit has been revealing some pretty ugly truth's over the past few months, and they don't seem to be going away anytime soon. There was an article on this site that profiled a local bagel shop owner who had his small business wiped out in 2013 by thieves who stole the cash register. He then proceeded to live on unemployment for about two years until he eventually had enough funds saved up to open a new store. His second store was also hit, this time by vandals destroying nearly $1,000 worth of inventory before stealing $500 from his purse during another robbery attempt. The owner, Tony Angelo, was stunned at the sheer volume of robberies to take place in his immediate vicinity. The inventory thieves would come in through the back wall and take items from the basement. The robbers broke in from a door behind the store and smashed items before taking his skirt and purse. Even his neighbors are getting robbed with a local corner store having their business burglarized three times within one month.
Residents of Detroit have taken to social media to express their frustrations over the current state of affairs in Detroit. The hashtag #DontLeaveDetroit has become a popular one in recent months. The Detroit City Council President told CBS Detroit's Charlie Langton that the city is currently "at sixes and sevens." Langton then asked, "Do you mean 'beyond repair?' How far past repair are we?" She responded, saying "I think we're pretty close." Langton then asked, "In your professional opinion?" After a long pause she said, "... I don't really have a professional opinion on how far gone it is but I'm fairly convinced that it's beyond repair."
City councilman Gabe Leland has grown tired of talking about the state of the city. He says he can't be bothered with allowing people to view Detroit as a failed city. He also says that he's not concerned about what Twitter users might write about him and Detroit. Leland believes the city weaves its own narrative, and that it's up to the people of Detroit to design their future. The commercial district surrounding the Joe Louis Arena has shrunk over the past few years, and Leland himself has seen his downtown district shrink as well. He said there was a time when he would see 10,000 people on a Friday night in his district alone with no problem. Six years ago, Friday nights had a much bigger crowd of people around Leland's district than they do today.
Detroit is experiencing a population exodus, with the numbers making it appear as if the city has hit absolute bottom. The population loss in Detroit over the past decade has been greater than any other major American city. In 2005, Detroit was considered to be the 18th most populous city in America. It had a population of 951,270 people. By 2015, that number had plummeted to 672,795. That's a loss of 288,475 people from 2005 to 2015 -- an average of nearly 8,000 people lost per year! According to present day statistics from the U.S Census Bureau and U-Haul International Inc. Detroit has lost more people than cities like Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Buffalo, New York. If you count the population loss Detroit's city officials have been warning about for years, Detroit is utterly ruined.
Detroit may be able to pull out of its economic crisis in the end. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder announced a 25 percent increase in funding for the city budget as part of his 2017-2019 budget proposal on February 2nd. On top of that, Governor Snyder also allotted $50 million of "emergency funding" for Detroit toward the City's emergency manager plan to demolish abandoned structures and parks across the city to make way for new homes and businesses. Hopefully, this will help Detroit to get back on its feet in the years to come.
Joe Louis Arena, a Top 5 NHL arena & Detroit's only ice rink Formerly known as the Red Wings' home arena, Joe Louis Arena has also been home to numerous other professional sports teams over the years, including the Detroit Red Wings (NHL), Detroit Pistons and Michigan State University Spartans (NCAA). Opened in 1979 and created during an era of financial depression for sports arenas across America and Canada, Joe Louis Arena was named after a legendary boxer that we all know from childhood. This arena has undergone many renovations over its lifetime and is about as classic of an arena in hockey as you can find. It's basically a giant concrete rectangle with seven or eight seats around one end zone, and that's about all. The most exciting part of going to Joe Louis Arena is the fact that it is the only place to see hockey in Detroit. You basically have three choices: watch a Detroit Red Wings game, watch an NCAA basketball game at Little Caesars Arena, or seeing some sort of sold-out concert at Ford Field.
Wayne County, Michigan has been struggling with a severe budget deficit. It recently cut the number of social workers by nearly 50 percent and laid off 132 employees in the city of Detroit. The county also laid off 1,200 employees as part of their budget crisis. Wayne County Executive Warren Evans said that this decision should "ultimately lead to better service delivery" and that these people will be re-hired once the economy improves. He claims he was forced to make the decision, citing Detroit's bankruptcy as the reason behind his actions. After Michigan's filing for bankruptcy in July 2013, Wayne County faced a $229 million deficit in their operating budget, which they have been trying to combat ever since then.
The Detroit Pistons are on the verge of possibly being sold. Billionaire and major Detroit booster Tom Gores, who owns the NBA team, has reportedly been shopping the team around for some time now. Due to the recent troubles that have befallen Detroit's economy, it's possible that this sale will finally happen. The team hasn't had a winning season since 1995, making it difficult for fans to come out and support their home team. They've even struggled to draw enough fans to make their new Little Caesars Arena worthwhile in terms of profitability. The Pistons are believed to be asking somewhere between $175 million and $200 million for their current stake in the NBA franchise. If a sale does happen, Mr. Gores will be able to sell his stake in the team for a much higher price. He bought the team for $88 million in 2011.
There's been a lot of speculation about whether Detroit will have to sell off its beloved classic cars and other vintage items at an auction or if they'll be able to keep them instead. There's actually no way to know for sure which museum in Detroit will end up with the pieces and when they'll go to auction.
Conclusion
Whether or not Detroit can re-build its city and get back on its feet is yet to be seen. In the mean time, there have been reports of a serious gang war occurring in the city between The Bloods and The Crips. If this spreads, it could make the restoration of Detroit’s city even tougher than ever. We’ve already made it clear that Detroit is in a serious situation to begin with and we need to work hard together if we want to save our beloved city. Hopefully, after all these decades in disrepair, Detroit will be able to reclaim its glory once again by removing the chains that have bound it down for so long.