The Atlantic - Latest Comments in The Madness of Monica Conyers

Re: The Madness of Monica Conyers

augustine — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:29:58 -0000

That recall campaign went no where, was an ebarassment to the organiziers. Detroit citizens elected him twice, would have done so a third time. And the pro business Bing is hardly defensive or reactionary or a player of racial politics and he's mayor. Will be mayor as long as he wants, unsure how effective he will be. But clearly the electorate is tiring of the Conyers type figure. Frankly, I think you caricature the electorate with that Monica Conyers is Detroit stuff.

Re: The Madness of Monica Conyers

augustine — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:11:27 -0000

Well, you open with Monica Conyers IS Detroit. Not Ben Carson but Monica Conyers, now you clutch pearls. Not serious.

Re: The Madness of Monica Conyers

rogerm — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:46:10 -0000

In addition, I think the default defensive stance you seem to have taken is exactly why the "racial tension card" seems to work (on both sides of 8 mile) time and time again. You read my post and your reaction is "its against black people" until proven otherwise.

By the way, regarding Mayor Archer, you must be forgetting the nasty recall campaign.

Re: The Madness of Monica Conyers

rogerm — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:28:11 -0000

I think you are making a lot of defensive assumptions based on a sentence or two. Are you on the Conyers staff by any chance?

Re: The Madness of Monica Conyers

augustine — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:00:46 -0000

Some interesting points you make but I need to challenge what you’re intimating surrounding the racial politics of the region. I mean, Coleman Young hasn't been mayor for over 15 years, and Dennis Archer was elected twice, by comfortable margins, and would have easily won a third term if he desired. (He thought Al Gore would win the white house in 2000 and he'd get a plum spot to help position him for something larger.)

Archer handily defeated McPhail in his second election, so this notion that Detroiters will only elect candidates that prop the black power fist is not a fully developed analysis of the black electorate in Detroit. Dave Bing, what a black power radical he is, easily won the replacement election and has employed Freeman Hendrix in his administration.

The same Freeman Hendrix that lost to Kwame Kilpatrick in a very close election in 2005. What this tells me is that the people of Detroit are not being moved as easily by the racial rhetoric that the McPhail’s and Kilpatrick’s have used in the past. Curious that you haven't touched on that, or what those electoral decisions communicate to the region. I suspect you have a blind spot in that regards.

It’s very straw mannish to keep pushing this narrative that if only the blacks in Detroit had better attitudes then Detroit and the region wouldn't have the severity of racial or economic tensions.

And right now I’m thinking of black professionals I know who have dealt with the racial bullshit when trying to move into the Pointes or the more upscale parts of Rochester, etc. but maybe they should just stay in Detroit, if Detroit were a world class city there would be no need for those black professionals to try and move out the burbs right? (Who cares that you work at St. John’s Moross and Grosse Pointe is closer for the commute than Rosedale Park).

If that’s the framework of your argument, not saying it is, but if that’s where this is going you need to acknowledge the patronizing spirit this idea is conceived in and how it contributes to the issues the region has.

And if you live in the region and are honest, you know that the racial tensions, and economic decline, predate Coleman Young and the political ascendancy of blacks in Detroit.

You’re absolutely correct that regional government is the only way to make Detroit as functional as it should be. But there are too many stakeholders in the tri county area that currently benefit from a non-regional approach to governing. LOL, Ficano is the first obstacle you’d have to get past, and while Patterson’s rhetoric appears more agreeable in regards to cooperation, pro business environment, he has a habit of bailing when it’s time for the rubber to meet the road.

Re: The Madness of Monica Conyers

West of the Cascades — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:43:40 -0000

Kierra Bell, the 8th grader in that clip who schooled Conyers, should be appointed to replace Conyers on the City Council -- bring a little class and intelligence to that seat.

Re: The Madness of Monica Conyers

Acromion — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:35:10 -0000

Welcome to the D baby!!

Re: The Madness of Monica Conyers

Acromion — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:28:07 -0000

Nice plan... but I worked for HUD. I know how the feds work. There will be a form filed in triplicate for every structure demolished and 400 fucking lawyers running around making sure nothing goes as planned.

Anyway check out the new Eminem video... its set in the train station. Too bad they wanna knock that down too... beautiful building.

http://perezhilton.com/2009-07-02-new-feminem-4

Re: The Madness of Monica Conyers

rogerm — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:11:51 -0000

Good article. I think a federal rather than state takeover of Detroit would the only way for recovery. Ideally, a new dept should be established, called something like The Federal Urban Blight Taskforce. The program would essentially focus on one or two cities at a time and gradually cycle through 5 steps.

1. Identify all blight stricken neighborhoods within the city limits. Offer all of these homeowners 50-70 thousand dollars for their houses. In addition, offer an additional 30,000 to every Detroiter 18 or over. However this money comes with strings. In order to receive this money, one would have to move from the city and show proof of employment or school within 6-8 months of leaving. Also, any debt owed to the city or state (taxes, tickets, etc) would be wiped from the record. This is a necessary step in order to a) disburse the entrenched poverty

b) allow for massive redevelopment and c) give people a once in a lifetime financial opportunity for a new start. Small businesses would be offered either a buyout, or financial help during the transition.

2. Once many neighborhoods are essentially clear, the taskforce would move forward with an aggressive plan to redevelop the space using the "Urban Village Model" proposed a few years ago. The city would become 6-8 very large neighborhoods surrounding by woods, fields, hiking/biking trails, and interconnected by corridors. Downtown would be the hub neighborhood.

3. The Taskforce would sell off home redevelpment rights to various metro Detroit companies. These companies would get an upfront fee and a percent of the eventual resale price of the homes. These houses would would be brought up to date and any issues would be addressed. These companies would also be in charge of demolition and material removal of any abandoned homes or any that cannot be renovated.

4. During the years of redevelopment, 10 year tax free zones (federal and state, not city) would be established citywide. New businesses would be assisted with money for building renovation and relocation cost, and any new foreign companies would gain access to streamlined immigration.

5. Finally, the taskforce would sell the renovated homes/buidings. A market value (probably much higher than before the redevelopment, but lower than comparable cities) would be established and homes would be sold on the conditions that a) the owner has to be the primary resident for x number of years, and b)they follow the new city charter. With luck, the new home sales would pay back the federal taskforce for much of the redevelpment.

Re: The Madness of Monica Conyers

Acromion — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:34:56 -0000

Rog-

I agree with pretty much everything you said. This city is a bewildering place, and I can only love it like the bastard stepchild it is. I have invested a lot into this community, so its hard to watch it go. Like the woman in the NY Post article, I have stopped worrying about where this city is going and I have just decided to make the best of it.

Although I am glad I can escape to the suburbs every once and awhile, I'm afraid the blight is creeping further and further north. Have you been to 16 mile in Troy lately? So many buildings are empty and starting to fall apart . . . and this is in Troy!

I don't know what the next step is. Bing is promising but the Detroit is probably beyond repair. State takeovers have been discussed before, but that's like the blind leading the blind. You

should read this article (also by Charlie Leduff, who is awesome).

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Off Woodward, life hits a dead end

Charlie LeDuff / The Detroit News

http://detnews.com/article/20090514/METRO08/905140408/-1/ARCHIVE

Detroit -- If you are feeling confused or overwhelmed by the circumstances of our times, if you need a place to consider where we've been and where we are, make a drive to West Robinwood Street.

It is a haunted, damnable portrait of what we've become. The neighborhood is a burned-down ghost town of 56 raped and looted houses east of Woodward and north of McNichols. It is empty save for five elderly families and a middle-age couple who live near Woodward and refuse to open their doors.

Ironically, the neighborhood is just a chip shot from the elegant Palmer Park Golf Course and a one-stop bus ride to the grave of Rosa Parks. Robinwood is located along the stretch of Woodward that in 1909 became the first mile of concrete roadway in America. That was exactly 100 years ago.

The people of the Detroit Metropolitan region got a glimpse of the ruined block a few months ago when the police convened a press conference from the blood-stained porch of 654 Robinwood claiming they had rounded up 61 outlaws including the killer who assassinated the dope man at that address in broad daylight.

And then like quicksilver, the police and the press slipped away.

The six families remain. Trapped.

"Do I live in Hell? Yes I do and no I don't," said Jerry Williams, who lives at 666 Robinwood and spoke through a steel gate dressed in a bathrobe and dirty socks. "It would be Hell if I was dead, but I ain't. So that just makes the place ugly. The most ugly thing that human beings can create."

As you might guess, Williams used to work in an auto factory. And Williams got laid off. The rest of the neighborhood had little luck either. The neighbors to Williams' left were evicted and, three days later, somebody firebombed the house. The flames ruined Williams' car -- a Chrysler.

The dead dope man used to live to the right of Williams. To the right of the dope man's house lives Fatimah Muhammad, the only other house occupied on the north side of that block of Robinwood Street.

She bought the place for $60,000 eight years ago and can't get out unless she walked away from the mortgage. She figures she couldn't get $5,000 for the place. That doesn't stop the criminals from getting in. Last week, in broad daylight, three men forced their way into her house. One held her at gunpoint in her bathtub, while the other two managed to steal some sneakers. The police never took fingerprints, she said.

"I'm tired, I'm spent, I'm scared," Muhammad said. "And I'm stuck. Who would want to buy this house?"

Robinwood was an integrated and well-kept block just five years ago, the remnant people say. And then it was gone in the blink of an eye. It started at the east end of the block when a house was rented to 5 adults and 20 children. More families moved out. More renters moved in. The radios started. The brown bags. The gangs of young men. The gunshots. The dope houses. The fires. The insurance checks.

Durene L. Brown is the ombudsman for the city of Detroit. She has the endless and unenviable job of fielding complaints from city residents and the occasional question from reporters. She asked to see Robinwood Street, wondering if it was truly the worst in Detroit.

"Insanity," she said as she drove through and stopped to talk to Muhammad. The problems here are deep, Brown said. The last audit of the city's Demolition Division was conducted 15 years ago. Moreover, the city was granted $23 million in federal funds last year to tear down neighborhoods like this, but the City Council voted to give $9 million of that money to local ministers for neighborhood block programs. "Blight like this is caused by greed and ineptitude," Brown said. "If something doesn't change, this is coming to a neighborhood near you, and that includes the suburbs."

Places like Robinwood are the epitome of Dave Bing's problem. The newly elected mayor says he wants to knock down shoals of squalor and relocate the remaining people to clean and coherent neighborhoods. But where would this money come from? Detroit is a city with tens of thousands of rotting houses and factories. Nobody knows exactly how many because nobody has ever bothered to count. And Robinwood is located on the city's main thoroughfare.

Lilacs and hibiscus still grow in this ghetto. But so does the malignancy. There were gunshots in the alley two Mondays ago. Three Mondays ago, someone packed the side yard of 598 Robinwood with old tires as high as the window sills. This past Monday, two teenagers found a dead fighting dog stuffed in a box. On Tuesday, Brad Edwards of Detroit's Fox 2 News reported that an 81-year-old shut-in -- Marabel, of 461 Robinwood -- died the morning after Christmas and went undiscovered for days. Her body remains unclaimed at the county morgue.

On Monday, a police cruiser rolled through.

"I've never seen a place like this," said the white cop.

"Vietnam," said the black cop.

"Hard to believe this is America, but it is," said the white cop.

And with that, they were off.

Travels with Charlie charlie@detnews.com (313) 222-2071

Re: The Madness of Monica Conyers

eric — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:39:27 -0000

I imagine once you go down that road, you just seeing it as part of your income. If you asked someone if they'd sell out for $3,000, most people would say no, but if you've already sold out I bet the price drops.

Re: The Madness of Monica Conyers

Sam — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:35:49 -0000

Unreal. As a teacher of six years myself, I find myself nauseated by the way she answered that question. Teachers tell kids every day not to call names. Then she explains herself by saying that it's all right to call people names because she got frustrated? Unreal.

Re: The Madness of Monica Conyers

rogerm — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:33:09 -0000

I'm glad you've got pride in Detroit, I too want it to come back into the fold of great cities. However as it stands, Detroit is too far gone to take half measures. We both know that Detroit's problems do not stem wholly from jobs being shipped overseas. The majority of the Big Three's more advanced factories reside in the suburbs, not in Mexico or China. These easily could have been built in place of the old Packard Plant or any number of Brownfield areas that blight Detroit, but they weren't due to years of suburban/Detroit fighting (which still has not abated ex. Cobo, the Zoo, regionalism as a whole). Detroit died because of city mismanagement, corruption, and politicians playing on racial tension (both real and imaginary) in order to stay in power. Remember Mayor Archer and the "not black enough" junk he had to deal with from McPhail and her ilk?

Again, I too want the city to rise again, but a cosmopolitan place, it is not. Cosmopolitan cities do not have drop out rates of 75%, crippling crime rates and massive slums surrounding a few blocks of nice homes. Sure, Boston Edison, Indian Village, and the lofts downtown are nice, but for every one of those neighborhoods, you have 10 others that are in complete and utter turmoil. Most educated professionals live in the burbs, like Grosse Pointe, St Clair Shores or Royal Oak, not Detroit.

Any honest dialogue about the city would have to lay part of the blame on the residents. Mowing your lawn, shoveling your walks, and basic home upkeep should not be a poor/rich divide. I know, the argument can be made that years of living in squalor depresses people and their home is a window into their sorrow but this is exactly why Detroit is too far gone for baby steps. Also, voting for the same corruption year after year after year is not the fault of GM or Ford.

Microsoft, Boeing, Intel and Pfizer could relocate to Detroit, and they would have to do the majority of their hiring from the suburbs. If you think about that honestly, you know it to be true.

Detroit is like an alcoholic, it needs to really hit bottom and say "We can't do it alone, please help." Generations of people have essentially been born into a failed city. For a large portion of the residents, hope for a future is crushed their first day of Detroit Public School. This is a civil rights issue that needs to be rectified on a large scale public level.

By the way, Buddy's is great.

Re: The Madness of Monica Conyers

Times Current — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:30:51 -0000

So true about Detroit. The scene downtown is fantastic. Such nice and friendly people, great local places, bars with history and character, vibrant clubs and music scene, and some of the best art deco to be found anywhere. Everyone I know who has actually spent time downtown with someone who knows the scene comes away changed, with a completely different view on things.

Of course, what most people think of Detroit has truth, too. The nice areas are islands amid 140 sq. miles of desolation and urban sprawl. And that is the toughest thing to deal with - the large areas where there are a couple inhabited houses amid a hundred burned out shells, a problem that will never get solved without competent leadership.

I have never understood why the majority of Detroiters consistently elect such terrible leaders. It's not like good people get into office and then are corrupted; Kwame and Conyers were well known as dirty before election, and continued to get re-elected even after their misdeeds were made public. And Carolyn Kilpatrick is generally recognized as one of the two or three most incompetent members of congress, but still gets elected over and over again.

Re: The Madness of Monica Conyers

Acromion — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:28:06 -0000

Monica Conyers is not representative of Detroit. Not everyone in Detroit is "ghetto." The reason for the city's decline is NOT the incompetence of its residents. Detroit is the poster child of de-industrialization. In other words, all the jobs were shipped oversees and we were forced to make do.

And the video . . . OK fair enough. Much of the city is a vast slum. But it isn't fair just to show the bad parts. There ARE pockets of civilization in Detroit. This city is actually very vibrant and cosmopolitan, with lots of amazing cultural opportunities. There are many educated intelligent people who live here: artists, doctors, dancers, and lawyers.

Sorry to get defensive, but Detroiters get touchy about our reputation. We get sick of being the butt of jokes - "the armpit of America" - and so on.

So if you watched that awful video, please please read this article to get another perspective of Detroit.

http://tinyurl.com/mvvk5d

Re: The Madness of Monica Conyers

rogerm — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:11:12 -0000

Monica Conyers IS Detroit. The deep corruption and criminal mismanagement of the city did not begin, nor will it end with her arrest. Detroit (the city, not the surrounding metro area) has a functional literacy level hovering in the 30% range and an unemployment level that has been in the mid 20% range for years. It is beyond repair without drastic action. I think Detroit should be declared a disaster area and a new federal bureau should seize control over every aspect of the city government. Seriously. It's too far gone to be dealt with on a local level.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6WKMNmFsxM

This video is taken from all over the city, not just a concentrated "bad" neighborhood or section like in other metros. Compton, Newark, please......Detroit is far worse. Notice all of the open land. This used to be dense housing, but the Devils Night and Halloween fires detroyed the buildings long ago.

Re: The Madness of Monica Conyers

rikyrah — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:07:59 -0000

FrankieD,

Jack and Jill Politics.

Re: The Madness of Monica Conyers

frankie d — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:37:51 -0000

as a native detroiter who also worked within the city's government for a while, i can identify one of the problems that was obvious from that "shrek" clip.

detroit is truly a small town in a sense. the city's political community is small and incestuous. everyone knows everyone else and everyone's business becomes public and common knowledge. eventually.

that kind of intimate knowledge contributes to the scene between cockrel and conyers.

(one thing that lots of non-detroiters don't know is that cockrel is the son of a legendary detroit civil rights attorney and a long-time council member, and i am certain that conyers' husband - and therefor monica, by virtue of that tie - has lots of info about cockrel and his family. good and bad.

it also helps contribute to the attitude that the city - and its resources - is simply a piggy bank or something that can be used for one's benefit. if you and your relatives and friends are all part of the power structure, what's a little bit of graft between friends?

Re: The Madness of Monica Conyers

frankie d — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:00:28 -0000

jjp?

Re: The Madness of Monica Conyers

rikyrah — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:50:48 -0000

FrankieD,

Either I or my fellow bloggers have written something on your list over at JJP.

So, I understand.

Re: The Madness of Monica Conyers

frankie d — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:43:38 -0000

btw, when i said the "stimulus package" had been a boon to the financial industry, i actually meant the "tarp" program and the new financial and credit industry regulations.

i was simply lazy, lumping everything under that stimulus package umbrella.

Re: The Madness of Monica Conyers

Acromion — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:35:22 -0000

HAHA - Nagesh was right. Monica is looney toons!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiogXT9xZBQ

Part of me will miss her though. Such a character.

Re: The Madness of Monica Conyers

frankie d — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:32:41 -0000

i don't watch the wire - or any tv series for that matter - so i don't get that reference.

but one dynamic makes it easier for black politicians to do dirt and get away with it.

black voters have good reason to suspect law enforcement officials who target black politicians. there is a long tradition of persecution of famous black folks, and that tradition has extended to political figures.

there is also the feeling that black officials might be entrapped or simply targeted and prosecuted for things that white politicians do routinely.

or at least, that is the belief in black communities.

so black folks are typically suspicious when someone who has been a public figure is suddenly made out to be a crook who's been on the take. lots of folks believe that their pols might simply be a good guy who did something a bit wayward, but who is simply being targeted because of his race. and also because he might be particularly effective.

while that attitude certainly indicates a certain kind of paranoia, there is still a basis in fact for the belief.

Re: The Madness of Monica Conyers

Erik Love — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:27:32 -0000

The best Monica Conyers moment, ever, was when she debated some school children about her behavior as a councilwoman... and lost.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TvgtGlcdTE

Bonus: this Detroit News-produced clip starts by replaying the infamous "Shrek" incident.

Re: The Madness of Monica Conyers

dmf — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:18:03 -0000

the mayor of Memphis has just retired to run for congress and if he gets there before the FBI can finally get a case to stick to him he will be something to watch:

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/herenton/