July 14, 2004
More than $3.7 million dedicated to improve quality of life
Governor Jennifer M. Granholm; Wayne County officials, including Executive Robert Ficano, Sheriff Warren C. Evans, and Prosecutor Kym Worthy; and U.S. Attorney Jeffrey G. Collins joined Ramona Pearson, Highland Park's Emergency Financial Manager and members of the Highland Park Coalition today in announcing its plans to demolish more than 120 abandoned buildings and clean up hundreds of vacant lots in the city.
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"We are collaborating with our local partners to rid Highland Park of abandoned buildings which are breeding grounds for crime and obstacles to a quality of life that Highland Park residents have a right to enjoy," Granholm said. "Strengthening our urban areas is vital to Michigan's future, and nowhere is that more important than it is in Highland Park."
The Highland Park Coalition's first act will be the demolition of an abandoned Holiday Inn at the corner of Gerald and Woodward Avenues that has been long considered a primary source of crime and vice and a symbol of the blight that has plagued the city. The demolition is being funded by Clean Michigan Initiative funds from the State of Michigan.
Until now, cleanup activities have been spearheaded by local residents, the 30th District Court, and community groups, including the Highland Park Illegal Dumping Task Force and Focus: Hope. The efforts are being funded by numerous sources including the City of Highland Park Community Block Grant and local law enforcement grants. The State Office of Drug Control and Policy has awarded $250,000 to help law enforcement officials serve the community more effectively.
Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano said the county will devote resources through several initiatives to help revitalize Highland Park, including the illegal dumping initiative, home repair grant project, housing renovation grants, and the demolition program to remove vacant abandoned houses.
"Wayne County is dedicated to the ongoing work in Highland Park to fight the spread of illegal dumping across the city and to provide funding and resources for neighborhood and commercial improvements," Ficano said. "In 2004, nearly $1.5 million has been allocated for housing redevelopment activities alone."
The coalition includes the U.S. Attorney's Office, Michigan State Police, the Wayne County Sheriff's Office, and the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office who have requested funding from the federal government to increase their activity in Highland Park.
Sheriff Evans and Prosecutor Worthy said they, too, are committed to improving the quality of life in Highland Park.
"Abandoned buildings represent a very real public safety threat in any community," Evans and Worthy said. "We are also working together to change the culture of ‘anything goes' in Highland Park."
"We want to help empower residents and reassure them that law enforcement is there for them at the city, county, state, and federal levels," said U.S. Attorney Collins who is leading Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a national Department of Justice initiative to prevent gun violence. In October 2003, the PSN Eastern District Coalition was awarded a $600,000 grant to help carry out its mission in Highland Park, with an additional $239,000 in PSN funds awarded for enforcement and prevention initiatives in Highland Park.
In addition to the members listed above, the Highland Park Coalition includes the Governor's Southeast Michigan Office, HP Devco Inc., Highland Park Leadership Steering Committee, and the Highland Park Business Association.
