04-01-2009, 12:32 PM
cryptogon.com
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Via: Mlive:
Look in any direction from Bianca Batesââ¬â¢ north Flint home, and youââ¬â¢ll see graffiti-covered siding, boarded-up windows and overgrown lots.
About half of the homes on her block are burned out or vacant magnets for drug dealers and squatters. It isnââ¬â¢t where she thought sheââ¬â¢d end up, but itââ¬â¢s all she can afford to rent.
ââ¬ÅItââ¬â¢s a dangerous place to live,ââ¬Â said Bates, 21, who lives on East Russell Avenue. ââ¬ÅEverywhere you look, these houses are empty around here.ââ¬Â
Property abandonment is getting so bad in Flint that some in government are talking about an extreme measure that was once unthinkable ââ¬â shutting down portions of the city, officially abandoning them and cutting off police and fire service.
Temporary Mayor Michael Brown made the off-the-cuff suggestion Friday in response to a question at a Rotary Club of Flint luncheon about the thousands of empty houses in Flint.
Brown said that as more people abandon homes, eating away at the cityââ¬â¢s tax base and creating more blight, the city might need to examine ââ¬Åshutting down quadrants of the city where we (wouldnââ¬â¢t) provide services.ââ¬Â
http://www.prisonplanet.com/flint-michig...rvice.html
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Via: Mlive:
Look in any direction from Bianca Batesââ¬â¢ north Flint home, and youââ¬â¢ll see graffiti-covered siding, boarded-up windows and overgrown lots.
About half of the homes on her block are burned out or vacant magnets for drug dealers and squatters. It isnââ¬â¢t where she thought sheââ¬â¢d end up, but itââ¬â¢s all she can afford to rent.
ââ¬ÅItââ¬â¢s a dangerous place to live,ââ¬Â said Bates, 21, who lives on East Russell Avenue. ââ¬ÅEverywhere you look, these houses are empty around here.ââ¬Â
Property abandonment is getting so bad in Flint that some in government are talking about an extreme measure that was once unthinkable ââ¬â shutting down portions of the city, officially abandoning them and cutting off police and fire service.
Temporary Mayor Michael Brown made the off-the-cuff suggestion Friday in response to a question at a Rotary Club of Flint luncheon about the thousands of empty houses in Flint.
Brown said that as more people abandon homes, eating away at the cityââ¬â¢s tax base and creating more blight, the city might need to examine ââ¬Åshutting down quadrants of the city where we (wouldnââ¬â¢t) provide services.ââ¬Â
http://www.prisonplanet.com/flint-michig...rvice.html