Mr. Newman,
I found your Oct. 8 column 'Detroit: A city out of gas' extremely disturbing. While you recite facts dealing with various facets of daily life facing metro Detroiters in addition to the ongoing bankruptcy, you claim that "there is relatively little Detroit can do at this point to solve its mess." Opinionated statements masked as fact like this are precisely the reason why Detroit has become a symbol of both negativity and urban decay.
Because, Mr. Newman, if you've ever spent significant time in the Motor City, you'd see the beautification of the downtown area within the past decade to attract businesses, restaurants, and in turn, people, to areas like the Renaissance Center's Riverwalk, Campus Martius and Greektown. You'd see the pockets of artists, inventors and urban planners whose effect has been so profound on the city, you'd think you're in the Haight-Ashbury district or Greenwich Village. You'd see our three downtown-based sports teams (Go Tigers!) sell out nearly all of their regular season games despite the recession that has affected every Detroiter.
You fail to mention Dan Gilbert, chairman of Quicken Loans, who consciously decided in 2010 to move its headquarters to Detroit. You fail to mention Bill Pulte, whose Detroit Blight Authority organization has promised to restore neighborhoods outside of Midtown's established cultural hub. You fail to mention Mike Duggan, a man one mayoral election away from turning a new page for the city's administration.
It's clear, Mr. Newman, that you've never spent significant time in the city, because if you had, you wouldn't see a hopeless "city out of gas." You'd see a bruised, jabbed, down-and-out, underdog town taking baby steps in the road to resurgence.
Adam Llorens
Class of 2014
Siegfried Hall
Oct. 11
