by
John King (Deadline Detroit photo)
It's not uncommon these days for people to debate whether Detroit is really experiencing a full-throttle comeback or whether it's more hype than reality.
Jack Lessenberry of Metro Times is the latest writer to explore that question. He speaks to John King, owner of the iconic downtown bookstore, John K. King Used & Rare Books on Lafayette Blvd. and the Lodge Freeway. King grew up in southwest Detroit and lives in an apartment above his bookstore.
Lessenberry writes:
The other night, after eating exquisite Vietnamese in what had been an abandoned coney (Flowers of Vietnam) I asked King whether he had noticed much improvement in Detroit since the bankruptcy. "No, not really," he said. "They've glitzed things up a bit, you know, but life isn't any better for the people who live here."
He goes on to ask King how can someone fix the city.
"Well, what they gotta do something about is crime. They say it's down, but it's still driving people out. But what really sucks is these ridiculous tax abatements. They came in and reassessed all these houses for far more than they are worth. They (the owners) can't pay and they lose their homes. Car insurance, too."
He told me of people who buy car insurance somehow for three days so they can renew their registration. By the way, I asked — were the three houses he lived in as a kid still standing?
I knew he'd know. "Oh yeah. They're all in good shape. You know why? Hispanic immigrants bought all three. They keep them in good shape. We need more immigrants, man."
Too bad someone else doesn't get that.
Lessenberry also writes about a recent study, which Deadline Detroit reported on in November. Two academics, Laura Reese, director of the Global Studies Program at Michigan State University, and Gary Sands, a professor emeritus of urban studies at Detroit's own Wayne State, wrote a piece for a new website called The Conversation, whose motto is "academic rigor; journalistic flair."
The study acknowledges great strides being made in the downtown/Midtown area. But in the rest of the city, many of the residents are actually worse off than before, the report concludes:
Detroit is two very different cities; one white the other black, one privileged the other deprived. The large-scale purchase, refurbishment and upgrading by Dan Gilbert . . . stands in contrast to the decay that continues to dominate the post-apocalyptic neighborhood landscape, inhabited by long-time Detroit residents that are not partaking in this highly-limited but growing prosperity.
