DETRorr - . de 18 months,
1,CJ37 of the Brewster/Douglass
ro -houses re slated for
·demolition under the direction
of Detroit's Housing Commis-
ioner Tom Lewis.
Thc Brc er tenants havc
orgaizcd a protest of the
scheduled demolition that has
been heard in high P ees.
.��h Councilwoman Mary
M cy heard thc voiCC? of
the Short-End-Of- The-Stack
Committe. These tcDants daim
that thc row-ho arc c­
turally sound and arc·an de­
qualc for many of the
home
Council oman Mahaffey,
o i in favor of retajning and
renovating the units said, -rbe
council already entered into
a cpntract for an outSide con­
sultant to givc u a ccond
I opinion on thc cost to � �
Bre erIDo project liv­
able, and habit4ble as well the
cost to romp dely gut and redo
them.·
The second opinion comes
from a firm in Bo 0 called'
O.K.M. who did similar work in
Washington D.C. and received
$144 million to fa up their
public housing a rcauIt.
"It's a long-term problem and
therefore the u . on is going to
take awhile," he .. "The big­
gest problem will be to con�ce
thc Legist ture that droup IS a
serious problem. It's not just an
urban problem." I' .
-You really havt to 100 at the
total child when you start think-
ing in terms of some of the things
that may create an a�osphere
for that child to tart thinking of
quitting chool," he said. ·E�n­
though you could come up .Wlth
a long list of recommendations,
it', my feeling that with a coor­
dinated comprehe ive cffort
much of that could be done in
tbeschoo .-
Clack said that e\'Cn 'tho
the subcommittee is ItargctiDa
the higher risk schoo aytema,.
dropouts are a p oblem that
. should be faced in schools.
-nat' oneofth· mis-
takes we ha\'C in $I area,- he
Said. "Those schools who feel.
they'rc doiDg weD are probably
totally iporlDa thc problem be­
cause of ita (that school'l) small
number . . . ouldo't ume
that some kids j a�()ID.ticla­
ly drop 0 of schooL­
Also beiDa the chair of the
House Correctiou Committee,
Clack said that solving the
dropo prob m would ha�
lome long-term financi.l
benefits to the Itate eU.
Pointin, out that Michi,an
spends OYer $SOO million each
year in ita priaoDs and about 90 ..
percent of all inmates didn't j
finish high school and rcadonly I
at a third to fourth gr de �l,
he said reduciDa dropo could
reduce crime. .
"We could ·tho a dOubt,
� m�,· be said;
\
I .
ard, We were told they were not,
that's why we arc asking for thc .
second opinion," I
. Mahaffey continued, "The
other point . 't if you 100 at
pnvate' sector housing. it seems
clear to me that there arc a great
deal more poor peop e living
throughout thc community in
housing that' much worse and
much morc expensive than
Brewstcr/Douglass and public
housiDg.. ,
Mahaffey, determined to
take a stand maintains that
Bre tcr/Dougl and other
public housing is better con­
structed and a lot cheaper for
perIODS on low income budgets:
than housiDg in the private sec-
tor. )
"I think the a\'Crage rent for
private sector is somethiDg like
S237 a mooth, for a _ that
might cost $137 in public ho -
in ,. she aid. ·Many �oor
people are IiviDg in subltandard
aDd siDglc dwelliDp
� bli h .
other than pu IC ousmg
thro out the city .•
Mahaffey said, "Wc're tryiDg
toge people. oh' ·
soUDdly constructed ud a
pric:cthey can a1ford 0 pay, d
that's . • ousing_ •
P cil .. L_·
The City Coun says �re IS
a considcrab e diffcrence' the
COIl to rebuild and the COlt to
rencw, including the co t. of
linoleum, plaster. and pint.
Mahaffey said, -Evcn after
pouring S3S million into Her-
man Garde we still ha\'C no
proof that • any better than.
B /Do •
I There· a lot of specula';'"
from Bre Iter/Dougla"
bcca of the idea
of the t · � • towa'
• &om the Detroit Stratqic Plan
Committee, there· • deaire to
reduce the number of poor
people in ew-CcDter area
aDd �lop it for higher income
iDdivid
1 Mahaffey responded to that
belief, sayiDa. "Lewis says it'l DOt
10 on the other. hand, the
plan to reduce the number of
people there, the �a: to
our • a�o�
an the CODItaDt d-,mo.JUWI&
of thole projects d the peop�
o Ji\!e therc makes one •
cio , it makes • number ofl
people s pia •
The city Council yet to ct .
on the demolitio permit.
Mahaffey says, "They haven't
liked for a permit aDd we
� not yel agreed to one, b
can utop to • if get
enough vote , .1, the final
. · come before the
CoD hill 1
cess early possible.-
. Patric Dickso Michigan'
State Univcr ity professor of
education p ychology, sup­
ported this in � testimony at
some of the meetmp.
couadL·