6A — Wednesday, August 31, 2022
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
CHEN LYU
Daily Staff Reporter
Extended social district, block closures
shift Ann Arbor downtown experience
Resolutions passed by City Council change what downtown Ann Arbor looks like to consumers
Downtown Ann Arbor
District Library installs free
Narcan vending machine
RILEY HODDER
Summer Managing News Editor
Home of New Vision provides free overdose-reversing drugs
Students report
landlords finding
loopholes in the Early
Leasing Ordinance
Students discuss potential issues with
housing, hopes for future
EMMA MOORE
Daily Staff Reporter
Nearly 2,000 people gather
for vigil after the Supreme
Court overturns Roe v. Wade
People gather on Diag to ‘share space’ and discuss action
Read more at michigandaily.com
RILEY HODDER
Summer Managing News Editor
JULIANNE YOON/Daily
SARAH BOEKE/Daily
News
CITY
In June 2020, three months after
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the
“Stay Home, Stay Safe, Save Lives”
executive order, Ann Arbor joined
a growing group of municipalities
implementing
temporary
street
closures to enable physical distanc-
ing for downtown restaurants and
retailers.
Ann Arbor City Councilmember
Ali Ramlawi, D-Ward 5, who is also
the owner of Jerusalem Garden,
said his experience running a local
business motivated him to work on
the initial street closure agenda.
“We talked to police and Washt-
enaw County health officials to cre-
ate a safe area for people to come
downtown,” Ramlawi said. “Equal-
ly important is to help businesses
stay alive. Since people couldn’t
dine-in, we wanted to set up out-
door sittings to the extent permis-
sible.”
The street closures instituted
for last summer were temporarily
suspended in November. On March
21, the City Council passed a resolu-
tion announcing the return of street
closures. The return of street clo-
sures not only allows city officials
and downtown merchants to be
prepared for renewed pandemic
restrictions, but also creates a test-
ing ground for a more lively down-
town area as the city moves past
the pandemic. The Michigan Daily
spoke to Ann Arbor community
members about the impacts of the
revival of this policy on small busi-
nesses, community engagement
and potential issues with accessibil-
ity.
Ann Arbor’s social district was
first introduced in November 2021
as the area of the city containing
all block closures to allow people
to walk around with open alcoholic
beverages. An April 18 City Council
resolution extended the social dis-
trict’s operational hours.
The block closures and social dis-
trict are both organized by the Main
Street Area Association (MSAA),
which works to make Ann Arbor’s
downtown area and businesses suc-
cessful. In an interview with The
Michigan Daily, Sandra Andrade,
executive director of MSAA, said
she expects the joint impact of the
social district and its block closures
to enhance foot traffic in outdoor
spaces.
“My estimate is that the num-
ber (of participants) will double,”
Andrade said. “The goal is to encour-
age people to be outside enjoying
the space rather than inside. I am
looking forward to incorporating
that into the block closure this year.”
Andrade said increased foot
traffic drawn by the social district
and block closure would encourage
more activities and events on the
street.
“Because of the pandemic, we
haven’t been able to really engage
the street space as far as we want,”
Andrade said. “This year, we are
going to start doing that. So Friday,
we’ll be announcing a Thursday
night music series. We’ll have com-
munity mornings on Fridays, and
on Saturdays, the candles will light
up the area. We really opened it up
to anybody who wants to engage
with street space.”
Opportunities for businesses and
restaurants
2022 marks the first year certain
downtown businesses get to expe-
rience the social district and street
closure. Cinnaholic, a vegan bak-
ery that opened at the beginning of
this year, is actively adjusting to the
business rhythm of downtown Ann
Arbor. Doug Moeller, the owner of
the Cinnaholic, said in an interview
with The Daily that he is looking
forward to the upcoming events
later this summer.
“We haven’t actually experi-
enced it,” Moeller said. “But you
know, I did live here before. I kind
of know what to expect from those
things … that’s going to drive a lot
of traffic here. We’re gonna have
tables outside selling baby buns dur-
ing the art fair … we’re staying open
later on Fridays and Saturdays.”
Like many businesses on Main
Street, even though most of their
current orders are takeout through
Snackpass, Moeller said he is
researching how to expand outdoor
dining. Andrade said businesses
must complete an application pro-
cess before they can expand out-
door dining capacity.
“People have to get sidewalk
occupancy permits directly with
the city,” Andrade said. “The Main
Street Area Association holds the
permit for the street space. So for
folks expanding to the street, going
through us is just a simple process
including signing a contract that
follows the city rules, like noise con-
trol.”
The extended social district also
allows downtown businesses to
connect with one another and get
involved in local causes. Lauren
Bloom, the owner of Bløm Mead-
works, said the social district and
summer events offered her business
an opportunity to advance its sus-
tainability efforts and strengthen
community ties when they were
previously put into place for half the
week.
“We bought compostable cups
from a retailer here in Ann Arbor
for takeouts, and we bought com-
postable stickers that have a social
district logo on it,” Bloom said. “We
offer discounts for participants of
the biking events, and we’re also
working on a local food-focused
event during A2ZERO week. We
love doing collaborative events. It’s
so fun for us to work with other
small business owners. In the mean-
time, our customers get introduced
to their business and vice versa.”
For restaurants still reeling from
the financial costs of the pandemic,
the block closure enables outdoor
seating and provides a lifeline.
TAQ is a local destination for
tacos and margaritas. Cynthia
Messmore, the owner of TAQ,
said in an email to The Daily that
the business could not have sur-
vived the early stages of the pan-
demic if not for outdoor dining.
“We
currently
pay
over
$10,000 a month for our small
space,” Messmore wrote. “With-
out the additional seating in the
summer, we would not be in
business.”
What residents think
In interviews with The Daily,
Ann Arbor residents spoke on
the ways block closures have
impacted their personal lives
and routines. Rackham student
Bahaa Aldeeb said he appre-
ciated the block closures and
wished they could be a perma-
nent feature.
“It is nice to walk outside
and it is nice to have social dis-
tance,” Aldeeb said. “We hope
the city could make (block clo-
sures) more official rather than a
bunch of random obstacles in the
middle of the street. That would
make it feel more like a forever
thing and would encourage us to
visit here even more often.”
Although some drivers may
have to drive or park further
away from their workplace due
to the blockades placed on the
street, a survey conducted by the
MSAA reported that 96% of the
1,400 respondents are in favor of
street closures.
University of Michigan alum
Nick Hall works for the law firm
Gunderson Dettmer located in
The First National Bank Build-
ing, a historical landmark on
Main Street. Hall said he sup-
ports the closure and that the
policy has little impact on his
commute.
“When I come into work, the
Read more at michigandaily.com
Prior to September 2021, Ann
Arbor legislation allowed land-
lords to start showing properties
and signing new leases for the next
school year 70 days into the exist-
ing lease. This resulted in students
spending the early months of each
semester searching for housing for
the next year. The City of Ann Arbor
attempted to address this issue by
passing the Early Leasing Ordi-
nance in September 2021, which
prevents landlords from showing
leased properties to prospective
tenants or entering into a new ten-
ant agreement 150 days before the
end of the current lease.
Many students report landlords
often evade the terms of the ordi-
nance by finding various loopholes.
These include requiring prospec-
tive tenants to pay fees in order to
enter a waitlist for a unit or hold a
unit before reaching the 150 day
mark.
Source 1, an Art & Design fresh-
man, spoke on their experience
renting from Michigan Rental. The
student asked to remain anonymous
and will be referred to in this article
as Jane Doe.
Doe said that when they signed
their lease with Michigan Rental for
the 2022-2023 school year, the land-
lord made them put money down to
reserve the unit in Feb. 2022. The
Daily received a copy of this email
and verified its contents.
“We contacted the property
management company and they
(said) because of the land ordinance
we can’t do a lease yet but if you pay
$2,000 for a holding fee, then we
can hold the lease for you,” Doe said.
Doe said the ordinance is inef-
fective because landlords have been
inconsistent in following its terms.
Doe said they might not have had a
place to live for the winter semester
if they had not paid a holding fee
early.
“I feel like if all of them (land-
lords) are following (the ordinance),
it would be effective or if none of
them were following it, it would be
however it was before,” Doe said. “I
Read more at michigandaily.com
CITY
CITY
A new vending machine now
stands outside the Ann Arbor
District Library that dispenses
free Narcan, the brand-name ver-
sion of the overdose-reversing
drug naloxone, according to an
April 1 tweet from AADL Direc-
tor Eli Neiburger. The vending
machine was installed by Home
of New Vision, an organization
devoted to supporting those with
substance abuse issues.
According to Rackham student
Derek Frasure, policy director for
Students for Sensible Drug Policy
(SSDP) at the University of Michi-
gan, the vending machine sup-
plies resources that could be vital
in saving someone’s life.
“(The vending machine) is
something that can mitigate that
tide of deaths, which has cur-
rently outpaced car accidents for
common fatalities,” Frasure said.
Lieutenant Mike Scherba of
the Ann Arbor Police Department
(AAPD) said that in 2021, the
AAPD received a total of 68 calls
recorded in their system as drug
overdoses in Ann Arbor, which
averages out to about one call per
week. While all AAPD officers
and supervisors are required to
carry naloxone, Scherba said the
vending machine has the poten-
tial to create faster distribution of
the drug to those experiencing an
overdose.
“Provided that the person has
the ability to administer (nalox-
one) properly, I think the poten-
tial, at least, is there for faster
administration,” Scherba said.
Public Policy graduate stu-
dent Alyshia Dyer is a former
law enforcement officer for the
Washtenaw
County
Sheriff’s
Office and a member of SSDP.
Dyer said she has responded to
many previous 911 calls involving
an overdose and expressed how
critical naloxone is in overdose situ-
ations.
“The times that I’ve used nalox-
one, it really felt like you were sav-
ing someone’s life, because it wasn’t
looking good before that,” Dyer
said. “It showed me how important
it was to make naloxone readily
available.”
Dyer also said quick administra-
tion of naloxone was integral to
ensuring the recovery of the person
overdosing, and that by making nal-
oxone readily available, the commu-
nity was saving lives.
“I have done research on opioid
response in Michigan, and basically,
making naloxone widely available is
one of the best public health initia-
tives that you can do to save people’s
lives,” Dyer said.
Though the vending machine
can provide quicker access to nal-
oxone, Scherba said the primary
concern with its installment is that
it could create a false sense of secu-
rity among those experiencing sub-
stance abuse.
“(People who are witnessing an
overdose) may not call for help as
soon as they could or would have
otherwise, which could potentially
put the user at risk,” Scherba said.
However, Brianna Dobbs, Recov-
ery Opioid Overdose Team coor-
dinator for Home of New Vision
and coordinator for the vending
machine project, expressed that the
vending machine will help beyond
just saving lives.
“Having (the vending machine)
in such a public place will raise
awareness, reduce barriers and
increase access to a life-saving
medication,” Dobbs said.
Dobbs added that Home of New
Vision is trying to decrease the
stigma around naloxone, as it is
not just to be given to those expe-
riencing substance abuse. Dobbs
emphasized naloxone can also
be used in cases when prescribed
medication is inadvertently mis-
administered. She said every
household should have naloxone
in their first aid kit.
“People can have an opioid
overdose because they took too
much of a prescription medica-
tion, they read the bottle wrong or
a small child gets into someone’s
medication,” Dobbs said.
As for the future, Home of New
Vision hopes to expand the vend-
ing machines to other libraries in
Washtenaw County. Dobbs said
they are trying to expand these
vending machines to the areas in
Washtenaw County that expe-
rience the most overdoses. The
organization told The Daily that
their priority is challenging the
stigma around drug overdoses,
and there is still more to do.
“I think there’s so much that
can be done,” Dobbs said. “I think
the starting point is to provide
empathy and passion and support
for people.”
Daily Staff Reporter Riley Hod-
der can be reached at rehodder@
umich.edu.
Trigger warning: this article
contains
mentions
of
sexual
assault.
An estimated 2,000 people
gathered on the Diag on Friday to
‘share space’ and discuss action
after the Supreme Court over-
ruled Roe v. Wade (1973). The
Supreme Court voted 6-3 in favor
of a Mississippi ban on abor-
tions after 15 weeks of pregnancy
in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s
Health Organization, overruling
Roe v. Wade and Planned Parent-
hood v. Casey (1992). The decision
leaves the right to abortion access
to the states, and it is expected
that almost half of states will
establish a ban on abortions as a
result.
The vigil began with Carrie
Rheingans — an instructor at the
School of Social Work, a member
of the Washtenaw County Board
of Health and an organizer of the
event — asking the crowd if they
felt hurt, exhausted and angry.
Rheingans then led everyone in
a “deliberate scream”, and the
Diag was momentarily filled with
voices.
The ruling came after Politico
released a leaked draft opinion
suggesting that the Supreme
Court would overrule Roe v.
Wade last month. This leaked
draft opinion sparked nationwide
protests and was condemned by
both advocates of abortion rights
and Michigan physicians.
In
Michigan,
a
preliminary
injunction issued in May on a 1931
ban on all abortions except those
that are necessary to save a per-
son’s life will temporarily maintain
access to abortions in the state. The
injunction currently halts the ban
from coming into effect, but it is
only temporary, with conservative
activists having filed a request last
month to have the injunction lifted.
In response, a ballot initiative called
the Reproductive Freedom for All
campaign currently exists in Michi-
gan that would add the right to an
abortion to Michigan’s constitution
if passed.
Bonsitu Kitaba, Deputy Legal
Director at the ACLU of Michigan
and an organizer of the vigil, spoke
about this ballot initiative to the
crowd, claiming that it not only pro-
tects access to abortion but also pro-
tects a wide range of reproductive
healthcare services.
“The Reproductive Freedom for
All campaign and ballot initiative
is a constitutional amendment that
protects every individual’s right to
reproductive freedom,” Kitaba said.
“And that means your right to make
and effectuate decisions related to
your pregnancy, whether that be
contraception, sterilization, prena-
tal care, postnatal care, miscarriage
management, infertility and abor-
tion care.”
Katie Scott, County Commission-
er for District 9 and an organizer of
the vigil, addressed the crowd and
urged them to act beyond the ballot
and donate to the Midwest Access
Coalition, an organization that rais-
es funds to help women with travel
costs and other costs associated
with getting an abortion.
“In Michigan, 87% of our coun-
ties have no abortion providers,”
Scott said. “What do we do about
this? We support organizations like
Midwest Access Coalition.”
U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann
Arbor, also spoke, expressing her
shock at the decision. Dingell
encouraged the crowd to use its
energy from the vigil to take action
to protect abortion rights.
“We’ve got to put (the energy),
that passion, into fighting for what’s
right, to fight for women’s health
care,” Dingell said. “And remember,
that’s what we’ve got to tell people,
a woman has the right to make her
own decision and control her own
body.”
Ann Arbor is considered a “zone
of reproductive freedom” after resi-
dents of Ann Arbor voted to amend
the city’s charter 30 years ago.
Under the amendment, if an abor-
tion were to take place within city
limits while a state or federal ban on
abortions existed, the person who
had an abortion, or the healthcare
provider, would only be subject to
a $5 fine. Additionally, government
officials, including the city attorney,
are not able to refer cases to any
other authority for prosecution.
State
Rep.
Felisha
Brabec,
D-Pittsfield, addressed the crowd,
saying the overturning was person-
al for her as a mother of two daugh-
ters. She spoke on how this decision
has impacted the youth of America.
“It is our 13-year-old’s birth-
day today, and the conversation
we were having today with her
was about the rights she had today
when she woke up, she no longer
has going to bed,” Brabec said. “(My
daughter) has less rights than I had,
and less rights than my mom had.
That has got to change. That is why
we are all here.”
CITY
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