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 Design by Erin Ruark