Fed up Detroiters question why city hasn't torn down badly damaged blighted home

DETROIT (FOX 2) - On Detroit's west side, there's a blighted home that's stood abandoned for years. But to say it's ‘stood’ isn't really doing it justice for the state of the house. It's been slated for demolition but remains - as an eyesore and a black eye on the neighborhood.

Darryl Young lives near the home on Patton Street, just north of Fenkell  and between Lahser and Evergreen. He said every year is the same: the city comes out, marks it to be demolished, and it doesn't happen.

"They always come and put the red and white stickers up and every year the rain washes them away and no one does anything," he said.

Young and others say their calls to city hall have led them nowhere in their efforts to get this caved in structure on Patton Street demolished.

Detroit Blight Busters' leader John George says the city is doing it best but need to do more, especially for eyesores like this one.

"Don’t get me wrong - I think the mayor and the city they’re doing a great job as it relates to demolition, but this one has fallen through the cracks," George said. "I promised the mayor a while back that we will no longer do demolitions without deeds and permits as long as the city does what is chartered to do."

But George says after years of complaints the condition of this house has only declined even more

"I’m concerned that our child or someone’s child will get hurt," George said. 

The FOX 2 Problem Solvers reached out to city officials about the home and they say this house will be demolished very soon. As in….this month. That's according to Detroit's Demolition Head LaJuan Counts.

"The current status of this structure is considered an emergency demolition," she said. "We anticipate them demolishing the structure sometime next week."

While we were looking at this home, we caught a demolition in progress just one block over. That's prompting neighbors to question what took so long for this house to be demolished?

"There was a period of time that there were no funds available to take down those ordered demolitions," Counts said. "The bigger delay is the fact that this property got caught in that transition from HHF Funding to proposal N funding."

Since it’s approval, Proposal N allows the city thorough neighborhood improvement bonds to preserve and renovate some homes and demolish the blighted ones that make communities unsafe.

"There are steps that we have to follow do you ensure that we are doing the safest demolitions as possible," Counts said.

George just wants it knocked down for the safety of all involved.

"As a father, as an adult have a moral obligation to my children and we need to get this taken care of one way or the other," he said.