  Urbanoutdoors Member Username: Urbanoutdoors Post Number: 140 Registered: 11-2005 |
So over by my grandmothers house on Lothrop by Linwood there is a great old house that has been abandoned on and off and the roof was fire damaged but the house has always been structurally sound. Three weeks ago a man in a nice car and a suit pulled up to the house walked around it and surveyed it. About three or four days later they began dismantling this once great brick house and put the bricks on pallets and trucked them out of the neighborhood stripping the house to its boards in two weeks time. I was wondering if anyone else has witnessed such a detrimental undertaking? This was the only abandoned house on the block and is just down the block from where Kwame lived before he was mayor. Is it Legal? | ||
Lvnthed Member Username: Lvnthed Post Number: 40 Registered: 03-2007 |
I don't see why he couldn't. It's probably the smart thing to do. Dismantle , recoup some money for demolition and replace with a heavily subsidized infill. You can get from 5 to 25 cent per brick used, with 3 good sides. It's a win-win situation if that's the intent. | ||
Urbanoutdoors Member Username: Urbanoutdoors Post Number: 142 Registered: 11-2005 |
I don't think infill is in the intent at all if it was there wouldn't be as much of an issue. | ||
Urbanoutdoors Member Username: Urbanoutdoors Post Number: 144 Registered: 11-2005 |
Not to mention I never saw any permit for the work and who knows if he really purchased it or just saw it was abandoned and stripped it. I will try to take a picture and post it in the upcoming days. | ||
Rhymeswithrawk Member Username: Rhymeswithrawk Post Number: 474 Registered: 11-2005 |
Where is the house at? Is it in a historic neighborhood? | ||
Urbanoutdoors Member Username: Urbanoutdoors Post Number: 145 Registered: 11-2005 |
well the houses are roughly 100 years old but it does not have any historical designation. Lothrop between linwood and Lasalle. 1 block north of West Grand BLVD. | ||
Rhymeswithrawk Member Username: Rhymeswithrawk Post Number: 476 Registered: 11-2005 |
Why didn't you shoot him? | ||
6nois Member Username: 6nois Post Number: 121 Registered: 11-2006 |
I don't know about this case, but there is a company from Bay City that does that sort of salvage. They take apart houses to sell the parts recouping the cost of the demo. I would assume its legal to buy a house and take it apart for the materials. | ||
Urbanoutdoors Member Username: Urbanoutdoors Post Number: 147 Registered: 11-2005 |
Architectural salvage does that here in Detroit to but the whole thing just seems sketchy and especially because it was done so quickly and the condition they left the house in. | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 3867 Registered: 08-2004 |
It's a good thing that the Star Trek "beam me up Scotty" teleporters aren't real. Otherwise the entire city would have disappeared (one building at a time) into the suburbs and beyond where "location... location... location" is king. | ||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 2116 Registered: 10-2003 |
We've witnessed similar illegal activity in other parts of the city. Back up the pickup truck to a house that has had a fire or is in serious disrepair and start stripping away!! It's paydirt if you can get enough bricks without getting caught. | ||
Gannon Member Username: Gannon Post Number: 8685 Registered: 12-2003 |
Urbanoutdoors, Get the license numbers off of every vehicle involved. Next time, go with someone else larger than you and take copious pictures, if you are uncomfortable with that...rush here and let us know. I will be glad to take my huge, old Olympus SLR digital over and intimidate these guys IF they are doing this illegally. We need to stop scrappers in all shapes and forms, and now apparently dress codes. Vigilantes, unite...mobilize. That said, if they have a deed for the property, they can do whatever they want with the house built upon it, as long as they have the proper permits. Could be another new source of income for the city...I wouldn't be surprised if the guy is another of Kwame's henchpeople, though. Another source of gray-market income for his back pocket, on the way to buying more Krugerrands for his and his daddy's collection. | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 703 Registered: 10-2006 |
As the owner of a house you have an obligation (all be it not so enforced in detroit) to keep your home and property in good condition. If the owner isn't going to be tearing down this home in the near future after removing its bricks, then they should be at least ticketed by the city. | ||
Hochi Member Username: Hochi Post Number: 80 Registered: 10-2003 |
You dudes forget this is the same city where SOMEONE STOLE THE COPPER ROOF OFF THE BOOK-CAD and the LEE PLAZA. Really, if you can get away with stealing a gigantic roof off of two giantic buildings you think anyone is going to give a flying F about some bricks? Puh-leeeze. | ||
Urbanoutdoors Member Username: Urbanoutdoors Post Number: 148 Registered: 11-2005 |
Well Interestingly enough channel 4 must have seen this blog and have came into the neighborhood asking questions. I believe the company that took the bricks is from Warren, I am going to find out the entire name and look into it more. I think Hochi has a point because the roof of Michigan central and the roof of the lee Plaza Vanished, but there is something to be said for someone standing up and asking questions instead of just letting it happen. Hopefully something comes of this and we get to the bottom of it. | ||
Hutt Member Username: Hutt Post Number: 19 Registered: 10-2005 |
I took the license plate number off the truck that scrapped the HUD house across the street from me and phoned it in to police, with a full description of the guys who did it. No one came out or called to follow this up or anything. I finally understand now that NOBODY CARES!!! | ||
Rhymeswithrawk Member Username: Rhymeswithrawk Post Number: 486 Registered: 11-2005 |
You dudes forget this is the same city where SOMEONE STOLE THE COPPER ROOF OFF THE BOOK-CAD and the LEE PLAZA. Really, if you can get away with stealing a gigantic roof off of two giantic buildings you think anyone is going to give a flying F about some bricks? Hahaha, I don't want to laugh because this is as sad as it is true, but that's a really good point. | ||
Jt1 Member Username: Jt1 Post Number: 8634 Registered: 10-2003 |
Hutt - What is the plate number. We can always research it oursellves. I can get a trace on the plate. | ||
Rhymeswithrawk Member Username: Rhymeswithrawk Post Number: 492 Registered: 11-2005 |
if you can get away with stealing a gigantic roof off of two giantic buildings you think anyone is going to give a flying F about some bricks? Puh-leeeze. That's why we need to take the law into our own hands! Shoot to kill, boys!  | ||
Hutt Member Username: Hutt Post Number: 21 Registered: 10-2005 |
To Jt1, Can you do that? I tossed the piece of paper that I had scratched it on, I figured why keep it when no one is going to do anything about it. What really sucks about it is that my neighbors and myself are in-your-face-nosy and we DO pay attention to what is going on around us only to have those who are supposed to be doing their jobs just don't care, for whatever reason. Thank You. | ||
Urbanoutdoors Member Username: Urbanoutdoors Post Number: 151 Registered: 11-2005 |
This is what they did to a house with a brick exterior within a week!  | ||
Eric Member Username: Eric Post Number: 729 Registered: 11-2004 |
Holy shit. You know I wish these people would put half this energy building up city instead of tearing it down | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 284 Registered: 10-2003 |
I seriously hope this gets followed through. If they are going to leave that house like that, it should definitely be illegal. We need to find out who did this. Is it possible to see who currently owns the land, and if it changed hands recently? | ||
Urbanoutdoors Member Username: Urbanoutdoors Post Number: 153 Registered: 11-2005 |
I am gonna ask a local real estate agent to see if it has and I want to say the name of the company that did it but my grandmother wasn't positive on the name so I want to do some checking up b4 I release false information. | ||
Urbanoutdoors Member Username: Urbanoutdoors Post Number: 155 Registered: 11-2005 |
 | ||
Urbanoutdoors Member Username: Urbanoutdoors Post Number: 156 Registered: 11-2005 |
I am not sure but it looks like they even cut the stair case out of the house on the side here.  | ||
Psip Member Username: Psip Post Number: 1656 Registered: 04-2005 |
This is sickening! Maybe they will come back for that remaining column. If they do, do what needs to be done. At the very least, start their trunk on fire. | ||
Wolverine Member Username: Wolverine Post Number: 298 Registered: 04-2004 |
That hole on the side is where the chimney was. This is really sad. I can understand salvaging the brick off the house if its a complete loss, and demolition if followed shortly after. But to leave a structure like this..damaged and unfenced is not only ugly, but unsafe for people in the neighborhood. You just can't get away with crap like this anywhere else, this definitely had to be an illegal move. There's so many beautiful brick homes throughout Detroit, a shame this situation of brick scrapping occurs on a regular basis. | ||
Michmeister Member Username: Michmeister Post Number: 151 Registered: 10-2006 |
Looks like a gnu after the piranhas got done with it. | ||
Urbanoutdoors Member Username: Urbanoutdoors Post Number: 157 Registered: 11-2005 |
The sad thing is There are kids that live next door to this house to! I supposedly the trucks said Warren Building but I cannot find a listing under that name so I am not sure as to what the name of the culprit is. There were men looking at other houses in the area last night. This cannot happen again, there has to be some city department that deals with this. | ||
Psip Member Username: Psip Post Number: 1666 Registered: 04-2005 |
I would call the fire dept if they show up again. It wouldn't be a false alarm because they are creating a fire hazard. OR call Fox 2 Problem solvers. This would make a great story and with undercover video, you could nab them red handed. | ||
B24liberator Member Username: B24liberator Post Number: 77 Registered: 01-2007 |
A few years ago one of the papers did a story on the brick scrappers. Apparently, many of these "reclaimed" bricks make it as far south as Florida-- Where a hard-fired northern red clay house brick can withstand ground surface contact as pavers in the warm confines of the deep south-- I didn't think anything of this until I stayed in Savannah, Georgia for my honeymoon recently. We stayed in an historic B&B, which was in their historic district of fine old southern mansions. Next door was an equally fine home undergoing renovation. While we were staying there a work crew was installing a "new" patio using reclaimed bricks from... Where- ever. Many of these bricks were labeled Canton,Daniel Bros. Detroiter... If you know old bricks these all originated around here, and Ohio... etc. As the crew was working I was talking to their supervisor, and he jokingly refered to the pile of bricks as "rust-belt reds..." And told me about a huge trainload brought down from Buffalo, NY that they used on their projects last year. Now I tie in this conversation I had last year with this guy, with those pix on this thread... Sad. | ||
Bulletmagnet Member Username: Bulletmagnet Post Number: 181 Registered: 01-2007 |
Some of the bricks may end up here: http://i148.photobucket.com/al bums/s22/bulletmagnet69/kodakg roup032607215.jpg?t=1175555994 http://i148.photobucket.com/al bums/s22/bulletmagnet69/kodakg roup032607216.jpg?t=1175555926 | ||
Urbanoutdoors Member Username: Urbanoutdoors Post Number: 166 Registered: 11-2005 |
I was informed by my sister today that the house was torn down today. |
