Introducing Morningside Blight Brigade

Morningside residents participate in a cleanup organized by Emerald Isles CDC in spring 2023.

Are you sick of blight? You’re not alone. Want to do something about it? Find out how you can be part of the solution at the first meeting of the Morningside Blight Brigade on Saturday, March 23 at 9:30 a.m. at the Morningside Café, 16369 E. Warren.

Many Morningside residents already take it upon themselves to report problems on their block to the city, through a variety of channels. Sometimes we succeed in resolving an issue, sometimes we don’t.

Morningside Blight Brigade is a group of neighbors committed to ridding our community of blight by coordinating our efforts. We want to elevate and expand the work that people are already doing as individuals because we know there is strength in numbers.

Here’s what Morningside Blight Brigade can do:

• Make sure everyone knows how to report a problem with blight, such as illegal dumping, abandoned cars, or neglected properties.

• Educate residents about the ordinances dealing with blight and other quality-of-life issues.

• Do periodic clean-ups along the commercial corridors and residential streets.

• Coordinate our reporting through SeeClickFix.com and the Improve Detroit app so that we can support and amplify each other’s complaints. Learn how to use all the features of both.

• Take responsibility for monitoring a particular area to identify and report problems, with a goal to have eyes on every block in Morningside.

• Share information about what worked, what didn’t work, and brainstorm ideas for making the city departments more responsive.

Let’s kick blight out the door in ’24!