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Comments:
Eric * - 2004-09-07 14:13:13 Boy, Eric *, you are really in the know. Gosh, you should start your own blog and clue the rest of us in! That'd be really cool.* * * * * * * * * * * * Eric * - 2004-09-07 14:31:58 If I did that, I wouldn't have any time to make cutesy comments. Oh. That's the whole point, isn't it?* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-07 14:42:26 That *was* a cute comment, wasn't it? (preens)* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura again - 2004-09-07 14:47:05 But back to the topic. Pollution on the condo site--so then I think we can say the initial site assessment was a failure. Pricey one.* * * * * * * * * * * * Eric * - 2004-09-07 14:58:07 The apologist would say they couldn't properly assess the extent of the pollution until they began cleaning it up. I think that's Brett Lenart's excuse too.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-07 15:08:15 Well, you'd think they'd take core samples or what have you to find out. Yes, he's the bituminous path guy if I remember right--talk about a waste of money. The riverside park paths are a tad crumbly, but there are only 5 million more pressing matters.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura again - 2004-09-07 15:09:11 (said the smug armchair urban planner).* * * * * * * * * * * * raymond - 2004-09-07 15:14:21 Have they yet discovered the pollution from Motor State Products' heavy industry? Have they yet discovered the pollution from the wrecked and junk cars that the towing yards kept down there? Have they yet discovered the pollution from the oil changes done recently down there where oil was dumped on the ground and the oil bottles and buckets tossed around? Have they yet discovered the cleaning supplies dumped back there? Have they yet discovered the pollution from the metals pickling processes? Have they yet discovered the pollution from zillions of trains chuffing down there along the river in the good ol' dirty days? Have they yet admitted to the pollution from the transformer blowup and its PCBs? Have they yet discovered the pollution from the burial of rubble from who-knows-where containing who-knows-what as a bulwark along the riverbanks? Just wondering. It's all been down there a long time to look at, touch, analyze. Maybe I should scan the nasty pictures I have from my last trek through there. Or I could just hide my head in the thousands of yards of fresh sand they've hauled down for the part they've cleaned up so far.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-07 15:23:10 Good heavens, you have to wonder why they picked what sounds like one of the most toxic spots in the city. Ugh. I think I remember seeing your photo of the transformer blowup--even in just a photo, you could see how bad it was. Yuck.* * * * * * * * * * * * raymond - 2004-09-07 15:44:24 Certainly one of the dirtiest areas in the city needs cleaning, especially one which imperils the river so directly. But to slate it for habitation seems questionable. What a great place for a drive-in theater! Also, cities seem to think that if they give away property to developers that somehow they will take in revenue in the future. Look at Exemplar. The War on Poverty took that land from the folks who had been there. The War on the Poor sold the 10.8 acres of prime land to sharpies for, as I recall, $65,000. A bargain to sharpies, but look at it now. Again a desolate polluted site. Here's an accounting of some sale history of one of the involved Water Project properties: 1948 - $0.00 1967 - $10,000 1986 - $151,000 2004 - $707,333 (at which time the SEV was $125,000). Now perhaps the city can sell it to the developer for the $200,000-something first payment on the debt. To make matters look worse, the former owner of that property was involved in at least one other property in the area which has this history of recent sale: 1997 - $91,000 2004 - $1,414,667 (SEV $93,000) Some people laugh all the way to the bank. The rest of us pay taxes and drive on bumpy roads.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-07 15:48:20 Oh, I love the idea of a riverside drive-in theater! That would be fun. Plus paving is one way to do containment, if I'm not mistaken. Thank you for the information raymond. Is it correct that the SEV is usually 1/3 of the retail value of a property? Pretty nice little appreciation on that second property--good Lord.* * * * * * * * * * * * raymond - 2004-09-07 15:52:00 SEV is 50% of market value.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-07 15:53:20 thank you, raymond. those figures you posted are something else--phew.* * * * * * * * * * * * Ypsidweller - 2004-09-07 15:57:40 Maybe the Leforge dam will collapse and wash all the shit to Bellville. The developers at the old paperMill site have already damaged the dam. Go check it out. Nice crack now. I bet they didn't tell anyone either. Notice how they stopped tearing shit down by the corner after the crack appeared two weeks ago.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-07 16:00:30 That is very observant, Ypsidweller--I hadn't noticed that but haven't been down there lately since my route goes by the stadium, not down Huron. I will have to look at it; thank you for the tip.* * * * * * * * * * * * YD - 2004-09-07 16:03:03 Maybe they can turn Water Street into a marina.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-07 16:07:22 That would be better than having babies, &c. crawling around there...article said they'd make fewer residential dwellings, but--the people who live there will still live there, and it sounds nastier than I'd imagined, the pcbs particularly.* * * * * * * * * * * * yd - 2004-09-07 16:09:50 Lets start a milleage for an Ypsi contiguous parks system. The Sludgebelt. Or we can start a traveling carnival act with our three-headed babies.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-07 16:11:06 well, there's nothing funny about the subject, but I had to laugh at "The Sludgebelt." :)* * * * * * * * * * * * yd - 2004-09-07 16:16:13 The problem with government is that they get an idea and run with it and no one can stop it no matter how stupid it is.* * * * * * * * * * * * yd - 2004-09-07 16:20:37 Or they can have a "Survivor Ypsilanti" contest. Contestant can make black sludge huts and eat skunks roasted on old furniture wood they scavenge. Make clothing out of oily carpet and the immunity necklace can be an old bike tire.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-07 16:23:02 Again, grim subject matter, but I had to laugh--out loud this time. :)* * * * * * * * * * * * yd - 2004-09-07 16:27:32 Outwit, Outlast, outYpsi...* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-07 16:29:10 oh, that's funny. :)* * * * * * * * * * * * Eric * - 2004-09-07 16:53:07 Now that you mention it, what are the more pressing matters than Water Street or pathways?* * * * * * * * * * * * raymond - 2004-09-07 18:02:12 Water Street is only a metaphor. e.g.: Government conceptualizes a future. Government buys wrong intelligence. Government invades territory of interest. Government pays off the warlords. Government bankrupts the treasury by transferring cash to banks and developers. Government borrows money so that the citizens of the future will be enslaved by the corporate interests which take over the functions of government. Costs rise. Wages drop. Government buys new intelligence. Government starts a new invasion. Battles for expansion are good for the economy. Invest your children.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-07 18:24:50 That's actually a very good question, Eric *--one that deserves its own post; just made one.* * * * * * * * * * * * Brett - 2004-09-18 20:31:41 hello, and sorry to be joining this thread so late that probably nobody will be rereading it to see my comment, but when i read ypsidweller's statement about peninsular dam being cracked i ran down there with my camera like a bat out of hell. Despite the obvious ironic humor of 'water street' turning into 'watery street', I did NOT see any signs of damage to the dam face, beyond some minor irregularities in water flow which could just be algae or detritus build-up. If anyone could point me to the precise location of the crack, I will be forever grateful.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-18 21:26:03 Brett, may I have your permission to re-post your comment so that people will see it and respond? Nice to see you hanging around. I treasure my bag of flower petals.* * * * * * * * * * * * Brett - 2004-09-19 17:34:10 repost away; I'm personally not convinced one way or the other, but as I'm sure you realize I'd like to be certain, Considering the implications. Also, just so you can't say I never gave you anything but flower petals, here's a nice excerpt from Harvey Colburn's "Story of Ypsilanti" for your readers to contemplate (my text recognition software apologizes for any typos): "The spring of 1918 was marked by a disastrous flood that inundated the low-lying portion of Ypsilanti and wrought great destruction to dams and bridges in the city and its vicinity. The cause was a sudden deluge of rain that raised to the flood stage the river which had not yet carried off he great surplus of water from the melting of. ice and snow. the Superior Dam a short distance up the river used by the Edison Light and Power Company, gave way at four o'clock in the morning of March 14, and a wall of water, three or four feet in height, swept down the stream. The Peninsular dam used by the Paper Company and built only two years previously was soon swept away, as was also the bridge spanning the stream just below it. The lower terrace of the river was filled with a rushing flood. The Forest Avenue bridge was damaged, and at Michigan Avenue the flood swept over the east end of the bridge while buildings in the vicinity were inundated. Down the stream, residents of the flats were warned of their danger and escaped from their homes with the exception of two families who were taken off by boats during the forenoon. The driver of a milk wagon, attempting to traverse Race Street at an early hour, was caught by the flood. He succeeded in loosening his team of mules, but was himself carried some distance down stream before gaining a refuge and dragging himself from the grip of the current." end quote. * * * * * * * * * * * * brett - 2004-09-19 23:12:51 well, nobody's listening, so I'll have to comment myself. "Huzzah for the milkman," I say! May the future condominium owners be so sprightly as to save themselves AND their mules!* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-20 01:31:56 I'm listening--raptly, in fact, to this gripping historical story and wonder if you'll allow me to repost it, too. The book is on my list--just the latest in an unending string of great tips from readers; thanks Brett.* * * * * * * * * * * * brett - 2004-09-20 11:16:22 ypsidixit, you're too damn polite. Of course if I post something on your comment section I don't mind it being reposted elsewhere- it's already public. Now, if you ever break into my apartment and get into the tub of my poetry journals from when I was 14 years old, I would appreciate your asking first before publication. Just for future reference. * * * * * * * * * * * * add your comment: |