Detroiters express concerns about RenCen proposal

Well, tonight, the future of the Renstead and the Detroit Riverfront still in limbo before the Detroit City Council and Detroiters really have a lot to decide on and plenty to say as well. Oh, they have plenty. Amy Lang, they're not being quiet about this. Plenty to say. I just laughed. They're still in public comment. This has been going on all day. So the council's been listening to public comment for much of the day and many people are excited for the project for which Dan Gilbert is promising a $1 billion donation to a nonprofit to oversee the riverfront We need to have the dollars come back in in order for us to be a better city. And do not discourage what's being done downtown, okay? And that riverfront is going to be good not just for Detroit. And Metro Detroit is going to be good for the whole country. On the flip side, many Detroiters are concerned about the half a billion in taxpayer dollars Bedrock and General Motors want for the project. While Bedrock is promising more than $100 million in community benefits, many want more considering the public money that's needed to help fund this. And city council members want benefits to extend to the people in their districts, not just the riverfront. And Detroiters don't want other important public institutions to be shorted to fund Bedrock's project. When you do your assessments of these projects, you do not assess the consequences for our schools and libraries. The community money is being spent, and the community's priorities are not being met. Downtown has gotten the benefit from the whole city, but the whole city has not yet gotten the benefit from downtown. We need stronger language to make sure that the benefits they're already promising will actually come to fruition. We filed a lawsuit. And we're suing them right now. We have no vote at all. They're saying they're going to take the money and we're going to pay it. And that's it. And we're saying not so quick. Man, I'm telling you, it is a lot. And those folks are asking council to get more information before voting this out of committee to the full body. So it's still an influx. We're still in a little bit of limbo. I don't know how long this is going to go on. I mean, it's been going on all day. And so it's people who are showing up in person and the line extending into the hallway. And as people who are Calling in and want to address it, and they've had to limit the amount of time because there's just so many people who want to speak for and against city council and Bedrock have a decision to make based not just on what they would like, but what on the people would like. And if they're shouldering the responsibility through their own tax dollars, they have a huge right and a huge say in all of this. I mean, in a sense, right there, the next biggest investor, 100% as residents, they certainly are. Amy Lang, we'll keep on top of this one. Thank you for that.