Detroit thread. Post Kwame, Monica, and $1 houses here.

[KRonn]

I didn't realize the bankruptcy was still under discussion. I thought it was already a done deal.

[Savonarola]

I didn't realize the bankruptcy was still under discussion. I thought it was already a done deal.

It's before the judge right now.  Every major player, except FGIC, has signed off on the "Grand Bargain"; but Judge Rhodes still must decide if the plans are feasible.

[KRonn]

Good luck to Detroit. It seems their only way out now is bankruptcy, and I hope they have a reasonably solid plan for rebuilding the city.

[MadImmortalMan]

Well, a plan for limping sadly into a desolate existence. Rebuilding would be far too much to ask in this case, I think.

[KRonn]

Agreed, they do have a long way to go to rebuild. At this point they're just trying to regain some kind of solvency, trying to survive.

[Savonarola]

Life during bankruptcy:

Makeshift fire hydrant keeps downtown café percolating



A downtown Detroit coffeehouse and an adjoining jewelry store get all their water from a system of plastic pipe and garden hoses attached to a nearby fireplug with duct tape and towels.

The jerry-rigging, though, isn't the work of the business owners trying to get free water.

The city's Water and Sewerage Department hooked it up several months ago.

The makeshift water service is the only way that Chris Jaszczak, 66, owner of 1515 Broadway, is able to serve coffee to his customers. All water served is boiled first, and customers aren't offered tap water.

It's just one more example of a city immersed in bankruptcy making do with imaginative fixes, like using tires to plug utility manholes whose covers have been stolen. Or firefighters using pop cans hooked up to fax machines as emergency alerts.

The fireplug service is a temporary fix while the DWSD figures out how workers can safely make water repairs to the water line in the alley behind the two businesses along Broadway, a stone's throw from Comerica Park.

Crews need to dig to the water main to fix a leak. But two neighboring tall buildings, the Wurlitzer and Metropolitan, crumbling from decades of neglect, are too threatening.

The worry is that vibration from heavy equipment needed to make the repairs in the alley will jar loose bricks and other debris on the two buildings, bringing it down on workers.

Jaszczak said pieces of the Wurlitzer building on the south side of his business — and his upstairs home — fall on the property every day. His residential loft has numerous buckets and tarps to catch rain.

"I mean, this is embarrassing," he said, showing the Free Press the extent of his rain-catching setup, with a tarp even on his son's bed.

He said it's a problem that's only getting worse. But with winter coming, there's an urgency for the city to fix the water main before the ground and hoses freeze.

DWSD spokesman Greg Eno said it will cost about $100,000 to have the buildings in the alley secured with netting and scaffolding. There's been uncertainty about who will pay, but he said the city is likely to foot the bill.

Daphne and Paul Curtis, previously reported as the owners of the Wurlitzer building, didn't immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

On the roof of Jaszczak's building, he's used fallen bricks and tarp to cover a large hole left a few years ago when a piece of the Wurlitzer fell from the top of the 13-story building, smashing through his second-story roof and onto his floor. On the roof, pieces of brick, mortar and broken glass are scattered across the vinyl liner; in many places, falling bricks have gouged holes.

Jaszczak said the roof liner was installed 13 years ago and shouldn't be leaking like it is.

In the back alley, where garden hoses are tapped into the fireplug, high-level parts of the Wurlitzer are bowed out precariously, stacks of bricks visible from the ground, waiting to fall.

Dan Martinez, co-operator of the café, advised a Free Press reporter to wear a helmet when walking in the alley behind the business.

"I don't even walk back there," he said.

The fireplug setup has been in place since shortly after the Fourth of July, when the water was abruptly shut off because a leak was detected at a neighboring business.

Jaszczak, forced to improvise to accommodate the holiday traffic to his business as the Tigers were playing at Comerica Park, hauled buckets of water from the nearby Detroit Beer Company.

"I had to carry the buckets up two flights of stairs just so I could wash the dishes," he said.

This ain't no party, this ain't no disco, this ain't no fooling around.

This is near the northern edge of Detroit's downtown; right across from the Opera House and a couple blocks away from the Greektown Casino. 

At one time the Wurlitzer Building was a nine story music store; but it's been abandoned for 30 years.

[garbon]

Wow.

[derspiess]

The jerry-rigging,

[The Brain]

Why is America broken?

[garbon]

Why is America broken?

Broken? I'll show you broken. I'll break your face.

[CountDeMoney]

Wow.

Why not use fire hydrants.  Fire Department is too broke to respond anyway.

[garbon]

Wow.

Why not use fire hydrants.  Fire Department is too broke to respond anyway.

Not that they shouldn't. Just so sad.

[The Brain]

Why is America broken?

Broken? I'll show you broken. I'll break your face.

Why? Bad bitches like me is hard to come by.

[garbon]

Why is America broken?

Broken? I'll show you broken. I'll break your face.

Why? Bad bitches like me is hard to come by.

You a trick ass bitch. Your shit be ratchet.

[Syt]

http://www.thelocal.at/20141008/austrian-wants-to-swap-detroit-home-for-iphone

Austrian wants to swap Detroit home for iPhone

An Austrian man who bought a house in the bankrupt US city Detroit has said he is willing to trade his property for an iPhone 6 after failing to sell it.

Real estate broker Larry Else represents the homeowner and confirmed to local news station Fox 2 that the listing on real estate website Zillow is genuine.

"My client is overseas and he told me he would be willing to trade the property for an iPhone 6. It sounds to me like he wants the iPhone 6+ version, but I think he's willing to negotiate."

The homeowner would also consider a 32 gigabyte iPad, or he might be willing to sell for $3,000 (€2,370).

The listing refers to the house as an "investor special," but fails to mention that the owner owes $6,160 in property taxes and the house itself is very run down, with no front door and broken windows.

In a conversation with The Huffington Post, Else acknowledged the home "needs major renovations."

The broker said that his client lives in Austria and bought the house in 2010 for $41,000, probably believing that it would be a good investment as a rental property.

Since the Fox 2 story aired on Monday, Else said he's had three offers: one for an iPhone 5, one for $700, and one for $850.