Tree Work in Detroit? (or other hard-hit cities)

chris_girard

Treehouser
Joined
Jul 28, 2007
Messages
1,535
Location
Gilmanton, N.H.
I just got done watching one of the most depressing documentaries on the rise and decline of the "Motor City" Detroit. So many reasons that things went wrong there, but my question first is how do people do tree work in crime ridden neighborhoods? Do you lock everything up and have someone stand watch by your vehicle?

I'm sure that Kevin B. will be able to give some insights. FWIW, I am very proud of my original Rope Wrench that says Detroit on it and I sincerely hope that the City can recover.
 
ive had a few chainsaws stolen off the job. but honestly there is not a place in detroit i dont feel comfortable going too. the people are gold the most part. the last few years we have had a gig with the Detroit Land Bank which tries to maintain abandoned properties.75,000 plus. it puts us in the poorest of the poor neighborhoods. its very rewarding because we are very appreciated when we show up. people are very suprised when we do work on their block. the stories of getting shot or robbed are overblown. you do have to be carefull. dont leave shiny objects lying about, steer clear of large groups of kids and youll be fine. its a beautiful city with great people, homes, and trees. The downtown entertainment district is crazy now, i stay away from that madness. there are huge problems here, the city keeps hemoraging people. more beautiful homes are abndoned everyday. they keep closing schools and the people have beem stripped of the electoral process. the schools have been destroyed... its depressing to talk about. but after all that... I love my city.
 
you have to be more careful of theft in the nicer neighborhoods ive discovered. theives dont go to poor neighborhoods to steal. in the fancy parts of town, there are people who prey on contactors doing work on the houses during work hours. incredibly bold.
 
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/ne...t-abandoned-homes-volume-terrifying/27237787/

this gives you a sense of the tsunami we are dealing with. keeps on getting worse as well. my block alone has lost 4 families in the past year from forclosures and water cutoffs. very different from dangerous neighborhoods in chicago where people are piled on top of one another and angry. its very easy to avoid trouble in detroit because it is so vast and sparsely populated. it might not be easy to avoid large groups of kids in chicago, but in detroit, you always have an alternate route.
 
likewise, i figured since I am comfortable in Detroit, the same would be true in chicago. not so much. definitely had the feeling that I had nowhere to go and lots of people looking at me suspicious. There were no trees to speak of in that particular part of chicago though. Part of that is being in a strange place and not being oriented. I feel that if you spent time there and understood what corner to avoid and who is okay to talk to and who is not, you will be fine. My shop detroit sits between two rival Pharmacies. we lie right on the border between east side and west side. Both groups hate eachother and periodically show off their weaponry. firing shots in the air

both businesses are cool to us and every time I pass by they always ask if I have work for them. looking for an alternative. they keep an eye on my building and even the other day one of the dope boys came to my house down the street and notified me that there was a car accident in front of the building that had damaged my fence.

It really helps to know everyones name. treat people with respect and they treat you likewise. the one thing that does scare me though are large groups of bored 15 year olds. bad news wherever you are.
 
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Thanks for insights Kevin! I do suppose knowing people there helps.

I grew up in the hills of NH and never really knew anyone in the cities expect a few cousins. I do remember visiting them in the early 70's when there were an awful lot of heroin junkies on the streets, a lot of them just back from the War. Our parents always told us to stay away from them and off the streets, but of course we never did. Junkies never gave us a hard time, in fact they were pretty cool. Weren't a lot of gangs then either in the city that we visited. Of course, all that has changed.

A few years back, I was helping Mayer Tree Service out of Essex MA do some crane work in Lawrence MA. This is a horribly crime written city and I was told to stay with the truck until the police detail showed up and we had to shut down the road for the crane. Vehicles and gear were watched at all times on that job.
 
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Kevin, I really take my hat off to you for doing tree work in the Detroit area. Not so much for its dangerous neighborhoods (which we know are out there), but more so for sticking it out in an area that just seems to keep going downhill. You guys that keep doing business in the area are the future of city. We need more businesses that are willing to work there to make Detroit great again.

Just started reading this book from a Detroit author and I'm finding it fascinating.

https://www.amazon.com/Detroit-Amer...e=UTF8&qid=1482274151&sr=1-1&keywords=detroit
 
I just find 15 year olds in groups to be horrible people regardless. not necessarily gang related. Would stear clear of them in a mall in suburban Seattle as well.
 
Too many crows?!?! ;)



Pharmacies? Is that a typo or new jargon or what?

pharmacies are places that supply medications to those in need. Some of them are legitimate, others are not so legitimate and their drugs are usually not available at the CVS.
 
good question. It needs diversity. the robots have taken over manufacturing. I think that we need to as a whole start from scratch. Try a lot of different things. I have no answers. I think that we do have a lot of resources for innovation, but we have no skills. Detroiters have gotten so used to getting a decent wage for being button pushers in the factories that learning skills has not been emphasized at all. The kids now a days are dumber than ever. We really have to get people with skills. Shit I can't even find someone with a valid drivers license in the city.

There are some cool small businesses springing up but they are not going to make up 1300 jobs. That is 1300 more families that will end up not being able to pay their water bill or their property taxes and then they will end up losing their house and it will be destroyed within a few months of abandonment. Who knows where these people will go. There is only one movie theater in all of Detroit. There is not exactly a lot of restaurants and grocery stores.
 
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Many people say that Detroit is the poster child for what Liberal America has become, with many cities heading that way soon. I remember driving through Camden NJ and feeling like I was in a future wasteland of a city.
 
why liberal america? Detroit IS America. its the arsenal of america, what drives our country, the American dream, you work hard, get ahead, and own a big house with a yard. We MAKE stuff. Detroit is the best of capitalism and the worst of it all in one. And yeah I do believe that we are way ahead of the curve and other parts of america will soon be dealing with what Detroit has been dealing with for years. We are the model on which much of the rest of the country and the world was built. The assembly line, the model T all of that. There is no liberal or conservative to blame. For every union you point your finger at you could point to a greedy CEO or a tricky trade deal. The trick is finding a system to replace this faulty model with something that works for everyone.
 
Yes, I think it has to start with skills.

Good, honest jobs. Work with your hands and get dirty types of jobs. The College I went to only supplies about a quarter of the diesel mechanics that are asked of them every year.

There is a huge new plant that was built in the Big town to the south west of me. I think its like over 600 jobs now. Thats pretty huge for Montana.

They build things.

I would be nice if we could build things again.
 
that won't bring back Detroit. I think its a mistake to wish for a Detroit like the 50s. its not a reality.
 
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