DETROIT, Michigan (PNN) - April 30, 2013 - A new push is being made by corporations and banks in Detroit to drive even more working class, poor and nationally oppressed people out of the city. This is being illustrated by recent developments in the downtown area and its environs where low-income people are being forced to move from several apartment buildings.

In the Cass Corridor, a heavily depressed area that has been neglected by the city government and the business magnates for years is now the apparent focus for the construction of a new sports stadium. The owners of the Detroit Red Wings may be attempting to take control of sections of the Corridor in order to either gentrify the district or engage in developments that will not benefit the interests of the current residents.

Residents in three apartment buildings on Henry Street between Cass and Second Avenues received a handwritten notice on April 20 saying they had to move out within thirty days. Another document, which appeared to be a “Notice to Quit,” was also handed over to the residents.

However, neither of these documents appeared to be validated by 36th District Court, where Landlord-Tenant matters are handled. Since the tenants are mostly senior citizens, single parents, people living with disabilities, and marginalized workers, the supposedly new owners, who have not come forward to publicly claim responsibility for the illegal attempts to evict, think they can get away with these blatant acts of disregard for hundreds of people.

Altogether there are over 200 apartment units being targeted that spread out between the three buildings. Some of the residents have lived in these buildings for over thirty years.
The situation in the Cass Corridor is being replicated throughout the central city area. Two other large apartments downtown are also being taken over by new ownership where the residents, who are Section 8 renters, are being ordered to move.