Detroit woman still waiting for derelict houses to be demolished

By Amy Lange
FOX 2 News Reporter

DETROIT -- Summer has turned to fall and still the view from Donna Randle's front porch remains the same.  Every house around her is abandoned, overgrown, and shells of what they once were.  Inside are remnants of lives they once sheltered.

And then there is Randle, wistful and longing for the beautiful street that Syracuse once was.

"I am totally disgusted," she told us.

We first met Randle back in August.  After years of trying to get the derelict properties torn down, she had finally resorted to calling us.  A spokesperson for the mayor's office agreed it was an emergency.  We were told demolition would begin in seven to ten days.

Randle even spoke with the city's director of demolition.

"This is going to be taken care of.  We're not going to eat until this is done.  You are top of the list.  They keep telling me about this list.  Where in the heck is this list?  And nothing is happening."

Randle was even forced to spend $100 of her own money to hire somebody to board up the house next door.

"Halloween is coming up, and I'm concerned that they would set this house on fire again.  It's been set on fire five times."

Looking out at the piles of garbage and the derelict properties, Randle sat and waited and waited and waited some more for the city to make good on its promises.

We contacted Nate Ford in the city's demolition department.  He assured us they are still getting the proper clearances and three homes will be demolished very soon.

"I have pushed as hard as I could and can to get those houses down," said Ford.

The city intends to tear down twelve houses in Randle's neighborhood, but it's a lengthy process meaning she will have to wait a little longer, although she is not sure how much longer she can really take.

"It's time to go," she said.