Hamtramck Star

The City of Hamtramck is excited to announce that the City was recently awarded a grant by the State of Michigan to fund a city-wide “Walkability Audit.”

The “Walkability Audit” will be conducted by internationally renowned expert Dan Burden, and will consist of an “on the street assessment” of the City’s current environment relating to pedestrian and bicycle access, intersection and roadway design, and overall “walkability.”. The audit will be followed up with a presentation by Mr. Burden, which will highlight the current conditions throughout the City, and provide creative recommendations for immediate, short term, and long term changes that can be made to improve walkability throughout the City.

Any community member interested in the future of the City of Hamtramck is encouraged to attend.

Hamtramck Walkability Audit Agenda

Thursday, July 16, 2009

3:00 PM – 5:00 PM Audit and Walking Tour of the City

Hamtramck City Hall

3401 Evaline, Hamtramck MI 48212

6:30 PM – 8:30 PM Presentation

Council Chambers

2nd Floor

Hamtramck City Hall

3401 Evaline, Hamtramck, MI 48212

Hamtramck never ceases to amaze me with it's diversity and abundance of interesting, inexpensive, high-quality food. Right in our neighborhood, for sale are big bags of whole cardamom pods, locally smoked turkey, $60 tins of caviar, bulk pickled herring, vimto, kefir, and sweet paan.

A neighbor is always cooking, baking, boiling, smoking, or grilling some awesome-smelling home-cooked meal. I've seen neighbors from various parts of the world roasting whole goats in their yards, smoking huge cuts of pork, or drinking tea on the sidewalk.

A trip down any alley exposes our city as avid gardeners. Bushels of squash, greens, peas, herbs, and tomatoes are hauled from our tiny back yards every summer. Seeds from almost every part of the world are grown in Hamtramck soil, the same soil tilled by German immigrants until the industrial revolution.

All this great access to food demands it's own publication. We're calling ours Hamtramck Food: Journal of the First Monday Club. So far contributors are Hillary and our neighbors Barb and Tim, all members of the First Monday Club, which was created to celebrate, discuss, and promote Hamtramck food.

You can visit the new weblog here: http://food.hamtramckstar.com.

On the sidebar here, below the recent comments, are links to Hamtramck Food posts, family recipes, fermentation experiments, and garden updates. You'll also find photos and accounts of The First Monday Club's visits to area restaurants.

We welcome and encourage readers to contribute. Send your submission, with a photo if you like, to food@hamtramckstar.com

Extra points for using locally obtained ingredients. Perfect English is not a necessity. We would really love to be joined by people who specialize in cooking some of the more exotic ingredients at the local stores.

I happened to be at a meeting tonight where Mercedes Fitzsimmons announced that she and Greg Kirchner plan to hold a meeting at the Hamtramck Public Library, Monday, June 29, at 7 p.m. for the purpose of discussing a public candidate forum.

Whether you are new to the city or just looking for new ways to get involved, I really hope you will join this committee. This has all the makings of being a true Hamtramck experience, and you couldn't ask for better people to work with.

The Hamtramck Police Department will hold their annual public auction of recovered property (Bikes, mowers, snow blowers, etc) on June 27th at noon in front of City Hall.

They have approximately 50 bikes this year. Cash payments only, all merchandise sold as is.

Tuesday night, Hamtramck City Council will vote on a resolution authorizing a contract for the purchase $48,550 of video surveillance equipment by the Downtown Development Authority.

According to the resolution, ADT will provide four cameras. Three "to be placed along Jos. Campau between Holbrook and Caniff and one camera to be placed above 'Shoppers World' parking lot." The DDA is asking for $19,000 from the city and "$29,550 - $28,550 will be financed".

Video surveillance might seem like a good idea but all major studies show it doesn't reduce crime. Independent analyses of crime data in the UK, where surveillance systems are prevalent, show that "video surveillance has no statistically significant impact on crime". The preliminary US studies indicate "video surveillance system in the US little to no positive impact on crime".

So how is this a good idea? If we did a cost-benefit analysis on purchasing $48,550 of video surveillance equipment, based on the studies, we would not benefit in reduction of crime. In short, it's a waste of money.

Both the 2002 Welsh & Farrington study and the 2005 Gill & Spriggs study found that video surveillance appears to push crime 200-500 feet away from the cameras while the overall crime rate is unaffected. This is the unintended side effect, "pushing" crime away from the cameras and into the adjacent neighborhoods.

There are better ideas. The Department of Justice "best practices" to reduce crime are for more police patrols, more community policing, neighborhood watch, and improved communication between citizens and the police department.

Why not spend the $48,550 to police the DDA area on foot and bicycle patrols? Both are community policing and would make people feel safer in the district.

I think if we measured cost-benefit on both plans we'd find that the Department of Justice best practices would do more to reduce crime in Hamtramck than video surveillance.

There's also the issue of protecting our civil liberties. In February 2009, Cambridge, Massachusetts city council voted 9-0 against installing a video surveillance system with a $4.6M grant from the Department of Homeland Security. Marjorie Decker, a Cambridge city councilor, said, "Because of the slow erosion of our civil liberties since 9/11, it is important to raise questions regarding these cameras,”.

It is not advisable, necessary, or in the public interest to finance a video surveillance system for the DDA district. There are more effective ways to combat crime. Let's use our heads here and not jump on the surveillance bandwagon.

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American Civil Liberties Union: EXPERT FINDINGS ON SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS

Welsh, Brandon C. and Farrington, David P., “Evidence-based Crime Prevention: the Effectiveness of CCTV.” Crime Prevention and Community Safety: An International Journal 2004, 6(2) 21-33.

Gill and Spriggs, “Assessing the Impact of CCTV.” (2005) Home Office Study. I relied primarily on Chapter 3: “Does CCTV Work: Its Impact on Crime and the Fear of Crime” for this section.

WCVB | City's Move To Nix Security Cams May Cost Thousands

PRELIMINARY MATTERS

1. Call to order
2. Roll call
3. Pledge of allegiance to the flag
4. Proclamations/presentations/recognitions
a. Human Relations Commission presentation

5.Public comments concerning agenda items

SECTION I: PUBLIC HEARINGS

1. AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE WASTEWATER SECTION OF THE HAMTRAMCK CITY CODE. Sections of the code are amended to conform to existing environmental rules and regulations required by DWSD, MDEQ and the EPA.

2. AN ORDINANCE REGULATING CROSS CONNECTIONS WITH THE PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM. The ordinance is required to conform to rules and regulations of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

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Originally published on 08/14/08.

Many people seem to be digging their bikes out of the garage these days as bicycling advice is one of the things we're e-mailed about most frequently. The following are some general bicycling tips for Detroit and Hamtramck that I've been sending in response to those inquiries. What else should be added to this list?

• Seriously consider getting Kevlar tires and decent rims. We've had a number of flats from broken glass and potholes.
• Never trust that a manhole cover, storm sewer grate, or other metal object will be there.
• Consider getting a canister of FOX 5.3 personal defense spray from Metropolitan Uniform in Detroit and a bike mount for it. Maybe this is an East side problem, but we've been chased by dogs a few times.
• People are generally very nice, and as long as you keep moving, there isn't really time for harassment.
• SMART buses have bike racks; last I heard, DDOT buses do not.
• Bridges and viaducts crossing expressways and railroad tracks are the keys to planning routes.
• Residential streets are my favorite roads, mostly because the intersections with major streets are the simplest to navigate. (Helen Street between Hamtramck and Belle Isle, for example.)
• Roads that are wide and underutilized, one way streets, and boulevards are my next favorites. Industrial areas are also good places to look.
• Sometimes it makes sense to use crosswalks at large or confusing intersections.
• A strap to hold your pant leg out of the chain might be a good idea. Wearing a helmet would probably be smart too, though I have to admit that I don't. Long rides require a comfortable seat. Sunscreen is something else to consider. (The backs of hands get far more sunlight than the ends of fingers, which can be sort of odd looking.)
• The wind always seems to be coming from the Detroit River.
• Our average speed on vintage bikes is about 10MPH. My husband rides a mountain bike to work slightly faster while wearing a 5 lb backpack. I have read that other types of bicycles can reach speeds of 20 to 25 MPH.
• In Hamtramck, the alleys are often the best way to get through the neighborhoods.
• Register your bike with the Hamtramck city clerk's office so that the serial number is on record. (You'll need the serial number, make, model, a decription of the bike, and $1 to complete the registration.)
• Baskets are great for grocery shopping and can be ordered from The Hub on Cass.

We decided to take a bike ride to Palmer Park yesterday,

Many people were using the park, exercising and picnicking. The houses are enormous with well kept grounds.

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I heard from a very reliable source that an announcement was made yesterday at the Hamtramck Post Office. USPS is planning to close the Hamtramck office and will shift all operations to the center on Dequindre.

Our neighbor has been working hard on his art show, repainting the rockets and rearranging the pinwheels. Genie's Wienies is becoming Hamtramck EASTERN Cafe.

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