Dec 10 2008
Maroun’s Ambassador Bridge Park Grab: Joel Thurtell
Joel Thurtell is a former Detroit Free Press writer who currently blogs at the web site joelontheroad. Thurtell wrote the excellent piece that I linked to about the River Rouge in the current edition of the Detroit Metro Times. On his blog site, he has a beautifully pointed editorial related to Matty Maroun’s Riverside Park land grab underneath his privately-owned Ambassador Bridge. It’s worth a read:
So, on the U.S. side, Matty took over part of a public park, fencing it off, placing phony “Homeland Security” signs on the fences at the east end of Riverside Park, erasing basketball courts and trees and using the park space to store construction materials.
He did more than that: Back in October, his security chief, Jack Teatsorth, explained that the bridge company did Detroit a favor by padlocking the city’s Riverside Park, replacing city gates and hanging another of Matty’s bogus “Homeland Security” no trespassing signs on the fence. By court time Dec. 4, Matty’s people were denying they had anything to do with closing the boat ramp.
Full post:
http://joelontheroad.com/?p=1297
Glad to see you spread the word about a well-targeted crusade that’s gaining visibility, Mike.
Joel’s enterprising work put this issue on the radar of Detroit’s dailies and Metro Times, all of which covered a 36th District Court hearing last week on the city’s action to reclaim public land.
His newsmaking blog is a reminder that not all professional journalism appears in Old Media these days.