Detroit City Council members are trying to help Arizona Vaughn, the grandmother who rehabbed an abandoned property at 5210 Marlborough St., only to be rewarded with an eviction notice from the city.
Metro Times reported last month about Vaughn’s struggle to gain title to the house based on an agreement with a city official and orders from City Council (“Home runaround,” Metro Times, Jan. 29-Feb. 4). Now the council is demanding that the Law Department explain why it is trying to put Vaughn and her 5-year-old grandson, Charlie, out on the street.
Vaughn claims she’s spent $20,000 to fix up the house, which city inspectors listed as “open and dangerous” in 1993. Taxes on it are owed back to 1980. Vaughn took residence there in 1994. Despite orders from City Council, the Law Department, on behalf of the Planning and Development Department, is evicting Vaughn because she won’t or can’t pay the $4,500 sales price
“We said way back, ‘Give the house to her,’” says council President Maryann Mahaffey. “What we want to know from the Law Department is, why are they doing it? Why are they evicting her despite the agreement at the council table?”
We can only hope the council has better luck getting an answer than News Hits did. Law Department Director Ruth Carter did not return our calls seeking comment.
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