Most bargain-hunters missed out on the mother lode of good stuff at the City of Detroit’s garage sale held last weekend at Cobo Hall. There was plenty of junk on hand Saturday, when News Hits found piles of metal car and truck parts, huge tires, dilapidated lawnmowers, busted snow plows and street cleaners, and a trashcan full of old medical records. And we amended our behavior after reading black writing on a dusty $25 water fountain that stated, “No spitting in fountain.”
We also discovered that most of the serious loot — i.e. fur coats, new tires, lawn equipment and stereo systems, mostly nabbed from crooks, care of the cops — was sold on Friday night during the “Dignitary Preview Fundraiser,” where city officials got in for free to buy up the primo items.
Though that event was open to the public, with nearly 1,000 people purchasing $10 tickets, many in the media and the public were under the impression from early city press releases that the sale was to start at 10 a.m. Saturday.
The city raised $36,000 on the special Friday sale, which included big-screen TVs for $100, says City Treasurer Clarence Williams.
“Had I known, I would have rushed down last night,” says Yvonne Fennick of Highland Park. “I got here just a few minutes after 10 a.m., and they dare tell me the stuff was gone last night?” Easing her disappointment, Fennick was one of hundreds to leave with a computer for less than $30, and you can’t beat that.
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