Mayor Dave Bing launches Detroit Works Project in speech from mayor's office

DETROIT (WXYZ) - Detroit Mayor Dave Bing has addressed the city, asking all Detroiters to attend one of a series of public meetings about the future of the city.

In an speech from his office in the Coleman A. Young Center, Bing made the following remarks:

Good Evening. I am addressing you to ask for your help as Detroit embarks on what I consider the greatest challenge of our time.

My administration is in the initial stages of a process that will redefine the landscape of our city. Detroit’s 140 square miles, much of it vacant or underutilized, is considered by many the largest obstacle facing a city that must become safer, more efficient and more attractive to employers and residents at a time of declining population and financial resources.

We will face this challenge head-on but we need your help and the help of everyone who cares about our city to participate in this process.

I am asking all Detroiters to attend one of a series of public meetings bringing not just your concerns for today, but also your best ideas for the future of our city.

I want to make one thing perfectly clear: We do not come to this process with a pre-determined outcome. What we do have is data and many ideas along with the common sense recognition that we must change because we all deserve better.

This process won’t be easy, but it is something we must do. Detroit–It’s time to do what we do best…work together. And that is why we have named this initiative the Detroit Works Project.

Together we can create a future for this city that will last for generations. During this 12-18 month process, we will also continue working hard to address the concerns you face today, knocking down the dangerous vacant building on your block, doing everything in our power to continue the steady stream of employers reinvesting in our city and increasing the gains made in public safety over the last 12 months.

Detroit is a story of one of the great American cities. It is a story that shows how this town took adversity and turned it into opportunity. It is filled with stories of individuals who stepped forward during a time of great need to think differently about our problems and create remarkable solutions.

This is our time. And I hope you will join me in this effort.

Working together…will make Detroit, a city that works.

Those public meetings have been scheduled for the following times and places:

• Tuesday, September 14 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Greater Grace Temple
• Thursday, September 16 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the American Serbian Memorial Hall on Van Dyke
• Saturday, September 18 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Whittier Manor
• Tuesday, September 21 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m at El Kiosko Banquet Hall on Dix
• Wednesday, September 22 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History