By Joel Thurtell
By the time we got to Riverside Park a bit after six Friday afternoon, June 4, 2011, Matty’s fence was gone.
The metal poles that once supported it were still standing in a row parallel to the Ambassador Bridge, but the east end of Riverside Park, for years cordoned off by Matty’s thugs, now sits open to the public.
Dozens of cars were parked on streets near Riverside Park’s extension, and many people — to numerous to count — were playing softball or gawking at the fake “Homeland Security” designed by Matty to intimidate visitors to the park.
I saw an occasional Detroit police cruiser. I didn’t see any of Matty’s shotgun-totin’ goons.
For years, I’ve urged city officials to send city workers escorted by cops to tear down Matt’s fence and re-occupy the city’s park.
How amazing that a group of citizens could do the job peacefully.
Matty needs this parcel of city land to site his proposed new bridge to Canada.
In my opinion, Matty never seriously planned to complete a new span. It was only a bargaining chip in his myriad maneuvers to prevent a publicly-owned bridge from being built.
For years, Matty occupied the city land, defying Detroit’s legal attempts to dislodge him.
Now the fence and the fake signs are gone. Riverside is a public park entirely, once again.
Matty’s sham possession is obvious.
What’re ya gonna do now, Matty? Put up another fence?
I counted three TV trucks at Riverside Park.
This time, a lot of people will be watching the west side of Matty’s bridge.
Congratulations to Bridge Watch Detroit and Joe Rashid and the hundreds of volunteers who took down Matty’s blight.
Now that we’ve got the people’s park back and Mattie’s fence down, as someone said this week, Let’s get The People’s Bridge up!
Yes, indeed it was great for the people of this City to take back our Riverside Park!!! However, the justice work of “people of this City” is never done when it comes to protecting our own interests, our assets and our rights because Moroun/DIBC still has our public-right-a-way closed and occupying our public street, West Jefferson with 2 sets of giant padlocked chain link gates and concrete barriers blocking us from driving on our west riverside drive…REOPEN WEST JEFFERSON NOW!
Oh, let’s not forget that Moroun/DIBC also has 23rd Street closed between West Fort St. & the I-75 Service Drive…He occupies this street as though it were his own land and has even built over it ILLEGALLY, WITHOUT CITY PERMISSION……….DO WE LIVE IN THE WILD, WILD WEST in Southwest Detroit? I think not however, you would not know this if you watched Moroun/DIBC over the past 30+ years take whatever he wants, even public streets & park land. If the City of Detroit is going to allow Moroun/DIBC to own 23rd Street then shouldn’t that street come with a HIGH PRICE TAG? I say this public street of 23rd is extremely valuable land and it is worth MILLIONS to the Citizens of Detroit! PAY UP MOROUN/DIBC…..Where is the City of Detroit Leadership on this???? Why are the Citizens of Detroit NOT being represented when our public land is stolen????????????????????????