DETROIT – Alfred Brush Ford Park, a beloved community space for families, is now closed due to contamination concerns, leaving a void in the hearts of local residents and environmental activists.
The site urgently requires a cleanup, but a complex and contentious legal battle is now unfolding over the method and responsibility of this crucial task.
AB Ford Park has seen better days, but this is what it will look like once construction wraps up in the spring of 2025.
“When I first saw it, I was so happy I didn’t know what to say,” said James Foster.
Foster has lived in his Jefferson Chalmers home nearby the park since 1986.
He’s got good memories there and can’t wait to make more.
“The water and the park I’ve loved it the whole time, and then the landscaping, put new trees over there, put in the beach area for the kids, what’s not to like,” Foster said.
The $9 million project has come with concern; beneath the tarp, in the area blocked off from the public, is contaminated soil.
A group of residents filed a lawsuit and asked a judge to stop the project until they learned more about the city’s remediation plan.
The emergency motion was denied.
Attorney Lisa Walinske with the Detroit East Community Law Center says they’re in the discovery process, asking questions and reviewing documents about the project.
“The lawsuit did cause a minor delay with implementation. However, the impact on the timeline is not detrimental to the completion of the project.”
Crystal Perkins, City of Detroit General Services Department
