MARCH 2004

a time for a change
in detroit
BY CHALDEAN NEWS STAFF
It is a time for new beginnings and a time finding volunteers to reduce distasteful signage in
to build better relationships. That was front of the stores. An example of unacceptable
the theme at the Chaldean American signage is having three signs on a store to convey
Chamber of Commerce networking meeting
held at the Southfield Manor last month.
Following Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s recent
Party Store Initiative to crack
down on liquor stores, the
Chamber, along with the
that liquor, wine and beer are sold there.
Last month, a new ordinance took effect limiting
the number and size of signs posted on stores in
the City of Detroit. The City plans to enforce that
signage ordinance fully. Members
of the Chaldean community communicated
Associated Food Dealers
more than once to the
(AFD), invited the Mayor to
speak at the first quarterly networking
meeting of 2004.
It was standing-room only in
the main banquet hall, where
hundreds of storeowners listened
to a presentation by Mike
Sarafa, president of the AFD,
along with a rebuttal from the
Mayor Kilpatrick
Mayor that they felt targeted and
signaled out. To storeowners, it
seemed more than a coincidence
that the City was going after independent
stores that happened to
be owned by Chaldeans. In fact,
Chaldeans own 90 percent of the
independent liquor and beer
stores in Detroit.
Mayor. Storeowners also participated in a question-and-answer
“Our feelings are hurt, Mr. Mayor,” said
session.
emcee Martin Manna representing the
Mayor Kilpatrick sat calmly at the head table
next to members of his staff while Sarafa cited a
litany of complaints from storeowners regarding
harassment by police officers, including receiving
citations for trivial matters, such as opened
bottles of ketchup and water being consumed by
the storeowners and not being sold in the stores.
Before backing up the complaints with a
formal presentation, Sarafa stated publicly to
the Mayor that the Chaldean community is
predisposed to being his friend, and that for 50
years, the City of Detroit has been dominated
by independent stores. Chaldeans alone, he
continued, are contributing more than $10
million of new store construction in Detroit.
“We believe that having a clean store and a
properly signed store is just good business,” said
Sarafa. He went a step further and told the Mayor
that the AFD will collaborate with his staff in
Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce.
“Chaldeans are providing a service and have
been for more than 40 years in the city, yet we
don’t receive tax abatements like the large
chains, we don’t get free property like the large
stores and we are harassed and bullied. However,
this is a new beginning, Mr. Mayor. I am a solider
for you as long as members of our community
are respected and made a part of the team.”
The Mayor talked about his own experiences
as a child who grew up in Detroit, and said it
looks like the same dilapidated City as it did
when he was a kid. That is why he is focused on
changing it from the inside out. “This is personal,”
he said. “This is a spiritual movement. We
want to get the illegal activity out of the City.”
He said he does not believe that bringing in
big business and entertainment will change the
City, but changing the climate within the
neighborhoods will alter the environment.
Cracking down on illegal activity in the stores
is part of his mission to clean up Detroit.
The Mayor acknowledged that the majority
of storeowners are hardworking, law-abiding
citizens trying to make an honest living. He
apologized for anything the Chaldean community
believes he did to offend them. In addition,
he agreed the campaign should have been discussed
with the Chaldean American Chamber,
the AFD and storeowners before he went public
during a press conference. However, he
wanted to know who will apologize for the illegal
activity going on at stores where alcohol
and tobacco are being sold to minors and drug
paraphernalia is on the shelves.
Sarafa said storeowners agree that illegal
activity needs to be dealt with by law enforcement,
but issues go beyond selling liquor and
tobacco to minors.
Among other issues brought to the table,
Chaldeans were concerned about visits from
police officers who spent 20 minutes to an
hour in their stores inspecting every shelf for
outdated food. They brought up the issue of
carts being stolen and how storeowners are
being cited for gated barriers where carts are
being held to prevent theft. They are also concerned
about store signage - not just signs that
display their store names, but also signs that
entice customers with sales of items.
Storeowners have also been cited for drug
activity and open containers outside of their
stores. Although these incidences are out of
their control, they are being ticketed because
the activities are occurring on their property.
And, while some storeowners have been visited
by groups of officers looking to see if they
are abiding by the law, response time by officers
when a crime has taken place in the stores
remains to be a problem.
The meeting at the Southfield Manor was just
the beginning of what will be an ongoing dialogue
between the Chaldean community and the City
of Detroit. Problems may not have been solved in
one night, but the issues were placed on the table
and now there is work to be done. Fortunately,
both sides were geared to change the climate in
Detroit and seemed committed to building a better
relationship with each other.
28 CHALDEAN NEWS MARCH 2004