Some Ferndale Residents Concerned About Neighborhood Decline

Jillian Bogater has lived in Ferndale for nine years and lately she hasn't liked what she has been seeing in her neighborhood from her front window in the West 9 Mile Road and Pinecrest Drive area.

"The obscene amount of littering I can put up with. But the fights on my front lawn and rapid appearance of tagging on business buildings across the street from me are absolutely unacceptable," she said in a Ferndale Patch Local Voices post last week.

Bogater said her boyfriend has even attempted to clean up the nearby buildings by covering up some of the tags with paint.

"This is my neighborhood. I don't live in a trash can, and I hope my neighbors feel the same way," she said in the post. "I contacted both the Oak Park and Ferndale police departments to ask for increased patrols. I'm hoping my neighbors can pull together so we stand united against this unwanted change."

Some posted that they felt the same way as Bogater, while others said there is nothing wrong with their neighborhoods.

Kelly Cleaver believes that if visitors are permitted to park in front of Ferndale residents' homes, there needs to be increased patrols of those streets. 

"City visitors shouldn't be able to park in front of someone's home and throw their trash on someone's lawn as they drunkenly stagger back to their cars," she commented on the article.

Jason Piro commented on the Ferndale Patch Facebook Page that his experience is exactly the opposite.

"...Several of the most run-down homes on the block have been purchased and fixed up very nicely over the last few years. New neighbors are filling what were empty houses and doing a great job of taking care of their homes. I've been very happy to see the transformation," he posted.

Shirley McShane Sillars commented, "I've been here 13 years and the way I see it Ferndale has improved immensely, from the downtown to my surrounding neighborhood..."

What can be done?

Kristy DeFillippo suggested a tagging wall or showplace where people could paint graffiti, while Carey Gustafson said her neighbors have a Facebook page where they report any suspicious activity.

"When neighbors take extra ownership of their home and surroundings it really does make a difference!" Gustafson commented.

Kathryn Bruner James commented that residents should look into Clean the Ferndale Up, a community cleanup event that brings volunteers together to clean, repair, and improve public spaces or other areas that have been neglected, vandalized, or misused.

Nearly 100 residents participated in the first annual event last year. This year's event is scheduled for May 11.

"I hope Jillian and her neighborhood are experiencing a temporary, coincidental series of occurrences that will subside. But some neighborly collaboration sure can't hurt," James commented. "...Just think how amazing every single neighborhood would look if everyone pitched in at this event or if every block organized a similar neighborhood clean up."

Police response

Bogater contacted Ferndale Police about her concerns and said she has noticed increased patrols in the area since she reported it.

"Ferndale Police were extraordinarily helpful," she told Patch.

She also contacted the businesses that were vandalized. One business recently painted over the graffiti and the tagged billboard at Forest and Nine Mile was replaced after a couple of phone calls.

"I had called the company to let them know about the vandalism, and am encouraged to see they replaced the board so quickly," she said.

Ferndale Police Chief Tim Collins said patrolling neighborhoods is "part of what we do on a normal daily basis."

"We always encourage people that if they see something suspicious - or overt with a spray can - to call us," he said. "It's a major headache for everyone involved when somebody decides they want to go tag something."

The person who owns the property is responsible for cleaning up any graffiti, but they should still report it to police so officers can keep track of patterns and work to catch those involved.

"We not only want to catch them, we seriously enjoy catching people when they do stuff like that. We would like to be notified and take a report," he said.

Tagging is more common in the spring and summer, Collins said.

"As the weather starts to get better we will experience more of the tagging that goes on," he said.

Bogater has started a "9Crest" Facebook page to unite her neighborhood.