Clean & Safe

Public Space Maintenance Program

New Center Council manages a year-round litter abatement program which covers all roads and sidewalks in New Center including the Lodge Freeway embankment.  It also includes light pole and utility box painting, graffiti removal and other special public space maintenance tasks.  This program also involves purchasing and maintaining the requisite equipment and the direct hiring and management of staff.

In addition to the services provided by our in-house team, Torre & Bruglio landscape services performs services, including, but not limited to grass cutting, flower bed installation and maintenance, weed control, tree care, and irrigation services.  They also provide site maintenance services for the annual Comerica CityFest.

New Center Flowerbed Program

The New Center Council Flower Bed Sponsorship program was developed to offset the cost of planting, fertilizing, weeding and maintaining the 25,000 flowers planted in New Center each year.  Through program sponsorship, the Council is able to produce an outstanding flowerbed program, beginning mid May and ending mid October.  The Council works with landscape contractor, Torre & Bruglio, to insure a well-designed floral display to complement the formal architecture of the area’s buildings.

To promote the program and raise awareness of our sponsors (usually local businesses and community organizations) New Center Council installs a sign indicating the sponsor of each bed and prints the list of sponsors in New Center publications.  In total, twenty-three beds are available for sponsorship with a price range of $300-$1500.  New Center’s program has been used as a prototype for several similar programs in other City districts.

If you would like to participate in New Center Council’s Flowerbed Program, please contact the Council at 313.872.0188.
 

New Center Banner Program

New Center Council is responsible for the design, production, installation and maintenance of over 120 light-pole street banners along the major streets in New Center.

This process includes petitioning Detroit City Council for light pole approval annually, and working with our supplier, Banner Sign Company, Inc. to ensure we maintain the hardware and equipment used to hang the banners.

These banners serve to brand the neighborhood, create visual continuity throughout the district, and define our service area.  A new banner program (new design and complete replacement) is implemented approximately every 3-5 years.  The current program was installed in May of 2003.

 

Holiday Lighting Program

The New Center Council Holiday Lighting Program is a comprehensive program installed by New Center Council Public Space Maintenance Staff, which includes lighting over 50 median trees on W. Grand Boulevard and 42 smaller trees on the sidewalks adjacent to the Fisher, Albert Kahn, New Center One and Cadillac Place buildings.

Performed for over 20 years by outside contractors, New Center Council’s staff began installing the entire New Center Holiday Lighting Program in 2003 and continues to do so.  Taking the program in-house has allowed us to significantly increase its scope and quality while reducing costs.

The New Center Council Public Space Maintenance Staff begins work in late August of each year, when the lights on each tree are tested to determine which lights need replacing.  Unlike most lighting contractors, we only replace the strands that are burnt out, but from time to time we are required to strip the lights from a given tree and start again.

The Council develops a work plan map, orders the lights and equipment (man lifts), and begins installing the lights early October.  The lighting display is completely installed by mid November and continues until the second week in January.
 

New Center Security Chiefs Program

New Center Council maintains a very close relationship with the Detroit Police Department Central Distict, private security companies of property owners, smaller businesses and neighborhood organizations through the New Center Council Security Chiefs Program.

 

Begun in 1989, this group of both private and public security professionals meets monthly to review crime in the area, discuss trends and share valuable information.  Just in the last two years, the Central District (formerly the 13th Precinct) has added an in-house County Prosecutor, who works solely on prosecuting crimes and property negligence in our district.  This coordinated effort results in a pro-active approach to preventing and solving crime.  The program has been so successful that police officials from the Central District have used New Center’s program as a model for other districts to encourage information exchange between law enforcement and the business community.

 

Through this partnership, we have been able to address numerous potential crime problems that, if gone unchecked, could have negatively impacted the New Center community for years to come.

 

New Center Council also maintains close contact with the City of Detroit Public Lighting Department for notification of street light malfunction.  Well-lit areas are natural deterrents to crime.  We also instituted a graffiti removal program in conjunction with our Public Space Maintenance program.  It is no secret that areas with unabated graffiti invite more illegal activity (and more graffiti) than areas kept graffiti free.