Pubdate: Mon, 17 Oct 2005
Source: Lansing State Journal (MI)
Copyright: 2005 Lansing State Journal
Contact: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/contactus/newsroom/letter.html
Website: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/232
Author: Tom Lambert

RISE IN DRUG 'HOT SPOTS' ALARMS LANSING RESIDENTS

Deals Take Place In Open, Driving Some From Homes

Marjorie Seeman fled her Lansing neighborhood when the drug deals and 
constant noise got to be too much.

There was traffic by her house - at Lapeer and Sy-camore streets - at 
all hours of the night, she said. Screams from neighbors high on 
drugs filled the air. Prostitution took place a few yards from her home.

"It was terrible. I don't think I slept in the three years I lived 
there," said Seeman, 49, who lived in Lansing for 20 years before 
moving to Lansing Township earlier this year. "I got to a point where 
enough was enough. I had to leave."

While her departure may be a strong reaction, the problems she faced 
are not isolated, police say.

A disturbing number of drug deals are taking place in the open around 
a few "hot spots" in the city, they say.

It's the most they've seen in the past decade, and a recent double 
shooting at Chestnut and Lapeer streets is believe to be 
drug-related, prosecutors say.

"We have had a lot of complaints from residents about drug deals. we 
don't want to see a return to the late 1980s when drug dealing was 
rampant on the streets," Capt. Ray Hall said.

"We are fearful if we don't address the problem, that could happen. 
We've come too far to go back; we can't lose ground."

Economic Woes

Lt. Larry Klaus, who heads the undercover narcotics unit, said an 
unstable economy and the unavailability of treatment and educational 
programs are some of the reasons people are turning to drugs.

To battle those factors, the department is taking action.

For example, police are working with residents to halt through 
traffic on North Sycamore Avenue at West Saginaw Street to block drug 
buyers. The project is slated to go before the city's planning board Tuesday.

"People come off of Saginaw into that neighborhood at all hours of 
the day to buy drugs," Klaus said.

While Seeman left her neighborhood, others such as Ruth Hallman, who 
has lived on Lapeer Street for 46 years, refuse to leave.

Hallman, president of the Genesee Neighborhood Association, said she 
sees drug deals take place on almost a daily basis in her neighborhood.

"I will not give into the drug dealers," said Hallman, who is the 
mother of Lansing City Councilwoman Carol Wood. "I have been 
threatened over the years, and I tell them 'Make sure you do it the 
first time because you will never get a second chance.' "

Funding Challenges

Robin Reynolds, executive director of Mid-South Substance Abuse 
Commission, said it's becoming increasingly difficult to treat drug 
addictions because of inadequate funding. "We could use more money," she said.

The agency - which provides funding to drug treatment and prevention 
programs in 10 counties, including Ingham, Eaton and Clinton - 
receives about $80 million a year in funding.

Mid-South hasn't had an increase in funding in 17 years, Reynolds said.

"Every year we see an increase in the number of people who need to be 
treated, especially during this economic downtown," she said.

Lansing's Cristo Rey Community Center is one of the facilities 
receiving funds from Mid-South. A decade ago, the center received 
$450,000 annually - but that has been cut to $150,000, said John Roy 
Castillo, the center's executive director.

Drug prevention is an area that's been hit the hardest, he said. "We 
haven't gone in the schools in the last year," Castillo said. "But we 
need to so we can reinforce the evils of drugs, alcohol and tobacco 
to the youngsters."

Concentration Of Crime

Hall said officers also have found there is high-crime activity in 
areas with a high concentration of rental property.

"We need to convert good tenants into long-term homeowners," he said.

Last November, the eight-member City Council voted down a proposal 
that would have halted the conversion of single-family houses into 
rental units for at least six months.

Supporters have said a moratorium would improve the image of 
neighborhoods because homeowners are more likely to take better care 
of their houses. Critics have countered it would hurt those who don't 
have the finances to buy a home.

East Lansing completed an 18-month moratorium last year on new rental 
units similar to Lansing's proposal.

Wood, who supported the Lansing moratorium, said the city needs to 
increase its number of home-owners.

Of the 36,875 houses in Lansing, 8,533, or 23.1 percent, are rental 
units. By comparison, only 17 percent of East Lansing's 5,949 homes 
are rentals, officials said.

"There are ways we can help renters who are paying more in rent than 
they would pay in a mortgage payment today," Wood said. "We have to 
find those ways to help people accomplish that dream."
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MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman