Welcome to Morningside

Donyelle Pressley has brought us many heartwarming stories over the last few years for our Give a Smile feature. Now it’s her turn to be in the spotlight. Donyelle was just named Michigan Habitat for Humanity’s Homeowner of the Year.

I arrived at East English Preparatory Academy at Finney in October 2021 after a very well-publicized incident had taken place. I was immediately assigned to manage, mentor, and lead the 9th Grade Class. It was then that I met the diminutive 4’8” dynamo otherwise known as Jakare’a Sandridge.

For years it’s been the common wisdom among Detroiters that property tax dollars have promoted downtown development at the expense of the neighborhoods and general city services like parks and recreation, transportation, libraries, and schools. Now there’s hard data to back up that belief.

Following long-standing tradition, Morningside Community Organization will once again deck the halls on Tuesday, December 10 from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. at Bethany Lutheran Church. You can expect good food, music, games, prizes, and of course, good cheer!

Since early spring, Gary and I have collaborated with the Detroit Collaborative Design Center (DCDC) and a team of neighbors to design the Emerald Gardens Morningside of the Future.

The popular, proprietary citrus-honey blend, ready-to-drink tea is finding space in our local restaurants and java shops like Rob’s Deli, BeShroomed and Morningside Café.

This month, The Greening of Detroit brought a splash of green to the Morningside community, planting 92 beautiful new trees around Ronald Brown Academy!

Do you or your neighbors have amazing holiday decorations? Send in your nomination for Morningside’s 4th Annual Holiday Lights Contest.

There are some great events happening in November and December at the corner of Kensington and E Warren.

The weather couldn’t have been better, with sunny skies and perfect fall temperatures. Neighbors gathered to enjoy the seasonal festivities — donuts, hot cider, and plenty of fun for the kids.

Who has time to do research on the 21 candidates vying for three vacancies? That’s why we’re grateful to Chalkbeat Detroit, a news magazine covering education, for publishing a brief bio for each one to guide our decision-making.

Although these contests are non-partisan, you can tell a lot about a candidate’s political perspective by the endorsements they receive. Here’s a list of candidates as they appear on the ballot and a partial list of endorsements for each.

Our friends at Outlier Media have been doing a great job of covering housing issues in Detroit. There are so many moving parts to the story, and this overview of the Detroit Land Bank Authority and how it operates is as good a place as any to begin putting the pieces together.

With almost 10 years of nonprofit experience, working at organizations like Grads of Life and United Way, Esther Kawesa is excited to now serve the Morningside community.

Kevin and Rachel, who host our monthly Happy Hours at the Warren Café, 16314 E. Warren, are planning a special Halloween celebration there on Saturday, October 26 at 8pm.

Since the last newsletter update in April of this year, the The Residences at St. Matthew project has moved forward both in construction and fundraising through the efforts of multiple partnerships working to make this project a success.

We hope you'll join us on Wednesday, October 16 at 6:30pm as our Eastside neighbor and award-winning artist Francis Vallejo details his experience living and documenting the Canning River Bird Camp on the Northern Arctic Tundra of Alaska with a team of 11 biologists.

Morningside is fortunate to have so many large trees shading our streets and clearing our air, but these lovely trees also carry serious risks. My husband Jim and I learned that the hard way last month.

We were fortunate to have Rico Razo, the city’s Chief of Home Repair & Neighborhood Services at our August Morningside Community Organization (MCO) meeting. He explained all the programs that the city offers to make home ownership a bit easier. Here’s a comprehensive list of what’s available.

Motor City Grounds Crew organized a great fall festival last year at 4151 Barham, and they’re planning to give Morningsiders another chance to celebrate autumn on Saturday, October 19, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The number of small, locally-owned, storefronts along the now bustling business corridors of Morningside has noticeably expanded. Whatever the licensed business, the owner at one time or another has contacted the City of Detroit. District Business Liaisons, like Aftan Malone representing District 4, serve as a bridge for business owners to cross into the City’s diverse economic ecosystem.

Last month, we had the joy of welcoming neighbors to our second bookstore concert, featuring Six Mile Strings, a quartet of friends and educators breaking boundaries in music. Violist Alycia Wilder is one of Morningside’s own.

The heat was pretty brutal, but that didn’t stop everyone from having a great time at this year’s Summer Sizzler. For the first (but not the last) time, it was a joint undertaking with Morningside and East English Village.

It is clear from the first moments speaking with Ed that the community along East Warren is of prime importance to him. He shared, “From the very beginning, our strategy has been to ensure that the community's voice is heard. We designed The Ribbon with a ground-up approach that focuses primarily on enhancing the streetscape and providing retail options that local residents frequently engage with.”

Residents got a look inside one of Morningside’s most successful rehabs - 3951 Three Mile. Those of us who’ve driven by that property many times over the years can hardly recognize it now that it’s gotten a complete home makeover.

After an extensive rehab at 16225 E. Warren Avenue that also saw a complete remake of their exterior, Agape was ready to welcome their inaugural class of child care students.

This fall Field Day Architects will begin construction on Ultreia, returning the building to its historic use as a 7-unit mixed-use building, with four commercial storefronts on the ground floor and three apartments on the second floor.

Our Morningside neighborhood signs have seen better days for sure, but it appears that new signs are finally on the way. According to a recent article by our friends at Bridge Detroit, new signs are coming to 60 neighborhoods across the city of Detroit.

While in the long run the quiet title process that the DLBA uses can be a critical tool in claiming blighted property, in the short run it actually adds to the problem of neighborhood blight. While the courts take their time and the process is “good enough for government work,” it is definitely not good for the rest of us living next to eyesores and potentially dangerous properties.

The Berkshire resident’s dedication and skillset of advanced landscaping design have truly uplifted an entire block. In fact, Mike McQueen’s house is situated among five consecutive homes that are all worth of being featured in Curb Appeal.