12 february 2019
Reader’s Digest
ask what he was doing, they decided
to help, with great results. “When the
drug dealers came back, they turned
around and went home,” says George.
“That’s how it all got started.”
“It” is Detroit Blight Busters, or DBB,
an organization of civic-minded vol-
unteers dedicated to reviving the city
they love, one abandoned house, one
vacant lot, and one garbage-strewn
park at a time.
In the 30 years since that first
home rescue, an army of approxi-
mately 182,000 volunteers, alongwith corporate and private donors,
has helped George demolish around
300 derelict homes, mostly in the
poorer Northwest area of Detroit.
They’ve also secured 400-some homes
by boarding them up, thus keeping
bad actors out. They’ve painted and
renovated nearly 900 homes and built
over 100 from scratch. According to
Forbes, more than 1,000 Detroiters
have been housed as a result of DBB’s
work.
“I’m half Lebanese, half Italian, and
100 percent Detroit stubborn,” George
told nationswell.com. “Once we get
something in our heart and in our
head, it’s almost autopilot.”But that was only the beginning. In
2003, George also breathed life into a
dilapidated square mile of Detroit by
turning it into Artist Village, an area
now filled with galleries, a perfor-
mance space, community gardens, a
coffee shop, and outdoor courtyards.
Because this region of North Detroit
was a food desert, George also per-
suaded a supermarket chain to move
into the neighborhood.
“Blight is like a cancer: If you don’t
set upon it, it will spread,” George told
thehubdetroit.com.
And then there’s Halloween. In De-
troit, October 30 was ruefully known
as Devil’s Night, a period when all hell
would break loose in the form of crime
and vandalism. In response, George
created a citizens’ patrol that would
take to the streets, keeping an eye
on suspicious behavior. He dubbed
it Angels’ Night. What began with
12 neighbors on patrol in 1990 has
grown to more than 60,000 citywide.
George’s inspired ideas have not
gone unnoticed by the city he loves.
“John wants to show that there is still
something to Detroit. That it’s still
worth it,” says real estate agent Rob-
ert LaBute. And others are buying into
it. “We’re seeing the trend of younger
homeowners coming in.”
Is George proud of having boosted
his once-ailing hometown? You’d bet-
ter believe he is. As he puts it: “We are
on the front porch of the greatest ur-
ban comeback story in this nation’s
history.”“I’M HALF LEBANESE,
HALF ITALIAN,
AND 100 PERCENT
DETROIT STUBBORN.”