Detroit blogger Aaron Foley commits what some would consider blasphemy -- almost as audacious as cursing a pope in Vatican City or dissing Kanye at St. Andrew's Hall.
Here's the sacred belief he dares to challenge in a Jalopnik Detroit post:
This whole idea that if it affects Midtown, well then it has to be the best/worst thing to happen to Detroit. Because Midtown = Detroit, right? . . .
Can the People's Republic of Midtown get a reality check for a second?
I-94 bisects "the People's Republic of Midtown," as Aaron Foley puts it.
As if that were insufficient heresy, his headline includes the phrase quoted atop this summary.
Foley's tipping point -- the latest one, at least -- is a model D commentary Tuesday by grad student Tommy O'Flynn, who lives in Midtown and manages rental properties there. Flynn wrote to rally opposition against I-94 widening plans being voted on Thursday by a regional planning assembly.
Jalopnik's blogger sniffs self-interest and privileged entitlement, though Foley stresses: "I am pro-small business, pro-redevelopment, pro-Whole Foods."
Here's what he's not a proponent of:
This constant refusal to acknowledge that Midtown, believe it or not, is not the center of the Metro Detroit universe.
In his view, O'Flynn's essay and model D's embrace of it suggest a belief that "as long as Midtown is fine then Detroit is just great, and everything will be great as long as the freeway stays the same."
I do live in Detroit, . . . an entire city where we all pay ridiculous insurance rates whether its a condo near the Fox or a bungalow in Warrendale. Why, then, should the world stop moving because O'Flynn might have to walk his dog across a longer overpass?
Similarly, where is the concern for everybody else along the I-94 corridor? Are people near City Airport, for example, going to be affected by this? Probably so. But has there been an effort to reach out to them? . . .
As someone whose relatives were forced off Custer Avenue when I-75 was put in, I don't want to see anyone lose their home to a freeway. But if this is the best case to be made against making I-94 bigger — that the very existence of the "heart of Midtown!" is threatened and some landlords won't be able to make a few more profits — then get used to the sight of orange barrels.
Foley also fires at model D, "which is fast becoming an endless source of material for us whiny-ass Detroit writers to bitch and moan about."
He doesn't aim at the pope or Kanye. Yet.
Earlier Coverage: Critics Charge I-94 Widening Will Destroy Midtown; Rally Set Thursday, June 18
