The City of Detroit and Detroit Land Bank have officially dropped their lawsuit against Charles E. Brooks Jr., the man behind the city’s well-known “castle,” after a major community cleanup effort in the last week.
The cleanup focused on a lot along Chalmers Street, located directly behind Brooks’ unique home on Lakewood Street — a building many refer to as “the castle.”
The Land Bank Authority filed a nuisance lawsuit over blight and code violations after construction delays led to complaints about debris on the property.
Over the weekend, dozens of people showed up to help — including youth groups, community leaders, and Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison. Crews removed debris, trimmed overgrown plants, and made major progress.
On Monday, Chief Bettison returned to the site with big news: the lawsuit was officially dismissed.
“We were all out here Saturday — city workers, volunteers, youth — and we came together to support Mr. Brooks,” Bettison said. “Based on that hard work, I recommended the lawsuit be dropped. And today, the Land Bank followed through.”
Brooks was emotional as he received the official paperwork, shedding tears as he thanked everyone involved. While grateful, he also raised concerns about how the Land Bank operates and said more needs to be done to fix the system.
“It’s a city where we turn to each other, not on each other. And we are very, very appreciative of Mr. Brooks’ advocacy in this space. And it’s needed — when there are gaps and there are problems, we need to fix them,” said BOPC’s Daryl Woods. “. There’s no agency that’s perfect. And so, when those imperfections arise, I’m sure the mayor — who is a leader and an innovative person — wants to fix problems.”
