Mayor Mike Duggan visited the Van Dyke/Lynch Solar Neighborhood on Thursday, meeting with a longtime resident who credits the city’s community benefits program with saving her family’s lives.
Dorothy Gladney, who has lived on Almont for more than 40 years, received several upgrades through the project, including new appliances, a furnace, hot water tank, and electrical repairs. But the installation of carbon monoxide detectors turned out to be the most critical improvement.
Just days after the detectors were installed, they began sounding an alarm late at night. Gladney, her husband, and two great-grandchildren evacuated and called 911. When Detroit Fire crews arrived, they confirmed dangerous carbon monoxide levels inside the home….Without the detectors, they likely would not have survived.
The upgrades were part of Detroit’s Solar Neighborhoods initiative, which transforms abandoned, blighted land into solar arrays. The Van Dyke/Lynch neighborhood is one of five locations selected by residents, covering about 200 acres across the city. Once complete, the solar fields will generate enough energy to power 137 municipal buildings.
As part of the community benefits package, more than 160 homeowners in the surrounding neighborhoods are receiving between $15,000 and $25,000 in energy-efficiency improvements. Those include windows, roof repairs, insulation, furnaces, hot water heaters, smart thermostats, energy-efficient lighting, and even residential solar panels.
For Gladney, the upgrades meant more than new appliances or lower energy costs. They meant survival.
