DEARBORN — On Tuesday, Feb. 25 community members hosted a fundraiser for Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan at Byblos Banquet Hall in Dearborn. About 80 people attended the event. 

Speaking to the crowd, Duggan addressed the city’s ongoing efforts to help demolish and revitalize abandoned buildings and houses. 

“We’re going to go take the houses that can’t be saved and we’re going to knock them down. We’re going to go to the lots where the garbage is dumped and we’re going to clean it out. And we’re going to start to roll through the city and make it attractive,” he said. 

He also spoke about Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s recent initiative to get the federal government to issue 50,000 new visas for immigrants to work and live in Detroit. 

“I’ve joined with Governor Snyder, and I spoke to the President two weeks ago when I had lunch with him about raising the limit on the EB 5 Visas… so we can get more immigrants into the state of Michigan and get them into the city of Detroit,” Duggan said.

On Thursday Duggan delivered his first State of the City Address. During his address Duggan said 500 new LED lights are being put up per week and are twice as bright as old sodium lights. He also noted that his administration is working to reduce the number of premature births in Detroit. 

He said $16 million in fire escrow funds will be used to demolish burned and abandoned houses, and that Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr has approved a request for 15 new ambulances to arrive this summer.