George Saad

DETROIT — Several months ago, gas station and liquor store owners were rallying for a legal and political battle with the city of Detroit. They complained of excessive ticketing, hefty fees, targeting and discrimination. Fast forward to November— many of them are talking about major improvements and hailing Mayor Mike Duggan.

About a year and a half ago, gas station owners and employees started speaking out against a “crackdown” on their businesses. They were getting multiple citations for the same offense and getting charged for backdated licensing fees that stretched back to before they owned the stations.

The Arab American News reported last year that Phid Onwuzurike received 14 licensing tickets in one month, without getting a chance to obtain the certificates.

After gas station and liquor store owners threatened to sue the city at a meeting on Aug. 31, the mayor met with them to address the issues.

That was the turning point. 

George Saad has done business in Detroit for 52 years. He said safety and efficiency are improving in the city despite the challenges.

Saad said for the past year and a half, the city was over-regulating businesses and requiring multiple licenses that were never mandatory.

The businessman said he does not mind paying his share to the city, but compared the increased fees and citations to an “indirect robbery.”

“They were asking for too much; now they are working with us,” he said. “It is not 100 percent positive, but something is improving.”

Saad, who owns two gas stations and a liquor store in New Center and west of downtown, said he sees Detroit changing.

“Downtown is booming,” he said. “It is going to take time to get to the neighborhood, but we will get there.” 

Helal Farhat, an attorney who represented several small business owners to fight city-issued tickets, had urged gas station and party store owners to unite and organize to have a say in Detroit.

Farhat said the gas stations suffered excessive ticketing for licensing issues, increased fees and lack of communication from the city.

“There is clear systemic — I don’t want to call it discrimination — but definitely targeting of Arab American business owners and businesses,” Farhat said at a meeting for the businessmen on Aug. 31.

But he told The Arab American News this week that the mayor’s office has stepped up its efforts to tackle the grievances of the small business community over the past two months.

“The city saw what our concerns were and wants to work with the business owners to get a resolution,” he said. “They see there have been some issues on their end. I don’t know if they’ve completely addressed everything, but there’s been a recognition of responsibility. They are taking steps to solve these problems.”

According to Farhat, one of the early agreements of the dialogue between Duggan and business owners was to send department representatives, not the police, to tackle licensing problems. 

Farhat said the police would issue up to 10 tickets to a business for not having a certificate of occupancy or an approved store sign, without giving the owners time to acquire the licenses.

Farhat said the most persistent problem gas stations are facing is the lengthy police response time.

He said police are not prompt in answering loitering complaints, adding that loitering leads to confrontations between customers and employees.

Detroit gas station owners meet at Byblos Banquet Hall, Aug. 31

Responsive Duggan

Business advocate Nasser Beydoun said there has been some improvements in the relationship between business owners and the city, but the issues have not gone away.

“Right now, we are working with the mayor’s office to address a lot of the concerns,” he said.

Beydoun added that Duggan has been responsive, but major change is a process that takes time.

He said the owners requested reducing the fire department fees, speeding up the licensing process and reducing the overall costs of doing business in the city.

Gas stations and party stores provide groceries and other commodities to the neighborhoods in the absence of big grocery stores. But over the past two years, national chains like Meijer and Whole Foods have opened in Detroit.

Beydoun said small business owners should not worry about the competition.

“There’s always room for business in the city of Detroit,” he said. “Arab Americans have been in the city before it was popular to do business here, and they will continue to be here as the city grows and prospers. When Detroit comes back, it helps our business. We need to be a part of the solution.”

Moussa J. Bazzi, who owns three gas stations and several commercial properties in Detroit, has been doing business in the city for 27 years. He said Detroit is the best it has been in two decades.

“The last two years, we had a lot of issues,” he said. “There was no communication between the city’s departments and the businesses. But since the mayor stepped in, they’re taking us more seriously.”

Bazzi said police would issue tickets for certain violations on the spot; then duplicate the citation and send it to the business owner’s home.

“It was a mess,” he said. “But things are a lot better now. Is it completely done? No. In any major city you will have issues.”

Bazzi praised Duggan, saying the Detroit mayor has been “supportive.”

According to Bazzi, the biggest challenge to Detroit gas stations and party stores is safety.

He said police response time to anything short of gunshots is still too long.

Headlines about shootings and carjackings at gas stations have become almost weekly features in Detroit’s media. 

In May, Police Chief James Craig famously said he would not get gas at certain stations in Detroit unless he had to, even though he is always armed.

In October, Duggan announced a plan to combat crimes by installing high-definition cameras at gas stations. The footage would feed directly to precincts and patrol cars.

“Gas stations and party stores, these are points of vulnerability,” Crain’s Detroit business quoted Duggan as saying at the Detroit Homecoming event. “Someone at the Detroit Police Department will be able to rewind the tape and put out a photo.”

The mayor said the program will start in 2016 with eight voluntary gas stations that will pay for their own equipment.

Beydoun said cameras would ward off criminals at the businesses and in the community.

“It’s a great idea,” he said. “And it’s voluntary. It’s up to the business to decide if they want to participate or not.”

Ghassan Hourani, who owns a gas station on the west side of Detroit, said he would sign up for the program, dismissing privacy concerns.

“The cameras will be outside,” he said. “You shouldn’t be worried if you have nothing to hide.”

John Roach, the communications director at the mayor’s office, told The Arab American News in September that Duggan meets with business owners to address their concerns. 

“The mayor and gas station owners agree on the need to improve safety,” he said via email. “We are working together to develop a solution that works for our business owners, as well as the city of Detroit and the community.”

Small business owners said their establishments have responsibilities to the city and the residents where they operate.

Saad, who owns a gas station in New Center, said the culture of giving should be cultivated in the small business community.

He suggested donating money to Detroit nonprofits. He said if each gas station and liquor store sponsored a shelter for one or two homeless people, the businesses could eradicate homelessness in the city, which would also diminish loitering.

“We need to be involved,” he said. “We need to give. It is the right thing to do. It’s tax-deductible, and it’s good for business.”

Hourani echoed Saad’s message. 

“We are completely absent from the community,” he said. “Gas stations need to contribute to the local churches and engage in community activities.”

Farhat, the lawyer, said the cooperation should be a two-way street, urging businessmen to keep their stations and stores clean and avoid selling loose cigarettes and drug paraphernalia.

Bazzi said gas stations should hire only well-trained clerks, who will avoid confrontations with customers and the police.

“It takes two to tango,” he said. “If you have a bad situation, you can stop it or fuel the fire.”

He emphasized that respect is key to maintaining good relationships in the city. 

One of these discussions will happen at a free, community event from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 9, at Wayne State University’s Community Arts Auditorium, 450 Reuther Mall. Audiences are invited to attend and ask questions of some of the key figures in the bankruptcy case.
Learn more or register.Funding for this project made possible by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Renaissance Journalism’s Michigan Reporting Initiative and the Ford Foundation.