Not all Downtown Detroit residents are happy the NFL Draft is coming to town

Posted at 10:49 AM, Apr 22, 2024
and last updated 2024-04-22 10:49:04-04

(WXYZ) — Preparations fro the NFL Draft are in full swing with the event officially beginning Thursday and metro Detroiters are excited to see it all come to fruition.

"We are very excited. It's going to be awesome," Tori Niehaus, a Downtown Detroit resident said.

"Friday is going to be fun, it's going to be second or third round, you know getting down here and see what's going on with the city," Tim Niehaus said.

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However, for some, it's coming at a cost with the major road closures throughout Downtown Detroit and construction going on for more than a month.

"Night time has been wild," Brandon Shamoun said.

Video taken at 11:30 p.m. shows construction work being carried out on the draft stage.

This past week, it's been a regular affair for Cadillac Square residents, who say they can only sleep after 2 a.m. when the work pauses, only to start at 6 a.m.

"For how many nights have you not slept?" I asked Zack Herman.

"Many, many," he said.

Herman and Shamoun have been living in the area for years. Both say the construction is unprecedented.

"Would you relate to if someone said this is part of growing pains?" I asked.

"No I wouldn't. I feel residents weren't considered in the final plan," Herman said.

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"They say they've put things on social media, they say they've sent things via email. Not everyone is on social media, not everyone is on the list serve for the city," Shamoun said.

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The last time I checked, the city's noise ordinance prohibits construction from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.

So, I reached out to the city, and this is what the deputy mayor sent as a comment:

"We're a week away from hosting the NFL Draft in Detroit and we are so excited! When you live in a big city, sometimes that comes with inconveniences. As the draft preps are in their final stages, we appreciate the understanding of our downtown residents and hope they have the opportunity to enjoy all the fun and exciting activities the draft has to offer when it kicks off"

"I feel like they are just pushing us off. This is not one day or three-days thing. This has been a month, and it will continue after the draft ends," Shamoun said.

"This is a building that houses many low-income seniors, who don't have the resources or ability to deal with the crowd, to deal with the security, deal with entrance closures," Herman added.

"When people tell you this is all part of living downtown. You chose to be here... how do you respond to that?" I asked.

"I didn't choose for the NFL to come here and take over my city for month and close my city," Herman said.

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