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Turf war: Detroit Mower Gang competes in 12-hour playground cleanup

117 points| rmason | 5 years ago |detroitnews.com | reply

65 comments

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[+] thomk|5 years ago|reply
Detroit, the city with the most violent crime per capita in the US, has also now been ravaged by covid-19. Most of the residential neighborhoods in Detroit are fucking terrifying for ADULTS. These guys are cutting grass in public parks so poor kids have something to do. They should be applauded because poor kids will have a place to run around and laugh for the first time in months because of volunteers.

I have seen some comments here complaining about wildlife not having a place to live close to humans.

You know what else thrives in high grass? Ticks and rats. And if a lot is abandoned too long in Detroit there's a good chance it'll accumulate dead bodies.

Screw your wildlife.

[+] tclancy|5 years ago|reply
Is any of this based on experience or just what you’ve heard? Because we have a friend rehabbing a large space downtown and while it sounds like things are weird, they don’t sound scary.
[+] lyjackal|5 years ago|reply
Also, still plenty of wild space around here even with a mowed park
[+] RickJWagner|5 years ago|reply
Awesome. The Gang could have shirts printed up:

"I fought the lawn, and the lawn won."

[+] cocktailpeanuts|5 years ago|reply
I don't get it. Why do they call it "gang"?

I first thought it was some Detroit mafia families competing to clean up playgrounds.

[+] setr|5 years ago|reply
Probably for the fun of potentially making that mistake, or just because it sounds cooler. Slightly relevant is that they're operating unsanctioned on public property, which is gang-related behavior if you squint real hard.

But I had the same mistake; I thought somehow a business consortium had spawned based on mowing rights/contracts, from the title

[+] dpeck|5 years ago|reply
| 10 other abandoned playgrounds in the city. | "No one owns this particular park, it just fell through the cracks," said Tom Nardone

Reading the article left me wondering about the actual status of this park, and how many others are in the same state.

[+] forgotmypw17|5 years ago|reply
Cleanup is great. Mowing lawns instead of letting them grown removes one of the last remaining habitats for animals living close to humans.
[+] pengaru|5 years ago|reply
> instead of letting them grown removes one of the last remaining habitats for animals living close to humans

Clearly you've never owned a home with pest problems nor dealt with animals chewing the wiring harness on your vehicle or inhabiting its air intake circuit.

I'm all for conservation and limiting human population size but there's no sense in encouraging pests to live in/around your house and possessions.

[+] dividedbyzero|5 years ago|reply
At least where I live it's done to ward off ticks that can carry Lyme's disease and Encephalitis.
[+] herdodoodo|5 years ago|reply
Yes, they also make parks unusable. Residential and commercial spaces are meant for humans. There is no need to even compromise for inclusion of animal habitats unless that area has some sort of endangered population. There is plenty of uncut vegetation in the rest of Michigan
[+] voz_|5 years ago|reply
Mowers are lame. Lawns are lame. Let flowers grow, let insects thrive. Let the birds and the bees live their rich lives.
[+] tengbretson|5 years ago|reply
Ever seen children outside playing? It's anything but lame.

> Let the birds and the bees live their rich lives.

Can city parks at least be "for humans"?

[+] ndespres|5 years ago|reply
They are cleaning up parks for kids to play in, including fixing playground equipment. This isn't about lawns.
[+] forgot_again|5 years ago|reply
Mowers are great. Lawns are great.