Stop the Brooks Family Eviction

JOIN the campaign to STOP the eviction of the BROOKS family & to STOP racist displacement in our communities

Charemon Brooks & her husband bought their home in Detroit from Ms. Brooks’ father in 1996. The property at 1161 Seward has been in Ms. Brooks’ family for generations. Mr. & Ms. Brooks made their home there & raised their sons there. Mr. & Ms. Brooks moved a few years ago, but their sons, now grown, live there today.

The Wayne County Treasurer & the Wayne County Land Bank took the Brooks’ family home for $1065 in taxes owing & sold it for a song to FPJ Investments, LLC, vulture developers whose resident agent is Matthew Schenk, former Assistant Wayne County Executive who helped to set up the Wayne County Land Bank. Schenk now is making a profit by participating in the taking of the Brooks’ home. This is insider dealing, conflict of interest & corruption in the finest Wayne County government traditions.

Charemon explains gentrification in her own words: “I am all for diversity in a community, but it should happen organically & not by forcing individuals out of the community. I have watched other black families lose their property on my street & their homes have been purchased by white owners who raise the rent to $1400-1500 & move in white residents, limiting to only persons with certain economic stature to live there.”

Ms. Brooks hits it regarding this new program which allows “special” investors to buy homes going into foreclosure before the auction: “This Action before Auction Program is not for the people. It is for investors. They are Greedy investors who just care about making a profit. There is no telling how many more persons are being treated like they just don’t matter. Investors are in this community like vultures right now. I was here sticking it out when the area was not thriving.”

The Wayne County Treasurer has foreclosed on more than 73,000 families in recent years. That’s even more than the mortgage foreclosures, which have blasted through our communities lately. Charemon Brooks was behind $1065 on her taxes, which was because of a job loss & death in the family. Ms. Brooks was in a payment plan with the Treasurer & was $150 short of the 60% threshold, which would prevent foreclosure.

Mr. & Ms. Brooks planned on making that payment before the October auction. But this new program, “Action Before Auction,” allowed the Wayne County Land Bank to approve “certain” investors to buy the most valuable homes before the auction for only the total of taxes owing, which for the Brooks’ family home, amounted to a total of $3506.54. Mr. & Ms. Brooks could have paid the $150 & could have caught up the $1065 owing on 2015 taxes & if required, can come up with the $3506.54 paid by Schenk & FPJ Investments, LLC.

STOP the Wayne County Treasurer, the Wayne County Land Bank, the Wayne County Commissioners & their “special” friend & colleague Matthew Schenk & FPJ Investments, LLC from forcing the Brooks family from their home. STOP racist displacement in our communities. STOP gentrification. STOP driving working class & black families from their homes.

Call FPJ and demand they sell the Brooks family back their home, call the bureaucrats involved and tell them to do the same:

  • FPJ Investments, LLC, 586-561-4913
  • Wayne County Treasurer & Wayne County Land Bank Chairman, Eric Sabree, 313-224-5990
  • Wayne County Commission, Alisha Bell, Chair, 313-224-0936
  • Wayne County Ethics Board, 313-224-0993