What Do You Do With 3,000 Empty Buildings? Redevelopment In Northwest Indiana

November 11, 2011 | 1:55 PM | By Sarah Alvarez
FILED UNDER: Your Story

All this month, Changing Gears has been taking a look at Empty Places. I talked with Ben Clement from the GECH Empowerment Zone (Gary, East Chicago and Hammond, Indiana) about making movies in abandoned buildings and some of the challenges of putting these buildings back on the tax rolls.

 

*This story was informed by the Public Insight Network.

  • Ex-gary-res

    I was born, raised and educated in Gary, Indiana.

    When Hatcher became mayor of the city, and he and his cronies force the white businesses out of downtown and many of the other surrounding areas in the late ’60s & ’70s. Crime ran rampant do to cuts in the police force and a corrupt police department.

    Since the ’70 Afro-American drug gangs then started taking over the city bit by bit. They even got a well known Lawyer that was the drug dealers best voted in as mayor.

    My family owned a business (since the 1940s) in Gary until 1998, we hired many local residents. Then a so called minister and his church members force me and my family out of business.  

    And you wonder why the city is the way it is?   The people of Gary, Indiana deserve all the vacant business  and home they have.

    How many times has Gary been labeled ”THE MURDER CAPITOL” ?