As summer approaches and concerns about youth safety rise, Detroit officials are rolling out programs to keep young people active and off the streets. At this week’s Department of Neighborhoods (DON Cast) meeting last Monday evening, city leaders introduced “Occupy the Summer,” an initiative that will extend recreation hours, host themed Friday nights, and host night-time basketball leagues to create safe spaces and extend opportunities to youth in our community.
The “Occupy the Summer” program aims to extend the hours of operation at nine City of Detroit recreation centers, which will remain open until 11 p.m. from June 12th through August 14th on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. This initiative is designed to provide safe, engaging spaces for the youth during summer months.
On Fridays, there will be a special series titled “Summer Friday.” Each Friday will have a unique theme beginning with a bike giveaway on June 12th at the Adam’s Butzel Recreation Center. On July 31st, there is a planned Arts and Culture night at Clark Park in Southwest Detroit. July 17th, there will be an Expand Your Horizons: Sports Night at the Lasky Recreation Center
“We want to make sure we have some sports that maybe you don’t see so much in the city, lacrosse, hockey, skateboarding…” said Tyler Searcy, the city’s special projects and events coordinator.
Other “Summer Friday” events include a Juneteenth celebration, a skate night, and a small business pitch competition. All ages are welcome to the “Summer Friday” events.
Another announcement was dubbed “Midnight Basketball’ in response to calls about basketball being played in the streets.
“We get a lot of phone calls about the youth playing basketball in the street. This is a way to let them know that the city has an opportunity for them to go play in the league somewhere else to respect the ordinance while still allowing kids to be kids,” Hughes said.
The games will be pickup game style 8-11 p.m. Thursdays and Saturdays at Coleman A. Young Recreation Center, Northwest Activities Center, and Kemeny Recreation Center. There will be a men’s league and a women’s league. The leagues will be for ages 16-26. Free jerseys and gym shoes will be provided. In addition, there will be free haircuts and wraparound services provided.
For more information on “Occupy the Summer,” visit the website https://ots.detroitmi.gov/.
Although the goal of the zoom was to spotlight the plans for Mayor Sheffield’s upcoming Occupy the Summer events, business owner Delroy Thomas of First Place Lounge made sure to shout out the east side of Detroit’s commercial corridors.
“Harper [Avenue] is where you need to be. Come and join us,” said Thomas. His business, First Place Lounge was a Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DECG) Legacy Business award recipient in 2025.
A figure of note was announced at the meeting. Last year, the city of Detroit gained 5,000 residents.
“The 5,000 actually tipped the scale for the city to lead in population growth, which means we surpassed every other city in the state of Michigan,” said Alexis Ware, Deputy Director of Media Relations.
