'Eastborn' Shines After Cleanup Day

DEARBORN, MI — When Dearborn makes news, it usually comes out of “Westborn” from the Ford Motor Company, a new restaurant opening or shop coming to town. But folks living in “Eastborn,” an area bounded loosely by Ford Road to the north, Oakman Boulevard to the east, Michigan Avenue to the south, and Greenfield Road to the west, want you to know they count, too.

At least that’s what one community supporter believes. Over the past few years, Erin Byrnes had led the charge to beautify Eastborn. She recently organized the third annual “Cleanup Day.”

"Eastborn is home. This means the world to me," Byrnes told Metromode Magazine. "It's been phenomenal in terms of the energy and wonderful sense of community we've experienced. It's our hope that the cleanup builds on that."

This year's Cleanup Day started from its original central meet-up point, Argyle-Williamson Park, but also grew to include City Hall Park. Byrnes grew up playing in Argyle-Williamson, and is thankful for the opportunity to return and make a meaningful and positive impact there. In addition to the cleanup, volunteers planted flowers and perennials, Metromode reported.

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An estimated 80 volunteers gathered to pick-up litter and trash in a neighborhood-wide beautification campaign, the magazine reported. Residents, Fordson High School and Woodworth Middle School students, members of the Dearborn Police and Fire departments, and business owners from the East Dearborn Downtown Development Authority all gathered to pick up their neighborhood.
EDDDA Executive Director Michael Bewick is another champion of Eastborn. He describes the community as being very tightknit. "A lot of the neighborhoods in the city are very similar in the fact that the majority of the neighbors get along with each other and they're always looking out for each other," he told Metromode.

While Dearborn officials moved city hall from its longtime home at Schaefer Road and Michigan Avenue — square in the middle of Eastborn — across town, Bewick said the area still has plenty to offer. He pointed to well-established businesses like the M&M Cafe, Green Brain Comics, and Stormy Records.

Bewick said that for the district his EDDDA represents, East Downtown Dearborn boasts a commercial vacancy rate in the low teens, he told Metromode. And Eastborn makes up a big part of that success. Those neighboring businesses are working together. Bewick cites an example last fall where Joe's Top Dog Restaurant & Bar and designer clothing store Al Wissam banded together to throw an outdoor fashion show.

Photo courtesy of Google Maps