Detroit Homeowner Says He's Been Waiting Months For Yard Repairs From Water Main Break

(CBS DETROIT) - Gilbert Parlor says he's lived in his home on Artesian Street in Detroit for 30 years and over the decades kept an immaculate lawn.

In February, CW50 was there when city crews came to repair a water main break on his street, but Parlor says those repairs damaged his yard.

"They dug up this cement right here, tore up my sidewalk, and they put the tar and said oh we'll be back and we'll fix this and take care of all this," he said.

"Well, we're now in May."

His home is nestled in Rosedale Park, a historic neighborhood in the city with well-kept, high-value properties.

Parlor says his house is now an eye-sore on the block.

"I'm not physically able to do all this stuff myself," he said.

"I got a bad back, but I've been trying to shovel. You see three bags of stuff. I shoveled, I did that myself. I shoveled three bags of dirt that was piled up off the yard."

The retired homeowner says he's been waiting three months for crews from the Detroit Department of Water and Sewerage to return and his patience is getting thin.

"I also have damage on my curb right here where they put the heavy equipment to dig this stuff up," Parlor said.

"The address and everything, all that's chipped up. That was done by the city. And the guy promised me he would be back and he would take care of everything. Well, his promises don't mean anything because nothing happened."

DWSD released a statement to CW50 about yard repairs that reads quote:

"Property restoration, such as lawns, sidewalks and driveways occur as weather permits and between April – October. All work that requires restoration in the winter months are delayed until the Spring.  Due to April being a colder month this year, we are ramping up restoration now and will prioritize locations based on the severity of the required work.  This specific location is scheduled for restoration to be completed within a month."

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