A fitting tribute to a man who dedicated his life to Hamtramck

History will likely be kind to former Mayor Robert Kozaren.
He was the city’s longest serving mayor, having been in office for 18 years, and he is arguably the most popular mayor we’ve have had in modern times.
The city council recently agreed to name city hall in his honor. It’s a fitting tribute to a man who dedicated his life to the city.
We heartily endorse this honor. Now comes the part of raising money to install a sign to reflect this great honor.
While it’s a fitting tribute, there were some disturbing comments made by two councilmembers who voted against the proposal. While we respect their right to disagree, it’s the content of their thought process that concerns us.
Councilmembers Mohammed Hassan and Abu Musa thought a better alternative was to rename the park in front of city hall in honor of Kozaren.
That park is already named after Raymond Zussman.
Zussman was no ordinary guy.
In fact, he’s a national hero.
Zussman was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for his selfless actions in World War II. The former Hamtramckan didn’t get to live to see the award because he was killed in action.
Zussman is the first and only Hamtramck resident to receive this award, and he is also one of only three Jewish servicemen to win this award in World War II.
For Councilmembers Hassan and Musa to casually entertain the thought of renaming the park is an insult to Zussman and the city.
It also begs the question: Do they have any knowledge of the city’s history?
These are two councilmembers who were also behind the attempt to rename Caniff in honor of a former prime minister of Bangladesh who contributed nothing to the world let alone Hamtramck.
We suggest both councilmembers stop by the city’s Historical Museum and learn a thing or two about where we came from.