City Hall Insider … 3/24/26

By Charles Sercombe
The city council met on March 24, and all councilmembers were in attendance.
It was announced that a tree-planting block party will happen on April 18, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The planting will happen in Pulaski Park.
The program is being funded by a grant. The city has also been named a “Tree City” by the Arbor Day Foundation, in partnership with the United States Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters.
Isabel Allaway, the manager of the Community Economic Department, said the city’s designation “opens up some different resources for our city staff, and grant opportunities.”
Activities at the planting are expected to include:
• Educational sessions to teach about the benefits of trees
• Tree planting workshops
• Free giveaways
• Crafts
• Touch-A-Truck — a chance for kids to see bucket trucks up-close
• Music

The Hamtramck Parks Conservancy gave an update. The Executive Director of the conservancy, Tom Habitz, said the organization has “made a lot of strides.”
He said the conservancy has attracted various grants that funded a number of upgrades in Veterans and Playfair parks. The basketball and tennis courts are getting redone and, soon, restrooms will be installed at the historic baseball stadium.
During public comment, Ahmed Sharaf Aldeen said the council needs to give the city manager “full power, so the city will move on.” He questioned why the council was attempting to take control of the city after just hiring a new manager.
“You hired him, and then you want to take his position,” he said.

In an email, Phillip Kwik complained about a mosque at the end of his street on Lumpkin that broadcasts the call to prayer before 6 a.m. – the earliest the city allows it to be broadcast.
In the three incidents he cited, the mosque broadcast the call just minutes before 6 a.m.
“This is not the first time that this mosque has broadcast the call to prayer outside of legal hours,” Kwik said.
A resident complained that the mayor and city council are violating the city charter.
“The city charter is not optional. It must be respected,” the resident said.
The resident also said that the hiring process of the city manager raised concerns about whether it was fair and transparent. The resident said the city has faced lawsuits from past hirings that did not work out.
In the meantime, the resident said the city’s roads “are in terrible condition.”

Lynn Blasey asked the council what it is doing to protect residents from ICE agents arresting suspected illegal aliens.
“I fear for the safety and security of our communities,” Blasey said.
Naji Choudhury said that women in the community are not being “included enough in public spaces.
“Let’s build a plan,” Choudhury said, to include more women in city planning and events.
He said he’s hearing from the community a desire to have Councilmember Nayeem Choudhury censured for his comments about residents on social media, some of which have been criticized for being vulgar.
(Some of the comments include calling a female resident a “fake bitch,” and a political rival a “douchebag.”)
Choudhury said the councilmember’s comments are “not a good look for the city.”
A way to combat this, he said, is for city officials to receive social media training.
“When lines are crossed, there should be accountability,” Choudhury said. “There should be apologies being made. Let’s just get better with the social media, guys.”
Councilmember Nayeem Choudhury defended his comments, saying “It’s my freedom of speech, my freedom of expression.”
He said that some people used “derogatory words against me,” and attacked his deceased father.
“These people (have) nothing to do, and they are wasting our time,” Councilmember Choudhury said. “They’re just starting instigations and drama and chaos.”
Mayor Adam Alharbi said he “encourage(s) everybody to participate: women, men, everybody in our city. We do want our women leaders to step forward.”

Councilmember Mohammed Hassan, speaking as a resident from the lectern for the public, complained about the city’s ambulance service.
He said he waited over 20 minutes for an ambulance to respond to a medical emergency his wife was having. He also said he suspected one of the ambulance crew of being drunk.
Mayor Alharbi said the city will look into the matter, and that, down the road, will consider restoring the fire department to be providing ambulance service.
In old business, a lengthy discussion was held on whether to establish an employment sub-committee of the council, for it to have a hand in the hiring process of city employees and appointees.
Mayor Alharbi said that would violate the charter, which gives that job to the city manager.
Councilmember Hassan said the council’s role wouldn’t conflict with the (city) charter. “If the council wants to do it, we can do it,” he said.
City Attorney Odey Meroueh said the city manager is in charge of all hiring and firing, but the council can form a sub-committee.
City Manager Adel Al-Adlani said councilmembers are welcomed to give their input on hiring employees.
The council approved a resolution to form the committee.

A lengthy discussion was held on whether to consolidate supervision of the Downtown Development Authority, Building Department, Code Enforcement and Community Development all under the banner of the Community Economic Department.
The request to consolidate the departments was made by City Manager Al-Adlani.
Mayor Alharbi questioned whether putting the departments under the supervision of the community economic department director will “distract” the director from her main job.
Al-Adlani said it’s a matter of being able to focus on getting grants for the city.
He said the city can’t “move forward without grants.” Al-Adlani said the city is currently seeking a $6 million grant, and that Jos. Campau now has a 25 percent vacancy rate for its commercial spaces.
The council voted down the proposal.

The council approved a contract with a company to secure buildings and properties that pose a danger or hazard to the public.
The council also approved the purchase of two police vehicles at a combined cost of $98,000, and another $54,000 to outfit them. The purchase will be covered by the police department’s narcotic fund.
In another lengthy discussion, the council rejected a proposal by the mayor to stop adding items to the council agenda as the meeting starts.
Alharbi said this would restrict adding new items, so that only those of an emergency nature can be considered, as specified by the city charter.
Councilmember Mohammed Hassan disagreed, saying “The system we have is very good.”
He insisted that the council has the right to add items.
“I’m not going to give my power to you,” Hassan told the mayor.
The mayor said that the city charter is being violated when items that are not an emergency are added at the last minute to the agenda.
“This sets a standard,” Alharbi said. “That’s how we work together. We set the rules and standard for us to operate.”
He stressed that adding items to the council agenda at the start of meetings deprives the public from being informed ahead of time, and then having enough time “to come and place their public comments. That’s the issue here.”
Councilmember Abu Musa agreed with Councilmember Hassan, saying, “I don’t want to give up my right.”
The mayor questioned “What the heck is the point of having the agenda in the first place and adding resolutions by a certain deadline? What’s the point of the charter?”

In another matter, the council rejected a proposal to create a social media policy for community input on the city’s Facebook page. Mayor Alharbi said there are comments that are racist or have nothing to do with the subject matter.
As of now, comments are not monitored by the city administration on the city’s social media sites.
This resolution, he said, would allow the city to monitor its social media pages and what comments are allowed.
Councilmember Musa questioned whether this would create a new position in the city. The mayor explained that it is only a policy to adopt.
Councilmember Hassan noted that Hamtramck has become “chaos media city.”
Hassan said that only the mayor can “speak on behalf of Hamtramck city – nobody else. … We don’t want to bring the chaos here.”
City Manager Al-Adlani requested the matter be set aside so he can determine whether this will result in one of the city’s employees being distracted from their regular job duties.
“The goal is good, but discuss that with me first because I have to see (if) you are going to drag one of my team and distract him from doing his job,” Al-Adlani said.

The annual street closure of part of Belmont, from the Jos. Campau alley to Jos. Campau, for the upcoming monthly Night Bazaar was approved after a lengthy discussion.
Councilmember Nayeem Choudhury questioned what Night Bazaar is about. He was concerned that taxpaying businesses would face unfair competition from vendors.
“It is hurting the person who’s paying taxes every month, paying insurance, paying employees,” he said. “It is not fair to the business owners.”
Isabel Allaway, of the CED, explained that the event takes place just once a month starting in May for a total of five months.
She said that there is no financial impact to nearby businesses. She said the event is to encourage “emerging businesses” to establish themselves.
Mayor Alharbi said that this event has happened for the past two or three years.
“It makes the city look nice,” Alharbi said. “It attracts people from other cities. … It’s one of the nice things that we do in the city.”
City Manager Al-Adlani added that the event also creates “a sense of place” for the community.
But Councilmember Choudhury questioned how the city benefits.
“Who’s behind this? … Who is the Night Bazaar? I don’t see the community attending there,” he said.
Allaway said the event is under her direction, and that about 600 people attend each event.
The council approved the project.
Councilmember Choudhury talked about comments directed at city officials on social media, saying that people are “continuously nagging. They are derogatory words, very bad words and calling out continuously.”
Mayor Alharbi said that as an elected official, the public has a right to “attack us.”
What is our City Council up to these days? We have the highlights of the latest council meeting.
Posted April 17, 2026