What’s in store for 2026? Let’s take a look

By Charles Sercombe
For regular readers of The Review, this is the time of the year where we go out on a limb and make some predictions for the next 12 months.
Note to readers: You might have better luck winning the lottery than relying on what we predict.
Well, okay, maybe we’re not that bad.
Anyway: back on track. Once again, we rummaged around the backroom, unpacked our crystal ball, cleaned it off, and looked deep inside for signs and images of the year ahead.
Right off the bat, and this takes no special insight, we see that this is the last year of the Detroit City Football Club calling Hamtramck home.
Work has already begun on the team’s new stadium, in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood, and the club says that, by 2027, their home games will be played there.
That means: Goodbye, Hamtramck and Keyworth Stadium, and goodbye also to nearby restaurants and bars enjoying the patronage of those football fans. Or is it soccer?
That team pumped a lot of dollars into renovating Keyworth, and now we wonder what will happen to it. We also understand that one certain Hamtramck Board of Education member couldn’t be happier to see them go.
Just why, exactly, is a mystery to us, considering how much the club has done for the stadium and city.
And, speaking of the Board of Education, there are three board members up for re-election this year, and our crystal ball says that two of them won’t run again.
Last year, we wondered when — and if – then-Mayor Amer Ghalib would get a job with President Trump’s administration.
Ghalib’s original job wish with the administration was to be ambassador to Kuwait, but that fell flat during his Senate confirmation hearing – largely due to his past comments and activity on social media.
He has been saying, more or less, that any day an announcement would be made about his new job.
We were waiting. And… waiting. Annnnnd waiting.
It seemed to us, as more time went by, that just maybe that ship had sailed.
But, surprise! As it turned out Ghalib, indeed, landed a job with the Trump administration, as a consultant to AmeriCorps. This comes at a time, however, when the approval of the Trump administration on the president’s handling of just about everything is at an all-time low.
For the past few years, city officials lamented the loss of revenue from the Wayne County jail located in Hamtramck, which amounted to $1.4 million a year for the city.
That’s no chump change.
Over the last several months, we heard potential good news, from sources, that the county is ready to reopen the jail and renew the revenue flow to the city.
As it turned out, the county will resume payments to the city for use of the jail site.
The only problem? It’s likely going to be about half the income every year, versus what used to be received.
What’s curious, though, is the timing of the announcement. Hamtramck has brand new political leadership, just a few weeks old. Why is there an announcement now? Is it that this change in leadership was the key?
We have a sneaking suspicion the change of heart is no coincidence.
Speaking of leadership, is there growing pressure to bring in a Yemeni-American as city manager?
So far, placing Yemeni-Americans in the roles of deputy city manager and police chief hasn’t panned out. Is the third time the charm?
There might be an announcement coming in the next few weeks.
Last year, we also noted that many in Hamtramck’s conservative Muslim population had defected from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party.
Now, with Trump’s travel ban in effect for over a dozen Muslim-majority countries – including Yemen and Bangladesh, where many in the city immigrated from — will those same voters do a U-turn and go back to the Dems in the midterm elections this coming November?
We think that’s a possibility – especially considering that ICE is rounding up people solely because they look foreign. ICE agents are already prowling Detroit and the suburbs.
Our guess is, Hamtramck will be getting our own unwanted visits.
Just remember, a couple thousand of the city’s immigrants voted for this.
Another easy prediction: this year, Veterans Park will realize further rebirth, this time in the form of new restrooms being installed. The roads and parking lot around the stadium have already been repaved.
Politically-speaking, Hamtramck often holds many secrets.
And, just as often, they end up being mere rumors that amount to nothing.
Having said that, recently, City Councilmember Mohammed Hassan posted something pretty intriguing on his Facebook page, in which he threatened to post a video – or whatever you call it these days – of a person (or persons) sitting at a dining table with a bunch of absentee ballots back in 2021.
Hmmm … Who could this person or persons be?
We are taking this with the proverbial (giant) grain of salt, considering the blustery nature of Councilman Hassan. But, if such a video does, in fact, get released, it could damage the reputations of one or two current or former elected officials.
And, speaking of Councilmember Hassan (who is now the mayor pro tem of the city), he is, himself, facing felony election fraud charges. His court date is set for April in Wayne County Circuit Court.
We’ve been told that the evidence against him hinges on a sole witness. Will this witness show up? Will they testify truthfully?
To quote the character “The Dude” in the movie “The Big Lebowski”: “Expect lots of ins, outs, and what-have-yous.”
Moving on, it’s a good bet that the Joe Lewis Greenway project will get completed this year – at least, the Hamtramck portion. And those who hate sharing the road with bicyclists are not going to be happy.
Uh-oh, our crystal ball is fading. Time to put it back in storage and wait to see what really unfolds in Hamtramck for this coming year.
And one thing is almost a certainty: There’s always a few twists and turns that you don’t see coming. You know: Ins, outs, what-have-yous.
Remember, the Dude abides.
Posted Jan. 31, 2026