Senator Chang

Friends,

The war in Ukraine is extremely troubling. Our thoughts, prayers, and support go out to the people of Ukraine, members of our community who have immigrated from the Ukraine or who may have family there, and those who are working to protect the democracy and freedom of this sovereign nation. I am monitoring the devastating events closely and will keep you updated with my thoughts and legislative efforts.

Included in this newsletter is some information that I hope you find helpful, including reminders about upcoming events and a survey from MDOT about how to better ensure construction detours are as efficient as possible. Please read on for more!

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

Public Meeting: Tuesday, March 1, at 6 p.m. — Gordie Howe International Bridge Co-Generation Unit
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) is hosting a public comment period for an air permit requested by Bridging North America for a co-generation unit.

The comment period will remain open until March 14, 2022.

Bridging North America is proposing the installation of a new natural gas-fired unit that will create heat and power, new emergency engines, and other equipment in support of the new U.S. Port of Entry and the proposed new Gordie Howe International Bridge, located at 1001 Springwells Ct. in Detroit.

Co-generation is an energy efficient technology that generates electricity and captures the heat that would otherwise be wasted to provide thermal energy to the Gordie Howe International Bridge Plaza. The unit will not always be operational. For more information on the unit, click here.

The greenhouse gas emissions from this onsite unit are expected to be much less than if the site were to use the local electricity grid.

There is a public hearing scheduled to take place on Tuesday, March 1 at 6 p.m.
>> Click here to join the meeting or call 636-651-3142, 374288#.

The public is encouraged to review information about the proposed changes and draft air permit. Comments may be given at any time before the end of the comment period on March 14. The proposed project summary gives an overview of what Bridging North America is requesting, the contents of the draft permit, and what this may mean to residents. Or, you can submit public comments by email to EGLE-AQD-PTIPublicComments@michigan.gov.

For more information, visit EGLE’s website on the hearing.

Thursday, March 3, at 6 p.m. — Elevator/Building Safety Virtual Town Hall with Detroit Disability Power and United Community Housing Coalition
I hope you can join me on Thursday evening for a virtual town hall regarding elevators and safety in high-rise residential buildings.

After hearing so many concerns from residents about long-term elevator outages in their buildings, my team and I began to investigate this issue. We had meetings with various agencies, the United Community Housing Coalition (UCHC), and Detroit Disability Power (DDP) to find potential solutions to this ongoing problem.

Together, we have drafted two bills to require building owners to provide tenants with accommodations in the event of elevator outages, including: temporarily relocating tenants to another building, covering a hotel stay, or engaging volunteer groups to assist residents who have mobility issues by delivering them necessary items. Additionally, building owners will be required to submit plans to tenants and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority outlining what accommodations will be offered during an outage.

>> Join us via Zoom at bit.ly/elevatortownhall.
>> Join by phone/call in: 1 (312) 626-6799, enter ID 893 6697 2756#

Friday, March 4, at 10 a.m. — March is Reading Month!
I’m so excited to announce two upcoming virtual Storytime events on Friday, March 4th at 10 AM and Saturday, March 19th at 10 AM with myself, Council Member Gabriela Santiago-Romero, and special guest Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib! We hope to see you there!

>> Join us via Zoom at bit.ly/read-with-us.

Wednesday, March 9, at 6 p.m. — Firearm Safety Town Hall with Rep. Kuppa
Please join me and Rep. Padma Kuppa, co-chairs of the Michigan Legislative Asian Pacifici American Caucus, for a Firearm Safety Town Hall. This event is for anyone looking to learn more about firearm laws and safety. Our panelists include Cathy Tang (Everytown for Gun Safety), Alex Nguyen (Giffords Law Center), and Lt.Paul Creuger (Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police).

>> Join us via Zoom at bit.ly/firearms2022.

Friday, March 14, at 10:30 a.m. — Coffee Hour with Danielle North of Degree Forward
Join me in learning more about Degree Forward from Executive Director, Danielle North. Degree Forward creates a pathway for your education journey.

>> Join via Facebook Live at Facebook.com/StephanieChangMI.

 

I-94 MODERNIZATION MOBILITY SURVEY
The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) wants to help you get to where you need to go during the rebuilding of I-94, starting at Burns Avenue to just east of Conner Avenue in late 2023/early 2024.

I-94 will remain open to traffic during rebuilding; however, lane and shoulder closures are likely to cause
traffic slowdowns and increased traffic on local roads.

MDOT is gathering information on how and where you travel near I-94 or your local roads to determine how we can ease your travel during road work. Your feedback matters and your response to this survey will remain anonymous. Please complete it if you can and forward it to others in our area who may want to contribute as well!

>> The survey can be found online here.

Thank you for reading this update. As always, please do not hesitate to contact my office at (517) 373-7346 or 
senschang@senate.michigan.gov if we can assist you in any way.    

 

Stay safe, 

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Stephanie Chang
State Senator
District 1