'DON'T PULL OUR FLOWERS': Haslett Seniors protest to keep their gardens intact

• Residents of Grange Acres in Haslett protested outside of First Housing Corporation after they were told the company, which manages the complex, would be removing their personal gardens in June.
• In a letter to the residents dated May 16, 2024, the company cited repairs to a retention wall and Housing and Urban Development regulations as reasons for removal.
• Video shows residents voicing their concerns along the picket line on Friday.

(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)

Gardens like this one here at Grange Acres in Haslett could soon be town up after the property's management company said residents' personal landscaping has gotten out of control. And Friday, residents voiced their concerns on the picket line.

"It's not just a bird feeder," Mary Hanna said. "It's a way to build bridges to each other and make that place a real community."

Residents and supporters occupied the sidewalk outside of First Housing's office in Lansing on Friday trying to get the word out about their cause.

"We received a communication from Tom Lapka and First Housing Corporation stating that they'd remove our personal gardens," resident Robert Flanders said.

In a letter to residents dated May 16, the Complex said the gardens were being removed because of work being done to repair a retention wall and Housing and Urban Development regulations.

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They also say they're working to expand to community gardens on the property to allow for more residents to use them. And for those residents who wish to keep plants in front of their unit, they can get flower pots from the complex, rather than having them planted in the ground.

But residents say it's about more than just the plants.

"This little bit of space that we're granted to grow feeds our physical, our mental, our emotional, and our spiritual sustenance," Flanders said. "That's what we're really asking for. That's the heart of it, and that's what they're taking away from us."

First Housing, the company that manages the property, wasn't available for an interview Friday.

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