Neva Lee's

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With the two City Pulse articles recently coming out where small business owners are speaking up about their experiences with Downtown Lansing Inc, let’s highlight a couple of statements taken from both articles as food for thought.

*The pair (Neva Lee’s) sent City Pulse a screenshot of an April 11, 2022 email from Reinhardt’s DLI email address in which Reinhardt appeared to have written the following: “I am looking into getting you $20k-$25k in grant money from DLI to make the move possible. We believe in your business and we want it on Washington Square! I will know more in the next couple of weeks on the exact amount but you can count on that range.”

(Cathleen) Edgerly said, adding that “in the history of DLI, as far as I know, there has never been a relocation assistance fund.”

-Is Cathleen even aware of the scope of conversations and actions that her staff is doing without her knowledge in the name of Downtown Lansing Inc? That highlights a lack of coordination or transparency within DLI. Either the Executive Director, Cathleen, is unaware of the commitments made by her staff, or she is attempting to obscure the mismanagement under her leadership. Or else a different very big issue, is Julie Reinhardt freelancing and making many decisions on her own without her boss Cathleen's approval?

*Edgerly expressed regret that Neva Lee’s failed downtown.

- No accountability taken by DLI in regards to all the support they say they provide. No thoughts of “we would love to hear feedback and see what we can do to make sure this does not happen again to other businesses under our leadership. Neva Lee’s, like all downtown small businesses, was a great asset to Downtown and we will work hard to make sure things like these don’t cause other small business owners to struggle or face these challenges. Let’s see what we can do to make this right for all…"

*However, she (Cathleen) said its owners’ claims “do not accurately reflect our values, our work or the lengths that we go to help support all of our downtown Lansing businesses.”

-You can read about their (DLI's) values on their website, and then you can read both City Pulse articles, go to public forums, take a drive downtown and see what work and lengths DLI goes to with help and support of downtown businesses.

In reference to another businesses issue with a loan -
*Edgerly contested Reinhardt’s alleged role in securing the loan, noting that DLI doesn’t “get involved in third-party discussions.”

- Julie Reinhardt has been involved in third-party discussions with lenders to help secure loans for businesses. She also takes part in discussions with landlords to negotiate lease terms for the businesses going into the spaces she recruits them into.
Is Julie doing more things behind Cathleen's back and without her knowledge? Or………? Either the Executive Director is unaware of the commitments made by her staff, or she is attempting to obscure the mismanagement under her leadership.

*Responding Tuesday to a request for comment from over a week ago, Mayor Andy Schor defended DLI and criticized Neva Lee’s criticism, which he said “presents one side of the story and does not represent the facts of the situation. It’s disappointing they have decided to respond in this fashion after receiving tens of thousands of grant funding, more than many other small businesses in our community. In fact, they got more than double the grant funds initially sought from DLI — nearly $60,000 total. Many of their complaints also center around the lease they signed, which the City, nor DLI, can legally interfere with or change.”

See our website www.downtownlansingincompetence.com for documented correspondence with Julie Reinhardt, Cathleen Edgerly, and the mayor, Andy Schor. You can decide for yourself if the story is one-sided. And did you catch that last part from the mayor, the one about leases?

Downtown Lansing Incompetence  In 2022, Downtown Lansing Inc. (DLI) actively recruited us, Neva Lee’s, to expand with $25K in relocation funds. However, we never received the full funds, and the building DLI placed us in was so riddled with city code violations it interrupted us from doing business. We suffered a lawsuit and ...

Another aspect to our story on Washington Sq. involved dealing with landlords who avoided their lease obligations and responsibilities. Nor maintained accountability with safety and code compliance of their building. The building, with these landlords, that Julie Reinhardt of Downtown Lansing Inc, directed us into by offering and repeatedly committing to/overpromising secured funding in order to make the move. We faced repeated struggles attempting to hold our landlord to their lease obligations.

Downtown Lansing Inc's operations should not allow recruitment and use of grant funds to place businesses into defunct non-compliant buildings with troubles that can include hazardous and dangerous conditions, safety concerns, added financial strain, interruptions in the ability to do business leading to loss of income and potential business closures beyond tenant's control. This is a waste and misuse of federal/state public dollars.

Buildings should be made SAFE and VIABLE for our community members who work in them, operate a business in them, and frequent these spaces.
DLI should be on top of this major aspect of setting these businesses up for success by enforcing and owning some responsibility of ensuring these buildings are safe and compliant. Cosidering DLI is an entity in place to foster/support the growth and sustainability of downtown, shouldn't DLI be prioritizing adequate support and advocacy in favor of small business owners, instead of taking a back seat tail between their legs hands-off approach to the responsibilities of the property owners/landlords for the sake of financial benefits in favor of DLI or property owners?

Small businesses are a vital part of DLI's mission, and they deserve better!

If DLI is incapable of this, should Lansing implement a true DDA, with forced transparency and accountability in spending, staffed by those qualified in economic development and equipped with enough competent and experienced personnel to proactively tackle and follow through on what's best to create the thriving place that Downtown Lansing can be?

Despite numerous requests for repairs and attention to these matters beginning in June 2022 thru March 2024 when we vacated, there were still unmet lease obligations.

This photo is a grease trap full of years old, untouched, moldy, putrid grease left by previous tenants. The space sat vacant for years before we took it over. This is just ONE piece of proof the landlords had not inspected and maintained their plumbing in YEARS nor upheld item # 3.
Plumbing issues caused backups that expelled this grease up and out of the sink into our space multiple times.
Downtown Lansing City of Lansing, Michigan - Government Main Street America MEDC MiPlace Michigan Economic Development Corporation