joe: with her, it s not about the money. it s about keeping the tradition alive. anthony: what happens when a city goes bankrupt? when it s at the point that it s actually considering selling what s left of itself in chunks? in detroit, city services are reduced, or cut out completely. fewer buses, fewer cops, fewer firefighters. answer they turn to each other for help, or figure out how to do it for themselves. detroit has a reputation as a tough town, but that toughness is about resilience, too. the insistence on sticking with it no matter what, on not giving up in the face of the utter failure of leadership year after year. if the city abandons its parks and leaves them to become overgrown, eaten, like so much of the city by tall grass and weeds, then somebody has got to do something, right? meet the mower gang, started by this guy, tom nardone, with the simple mission of doing what they can to keep detroit s
abandoned parks maintained. who are you guys and what are you doing here? tom: we are the detroit mower gang, and we clean up the abandoned parks and playgrounds in this town. anthony: why would you do that? tom: my kids need a place to play, i don t care who you are. if you re under ten years old, i think you deserve some justice in this world, don t you think? anthony: yeah. how did this thing start? tom: i guess i started it. i bought a lawn tractor when the city announced they were closing 72 parks. anthony: what s the difference between open and closed? they re just going to stop maintaining it? tom: that s it! anthony: or do they actually physically shut it up? tom: no, no, they don t physically shut it up because there s no money in here, you know. anthony: just physically shut it up. tom: yeah, they just take the trash barrels away and stop mowing. anthony: crazy. tom: it s a strange place, detroit. when we re done here, it will not look like a nice pa
firefighters. answer they turn to each other for help, or figure out how to do it for themselves. detroit has a reputation as a tough town, but that toughness is about resilience, too. the insistence on sticking with it no matter what, on not giving up in the face of the utter failure of leadership year after year. if the city abandons its parks and leaves them to become overgrown, eaten, like so much of the city by tall grass and weeds, then somebody has got to do something, right? meet the mower gang, started by this guy, tom nardone, with the simple mission of doing what they can to keep detroit s abandoned parks maintained. who are you guys and what are you doing here? tom: we are the detroit mower gang, and we clean up the abandoned parks and playgrounds in this town. anthony: why would you do that? tom: my kids need a place to play. i don t care who you are. if you re under ten years old, i think you deserve some justice in this world, don t you think? anthony: yeah. ho
tom: i guess i started it. i bought a lawn tractor when the city announced they were closing 72 parks. anthony: what s the difference between open and closed? they re just going to stop maintaining it? tom: that s it! anthony: or do they actually physically shut it up? tom: no, no, they don t physically shut it up because there s no money in here, you know. anthony: just physically shut it up. tom: yeah, they just take the trash barrels away and stop mowing. anthony: crazy. tom: it s a strange place, detroit. when we re done here, it will not look like a nice park. anthony: but still, a playable park. tom: yeah, and a visible park, so if you had kids, you could see what they re doing in this park. it s safer. anthony: all right, well, let s cut some grass. tom: yeah, come on you ll like it, it s fun. i m not afraid
think you deserve some justice in this world, don t you think? anthony: yeah. how did this thing start? tom: i guess i started it. i bought a lawn tractor when the city announced they were closing 72 parks. anthony: what s the difference between open and closed? they re just going to stop maintaining it? tom: that s it! anthony: or do they actually physically shut it up? tom: no, no, they don t physically shut it up because there s no money in here, you know. anthony: just physically shut it up. tom: yeah, they just take the trash barrels away and stop mowing. anthony: crazy. tom: it s a strange place, detroit. when we re done here, it will not look like a nice park. anthony: but still, a playable park. tom: yeah, and a visible park, so if you had kids, you could see what they re doing in this park. it s safer. anthony: all right, well, let s cut some grass. tom: yeah, come on you ll like it, it s fun.