Detroit-area church cited for blight, public health issues
WARREN, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - A church in Warren that also serves as a food pantry has been cited for blight and public health issues by the city's property maintenance department.
On Wednesday, the city and Curtiss Ostosh, pastor of the Harvest Time Christian Fellowship, confirmed that blight crews were at the property removing items.
On Nine Mile Road in Warren, thousands of people every month come to the Harvest Time Christian Fellowship for the church's popular food pantry.
But in recent weeks, the food pantry received a citation from the city, noting several public health-related issues, including an outdoor tent that housed homeless people and the outdoor storage of raw foods on the ground in cardboard boxes that appear to have been compromised by animals.
When Ostosh spoke to CBS Detroit, he was upset about how the City went about its citation.
"It's disheartening to think that a city aggressively came against us and took this action, they threw out a ton of stuff that was useful that was good that was used in our ministry," he said.
The church will be charged for the cleanup and could also be assessed additional fines. Ostosh says he's happy to comply, but the work this food pantry does is vital to the community, especially now.
"Five years ago, we were serving 1,000 people a month, and because of the pandemic and inflation and a whole bunch of other reasons, last month we helped more than 7,000 people," he said.
He says his church has outgrown its current space and that he is currently looking for a new, larger building.
Customers of the pantry told CBS Detroit they hadn't heard of the Church's ongoing issues.
"I've never heard of any complaints or anything like that, and I think it would be bad to discontinue this because, as you can see, there's people in the line here," said Patricia Washington.
The original property management service request on the Harvest Time property was over a year and a half ago.
The City of Warren declined to comment on the church's citation.