Menino Sorry For 'Blow Up' Detroit Comment
DETROIT (CBS/AP) — A spokeswoman for Boston's mayor says Thomas Menino is sorry that his published remarks that Detroit should be blown up and started over caused offense in the Motor City.
On Tuesday, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing accused his Boston counterpart of insensitivity for the statements included in an interview in the New York Times Magazine.
In the interview, Menino was asked where he would live if he could live in any other U.S. city. He said Detroit is a place he'd love to go. When asked what he would do in Detroit, he said, "I'd blow up the place and start all over. No, seriously, when it takes a police officer 90 minutes to answer a call, there's something wrong with the system. Forty percent of the streetlights are out, most of the buildings are boarded up. Why? Inaction, that's the problem leadership."
Mayor Bing says Menino's choice of words is "extremely regrettable."
Menino spokeswoman Dot Joyce says her boss "feels strongly about cities," cares about Detroit's problems and "would like to help in any way he can."
Joyce says "the mayor is sorry that people have taken offense."
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