To most of the world, the solution to debt-ridden Detroit is money. But for one hedge-fund manager, it's goats.
Mark Spitznagel, the founder of the $6 billion hedge fund Universa Investments, on Thursday took more than a dozen goats to graze among abandoned homes and general debris in Brightmoor, one of Detroit's most blighted neighborhoods.
But by Friday afternoon, the future of the goats appeared uncertain.
Harry Ward, the head of Detroit's animal control, found 18 goats munching on the tall grass amid the abandoned homes of Brightmoor.
Ward said he had been prepared to seize the goats but after assessing the situation determined that they had adequate food and shelter. He gave the goats -- and their caretakers -- until Monday to leave the neighborhood. The goats will be seized otherwise.
"On Monday, if they are still there at noon, we will seize and ticket the goats," he said, adding that Spitznagel would be fined $500 for each one.
"There are ordinances in our charter that prohibit grazing by goats on public property," Linda Vinyard, a spokesman for Mayor Mike Duggan, said last week.
Spitznagel and his team arrived with the goats Thursday at a lot that has a dilapidated house, ready to roll out a plan that was hatched last winter. Spitznagel wants to promote urban farming and decided that he would take some of his goats to Detroit to help clean up some of its overgrown areas.
He had hoped to take as many as 60 goats to Brightmoor, employing adults to help herd the animals and build portable pens and electric fencing. When he isn't managing money for about 15 clients, Spitznagel raises goats and makes cheese.
Spitznagel said last week that at the end of the summer, he plans to sell the goats to Detroit butchers and give the proceeds back to the community.
"It's an urban-farming experiment," he said of his plan to leave his goats to roam and munch on overgrown grass. "Goats are an effective way to do landscaping."
Leonard Pollara, one of his employees, was fielding calls from local reporters Friday. Speaking briefly before an interview with a local TV station, Pollara said he and his colleagues had been unaware that a city ordinance against animals grazing on public property would be so "black and white."
"Look, we had really done our homework on this, with the exception of consulting the mayor's office," he said.
Stefan Prelog, a spokesman for Spitznagel, said, "We have an alignment of interests with the Brightmoor community in revitalizing it around urban farming. Hopefully the city can get that."
Spitznagel has a vested interest in seeing Detroit make a comeback. He has personally invested millions of dollars in commercial real estate, something he said has no bearing on the Brightmoor project.
When Ward was asked whether this was an unusual situation, he replied, "Oh Lordy, no, ma'am."
It could have been worse, he said.
"We have one situation we're dealing with involving peacocks and other fowl that someone let wander," he said.
A Section on 06/08/2014