The ongoing legal and social media battle between the City of Detroit and Charles E. Brooks Jr. — the owner of the unique eastside “castle” property — may be coming to a close.
On Saturday, Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison and a team of volunteers joined Brooks at his castle-like property on Lakewood Street to assist with cleanup efforts to avoid property seizure and a lawsuit brought on by the Detroit Land Bank Authority.
Charles Brooks walks the compound he has lived at for more than 30 years at the corner of Chalmers Street and Waveney Street on the eastside of Detroit on Thursday, April 3, 2025.
The blighted building in question is Brook’s latest project — an unoccupied house located at 4219 Chalmers Street behind Brooks’ home — on his nearly 1-acre property in the east side of the city. The Detroit Land Bank Authority filed a lawsuit against Brooks in March, citing code violations and concerns from neighbors regarding debris and blight near the Chalmers house.
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Prop street signs at the compound of Charles Brooks on the eat side of Detroit on Thursday, April 3, 2025.
Following the suit, Brooks and the city engaged in a social media spat, complete with Brooks calling the land bank “devilish” and the city’s official social media account returning fire with perceived “diss track” social media posts.
Earlier this past week, Detroit police began guarding the property after Brooks reported that he was receiving threats online and spotting trespassers.
Now, it seems all is well at the castle, with DPD assisting in cleanup efforts Saturday that may bring the disagreement to a close.
“Chief Todd Bettison was on the ground today with Mr. Charles E. Brooks, Jr., and a team of volunteers who rallied around Mr. Brooks to clean up his work-in-progress property on Chalmers behind his magnificent ‘castle’ on Lakewood,” the City of Detroit said in a post on X. “Thanks to this great community effort, the city and Land Bank expect to bring this issue to closure in the next few days and dismiss the Land Bank’s legal action.”
Contact Liam Rappleye: LRappleye@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Castle owner assisted by Detroit police in property cleanup operations