Neva Lee's

my other venture if anyone loves yarn + fiber! Faunlouise https://faunlouise.square.site/

More businesses sharing their stories. These experiences highlight systemic issues within Downtown Lansing Inc, including misleading communications, insufficient follow-through, and inadequate advocacy and support for small businesses facing significant challenges.

Trevor, a former Downtown Lansing Inc employee and board member, makes the best statement that we whole-heartedly agree with for the betterment of the Downtown:
"City Council should abolish DLI, put in a true DDA and make sure nobody currently involved with DLI has anything to do with it" 🖤

Main Street America

More merchant complaints surface about Downtown Lansing Inc. - City Pulse Downtown Lansing Inc. recruited Sedona Wanderlust Boutique owner Ashleigh Rogers to join its Middle Village “retail accelerator program” in early 2024.

We went to city council tonight with other downtown small business owners to speak about our experiences with Downtown Lansing INC, mainly Julie Reinhardt and Cathleen Edgerly. We have all encountered significant struggles, financial strain, and major setbacks to our businesses, along with very poor practices at the hands of DLI.
Each of our stories needs to be heard.

We walked in silence in fear and in heartbreak for years due to challenges we were facing. We tried getting help with DLI and our landlords. We went to city council, the mayor, senators, lawyers, and other community members starting in 2022 almost immediately upon accepting the recruitment offer and signing our lease.

The closing of our business doors has hit us hard. The challenges we faced behind the scenes were even harder. It was not the day to day of running the business, the customers, the plants, the community, social media, or our dream that failed. We LOVED it so much. It was circumstances, beyond our control, that we tried all we knew how to do to resolve that failed us.

The fact that now we're sharing and that others feel safe to stand up and share is very emotional for me.
For two reasons:
1. It was allowed to happen to others
2. We don't feel so alone anymore 🖤