Culture Clash: Dearborn Cracks Down On Garage Socializing; Arab-Americans Push Back

posted on: Jul 1, 2013

For years, Arab Amercians in Dearborn have used garages as extensions of their houses — for smoking, eating, socializing with friends and watching TV.

But city officials have a problem, The Detroit News reports.

They are looking at passing an ordinance on garage use, arguing that as people get too comfortable hanging out in the garage, more cars are clogging side streets. Some in the Arab-American community push back.

<blockquote>“They migrated over time to the garage as an extension of the living place, and here comes the complaint from people who don’t have that as part of their tradition,” Nabeel Abraham, a Dearborn resident and an instructor and administrator at a Dearborn community college, told the News. “I think it’s a class, ethnic reaction.”</blockquote>

Dearborn officials, who say the ordinance-tightening isn’t meant to target Arabs, insist the garages aren’t built to the same standards as the rest of a home, and should not become “habitable” places for cooking or sleeping.

“We’re trying to find a solution that is safe and acknowledges the way garages are being used,” city spokeswoman Mary Laundroche tells The News.

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