New Detroit mayor says no thanks to city mansion

[May 12, 2009]  DETROIT (AP) -- New Detroit Mayor Dave Bing says he won't move into the official mayoral residence -- the Manoogian Mansion.

Bing took office Monday and says he wants to find a way to make money from the 15-room luxury house on the Detroit River.

He didn't say if he wants to sell the house or rent it.

Bing won a May 5 special election against Ken Cockrel Jr., the city council president who became mayor after convicted ex-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick resigned in September.

Bing told the Detroit Free Press the mansion is a "gem" but said the city needs to figure out how to recoup at least some of the estimated $150,000 a year maintenance cost.

Businessman Alex Manoogian gave the mansion to Detroit in 1966.

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Information from: Detroit Free Press, http://www.freep.com/

[Associated Press]

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