Detroit's oldest and richest suburban area is the five-community section east of the city collectively called Grosse Pointe (pop. 50,000). Set back from the winding, tree-shaded streets are fine, solid colonial or brick mansions, occupied by some of Detroit's oldest (pre-automobile age) upper class, and by others who made the grade in business and professional life. Grosse Pointe is representative of dozens of wealthy residential areas in the U.S. where privacy, unhurried tranquillity, and unsullied property values are respected. But last week, Grosse Pointe was in the throes of a rude, untranquil exposé of its methods of maintaining tranquillity.
Swarthy? The trouble burst with the public revelation, during a court squabble between one property owner and his neighbors, that the Grosse Pointe Property Owners Association (973 families) and local real estate brokers had set up a rigid system for screening families who want to buy or build homes in Grosse Pointe. Unlike similar communities, where neighborhood solidarity is based on an unwritten gentleman's agreement, Grosse Pointe's screening system is based on a "written questionnaire, filled out by a private investigator on behalf of Grosse Pointe's "owner-vigilantes."
The three-page questionnaire, scaled on the basis of "points" (highest score: 100), grades would-be home owners on such qualities as descent, way of life (American?), occupation (Typical of his own race?), swarthiness (Very? Medium? Slightly? Not at all?), accent (Pronounced? Medium? Slight? None?), name (Typically American?), repute, education, dress (Neat or slovenly? Conservative or flashy?), status of occupation (sufficient eminence may offset poor grades in other respects). Religion is not scored, but weighed in the balance by a three-man Grosse Pointe screening committee. All prospects are handicapped on an ethnic and racial basis: Jews, for example, must score a minimum of 85 points, Italians 75, Greeks 65, Poles 55; Negroes and Orientals do not count.
Einstein? The questionnaire and scoreboard, says Grosse Pointe Realtor Paul Maxon, "have been very successful, have kept property values up, and are approved by at least 95% of the people out here." The whole idea of the system is to keep out people who tend toward "cliqueishness," "Old World customs," and "clannishness," e.g., "an Italian fruit vendor." Furthermore, real estate men point out that Grosse Pointe has a number of Polish, Greek and Southern European people scattered throughout the suburbs. Says Realtor Maxon: "I am sure Albert Einstein would have been accepted here."
What makes neighboring Detroiters smile about the carefully protected Grosse Pointe exclusivity is that the area's permanent, well-established residents somehow include such noted Detroit gangsters as Mathew Rubino (20 arrests), Peter Licavoli (24), and John Priziola (17).