The Detroit City Council yesterday voted for the second time this month to endorse the transfer of art and other assets at the city-owned Detroit Institute of Arts to a charitable trust as part of a proposal to protect the art from being sold off in the city’s bankruptcy case, the Detroit Free Press reported today. The council’s second-ranking member, George Cushingberry Jr., said that federal mediators involved in the bankruptcy case determined the council’s first resolution — passed on June 5 — was not satisfactory. The first resolution indicated that the council supported the art transfer. The resolution passed yesterday reads that the city council approves the transfer. The first resolution also referenced some additional questions the council had about the transfer, corporation counsel Butch Hollowell said. The transfer of DIA art is part of the so-called grand bargain, a deal equivalent to $816 million that helps reduce pension cuts for Detroit retirees. The grand bargain is the centerpiece of emergency manager Kevyn Orr’s plan to restructure Detroit when it exits bankruptcy.
