All posts in the topic Dyna-mite Hawthorne/Mpls Issues community BBQ (Short link)
Summary
- There are 23 posts — by 15 authors — in this topic.
- Latest post made by Carey Joe Howell at Aug 12 13:09 UTC
Kathy & Bryan:
The Minneapolis Issues list has had a developing discussion about a block
party in Hawthorne, where we want to get together for a conversation about
crime, homelessness, community and citizenship. The date we have chosen is
Friday August 22nd from 5-7 pm. We would like to have it in the general
location just west of 94, near 25th Avenue.
I am wondering if you can help us secure a location. There is some public
housing with a nice yard on 25th Av. an 3rd St., or Fairview Park north of
26th Av. between 4th st. and Lyndale. Or we could close a block, which can
be even more inviting and open, which is our objective.
Please advise. Thank you!
-Nikki Carlson
Nikki and members of the Minneapolis issues list, I don't believe I
invited y'all to have a picnic in my yard, which happens to be your
preferred location. Our Park Board has provided a perfectly good park
for such purposes but two short blocks away, why don't you use it or
any other of our parks for your picnic? Or perhaps the real purpose
of your "picnic" is to create the false impression that crime is not
a problem in my corner of Hawthorne? Sure, you can bring a few police
squads up here for your "picnic" and everything will look peaceful
for a couple hours. But after you leave for nicer neighborhoods the
reality of North Minneapolis crime will return with a vengeance, as
the local criminals retaliate for my perceived support of crime
fighting efforts.
Not that your "picnic" is likely to fool anybody anyways- the public
record already shows that on just my block in Hawthorne during the
last week a convicted sex offender raped another victim. Before you
downplay that felony offense committed by a convicted felon on the
loose, note that the victim was taken away by ambulance. After
sleeping fitfully last night not 100 yards from that crime scene, I
was glad to see this morning that the offender was booked into
Hennipen County Jail. But given our chronic shortage of jail
capacity, he may be free and just up the street from me again. And
before I forget, we had a 50 year old woman robbed during daylight on
the block too last week.
So if your group of do-gooders want's to come "slumming" up here and
put some lipstick on the pig that is North Minneapolis crime, please
wait for an invitation instead of imposing yourselves. And if you
think your group's pressure will get me to shut up and quit telling
true story of Hawthorne and the Northside, crime and all, you have
failed miserably. You are only encouraging my determination to tell
the story of the good folks of the Northside who are held prisoner in
their own homes or forced to flee out of control crime here. And if
you want to escalate this to a media battle, perhaps I need to invest
in a scanner and a quality video camera- there's plenty of criminal
atrocities going on right here in Hawthorne, never mind the
Northside. With media outlets cutting their news staffs, I'm sure
they'd be happy to get some free video of the latest Norhside murder
and mayhem...
It's notable that your group never volunteered to help paint my
house when the city was hitting me with thousands of dollars in
fines. Neither has your Minneapolis Issues group offered to help my
70sh neighbor who's on oxygen fix up his house- his front doorframe
was so rotten that it could easily be kicked open and the city is
harassing him again with Inspection Repair Orders. If you want to
change the perception of Minneapolis, quit trying to shut me up- that
won't make the crime go away. Instead, come up here and help us take
back the Northside by securing and fixing up our homes, monitoring
criminals, and demanding that our elected officials quit using the
Northside as a dumping ground for everyone and everything they don't
want in their "nice" neighborhoods. And if you reality want to help,
move up here and help us take back the Northside home by home and
block by block. Or move your business up here- we didn't have much of
a crime problem when our kids started a job the day after they
graduated from school.
But I really don't expect the Minneapolis Issues group or the city
at large to change their ways, so I'm pretty much gonna be a safe
distance away from the Northside until winter freezes our cowardly
criminals out and they migrate south for the winter. So I won't be
attending your "picnic"... but if you want to quit "window dressing"
with ambush "picnics" and start rebuilding my Northside I'll be happy
to come back and help.
headed outa' Hawthorne,
Dyna Sluyter
List Members,
I find it personally offensive to have it implied that having a block party on
the block where residents live, without the "formal blessing of the
neighborhood organization" is a bad thing. No one stated that the neighborhood
organization could not attend. And, I do recall (but feel free to correct me
if I am wrong) that another member of this list who lives quite near Dyna
offered her yard as well.
And, listening to someone whom lives in Hawthorne talk about their experiences
does NOT seem to me to be giving the neighborhood any pre-conceived notions. I
am giving that person the benefit of the doubt that what they are saying is
true. Now, Ms. Cole has stated other experiences that are more positive than
Ms. Sluter's. Am I to assume that she is spreading false rumors about her
block to lure us in? No, I am giving her the benefit of the doubt as well.
Why? Because that is what real people do.
And Dyna, no, you did not invite anyone to have a picnic in your yard. I do
recall people asking you, and more than once, to be clear. When you did not
agree to it, the gathering was verbally moved to the block. Numerous efforts
were still made to include you, but you have soundly rejected them all. You
will receive no further encouragement from me. This do-gooder will will gladly
give you your space. I will do as many have recently suggested and press the
delete button on your comments and your misery.
Pamela Taylor
CARAG
A do-gooder till the end of time, and proud of it!
Dyna is surely right about crime in her neighborhood and those who want to have
a picnic for the purpose of getting to know each other better are not wrong. A
nearby park would be fine.
On 8/7/08, dyna <dyna@unions-america.com> wrote:
> So I won't be attending your "picnic"...
Not surprised Dyna threw a wet blanket over this event. Suppose it is
successful and leads to other community events that encourage people
to get out of their houses and take back the streets, then what would
she have to complain about? That is all she ever does. In the few
years i've been on the list all i've ever heard is complaints about
inspections, fireworks, street plowing, supposed barricades by
republicans to polling places and excessive crime in all of north
minneapolis. Some people here decided to take the first steps in
trying to help and Dyna just gives them a big fat middle finger and is
heading out of town. It's sad if you ask me.
John Harris
webber-camden
Having lived in dangerous, difficult neighborhoods, I can empathize with
both kinds of reactions - the effort to bring people together (which I
think is wonderful, and really merits congratulations and thanks), and
the response that this could create more problems for people who live
there, esp if it is held at a particular house.
I have great respect for the people who are trying to set up the picnic,
and great respect for Dyna's frustration.
Joe Nathan
Highland Park in St. Paul
(which does not suffer from the depth of problems described, and where
we had a wonderful neighborhood party earlier this week, with 4
generations of folks, many of whom did not know eachother until this week.
>John Harris wrote:
>> Not surprised Dyna threw a wet blanket over this event. Suppose it is
>> successful and leads to other community events that encourage people
>> to get out of their houses and take back the streets, then what would
>> she have to complain about? That is all she ever does. In the few
>> years i've been on the list all i've ever heard is complaints about
>> inspections, fireworks, street plowing, supposed barricades by
>> republicans to polling places and excessive crime in all of north
>> minneapolis. Some people here decided to take the first steps in
>> trying to help and Dyna just gives them a big fat middle finger and is
>> heading out of town. It's sad if you ask me.
I must say I sympathize with Dyna's reaction. I think it's unfair to
characterize her as a "wet blanket". I too live more or less alone
in a neighborhood that is pretty safe but not as safe as it used to
be, and if a bunch of people suddenly decided to throw a party in my
yard, and organized it on the internet, where everybody and his
brother could read all about it, and their intent was to send a
message to my neighbors (whose attention I was hoping to avert and
avoid) (and God knows how these party people plan to communicate said
message) (and just what message is that anyway? "Be nice?"), why I
guess I'd take to the hills also. All this enthusiasm and good
feeling is heart-warming and undoubtedly heartfelt but it comes off as
more than a little patronizing and naive. To be blunt.
And she's right: It's "I'll bring the beer to the party," but paint
the trim? "Not I," said the goat.
It is, however, time for Dyna to you-know-what or get off the pot. I
too have become bored by her negativity and her talent for finding
problems with every suggestion for dealing with her situation. I'm
sorry for her but bad things happen and she's waiting for someone else
to fix it and no one can and no one will. Tough for her but there it
is.
Dyna Sluyter: "But after you leave for nicer neighborhoods the reality of North
Minneapolis crime will return with a vengeance, as the local criminals
retaliate for my perceived support of crime fighting efforts. ... Neither has
your Minneapolis Issues group offered to help my 70sh neighbor who's on oxygen
fix up his house- his front doorframewas so rotten that it could easily be
kicked open and the city is harassing him again with Inspection Repair Orders."
Sorry, Lady Dy, but who knew that under the guise of a motorhead for the post
office you were a scion of the Windsors? Tudors? Plantagenets?
People on this list (Carol Pass, Jim Graham, Connie Nompellis, and many others)
who have offered to help you live in nicer neighborhoods than yours because
they worked their fannies off (and yes, my fanny is considerably smaller than
it was) getting them nicer and keeping them that way.
Yes, we suffered retaliation in the form of vandalism, home invasion, card
theft, burglary, pet torture, and personal injury. The people across the street
from me were beaten to a pulp by thugs--they stayed, the thugs went to prison
or killed each other. I picked bullets out of the garage and the elm tree and
got to be buddies with all the operators at 911, bless them every one. Another
tenant in my building had a necklace snatched off her neck. My landlady had to
reroof the garage after one of the prostituted children, age eight, removed the
shingles in rage at his circumstances and was praised for it by the 37 people,
the Rolling Thirties Bloods, who lived next door (the Bloods spilled over into
the house on the other side with another 10 members/molls/offspring. Another
family had the tires of their business truck slashed, effectively losing their
jobs. Two very young boys were raped on their way home from school. I still
suffer the consequences of some jerk calling housing inspections on me two or
three times a year.
The Rolling Thirties? Let's see. Several of them got murdered by each other, a
boatload of them are in and out of various prisons, some died a natural death,
and two reformed.
My CM, Sharon Sayles-Belton heard every detail, my CCP/SAFE Team (Niland, then
Herron, then Notsch) worked with me and my neighbors. I seldom have to call my
CM, now. I called the cops a year or more ago, I think. I call Karen so seldom
that I still think of her by her maiden name. I run into Niland about once a
year in the library. We talk about Ireland and books, what else? I have
breakfast with Herron once a month. Through all the crack years (since 1980) my
magic wand was useless except to prop one window open in the summers (the
weight ropes were kaput).
My landlady sold out in 2004 and made $200,000 on her duplex half a block from
Lake and Portland. My new house formerly Harriet Tubman Shelter for Battered
Women, around the corner on Lake Street, even in today's market is worth a
bundle. Who knew?
The city, county, and state poured money into Lake St., Sears, housing, fixed
bridges over 29th St. (4th, Park, Chicago). We went en masse at all the CMs,
SSB, McLaughlin, Clark, Berglund, Wecjman, Walker, Lillihaug, Humphrey, and
Gov. Carlson (Honeywell did that one, bless 'em). You have to shake the trees
if you want the fruit.
On the plus side, and the plus is as big as the Sears Building, I am a member
in good standing of my community as a result and I've made life long friends
and enemies in the doing of it. We have made a huge leap on our racism issues,
so much so that I can believe in miracles. And the neighborhood libraries are
way better than they were. We all raised this barn together and we have the
right to be proud of the results. What's more, we actually learned some things
pertinent to the issue of "crime neighborhoods."
Those of us not born to the purple were never under the impression that we were
going to have anything handed to us on a platter. BTW, as an aside, I've been
disabled since 1984, having to carry oxygen for the last 4 years (I'm off that
now); I don't have much patience for the Poor Pitiful Pearl routine.
[Posting as member, not forum manager]
I generally agree with John's "wet blanket" point, but I do accept one part of
Dyna's challenge - this should be about more than awareness/solidarity.
Several years ago, our neighborhood board organized a paint-a-thon. We were
pretty new at it, and only managed to re-do one house of a person with
disabilities, but he was so grateful and it still makes me feel good every time
I walk past. (The paint has held up remarkably well.)
I don't want to be a wet blanket myself, but I hope once we move past the
"awareness/solidarity" phases - which, by the way, is crucial, and thanks to
all list members who are organizing it - we can try at least one "barn-raising"
effort with longer-term impact.
I'm in for that, if the organizers are suitably motivated.
Should clear up something from the last post - we should do our "barn-raising"
for someone in Hawthorne who'd appreciate it.
In the mid 1990s, the Phillips neighborhood was the epicenter of violent crime
and drug dealing in Minneapolis. Today, my impression is the situation there
is much improved. Crime has shifted to other neighborhoods.
Wizard Marks describes a similar situation where she lives. She suggests that
hard work by cooperating neighbors, with the help of city and state officials,
turned her neighborhood around - and this is the model that Dyna Sluyter should
use in fighting crime in the Hawthorne neighborhood.
It seems to me there are two points of view - the neighborhood “pulling
together to fight crime” and those who want government to do this for them. I
fall in the second category. But if the other theory has produced good
results, it deserves to be considered.
Back in the bad old days of high crime in Phillips, putting pressure on city
government to take more aggressive action against criminals was always part of
the equation. A woman named Donna Ellringer made it her personal business to
run drug dealers and other criminals off her block. For this, she was
considered a supporter of vigillante-type justice. Some supporters of Sharon
Sayles Belton pulled her hair at a campaign event for carrying a sign that read
“A vote for Sharon is a vote for crime.” The mayor’s own bodyguard - one of
the five gentlemen involved in the recent racial-discrimination lawsuit against
the police department - fired gun shots at a car driven by Donna’s husband,
Maurice, after he had rescued his wife from the hair pullers.
The “Park Avenue block club” (including the Ellringers) came up with the clever
idea of producing a brochure for a “Crack Tour” of Phillips to show where
criminal activity might be found. Two landlords conducted more than twenty
such tours in a minivan. The visiting dignitaries in the back seat (including
Congressman Jim Ramstad) could see how easy it was to buy crack cocaine on the
streets as Minneapolis police squad cars drove by. The purpose was to
embarrass city government, and especially the police, into doing something
about the problem. Finally, Gov. Arne Carlson became so frustrated by the
city’s “Murderapolis” reputation that he had National Guard helicopters fly
over the city and shine spotlights down into the streets. The governor was
much criticized for this but he had made his point. Eventually the problem was
solved in Phillips.
The point is that the tradition of complaining, one way or another, about
inadequate police protection in Minneapolis is quite old. It, too, seems to
have gotten results. Dyna Sluyter is doing this quite effectively in her own
way. She should not be shamed into abandoning her complaints because this
approach does not conform to the party line.
Wizard Marks suggests that heavy investment by government and business in once
crime-ridden parts of south Minneapolis helped to turn the situation around
there. That’s well and good, but what do we do about the criminals? Should we
sit back and let them all kill themselves or commit crimes serious enough to go
to prison? Should the mayor exercise his power under the charter to deputize
citizens to go after the criminals with guns? I do think it reasonable to ask
the city to do something besides send housing inspectors to punish the owners
of buildings.
What should government do? The carrot and the stick. The carrot would be to
provide plenty of resources to help young people before they get into trouble
with the law. The stick would be to punish those who commit serious crimes,
especially on a repeat basis. That’s my opinion anyhow. The crime problem
should be left mainly to government to solve. And the problem should be solved
as a whole, not merely be shifted from one neighborhood to another according to
the allocation of police resources.
But since we have a serious difference of opinion here, the issue needs to be
discussed and debated further. Let people do this in the e-democracy forum,
and let them do this in person at a picnic. And yes, we do need to have some
City Council members participate in the discussion. It’s an important one.
Wm. McGaughey: " A woman named Donna Ellringer made it her personal business
to run drug dealers and other criminals off her block. For this, she was
considered a supporter of vigillante-type justice. Some supporters of Sharon
Sayles Belton pulled her hair at a campaign event for carrying a sign that read
A vote for Sharon is a vote for crime. The mayors own bodyguard - one of the
five gentlemen involved in the recent racial-discrimination lawsuit against the
police department - fired gun shots at a car driven by Donnas husband, Maurice,
after he had rescued his wife from the hair pullers."
Not so fast. Donna Ellringer was termed vigilante because she sported a shotgun
on the cover of City Pages and waved it around a lot on her block. I'm neither
condoning or blaming, but that IS one of the hallmarks of vigilantism. Further,
no one knew whether Ellringer had any experience with a shotgun, so everyone's
life and limb was in jeopardy as far as individuals were concerned. [Whereas in
Central (the first ring suburb of Phillips), an elderly black woman took her
deer rifle and shot out the street lights (c. 1988) when WCCO termed her block
"crack alley," so people felt pretty confident that she knew her way around
guns and would only shoot where she aimed and her aim was verym very good. She
shot out three lights spread out over half a block with three bullets.]
Ellringer, and friends went all the way over to the Northside to a meeting
planned months ahead for Northside residents who wanted to tell SSB about their
crime problems. If you are going to invade a community meeting not in your own
area (and SSB was often at Sabathani, 3rd Precinct, and other venues on the
Southside, but much more rarely on the Northside), then you have to be prepared
to be unwelcome when you screw with the resident's published agenda.
Northsiders don't play.
Further, you failed to mention that Maurice ran into MPD Officer Charlie Adams
with his car. I don't know what the rules for cops are when a driver runs into
one, but we can hardly expect the cop to jump up and kiss the guy who hit him.
Charlie was laid up for a while and subsequently gimped around for quite a
while, making him of limited use on the job.
I do not discredit all the things people had to do in Phillips, it was, and is,
tough, tough, tough. And they have done very much more that could logically
have been expected with still more to do. It was the biggest neighborhood in
the city and the poorest. But it was a concerted effort by all the committed
people in all the stressed neighborhoods on the Southside which changed the
situation.
There’s a bit of revisionist history here that needs to be dealt with.
If Donna Ellringer’s husband, Maurice, “ran into MPD Officer Charlie Adams with
his car” and caused significant injuries as Wizard Marks claims, why wasn’t
Maurice Ellringer charged with a crime? No, Maurice turned himself in after he
had safely returned home and he was duly arrested. But the city quietly
dropped the charges a few days later. Too many people saw what happened.
I wasn’t there but eyewitnesses tell me after Maurice had rescued his wife from
the hair pullers and got her inside the car, an angry mob surrounded the car
and tried to open the door to pull her out. Officer Adams then stood in front
of the car to trap the Ellringers in the parking lot. Maurice was not about to
let his wife be assaulted so he yelled at the officer to get out of the way.
When officer Adams refused, Ellringer pulled off, forcing Adams up on the hood.
Then, after Adams had climbed off the hood, Ellringer gunned it out of the
parking lot and drove home, with Adams firing gun shots at the fleeing car.
At the time this was a huge political embarrassment to Mayor Sharon Sayles
Belton. It is only because her opponent in the mayoral election, Barbara
Carlson, did not want to make a racially charged situation worse that the
shooting did not become a significant campaign issue.
With respect to the Ellringers crashing a northside meeting “planned months
ahead”, the event in question was a debate between two mayoral candidates,
Sharon Sayles Belton and Barbara Carlson. Donna and Maurice Ellringer had a
right to be there as supporters of Barbara Carlson. It was a public event
focusing on the mayoral election.
Yes, there was a City Pages cover story about Donna Ellringer whose cover
illustration showed Ellringer with a rifle. But that was merely a symbol of
what the City Pages editors wanted to convey. If Ellringer ever threatened
people on her block with a loaded rifle, I am unaware of it.
The general point that I was trying to make in an earlier posting is that it
took more than community action to clean up Phillips. It took people like the
Ellringers who sent a personal message to the criminals. It also took a
courageous governor telling the city of Minneapolis in no uncertain terms that
it needed to clean up the street crime; and, if the city wouldn’t do it, state
government would.
Where is the state government today? I happen to think the bottle neck lies
farther up the criminal-justice chain - with the judges, prosecutors, and
corrections officials. It may also lie with entrenched bureaucracies long on
policy positions and short on service to people living in the city. I have a
letter to the editor in the current issue of NorthNews elaborating on this
point of view.
On another subject - -
I think Dyna Sluyter’s “Northside Rebuild” proposal won’t work although it aims
in the right direction. We don’t have the money to make massive investments in
anything (except for the Iraq war, of course, and an impending naval blockade
of Iran). No one will commit big money to neighborhoods riddled with crime.
Everyone is bogged down in debt.
The condition of buildings isn’t the problem; it’s the bands of criminals and
the general hopelessness in terms of employment. If we had good jobs, then the
situation in north Minneapolis and elsewhere could improve. Otherwise, not.
In the meanwhile, the most cost-effective approach to improving crime-ridden
neighborhoods is to deal directly with the crime. Squeeze it out to some other
place; or, better still, treat the people who are doing this crime.
The solution to employment problems lies at the national level. It lies with
correcting our flawed trade policies, the progressive substitution of capital
for labor, our overdependence on imported oil, etc., which Presidents and
Congresses from both parties have allowed. Maybe some day we’ll get around to
discussing such things. The local and national are interconnected.
OK folks. Since Dyna isn't interested in having you come to her block
consider this your engraved invitation from the 6th St Block Club to come to
our block with your party. We are located around 21rst, 22nd and 23rd Av N
between Lydate and 3rd St N. We have vacant properties
that could be used for a party/gathering on 22nd Av N between 4th and 6th St.
YOU ARE INVITED! WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU HERE!!! The time and date are
perfect. I sincerely hope that you will not opt to go to
Farview Park or the Eco Village cause those of us in our little neighborhood
are starting to feel like the red headed stepchild. I think you will be
pleasantly suprised to meet us. We have been persistently and continuously
working on the issues of the neighborhood for a couple of decades at least. We
have had successes and challenges in those years. And boy, do we have stories
to tell!
You won't find a nervous Nelly or a victim among us.
As for involving the Hawthorne neighbothood organization or any politicians
before we move forward, it would be nice for them to particpate but not
necessary and we will welcome you either way.
Gotta go I have a drug dealer to hustle away from my house.......
Carey Joe Howell
Hawthorne
I think Carey's invitation sounds wonderful and I hope that we have
collectively nailed down our location. We can always take a stroll around
other blocks to see and be seen while we are in Hawthore. As a northsider,
Carey's invitation sounds wonderful because it's an area that I haven't visited
or become familiar with, and sounds like it's new folks that I also haven't had
the pleasure of meeting.
Thanks Carey!
-Megan G.
Jordan
It sounds like Carey's block is the right one, same area and an open invitation
from people taking back their community. I will drive over and see tomorrow or
the next day. I think it would be better than a park if we do it among
welcoming people's homes. That way it is not a "picnic" it is a coming together
at real people's homes. Is Carey's block in Diane's Ward? If so I am certain
she will be there.
Carey's block club can become the heart of a Hawthorne/Jordon Block Club
organization such as we did with PNBC. Taking back their communities one block
at a time. We need to follow that old PNBC model for the whole City of
Minneapolis.
BTW I think we should plan on going until 9:00. We can bring a few bright
lights for the darker times. It should be fun.
Now you folks be sure to join us at the Village Art Festival this next Saturday
and Sunday. Also stop and see the wonderful art piece being done at 18th Street
and 16th Avenue. That art piece and the fair are celebration of how caring
people can change their community. There will be some great music as well as
some amazing art. Quite a bit of the art from emerging and homeless artists.
Guy, you have to see the homeless art and the mural. We in Ventura Village
celebrate all of OUR people including the homeless. When we talk about how we
measure the "Quality of our Community" we purposefully include ALL of our
community members. Go down and talk to the lady as she paints.
People from my community also have a history of going to support other
communities. Our people helped organize and participate years ago in marches
against drug dealing in the Central Neighborhood. On the North-side when
Plymouth Avenue had a major drug problem. I'm not sure we received the same
support when we fought that fight ourselves, but it certainly would have been
appreciated. The NRP experience has brought people from all types of
neighborhoods together to address shared ideas and problems. So Minneapolis is
better able today to call on those shared resources and empowerment. That
cooperative empowerment can bring a better quality Minneapolis for all of us.
Jim Graham
"We measure the quality of our community by the way we provide for our
children, our elders and our handicapped. It should be our intent to build
community by laying a foundation on such principles and to organize its
structure to guarantee the safety and happiness of our most vulnerable."
I'm in. Carey Joe, please post a place when you decide on one. I left my
phone number with the board chair of Hawthorne and haven't heard back yet.
When I do, I will point them to you to coordinate. I have not posted to
debate appropriate solutions, as I lack that knowledge. You guys lead, I
will follow. -Nikki
DATE: Friday August 22nd
TIME: 5-9 pm
PLACE: Hawthorne, at a place TBD between Broadway and 25th Av. N, and
between Lyndale Av. N and the I94
Greetings,
I'm in, too. What can I do to help this be successful? My areas of emphasis
are
criminal justice reform, homeless advocacy and veterans issues. When I say
"criminal justice reform" I do so with an eye toward alternatives to sentencing
for non-violent offenses, successful re-integration into communities for
ex-offenders,
and the work around collateral consequences. The public is not very well
educated
on these things. I know many, many ex-felons (and some would surprise people
a great deal) who are successful and productive people. Now, before folks freak
out not all people who go to jail are sex-offenders. I focus my energies
primarily
on non-violent drug offenders, a third of those in prison. There is an
underlying
myth that "none of these guys ever go straight". That is simply not true. They
won't remain straight, however, if they have no other alternative.
In terms of veterans there are 10s of thousands of Minnesotans who have served
or who are serving in the Conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Aside from the
policy work
I have done on this I also help out many individual veterans and their families
as they
return. As part of that I and a slate of rather prominent veterans are opening
a
Veterans Initiatives Center on the VAMC Campus. I would be happy to bring in
a bunch of veterans for this if there would be a use for us.
Lastly, the issue of homelessness. In any given year between 7 and 10 thousand
homeless folks (some are repeats)are arrested or cited by the MPD for largely
"livability"
offenses. Just so folks understand if you are on the Streets of Minneapolis at
night
with nowhere else to go and you don't look "right" you will at some point be
cited
or arrested for something...many of these "offenses" are basically derived out
of the
lack of anywhere else to be. The cops are in a bad spot, often, because
neighborhoods
or businesses call in and the cops are forced to "do something". Being on the
street
with no where to go will make you look "wrong". Not to say that the homeless
have
no responsibility for their predicaments, some do. Some have had just plain bad
luck. Others it is substance abuse, alcohol or mental health issues. Still
others have
financial problems coming out of divorce or separation. Basically, most are
simply
just regular folks fallen on bad times. Mostly, they are not rich. Wealthy
people often
have difficulties understanding how these things can happen...I deem it
arrogance and
ignorance. It is odd as so many of our ancestors fled the Old World under
similar
circumstances, many under stricture of indentured servitude...we forget that.
Most
of our families were not members of the landed gentry or aristocracy...their
crime
was more often than not poverty or political or religious dissent...but mostly
poverty.
We need to remember that.
At any rate, let me know what I can do to help increase understanding in
neighborhoods. I have no problem with public safety. For violent criminals I'll
help you drag them to the cop shop. For those in poverty or with other problems
that cannot be cured by a jail cell I ask that we have a bit more compassion.
Fearing someone because of how they look is not "criminal" it is ingnorance
in action. Very often looking at someone who looks "scary" can be dispelled by
engaging them in conversation...they are people just like you.
Guy Gambill
(Northeast)
This is my first time posting on this forum, but I've been following this
discussion for a few days now. I'm one of Carey's neighbors - just a couple of
houses down. Yes, the small group of us still remaining in this little part of
Hawthorne have known each other for years and years and have been working on
various issues for ages now - some successes, some dismal failures. I'll
second the invitation. If you folks want to meet with us and see what you
might be able to help us with, you're more than welcome. I'll be looking
forward to the 22nd. Maybe a fresh perspective is just what we need.
I'm not sure what every ones goals and expectations are for this first
get-together, but I think I can safely say until we can find a solution to two
of our most problematic properties (and nope, they aren't rental), the folks
here on 6th Street are not going to be in any position to tackle some of the
other neighborhood-wide issues. These two properties have simply worn us ragged
for years now.
If it would be helpful for me to give a brief synopsis of these properties, I
will. Maybe people could start thinking in advance about some other approaches
we might try. If you want to wait until that evening, that's fine too. One
thing I would certainly like to do when we meet is a quick little walking tour
of the area - maybe a 4 block area. That certainly wouldn't take much time and
might be very useful in our discussion.
Looking forward to our meeting and once again, thank you for your offer.
You are welcome Kevin. You and Carey and your neighbors have already made the
22nd a success. Remember Kevin, just one little candle.
It will be fun to walk your area and talk about the problems and possible
solutions. One way is to look seriously at applying the "Disorderly House"
Statute as well as the "Nuisance House" law. Notice of such and possible
penalties delivered by the police officer in charge of "Problem Properties" is
a good first step.
Hawthorne should set up a "Problem Properties List" that the Neighborhood votes
to designate and then pursue them. Bring the full weight of the City down
behind you. It works wonders. It is made much easier if they are in anyway
involved with drugs or other illegal activities. One of our Board Members, Bob
Albee, lives in a house down the street from me that was condemned and
confiscated for that reason, and then assigned for home-ownership with required
rehab.
If Diane comes we can discuss potential solutions with her. At the least, since
we are adopting your blocks as our first "Heart of the City" block,, we will
have to monitor the progress over the next several months. Perhaps have
bi-weekly reports from City officials such as the Precinct Commander and the
"Problem Properties" officer on their progress. we should have that report
posted on the List. I think our City has enough "Heart" to change a couple of
areas a year.until all of Minneapolis is as safe as the Mayor's front yard.
So THANK YOU Kevin, and your neighbors for your hospitality and courage. Send
me an off liste-mail with your address or phone number. Just hit reply instead
of reply all and I will get it.
Jim Graham
"Advances are made by those with at least a touch of irrational confidence in
what they can do."
We finally secured a baby sitter and are looking forward to meeting everyone!
Sara in Powderhorn
Hi, this is Carey Joe. We are thinking that 416 22nd Av N would be a good place for the event. This is a vacant lot right in the middle of our block club area. We don't need permission to use it and we will not need to coordinate with anyone at the city as we are not going to close off the block. All the better to get a sense of Friday night trafficking. We will have the use of the Hawthorne Area Community grill. So the next thing we need to coordinate is what kinds of foods do we want to have. I will be at work all that day until shortly before the event but Kevin and Joan and Len are great resources and we will all pitch in as we are able. They have all been here longer than I have, I am one of the newbies. I have only been here since 1991. I think the walkabout that Kevin has suggested is a really good idea. When the street level entrepreneurs see us, they'll know we are thinking of them!! There are more details to work out. I think you will be very suprised how actively and cohesively our block club has worked together even when we don't hold meetings. We are pretty city hall savvy. Like I said, do we ever have stories to tell. We do welcome the new energy and some of us are pretty curious to meet you folks. Carey Joe Howell Hawthorne Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and it looks like work........Thomas Edison Well-behaved women rarely make history....bumper sticker> Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:46:18 -0700> From: <email obscured>> Subject: Re: [Mpls] Dyna-mite Hawthorne/Mpls Issues community BBQ> To: <email obscured>; <email obscured>> > You are welcome Kevin. You and Carey and your neighbors have already made the 22nd a success. Remember Kevin, just one little candle.> > It will be fun to walk your area and talk about the problems and possible solutions. One way is to look seriously at applying the "Disorderly House" Statute as well as the "Nuisance House" law. Notice of such and possible penalties delivered by the police officer in charge of "Problem Properties" is a good first step. > > Hawthorne should set up a "Problem Properties List" that the Neighborhood votes to designate and then pursue them. Bring the full weight of the City down behind you. It works wonders. It is made much easier if they are in anyway involved with drugs or other illegal activities. One of our Board Members, Bob Albee, lives in a house down the street from me that was condemned and confiscated for that reason, and then assigned for home-ownership with required rehab.> > If Diane comes we can discuss potential solutions with her. At the least, since we are adopting your blocks as our first "Heart of the City" block,, we will have to monitor the progress over the next several months. Perhaps have bi-weekly reports from City officials such as the Precinct Commander and the "Problem Properties" officer on their progress. we should have that report posted on the List. I think our City has enough "Heart" to change a couple of areas a year.until all of Minneapolis is as safe as the Mayor's front yard.> > So THANK YOU Kevin, and your neighbors for your hospitality and courage. Send me an off liste-mail with your address or phone number. Just hit reply instead of reply all and I will get it.> > Jim Graham> > "Advances are made by those with at least a touch of irrational confidence in what they can do."> > > > Jim Graham> Ventura Village, Minneapolis> Info about Jim Graham: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/jimgraham> > This topic's messages may be viewed at: http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/IZw6HFHCj2VFMAXxQV6Ze>