Craig Miller wrote:
WM: Maybe a disclaimer: Craig is pretty sour on Mpls. right now, some of
it is justifiable. Too, since I lobbied and testified for the landlord
licensing ordinance, I bear some of the responsibility for his
disgruntlement. I will also say that this law is (1) not well written,
(2) in hindsight does not get to the issues very effectively, (3) is a
pain in the tookus to enforce justly, and is, therefore,
counter-productive on a lot of levels.
That said, however, some issues still need addressing vis-a-vis the
relationship between businesses, the city, and the population.
The poster writes
The problem has been festering for a while. Down at 18th and
Washington the Old Colony station has become a late night hangout for
various and sundry gangbangers and such. Gunshots are a frequent
occurrence there, in fact there was a shooting there last night. No
death was pronounced so that shots fired didn't make the news. The
violence at Old Colony is so frequent that Minneapolis Police often
stage there in readiness around bar closing time. Makes one wonder why
the city allows Old Colony to stay open all night- perhaps it's because
their magazine rack is mostly stocked with porn? Having the 200 Club
open again doesn't help either- the dealers are doing business in the
parking lot just like before.
WM: Under a different name, the same situation exists at Park Av. and
Lake St. Poster wants to shut down the station, identifying it as the
watering hole for nogoodniks in the middle of the night. Craig
identifies possible culprits and says jail them.
Since I've been studying on this issue pretty hard for several years, I
don't think either answer is the answer, but there is something in each
to be examined.
At Park and Lake, I'm now looking for someone who will update the gas
station so that it no longer screams ghetto gas, etc. here, but takes
the stance that the owner cares about this station and is willing to
invest in his/her business. Depending on who owns the station and what
kind of person that owner is, there is a way for us to help each other
and both be more comfortable. There's a way to get the police to help
make these changes with us and get their legit needs met into the bargain.
It is going to require that everyone back down off their high horses and
come to a solution jointly. But there is a solution in the situation
that will work.
(CM)
Supposedly legal to drink age adults come out of bars and start shooting up
the streets. So lets shut down the gas station. Now that's getting to the
root cause of things.
Drug dealing going on in a parking lot, that's the bar owners fault. Shut
him down.
Lady's and gentleman, that is the first step to economic cleansing of a
gritty blue collar neighborhood. Ignore the crime, blame someone else.
WM: There is an economic cleansing being requested, but it need not be
an economic erasure.
Don't deal with the law breakers. Bust the people with a license. Trash
their business with the power of government. Government of the inspector, by the
neighborhood groupster, for the economic class cleanser.
WM: So, as one of the persistent neighborhood groupsters, I'm going to
take umbrage at the sentence immediately above.
What I envisioned in a landlord licensing ordinance and what was passed
were not the same thing by a long chalk. Having seen the ordinance in
action, I'm clear that what we have does not work effectively for the
amount of money and energy invested. It does not mean that we do not
need to license businesses, but that we have to do it intelligently.
Coming from Central, however, I'm not willing to spend time engaged in a
sniper fest--even though I'm good at it. I want an intelligent,
consensus solution of all parties involved as a reward for opening a
pandora's box.
WizardMarks, Central
Craig Miller
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Former Camdenite
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