[Mpls] This Week in The Minneapolis Observer

[Craig Cox]

T H E M I N N E A P O L I S O B S E R V E R
A Weekly Digest of All Things Minneapolitan
Vol. 1, No. 28
February 25, 2002

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THIS WEEK IN THE OBSERVER:
* A Counter-Revolution on the West Bank
* R.T. Under Fire for Civilian Review Authority Cuts
* University Student Lands on The Weakest Link
* "Connective Living" the Latest North Side Housing Plan
* Shubert Theater Takes One for the Guthrie
* MPR's Financial Crisis
Plus: That other bridge to nowhere, a real Irish pub, new rules for dog owners, garden planning, and the ultimate stadium strategy.

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A COUNTER-REVOLUTION ON THE WEST BANK
A seemingly benign home-ownership program has ignited a neighborhood political battle in Cedar-Riverside, one that paints a darker picture of the golden days of West Bank activism.
The West Bank Community Development Corporation's (WBCDC) Transitions Home Program is offering 18 residents of a local housing co-op the option of buying their homes. But according to Dimitri Kaasan in Pulse (www.pulsetc.com), the offer rings hollow to some. "We have no clear title to the property," says one of the residents, longtime local resident Joan Scully. "This is not really home-ownership at all."
Scully and other critics see the program, which gives the CDC the right of first refusal should the owner of the property want to sell it or bequeath it to a relative, as being too restrictive and just another example of a power-hungry organization trying to consolidate its control in the neighborhood. "This is a far cry from the CDC West Bankers formed many years ago," Scully says. "The CDC is no longer a community organization. They're here to fleece the poor . . . again."
The CDC, which arose from the bitter neighborhood struggle against developer Keith Heller's West Bank high-rise project in the early '70s, has itself become a powerful housing developer in the area over the past 20 years, building hundreds of units of co-op housing. But the group's 1999 refinancing of five Cedar-Riverside housing co-ops, which made the home-ownership program possible, angered many residents, who felt they'd been railroaded. "That's the historic pattern for the CDC," says David Markle, a longtime West Bank resident. "Their first rule has been to try to control things. Their second has been to make money."
CDC officials admit they could have done a better job communicating with residents about the program. The group has reviewed the complaints in connection with the program's restrictions and has agreed to delay any legal action against buyers who are having second thoughts, but officials there have refused to change the program's guidelines. Court battles are expected to begin in March.

RYBAK UNDER FIRE FOR DUMPING CIVILIAN REVIEW AUTHORITY
Local African American leaders are lambasting Mayor R.T. Rybak after he and the City Council in the wake of their decision to effectively eliminate the Civilian Review Authority.

CONNECTIVE LIVING PROJECT IN THE WORKS
The Intergovernmental Relations Committee last week voted to endorse an $8.75 million federal funding request by a Minneapolis nonprofit called Ageless Possibilities, Inc., which hopes to develop a national model of housing and community services called "connective living" for the elderly and disabled.

ANOTHER BRIDGE TO NOWHERE
Before there was a new Guthrie skyway to nowhere, there was the fancy new bicycle/walkway bridge over Hiawatha Avenue at 24th St. Several months ago, however, somebody blocked it off with large signs and chain link fence and it remains blocked today. So we asked 9th Ward Council Member Gary Schiff what was up, and he told us it was a classic case of bureaucratic bungling. "I think it is closed during the winter, because no one pays to have the snow cleared on it," he told The Observer. "I'm not sure if it is MnDot's responsibility or Little Earth's."

NOW THAT'S AUTHENTIC
The proprietors of Keegan's Irish Pub & Restaurant in Northeast Minneapolis don't fool around when it comes to accessorizing. The bar at the new eatery was specially delivered from Waterford, Ireland, according to the Northeaster, and came with four real Irish workmen to install it.


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Craig Cox
Editor
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