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 writesWM: 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.
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.
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)WM: There is an economic cleansing being requested, but it need not be an economic erasure.
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: So, as one of the persistent neighborhood groupsters, I'm going to take umbrage at the sentence immediately above.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.
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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