Dear Friends, I have been out of town for the last few weeks. I was sorry to see on my return that some of my friends have had so little to do in my absence they have spent great energy speculating about my character (or lack thereof).
The hideous blemish on my reputation seems to be a result of my association with Basim Sabri. Mr. Sabri is alleged to have tried to influence a City Council Member. Federal prosecutors indicted him in District Court. The indictment was dismissed by the judge. An appeal by the prosecution to the Court of Appeals reinstated the indictment, and, now, that decision has been appealed by the defense to the United States Supreme Court. But, of course, Mr. Sabri is guilty until proven innocent. He's guilty of being a Palestinian working to provide business opportunities for Latin Americans and Somalis. He's guilty of being a businessman trying to rehabilitate residential and commercial buildings in South Minneapolis. And, worst of all, he's guilty of getting things done. Look at what he's done to Lake Street from 2nd Avenue to 5th Avenue. And he did that without any government money, completely on his own. I heard about Basim Sabri years ago. Lisa McDonald was my friend before she ran for City Council the first time. I heard a lot about Basim Sabri, and that helped form an opinion in my mind about who he was. Then, I started to notice what he was doing. I looked at what he had done. And I began to think it was probably better to judge the man on what he had done, rather than on what some people said about him. I have had an interest in the Sears building all my life. It has been an icon in South Minneapolis. Our family shopped there when I was a child. My mother worked in the Catalog Department. I bought a house two blocks away on 10th Avenue in 1970, and I have lived in its shadow ever since. When Sears left, like the rest of South Minneapolis, I was devastated. I tried to save the building when the Council Member wanted to tear it down for a Chicago developer who wanted to replace it with a strip mall. In 1987 I offered a plan to use the first floor as a community market place, open to all ethnic groups in South Minneapolis-one-stop shopping, you would be able to get onion skins for eggrolls, tortilla shells for tacos and lefse for butter and brown sugar-all under one roof. But it was just an idea. I had no capital to undertake something like that. Then the Mercado opened on Bloomington and Lake, and Basim Sabri opened a bazaar on Lake and Pillsbury for Somali small businesses. Since then Sabri has created business spaces for Latin Americans and Somalis at 207 East Lake, 301 East Lake, 341-347 East Lake, and, most recently, at 417 East Lake. I heard MCDA was inviting proposals for the renovation of the Sears building. The last time MCDA asked for proposals, I don't remember anyone but Ray Harris making an offer. I was afraid no one would want to work to save the building. I believed Basim Sabri could do for the Sears building what he had been doing for troubled properties along Lake Street. I met with him, and I convinced him to submit a proposal. I am a very small member of his team to renovate the building. I believe very strongly that he has the vision, the energy, the determination and the experience to renovate the building in a manner that will best benefit all the people of South Minneapolis. I have not publicly written about this until now because our decision to submit a proposal happened so fast. On June 9 we learned there were three other developers submitting proposals, and we might not make the first cut, so it didn't seem worth talking about until we knew one way or the other. The decision of MCDA to shortlist just happened a few days ago, and MCDA decided to submit all four developers to the City Council sitting as the MCDA Board of Commissioners. So, at this point, Sabri Properties, along with Fine Associates, Ryan Properties and the Comote Development Team will be considered by the MCDA Board in September. There are strengths and weaknesses in the other proposals. But, perhaps, a comparison of the proposals should wait for another time. There has never been a secret about my association with Sabri Properties. It was mentioned prominently in the June 14 Star Tribune article by Steve Brandt that described the proposals. But, to return to the purpose of this response, yes, I am proud to be an associate of Basim Sabri, and I believe he has done great things to renovate Lake Street. He's colorful and controversial. He's not afraid to crack eggs to make an omelet. But, he gets things done! Ed Felien Powderhorn TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
