It is very disappointing to see this block permit denial. Specially in a corner that has been completely redeveloped by Latino business owners. Does anybody remember anymore what Bloomington and Lake was like before el Mercado Central, the Me Gusta building, Plaza Verde, or the grocery store La Mexicana, restaurant Guayaquil? Is this how the city thanks Latinos and welcomes us?
The Mexican Independence celebration of September 15th is an effort that is organized by a number of prominent Hispanic organizations. Although the permit was requested by the Mercado Central, there are celebrations that night in Plaza Verde sponsored by the organizations like the Mexican Consulate, LEDC, Univision, Latino Communications Network among several others. The traditional celebration usually includes a ceremony at midnight (Mexican Time) on Sept 15th with a message from the president of Mexico. Asking to have this event on a different night, would be like asking people in the US to celebrate fourth of July and its fireworks on a different night. This permit denial and the posts about Sludge/MeloGlaze, make me wonder if the comments I continue to hear from small business owners in Minneapolis, that the city is overegulating us to death, are true. I've lead a Latino owned business that has grown from three to 20 employees over the past six years, in Lake Street, and haven't personally felt this is true for our business. But I'm talking to more and more Latino business owners that are considering opening or expanding businesses in the inner ring suburbs, and overegulation seems to be the main reason. We hear over an over from politicians in the city that Latinos and our businesses are appreciated and welcome. This denial reminds us one more time of the consequences of a lack of diversity, specially among immigrants, when city decisions are being made. I understand that council members Zimmermann and Schiff are currently active in overturning this insensitive decision to deny the permit, and that the celebration will probably happen after all. I thank both council members on their proactive work on this issue. But this should have never happened in the first place. It's sad that so much lobbying from the Latino community in this issue has to be accompanied by long explanations on why this celebration is so important to Mexicans on Sept 15th. We invite everyone in this list to join the celebrations on Sept 15th if the permit is granted. A good chance to eat great food, listen to great music, and join us in a fun celebration. It will also show you support our community's efforts in improving our neighborhood. I hope we'll all celebrate together. Alberto Monserrate President CEO Latino Communications Network (LCN Media) Publishers of Weekly Spanish Newspaper Gente de Minnesota Bi-weekly Latino Entertainment Publication Vida y Sabor Yearly Minnesota-Iowa Hispanic Yellow Pages Directory 1516 E Lake Street #200 (Plaza Verde) Minneapolis, MN 55407 Office: 612-729-5900 Office: 612-243-1283 Fax: 612-729-5999 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: www.lcnmedia.com REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
