[Mpls] Stupid Nonprofit Tricks...

[Dyna Sluyter]

	First off, I had a discussion with the principal occupant of the 
mobile flophouse/crackhouse/whorehouse and it has moved on. Not sure if 
he moved it or if MPD finally got it. As for the dreams of banishing 
the 3 ton SUVs with strict enforcement of the truck route laws, until 
we get the police force fully staffed so the firetrucks don't beat them 
to violent felony calls that is but a dream. Besides, this whole mobile 
disorderly house incident has reminded me that I need a bigger pickup 
so I can transport future offending vehicles to places where they might 
get a prompt police response... Let's see, I think I have the mayor's 
home address here somewhere and the council member's addresses must be 
public information?

	The street was relatively quiet this morning so I wandered west to see 
if anything was happening up at Third Way Network's four fourplexes. 
Well, not much is happening... most of the buildings have been pretty 
much gutted and I suspect reality has now set in.... It costs more to 
rehab 117 year old buildings than to build new. Meanwhile, 16 units of 
affordable housing have been lost and the gangbangers that formerly 
resided there have moved down the block to terrorize me and my 
neighbors.

	Peace Foundation's plans for the 'hood are similarly deluded. What 
they have proposed is a classic community "intervention" that might 
work well in Richfield or Robbinsdale. Sure, they can buy enough picnic 
supplies for a NNO feed on every block on 26th Avenue North, but unless 
there's a couple cops on every block the seniors and families will stay 
locked behind their multiple deadbolts.

	Now here in Minnesota, the land of 10,000 nonprofits, they're sort of 
a protected species. But they should not be above criticism. Third Way 
Network is failing because it ignored several realities of our housing 
market- we have a surplus of housing as folks of all incomes flee our 
violent city so their rehabbed building would have sat empty anyway. 
They ignored the fact that once you've gutted to the shells of a 117 
year old buildings on questionable foundations you may as well build 
new construction. And they forget that one bad tenant can make life 
hell for the rest in their four fourplexes, and no off street parking 
means the tenants cars will be burglarized and vandalized on a regular 
basis. By now Third Way Network could have bulldozed the buildings and 
made a couple families homeowners of new factory built homes for less 
than $100,000 each.

	Peace Foundation seems intent on similar nieve dogooderism. They 
propose to turn loose an army of volunteers in the freefire zone that 
is 26th Avenue North. Consider that for every fatal urban shooting 
there are five shootings that will produce lifelong disability, with 
medical costs and loss of income running into the millions. Hopefully 
Peace Foundation has good insurance, as it sounds like they're too 
innocent to issue their volunteers bullet proof vests or even a cell 
phone.

	hanging on in Hawthorne,

		Dyna Sluyter