Secrets of the City

In spite of my liberal upbringing, and in light of my foray into property ownership, I am really buying into the Broken Windows Theory. And I feel like the boarded up gas station @ Penn & Glenwood is a prime example. There’s a ton of potential in that little neighborhood. We looked @ a couple of investment properties recently in those surrounding blocks…but the slumlords trying to sell them had allowed them to fall into disgustingly bad shape (have you ever seen what a hot crackpipe can do to a linoleum bathroom floor???). The long-abandoned schoolhouse on the SW corner of Penn & Glennwood is being rebuilt, and removing the shell of a gas station on the corner would be another step in the right direction. I can’t wait until they rename the neihborhood bounded by H-55, Glenwood, Cedar Lake Rd & Theo Wirth Pkwy as “North Bryn Mawr”

Fight the blight
Goodnight my dear
Fight the blight
Forever
Fight the blight
Goodnight my dear
The ship is a coming
And the time’s drawing near.

What does a hot crack pipe do to linoleum?

I am imagining dried brown bubbles.

Does it improve it?

Keep your shitty poetry to yourself.

Trust me, it sounds better sung in a high falsetto.

At Cedar and Lake investors of some sort have been refurbishing and building up the three non-cemetry corners of the intersection for at least a year. Things are visually improved, but the business space sits empty.

Maybe this story could’ve had some photos, too. I know, call me CRAZY for trying to tell the “new media” how to do their job, but no matter how well researched and written this story is, I still wanna see what the damn things LOOK like. More importantly, I’m too lazy to drive over there myself to do it. (Also, I’m too lazy to type this comment over at THEIR site, but I’m more than happy to kvetch HERE. No, wait! I’m NOT! Cut-n-paste is a friend!)

“Your comment has been queued for moderation by site administrators and will be published after approval.”

Well, nuts to them. Who could possibly approve of my whining?

The thing with the Bobby and Steve’s Auto World people is that they’ve kept those North Side gas stations boarded up on purpose–refusing to sell to competitors, yet refusing to run their own stations at the locales–in order to drive business to their gas station in Bryn Mawr. That’s pretty ugly business-wise and I’m glad they’re getting slapped.

G rote,

I agree. I’ve long been a fan of Broken Windows. It could really give Mpls the Discipline Enema it needs. It worked wonders in NYC.

The Minneapolis Mayor’s office is disgustingly lassiez-faire when it comes to taking stances that might be viewed as “not P.C.” , even if it’s in the name of protecting what makes this a great place to live. Seems to me the guy is just a pretty face waiting for a photo-op, and his only remaining priority is to stay in office.

BTW, Max…I knew Geddy Lee and you, sir, are no Geddy Lee

Thank Christ.

Can I count the Terminal Bar as blight in my neighbourhood?
also the buildings around it are kind of run-down and abandoned looking with broken windows, which is a shame.

The Terminal Bar is a protected historical site. They can’t paint or do any sort of upkeep without written permission from Tom Hanks.

Tom Hanks, he is a busy guy.

I should think if the city were really interested in cleaning up sites like this, they could be condemned and resold, or they could just continue to ticket the hell out of them for every little violation until the owners caved. But that would mean lots of things, including no campaign contributions, I’m sure.

I know Rudy Giuliani, and RT Rybak is no Rudy Giuliani.

How about it RT, you’ve registered on MNspeak. Why don’t you log on and explain city “policy” on sites like this?

Too bad the owner of Low Cost Records isn’t politically connected like Bobby. I had a blast refusing the offer of a free American flag from their Dante behind the counter when I was last in one of their stations.

Maybe we could ask the city to sell blighted property that it owns (e.g. the Hollywood Theater)?? Maybe they could sell it to the first comer with the right credit, without years of “community input”, so something will actually happen in our lifetimes?

I don’t think it needs a photo, imagining a boarded up gas station isn’t all that difficult. So he’s waiting on the taxpayers of Hennepin County to pay to clean up around Girard so he can make it profitable again, but he’s just sitting on the other one so it doesn’t hurt business at Bryn-Mawr? The city should fine the hell out of him.

yeah it was ironic reading Rybak’s comments in that record store closing, considering what Bobby is doing. It’s also sad because of how much he overdoes it at the other stations.

Whether a mom and pop business, the city, or a large corporation, no neighborhood should have to put up with blighted, boarded up buildings. There are times when a historically or architecturally significant building may have to sit until funds or a suitable use can be found, (Sears and Grain Belt buildings) or get ignored until they burn down (Dana Hall and Washburn “A” Mill) however, I am betting the gas station probably is not a very historically significant structure.

I think Bobby Williams just made himself an easy target for neighborhood citizens interested in cleaning up their neighborhood, sort of the poster child for absentee property owners. Bad PR managment on his part I would say.

I think Saint Sabrina’s should be condemed and I’m glad I moved before it did.

Kevin: Why?

First of all, Rudy Giuliani is a fascist creep and NYC was better with the filth and the depravity out on the streets of Time Square where you could see it rather than hidden away in corporate board rooms.

That said, perhaps Rybak doesn’t want to promote your “non-PC” positions because they are sophomoric and void of significance?

Go back to the suburbs dude where you and your white buddies can rub one out to Ted Nugent records.

Dana Hall was in the process of being renovated when it was burned down by homeless people. There has already been quite a bit of money put into asbestos removal and cleaning up the site before the accident.

sophomoric and void of significance

Great working title for raindog’s autobiography.

What would yours be Buckwheat?

Bill O’Riley’s Ass Clown?

such a clever retort.

Dana Hall was in the process of being renovated when it was burned down by homeless people. There has already been quite a bit of money put into asbestos removal and cleaning up the site before the accident.

My recollection was that it burned down due to something actually involved in the renovation (welding torches or something like that). They were quite a ways along in the project, but they hadn’t bothered to purchase any insurance.

Very sad.

RAINDOG66,
…Giuliani a fascist creep? Benevolent Dictator …maybe… call him what you want. His strategy/tactics WORK! I have spent much time in New York pre-Giuliani and post-Giuliani… I prefer the latter!
ANTI-CORPORATE COMMENTS:
Of course there are some corporate pigs in the boardroom. The vast majority execs are moral and ethical. Its “sophmoric”… more like sophmoronic to judge all execs on the actions of a few. By the way most the business in time square are SMALL. Here some facts for you to choke on… I mean chew on.:
http://www.nfib.com/object/smallBusinessFacts

b/t/w How is that Skynard 8 track you bought at Cheapo?

I am one of the neighbors that attend protests. I live a few blocks from this horrible site. Here is a photo of what the site looked like when we were protesting. It is not much better today…the graffitti is painted and the fliers are gone but other than that it is the same.

We are still working on this as a neighborhood and will continue to do so until the owner cleans it up or sells it…which is our hope. We want the property developed with a landlord that is present and cares…not another absentee who doesn’t give a sh*t type of property owner.

Torch it. But don’t tell ‘em I told you to.

Agreed…we need more vigilante arsonists in this town.

HOORAY…the property has been purchsed by someone AND the building is going to be demolished!! HOOORRRAAAYYY We did it!!!!!

I think there will be a press conference soon with more of the details.

now if only I could convince someone to buy nicollet island and demolish it …

WE DID IT!!!

http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/node/3199

Either fix up the stations so they can be used as operatable gas stations for the people in the area or make them tear them down. They are an I sore when they are all boarded up and the pumps are gone or busted up. They bring the whole area down. Same with the other vacant run down buildings and homes. I’m sure some other business could use the property or the city would. An open lot is better to look at than these dumps. Minneapolis needs to address this now before all the decent folks on north side move away.