The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Today, it's all good.

Saving the life of a stray cat, Women's History Walk in lower Dayton's Bluff and dinner at The Strip Club, finished with a piece of peach bread pudding. Is this not happiness?

Dayton's Bluff Gets Level 3 Sex Offender!

Shutter the windows; barricade the doors! Dayton's Bluff is scheduled to host a Level 3 Sex Offender. Sadly, anyone in Dayton's Bluff can define Level 3 designation as a sex criminal who is most likely to reoffend. Most likely to commit another sex crime. Most likely to violently molest or rape again. "They have to live somewhere," neighbors hear time and time again. "It's better that they have an address so we can follow up," Police say. But do they all have to live in a single neighborhood? Unlike the Most Likely to Succeed award from high school, Level 3 designation is a very real threat to a community that already carries an enormous burden for the City of Saint Paul.

What burden? An uncanny amount of rental property, for one--many of which don't carry the Certificate of Occupancy required for any rental unit (a protection for tenants, landlords and communities that general standards of health and safety are being implemented and also revenue to the City of Saint Paul). You want sex offenders? We got sex offenders. A recent one, whose crime was against children, found a comfy little apartment directly across from the Margaret Rec Center. We've also got a steady flow of immigrant populations into the neighborhood, just as it's been since the birth of Dayton's Bluff. The challenge is forming community when everyone maintains their mother tongue. We're also burdened with the perception that our standards of quality are lower--that we don't mind a little rough-around-the-edges je ne sais quoi. Funny how none of my friends or neighbors in Dayton's Bluff fit this perception.

So where's it coming from?

When the place gets trashy, pick up the trash

In the wake of yesterday's homicide, the missus and I did the only thing we could think of that would make an immediate impact: clean up garbage. Four bags worth in an alley on the block where the shooting occurred. Highlights: a toy pirate head (eye patch, bandanna, knife in mouth--classic), 5 marbles, the lack of smell from the decomposing, headless raccoon.

Today, we took on the Margaret Rec Center grounds with the help of many neighbors. Seven bags filled with trash, from a bevy of broken bottles to dog poop and dirty diapers. Nothing like landing in dog poop when you come flying off a swing. The people were amazing; the neighborhood was amazing.

We recover; we heal. We won't, however, let this crime go gentle into that good night.

Another Murder Less Than 2 Blocks from Rec Center

In the early morning hours of June 28, the humidity broke, the breeze through the windows grew cool and gunshots woke up neighbors near the 1200 block of Beech Street. A young man was gunned down as he pulled into a driveway. His passenger was unharmed. In the police press release issued at 10 AM, there is no quote from Chief Harrington about the impact of violence on communities. I have yet to see any comments issued from the Mayor's office about the equal value of life across his fair city. Neighbors without leaders collect on the sidewalk and share firsthand knowledge about the incident. We're left alone to ponder another death in the shadow of the Margaret Rec Center.

Equal Outrage Regardless of Socioeconomic Status, Please

I hope this is a new citywide trend and not just protocol for when crimes happen in other neighborhoods:

“As our Homicide Unit works to develop the evidence to get the person or persons responsible for this murder in custody and a case ready for charging, I have directed the department’s Gang Unit to mount increased pressure on these active rival gang members and their associates with the hope that it will quell escalating violence,” said St. Paul Police Chief John Harrington. “This shooting occurred in a residential neighborhood, less than one block from a recreation center, highlighting how important addressing gang violence is to community safety,” he added.

[Quoted from SPPD press release following the murder of Dionte Ramone Montantes, a young man who was gunned down while walking near the Jimmy Lee Rec Center in the Summit-University neighborhood of Saint Paul, Minnesota.]

As neighbors can no doubt recall, Dayton's Bluff has had many incidents of or near this magnitude--a shooting over a girl across the street from the Margaret Rec Center that the police were reluctant to write up, a murder over drugs a block from the Margaret Rec Center, drugs and prostitution all around the Margaret Rec Center and an enormous amount of gang vandalism on the Margaret Rec Center proper. Plus, a youth volunteer was gunned down last year after leaving Dayton's Bluff Rec Center with a former gang member who was actively pursuing a life outside the gang. If we get press for these incidents, we don't get commentary from the Chief of Police or the Mayor about how reprehensible violence is and how it degrades the community. And they certainly don't show up at vigils to express concern and solidarity. That's why I hope this example is a new trend citywide and not just because the violence has sullied other neighborhoods.

The Crossing Wire

District 17 has great plans for the Fitzgerald Park area of downtown St. Paul: namely, the development of an actual park on the land bordered by Minnesota and Robert and 9th and 10th streets (block 10). The adopted plan by the City Council (8/16/2006) states somewhat noncommittally:

For planning purposes only, the preferred future land use on Block 10 is a full-block City park. 

Until such time as the City is able to take the necessary actions to assemble land and build a park, parcels on the block may be used for any legal use permitted under their current zoning classification, provided that the proposed use meets all applicable conditions and/or standards.  Any future use may not be denied exclusively on the basis that the vision for the block is of a public park.

At the CIB (Capital Improvement Budget) Task Force meeting last night, some District 17 folks were there requesting one million dollars to aid in the construction of the park on block 10. They believe that the development of the park in the immediate future is critical to the development of the entire area, especially in attracting outside investment. Both the Penfield and Lund's have expressed interest in developing in the Fitzgerald Park area, but according to the folks last night, that development hinges on the construction of the park land, which in turn hinges on removing the existing buildings from block 10. One building is the Pedro Luggage building, currently unoccupied and up for sale. Two others are occupied: one by Union Gospel Mission and the other--the Public Safety Annex--by the St. Paul Police. The presenters expressly said that only the Union Gospel Mission had any plans to remain on the site for the next 10 years, but even they were planning to find a new location after 10 years.

Rewind 40 minutes in the meeting. A representative from the St. Paul Police was presenting on the 6 CIB projects that the police had submitted. The first three were requesting 3.1 million dollars for repairs to the Public Safety Annex, money to replace the roofs and HVAC system, install a new elevator and create a new ADA compliant entrance to the building. The repairs to the roof are urgent; the fourth floor is unusable due to severe leaks, and I imagine the present or soon-to-be growth of mold. The building currently houses about 60 staff members, a radio repair shop for the department and (most critically) the only indoor firing range operated by the St. Paul Police. Replacing the firing range by building a new facility or retrofitting an existing building would cost far more than repairing the annex. The officer did not sound like the police were planning on vacating the building, although several of the task force members suggested that it would be wiser to build new.

How did these two organizations both working for the betterment of the city come to this point--wires crossed, fighting for the same piece of land?

Who can replace 3M?

Hopefully Eastsiders can! The community has spoken, a blog has been created, and a taskforce has been formed. Redesign principles have been meticulously outlined to guide the process.

3M has been a vital entity to a working class community. It's jobs, along with Seeger and Hamm's brewery, built and sustained this community for decades. But now, 3M is the last of the three to leave us. There is a temptation to turn belly up and moan about all that was and may never be again.

But East Siders have more grit and gumption than that. We see a great opportunity for our future in this redevelopment process. We are salivating over what used to be and could be once again. I have heard stories about strolling up and down 7th street in the old days and bumping into friends and neighbors out doing the same. Apparently there were several exceptional diners along the way where one could stop for homemade chili (hot or cold) and the best beef sandwiches of anywhere around. I've heard tales of times when jobs were plenty and secure. I've also heard about a time when double lots abounded, green space was abundant and the community had space to stretch and breathe.

I think many East Siders dream of seeing these things return. I've heard them say it over and over again at various meetings. So the task force has a huge job ahead of them. They fight the battles of job creation vs. community building and historic preservation vs. returns on investment. The struggle may be long and difficult. If you meet one of these East Side warriors, pat them on the back and encourage them with the story of your dream for our future. Who can replace 3M? East Siders can!