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.