Being the amazing, true-to-life adventures and (very likely) misadventures of a writer who seeks to take his education, activism and seemingly boundless energy to North Minneapolis, (NoMi) to help with a process of turning a rapidly revitalizing neighborhood into something approaching Urban Utopia. I am here to be near my child. From 02/08 to 06/15 this blog pushed free speech to the envelope, so others could take heart and speak unafraid. Email me at hoffjohnw@gmail.com
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Wednesday, February 24, 2010
JNS Blog Declares "Pamiko Comeuppance Day!"
Post by the Hawthorne Hawkman, photos by Johnny Northside
In the spirit of Mayor RT Rybak's declaration of "Get to NoMi Day," the two contributors to the Johnny Northside blog met last night at an emergency meeting to formally declare Wednesday, February 24, 2010 "Pamiko Comeuppance Day." Pictured above, I am drinking from a special cup purchased to commemorate just this occasion.
The declaration of "Pamiko Comeuppance Day" reads as follows...
WHEREAS Dream Home Development LLC and DPK Investments LLC were two limited liability corporations owned in part by Paul Koenig and operating primarily in the Hawthorne, Jordan, Near North, and Willard-Hay neighborhoods of north Minneapolis;
And WHEREAS homes constructed by Dream Home Development and DPK Investments LLC were built in a manner that did not support healthy communities, nor did they provide quality housing to their tenants;
And WHEREAS many contractors had to file liens or sue in order to get paid for their work (if they were paid at all);
And WHEREAS neighbors living around and near Dream Home properties often complained of problem tenants;
And WHEREAS fraudulently inflated rental incomes led to a first wave of scores of foreclosures attributed to Paul Koenig’s business practices;
And WHEREAS Pamiko Properties LLC, Marklee Construction LLC, and MCK Investments LLC are three other such corporations owned and operated by Paul and Michelle Koenig;
And WHEREAS Pamiko Properties and its associated LLC’s continued the practice of poorly-done repairs, failure to pay contractors, and renting to tenants who caused problems in primarily the same four neighborhoods listed above;
And WHEREAS three multi-million dollar sheriff’s sale bids were placed at 2420 Bryant Ave N ($2.5 million), 4652 Aldrich Ave N ($1.3 million), and 1417 Logan Ave N ($1.9 million), with an additional $1 million foreclosure in St. Paul;
And WHEREAS publicly available documents give strong indications that Paul Koenig, Michelle Koenig, Pamiko Properties, Marklee Construction, and MCK Investments may have benefitted from fraudulent or otherwise criminal activities in their business practices;
And WHEREAS said business practices directly contributed to a second wave of Koenig-related foreclosures in less than ten years;
And WHEREAS Paul and Michelle Koenig were able to sustain a lavish lifestyle including thoroughbred racehorses, a million-dollar farm home, an RV, and four washing machines, while their properties, tenants, and surrounding neighborhoods suffered from poor or fraudulent business practices;
And WHEREAS the Johnny Northside blog has extensively documented said events, beginning with the post titled, “Does this House Look Like it’s Worth $2.5 Million?” and most recently, “City Pages Makes Paul ‘Pamiko-gate’ Koenig a Slumlord ‘Supastah;’”
And WHEREAS today’s cover story of the City Pages is titled, “The One-Man Housing Crisis,” in reference to Paul Koenig and his various LLC’s;
And WHEREAS the front page of today’s Star Tribune article, titled “Who’s Responsible for this Mess?” also tells the story of extreme disrepair at 2420 Bryant Ave N that put the lives of Rosie Lee and her children at risk;
And WHEREAS the good citizens of north Minneapolis, the Johnny Northside blog, and our elected officials are committed to holding the appropriate parties responsible for these events;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Johnny Northside blog declares Wednesday, February 24, 2010 to be “Pamiko Comeuppance Day” throughout all of Minneapolis.
Here here.
ReplyDeleteI would like to point out that cup was filled with red wine kindly provided by Jordan neighborhood super citizen Megan Goodmundson, and the name of the vintage was, appropriately enough, "Well Red."
Awww DARN -
ReplyDeleteHad I known, I would have contributed a bottle of "Big House Red."
That's okay, I also have a bottle of "Broke Ass Red" to toast to the Koenig's also.
ReplyDelete