Photo and blog post by John HoffWhen I have a few spare moments while driving around, I make 311 calls. It's a great stress reliever to dial three digits, speak to a pleasant operator, and realize you just made some absentee owner--most likely a bank--actually keep the grass mowed at a vacant house. Occupied houses usually get a free pass from me on the grass mowing calls, unless I see something "thuggy" happening on the front lawn or--as was the case yesterday--I know for a fact the house is owned by slumlord Bashir Moghul.
But in the last few days, an odd thing started to happen in the course of my 311 hobby...
I'd call in an overgrown, vacant lot and it turned out somebody else had called it in the day before. I'd call in a house unsecured, open to trespass...and it turned out the house had been called in a couple days before. This didn't happen EVERY time I called, but it happened often enough that I started to notice the pattern.
Are other residents of the neighborhood taking up the task of going on "311 and 911 patrols" as this blog has urged, both by example and exhortation? In fact, it's actually getting hard to make "911 hooker calls" on Penn Ave. N., even if you drive around the right time of night. (Of course, the "defecating hooker" is an exception, she's ALWAYS around)
On the one hand, I should be glad these problems are getting reported and our neighborhood is getting better by leaps and bounds, the progress of the "NoMi Revitalization Movement" unstoppable. On the other hand...it's getting really hard to score my "311 buzz."
But in the last few days, an odd thing started to happen in the course of my 311 hobby...
I'd call in an overgrown, vacant lot and it turned out somebody else had called it in the day before. I'd call in a house unsecured, open to trespass...and it turned out the house had been called in a couple days before. This didn't happen EVERY time I called, but it happened often enough that I started to notice the pattern.
Are other residents of the neighborhood taking up the task of going on "311 and 911 patrols" as this blog has urged, both by example and exhortation? In fact, it's actually getting hard to make "911 hooker calls" on Penn Ave. N., even if you drive around the right time of night. (Of course, the "defecating hooker" is an exception, she's ALWAYS around)
On the one hand, I should be glad these problems are getting reported and our neighborhood is getting better by leaps and bounds, the progress of the "NoMi Revitalization Movement" unstoppable. On the other hand...it's getting really hard to score my "311 buzz."
4 comments:
We learn it from watching you alright?! Picture an egg frying in a pan, c.1987.
Its hard to believe you have ZERO coverage of the postman who was attacked by pit bulls yesterday. This is a huge issue in North Minneapolis and needs to be addressed.
My inner cynic tells me the only reason it's hard to spot hookers on Penn is because business is good.
Hey man, I got the illegally parked thug van towed away by using 311. It took 2 months, but its a done deal!
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