Consider, if you will, the art and science of drug loitering. If you're going to loiter, you'll probably just stand around. Maybe you'll lean against a wall to save your energy. If you want to loiter a long time, you need to find a place to sit like the "butt fence" around the perimeter of Merwin's Liquor.
However, if you want to make a CAREER out of loitering, you need to keep yourself entertained. Yesterday, at Hawthorn (sic) Crossings Strip Mall, quite near the sign which claims no loitering will be allowed, I saw a guy who...
...brought a basketball with him, and bounced it repeatedly against the wall of the strip mall while just, you know, hanging around. The anti-loitering signs appear to tell the truth, however. The anti-loitering rule is POLICE ENFORCED. God knows you don't see any MALL MANAGEMENT doing something about it. No, the job is all dumped on the lap of the Fourth Precinct while the owners of the mall and the businesses there just keep raking in the money from, inter alia, McNuggets.
Seldom does one enter the parking lot without witnessing some no-account characters hanging around, often inside of vehicles. In all the many months I've been watching this open air drug market, I've never seen a security guard in the parking lot, not even ONCE. If I saw one, I'd be writing about it and giving him/her some kind of rating, but that just isn't the case.
Yes, I must say I am really looking forward to Merwin's Liquor fixing the "butt fence" situation, so I can direct more effort and energy at Hawthorn (sic) Crossings Strip Mall...a place which continues to be MY BLOG BITCH.
From the perspective of someone from outside of N MPLS, I can tell you that this is a HUGE issue affecting the perception of your neighborhood. The way I see it, perceptually most people have already heard of the negative crap from either other people or the media. However, it is STRONGLY reinforced when they actually visit N MPLS and this is the First Impressions that are made: 1) They enter through the "gateway" of the Washington and W Broadway intersection which is ugly hardscape with no greenery, public art, welcoming signage, etc. (and more often than not has a number of panhandlers). THEN they proceed to enter with the first visual impressions being run down buildings such as the Hong Kong International Bld. and Finally, the icing on the cake is they reach the parking lots and corners of Merwins and Hawthorne Crossings to find large numbers of thuggish looking people just hanging out on the corners. By that point all of the negative perceptions have been reinforced and there will be nothing that can be done to change people's minds otherwise. It doesn't matter what great programs are available or what nice houses or parks might be tucked away in the residential areas. Those are not the "face" of N MPLS that make the first impressions. And first impressions can not be undone. Those first perceptual impressions need to be recognized for the powerful impact they have as they have a HUGE impact on the Northside rising. And the loitering issue is one of the biggest.
ReplyDeleteI cannot agree more with Anonymouse above. However, there are some BIG changes on the way for West Broadway and that gateway at I94 will soon feature a 2 story mural by Northside artist Charles Caldwell. The jazz themed mural will be on the side of the 4th Street Saloon and there are four others being completed this year all the way down to Penn. Things are changing and it's gonna be great. There are banners and painted trash cans and soon an outdoor art gallery at Broadway & Dupont.
ReplyDeleteWe're working on it .... and hope that folks will broaden their sights and begin to see some of the other things along the Avenue, as well.
I would also like to add...
ReplyDeleteHong Kong International recently repainted their exterior. If I am going to point fingers, I might be more inclined to point them at...the 900 Block of West Broadway, but especially at Hawthorn Crossings. At least Merwin's is promising to do something about the butt fence situation....