Photo and blog post by John HoffThe saga of 2700 Morgan Ave. N. has been extensively documented on this blog--how neighbors fought to get the combination crack house and whorehouse shut down. How it was repeatedly boarded, but denizens would rip off the boards and crawl inside. How the house sat for a long time, but finally it was torn down. How something valuable was saved from the house:
FRIDGE MAGNETS!
I should point out--to be completely fair--I've heard it said crack wasn't SOLD there, merely CONSUMED there. That the "crack house" label isn't, in that sense, fair. (Although the "whorehouse" label has never been seriously disputed)
Johnny Northside Blog stands by its use of "crack house" to describe a house where crack is routinely CONSUMED and, furthermore, whores turn tricks to buy crack.
In any case...
Just when it seems like the "Salmon House Saga" has come to an end, neighbors have a new problem...
The hole where utility connections were dug out has COLLAPSED, leaving a hazard in the street. The hole is about the size of the hood of an economy car. Look closely at the photo above and you will see a can of Dr. Pepper (my kid's favorite drink) that I placed in the hole for scale.
Today I called 311 on the issue, and I was connected to a sub-unit of Inspections. Inspections told me they'd have somebody out there "in the next two minutes." When I asked for a reference number, I was told, "We still use 3 x 5 cards here." They not only didn't have a reference number, they didn't have a COMPUTER.
I felt bad for asking. But I can't help but wonder why this important part of the city is so badly funded?
The following video is my little musical homage to the word "hole." This is Courtney Love--and the love is for "she loves free speech"--who recently settled rather than spend her life tied up in court, sued over some minor stuff Love said on Twitter.
To Courtney Love I say: that's how we're different. I will fight it out in court for years if necessary. Courtney, feel free to kick a little love toward my blog.
Regarding your thoughts about why inspections is poorly funded. Actually, I believe they fit under the auspices of the city's Regulatory Services Department (that also includes animal control, traffic enforcement, licensing, and I think 911 and then probably also 311) which, from my understanding is one of the few city programs that viewed overall pays for itself or at least comes close. I think a lot of their funding comes from grants and stuff because on a government level, they've probably had the same cuts that other public departments have had when it comes to taxpayer funding.
ReplyDeleteThough you're right, that 3x5 card thing does seem a little stone-aged even for a department that sticks to a strict budget.