Mayor Frey’s La-la Land

By MARTI MALTBY

On July 30, Mayor Jacob Frey sent out a weekly update that claimed, among other things, that  “Under Mayor Jacob Frey’s leadership, Minneapolis is seeing meaningful progress in addressing unsheltered homelessness.“ The update went on to tout the lower costs to the City in encampment closures and a reduction in 911 and 311 calls (85% and 87% respectively) involving encampments. Overall, the Update painted a rosy picture of homelessness in Minneapolis under Mayor Frey’s leadership.

I doubt many alley readers agree with Mayor Frey’s message. Yes, the City has cracked down on encampments, reducing many problems associated with encampments. But the problems associated with homelessness  .  .  .  well, those are still with us. The crackdown has simply scattered encampment dwellers to other parts of the neighborhoods. And the problems have moved with them.

I don’t need to belabor the point. Anyone who lives or works in Ventura Village, Phillips West, Midtown Phillips, or East Phillips knows how homelessness is affecting this part of the City. Homelessness hasn’t ended, but it has shifted. With the City fencing off so much of its own land, it is sending those with nowhere else to go onto private property.… Read the rest “Mayor Frey’s La-la Land”