Wednesday night as I came home, the back door to 2522 Penn Avenue North was left open. I tried yet another unsuccessful 311 mobile app report, and then waited until the morning. On Thursday morning, the door remained off its hinges. More accurately, the BOARD over the space where a responsible property owner would have PUT a door remained ripped off and on the ground. So I called in the violation to 311. Because it was already a City-owned property, my call was forwarded directly to a person responsible for handling boarded City properties.
I explained to this woman that I live right across the street from this house and that there were still things like radiators left inside the place. So for my safety, could she pretty please get it boarded back up right away? And if not for my sake then for that of the demo contractors, who have salvage rights to whatever the slumlord former owner left behind. By the end of the day, the board had been nailed back on.
Before that happened, I took the opportunity to see what a Reitman-neglected (a redundant term, I know) property looked like on the inside. I didn't cross the threshold--although oh how I wanted to. I merely walked up to the door aperture and peered in to snap a few photos. There were no "No Trespassing" signs posted, I didn't remain on the premises long enough to constitute "lurking," there is no expectation of privacy at a condemned, vacant property, and I stayed on the legal side of the threshold. Are all my bases covered here? Good enough.
I see a property that at one point was a cute little place. Much has been stripped away, and even now it might be salvageable under the right ownership. And although the City of Minneapolis could try and find that right owner, this one is far enough gone that I won't lament its pending demise. That demise, by the way, is set to happen sometime early next week. Let's hope that 2520 Penn, still owned by Reitman, comes down with it.
Can you look up the history of these two houses and post the results on the blog? As in find the original owners's stories and perhaps historical photos? May be a fitting tribute to an otherwise ignoble (and protracted; for how long did Reitman torture these homes?) end for these properties.
ReplyDeleteNot a bad idea. I'll see what I can do, and thanks for the suggestion. And once these two are down, I think it's most likely that the two lots will be combined into one. If there's some interesting history here, maybe that can be incorporated into the design of the new construction.
DeleteIf photos should happen to be taken of the inside, and should happen to find their way to my blog, I will happen to publish them.
ReplyDeleteJust saying.
Post-script: The reason the property was open to trespass in the first place is because the City let Reitman back into the place to gather any personal belongings prior to demolition. Then Reitman or his contractors couldn't be bothered with putting the boards back on.
ReplyDeleteJust because something is open to trespass doesn't give you the right to trespass...just sayin...
ReplyDeleteHello Jeff and welcome to the block. Would you like a "peek" at 2520 Penn before demo?
ReplyDeleteThe short answer: Absolutely yes. If this is indeed Mr. Reitman, then call me on my cell 952-210-1086 to set something up.
DeleteThe long answer: I'm not sure what your angle is on this, as it is my personal belief that there is no single person that has contributed more to neighborhood blight on key community corridors than you, Mr. Reitman. If the interior of 2520 is anything like that of 2522, this visit will do nothing to change my opinion of you.
I have seen you own properties in key areas, do little to nothing to make them better, and only when other people lift up the community around your houses and then need to deal with you in one way or another do you talk about how nice your properties are.
And that's the difference I see between the two of us. I bought a property on a strategic intersection and through my purchase, made it an attractive home. I'll do everything in my power to improve the community around me, whether I gain from that or not.
In any case, I won't pass up an opportunity to (legally) see the inside of 2520 Penn prior to demolition.
Is Reitman actually trying to imply that he is a fellow "stakeholder" in the community? LOL
ReplyDelete