A little backstory on "Mr. Slummy," aka Mohamed Amro. Mr. Slummy purchased two adjacent properties several years ago at 2515 and 2519 3rd Street North. He began to excavate the entire back yard of 2515, even though he had never pulled the proper permits to do so. The ensuing confrontation between Amro and myself, and its accounts on Johnny Northside, led to the first time I was called "The Hawthorne Hawkman," a moniker I use to this day even after moving on from that neighborhood.
Anyhow, Mr. Slummy had apparent plans to build a vast, multi-unit structure on one parcel, even though the area was zoned for nothing more than 2-unit buildings. His construction site was notoriously unsafe and shut down by the city multiple times. Eventually he walked away from 2515 3rd Street North and focused his energies on 2519. So much so, in fact that his laser-like intensity must have caused an initial fire there. Given how little work had actually happened, many northsiders speculated that the fire may have been intentional and that were it not for intrepid neighbors calling 911, the house would have burned down and Amro could collect insurance money.
2519 was saved by a quick emergency call and the brave men and women of the Minneapolis Fire Department, and was still very much a salvageable property. So much so that...
