Mayor Rybak, The Issue is not Food!
What is Mayor Rybak thinking when he stated that he "would walk across glass on my knees for Porky's onion rings?" Perhaps this statement was said during some sort of post-fast food comatose, but he is simply ignoring the real issues. Yes, the onion rings are good, but the issue is bigger: TRASH, TRAFFIC, NOISE, and LAND USE.
Focus on the issues, Mayor Rybak!
Porky's is indelibly associated with a culture of cars. The hot rod groups seem to be filled with upstanding people. However, hot rods unfortunately bring out the crowds of idiots who like to drag race and want to be seen with the hot rods. This is the issue.
Drag racing, drinking, dumping bleach on the streets (creates a large cloud of smoke when pealing out), and being a nuisance are synonymous with this crowd. Central Avenue is on the up-swing; it does not need a weight around its neck.
--Neighbors Against Porky's--
neighborsagainstporkys@gmail.com
posted by Neighbors Against Porky's @ 4:20 PM
4 Comments:
Central is on the upswing?
I know you all live somewhere nearby, but somehow you've not noticed the 30% vacancy of storefronts, nor that 2/3 of your neighbors visit Central for any reason 1 time or fewer per year (NECDC survey), nor the hookers, thugs and drug pushers who take over the Avenue after sunset.
Someone wants to invest a million bucks on a blighted site to create a locally-owned landmark business and those who pretend to represent the neighborhood are in hysterical opposition.
The issue is not the food, I agree. The issue is a gang of activist moonbats who insist on a pedestrian fantasy vision for an urban stretch of state trunk highway. That world in your head must be nice, but while you pout and stomp your feet, real people are afraid to walk through your neighborhood. You've got a chance for improvement that requires zero public dollars. Why not work to find solutions that fit the proposal?
Maybe he realizes the simple fact that the older hot rodders (his age and older) simply aren't the problem, and the younger hot rodders are just as laid back. Just because a few tuners ruin the batch of apples doesn't mean you should throw away the basket. It comes down to one thing, most of us who are interested in "50's style cars" just want a place to hang out and be amongst friends, to laugh and have a good time, but in my experience you throw some immature high school and college age kids into the mix with brash and obnoxious sounding modern cars that are looking to "stir up a race" or to show off, therein lies your problem. And here's a simple solution, allow on-street parking for late-model cars and only allow 1979 and older vehicles onto the Porky's premises. That way us old car loving fools can have our place to hang out and be quiet, while the young tuner crowd can still park locally and come join us without causing a ruckus. There needs to be some sort of disassociation here between the two groups, because I can assure you that we're not one and the same, and it's quite well-known that us old car lovin' guys don't want them around. We just want to have a nice and quiet night with friends and old cars. Is that so much to ask?
For five years I lived one block from Porky's in St. Paul. I could see it from my front porch. It was one of the reasons why I sold the house eventually.
From Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend, beginning about 4 p.m. on Friday afternoons and going into the VERY WEE HOURS of Sunday morning it was HORRIBLE. The noise, traffic congestion, loud people in my front yard, peeing on the street, trash, all residential parking taken--it was horrible.
There is a traditional weekend in late June when they gather and the drag racing on University Avenue, from Snelling to Prior, would leave black rubber peal marks on the street. Every Sunday morning I would go out with a 30 gallon trash bag and collect the disposable diapers, plastic food take-away containers, beer and soda cans, cigarette packages, (I left the condoms where they were), plastic cups, etc., etc., etc.
I called the St. Paul P.D. often after 11 p.m. reminding them of the noise ordinance, but it would continue often until 1 or 2 a.m. I felt a food venue like Porky's needed to be somewhere like the heart of the State Fairgrounds, away from a residential neighborhood, where the idiots could squeal around all they pleased but homeowners weren't subjected to them.
I'm not familiar with Northeast Minneapolis or this proposed location, but I can tell you that if it is in the middle of a residential neighborhood, someone is going to be very unhappy. If Porky's wants to be there, some rules and ordinances better be laid out in advance and the policing in that area be prepared for extra duty.
It's not Porky's fault that they attract that type of crowd; it's not just the older, serious classic car crowd, it's a younger, hot-rod group with the horrible crackling pipes on their cars. They don't belong in a residential neighborhood mix. If Mayor R.T. Rybak thinks it's such a good idea, let them move in across the street from him.
First off, you can only drag race on a drag strip - a street is not a drag strip. Secondly, there is not street racing on University by Porky's - too many people and too many police.
The look of Central? Central Ave is a slum - I've lived by Central for my whole life. I do not like to drive on that road after dark. It used to be a place to go get dinner or shop. Now it's a pit.Fine ban Porky's - open another mercado or Indian restaurant or another second hand clothes store. There is not a vision for Central, it died many many years ago.
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