Ostrow Supported Expanding Pedestrian Overlay District

Neighbors Against Porky's has obtained a document that shows CM Paul Ostrow supported the expansion of the Pedestrian Overlay District (POD) on Central Avenue.

At the Planning Commission meeting (10.30.2006), Paul Ostrow stated that the POD definitively ended at 22nd and the discussion on the topic was over especially with the 2nd Precinct rezoning.

One must wonder, what is making Ostrow flip-flop on this issue?

NAP is digging into this interesting development and will bring you more information.

Keep up the fight: email us at NeighborsAgainstPorkys@gmail.com to learn how you can help.

City Planning Commission says NO PORKY'S!

In three unanimous votes, the city's planning commission votes to deny Porky's applications for rezoning, conditional use permit (CUP), and site plan review.

The city planning staff, Tara Beard, shared that she has received "dozens" of letters in opposition to Porky's and just a handful in favor of the proposal.

She also shared that the city's planning staff calls their handling of the accidental rezoning of the 2nd Police Precinct their "biggest mistake." The rezoning of the 2nd Precinct allowed the application for Porky's to proceed. The city staff has their eyes on the ball this time and Neighbors Against Porky's is convinced they will continue to fight the development.

Remember though, Porky's can still appeal the decision and Paul Ostrow likely has already shown Porky's what paper work to fill out.

Keep up the fight: email us at NeighborsAgainstPorkys@gmail.com to learn how you can help.

Does Porky's Deliberately Mislead on Crime Numbers?

On October 26, Nora Truelson stated that no crime has occurred at Porky's in its 53 years of existence. Information obtained from the St. Paul Police department shows that Ms. Truelson is incorrect.

One reader of this blog wonders if Ms. Truelson is merely incompetent or if she is being deliberately dishonest. The reader raises a good point. Porky's is losing the battle to enter Northeast Minneapolis and the Porky's group clearly wants to present themselves as good neighbors.

However, the crime reports indicate the Porky's location in St. Paul is not a good neighbor. A member of the Merriam Park neighborhood group stated that "Spring through Fall is the Hell for the residents." The crime report numbers back this up; crime reports start rolling in each May and quickly taper off in the fall.

Breaking down the numbers, here are the crime numbers focusing May through October:
2006: 4.5 complaints per month
2005: 6 complaints per month

What kind of a neighbor needs to be visited by the police once or twice each week?

Tell Porky's that we don't want their crime problem in Northeast Minneapolis.

Public Hearing Monday at 4:30

The Public Hearing before the Minneapolis Planning Commission is Monday 10/30/06 at 4:30 in room 317 of City Hall.

This will be the first chance for neighbors to directly speak to the city and let them know that Porky's will negatively affect Central Avenue and Northeast Minneapolis.

--Neighbors Against Porky's--
neighborsagainstporkys@gmail.com

Crime at Porky's (Part 2)

Narcotic drugs, fighting, disorderly conduct, disturbances, drunkenness. Does this sound like the type of neighbor you'd want?

In 2006, the police has visited Porky's 22 times between May 7th and October 6th for public drunkenness, disturbances, traffic violations, theft, narcotic drugs, to investigate, and for requested assistance. Two reports were particularly bizarre: a October 6th Child Abuse report and a August 22nd "Death-Attempt Suicide" report.

On October 26th, Nora Truelson, owner of Porky's, claimed that no disturbances have occurred at Porky's in 53 years. Unfortunately, the facts do not agree with Ms. Truelson's statement.

The police visited Porky's 22 times thus far in 2006, 31 times in 2005, 18 times in 2004, 29 times in 2003, 19 times in 2002 and 2001, and 21 times in 2000.

More and more neighbors agree that Porky's does not belong on Central Avenue. Keep digging and send NAP any additional information you find regarding Porky's. Email NeighborsAgainstPorkys@gmail.com with any info you find.

Neighbors Against Porky's will investigate the crime at Porky's in St. Paul more.

Crime at Porky's in St. Paul (Part 1)

Neighbors at a meeting on Thursday evening were heckled when they suggested the St. Paul neighbors of Porky's were concerned about Porky's crime.

However, the hecklers were quickly silenced when the crime report from the St. Paul Police for Porky's was read. The crimes extended beyond expected noise and litter reports.

Check back tomorrow for a list of the crimes, complaints, and police reports filed in St. Paul in connection with the St. Paul Porky's.

Teaser: already 22 crimes reported this year!

City Staff Says Deny Porky's

The city staff's report regarding Porky's was released on Wednesday and stated clearly that Porky's proposal does not meet the city's standards. Visit here the complete report.

The city staff's job is to strip all emotion from the discussion and only examine the application and determine if it fits the city's plan. The city uses the Minneapolis City Plan and the Central Avenue Plan to guides its decisions. Using these, the city staff stated, "...deny the application for a zoning," "... deny the application for a conditional use permit for a fast food restaurant," and "...deny the application for a site plan review at 1851 Central Ave NE. "

The city staff agrees with the neighbors. The proposed use does not fit the site.

More to Come: Ostrow's History of Support for Fast Food

A Neighbor Against Porky's reminded NAP that Paul Ostrow supported an Arby's drive-thru in 1997.

How many times must neighbors say "NO!"?

Neighbors have said no to proposed development in neighborhood sponsored meetings many times and yet CM Paul Ostrow continues to push his fast food agenda.

The Holland neighborhood said no last Spring; the Windom Park group said no last fall and last Spring. The city's planning commission said no to the Trojan Horse issue of the police rezone in April.

The police station was accidentally rezoned (some have asked NAP to say "questionably" instead of accidentally) for the sole purpose to allow Porky's to apply to be rezoned. The site must be zoned at least C-2 to even allow consideration of a drive-thru. Paul Ostrow championed the rezoning of the police precinct over the objections of neighbors.

Now, neighbors need to say no again! On Thursday night (6:30) at the Parker Skyview High Rise, let Paul Ostrow know that Porky's doesn't belong on Central. We will keep up the fight!

Want to help? Email us at NeighborsAgainstPorkys@gmail.com to get involved.

Blog Makes Minneapolis Issues Forum

The Neighbors Against Porky's blog made its debut appearance on the Minneapolis Issues Forum.

Keep up the great work getting the word out on Porky's.

Neighborhood Leader Calls Ostrow's Tactics "End Run"

Bruce Shoemaker, a long-time neighborhood leader in Holland, called Council Member Paul Ostrow's tactics "an 'end run'" that "respect(s) neither the professional judgment of the (city) planners nor the views of the neighborhood groups. Bruce's comments were made on the Minneapolis Issues Forum. Visit this site to read the complete comments.

Bruce continued, "Increasingly we are seeing that Ostrow views the citizen participation process as fine when the neighborhood groups agree with him. But when they don't, all of a sudden they are 'unrepresentative' and he tries to bring in others to counter their decisions."

Clearly, Ostrow's October 26th meeting at the Senior High Rise attempts to divide the neighborhood so he can purport to his colleagues that the neighborhood is divided.

Show up on October 26th at 6:30 and let Paul Ostrow and your neighbors know that Porky's doesn't belong on Central.

Want to help? Email us at NeighborsAgainstPorkys@gmail.com to get involved.

Flyers Help Tell Truth About Porky's

Thanks to the efforts of many friends of Neighbors Against Porky's, over 700 flyers were distributed in the neighborhood around the proposed Porky's site this weekend.

The flyers shared St. Paul Porky's neighbors' comments on Porky's like "Spring is a nightmare." The flyer included info on the police resources St. Paul was forced to allocate to the area around Porky's to control the cruising, crowds, and violence.

One neighbor on Buchanan Street initially commented, "Cool. A Porky's." After being asked what she loved about Porky's. She continued, "All the neat cars and the cruising. Wait! I don't want that in my neighborhood. I know what I did when I cruised around Porky's. We don't want that here."

If you have 30-60 minutes and would like to flyer, a few holes remain. Let us know at NeighborsAgainstPorkys@gmail.com.

Keep up the great work! You are getting the message out.

"Hell For the Residents"

Neighbors to Porky's in St. Paul say that Porky's contributes to "Hell for the residents" and that neighbors have "a good reason to be concerned."

"Spring is a nightmare" as Porky's serves as a gathering point for cruising and drag racing on University Avenue. The congestion spills over into the adjacent residential areas as lots of traffic cuts through residential streets.

St. Paul has added detailed patrol officers to the Porky's area on Friday and Saturday nights due to incidents of dangerous driving, underage drinking, excessive noise, large crowds, and fights that have resulted in weapons being confiscated.

Does this sound like a neighbor we want in Northeast Minneapolis?

Want to help? Email us at NeighborsAgainstPorkys@gmail.com to get involved.

Porky's Proposal Doesn't Fit Site

Porky's proposed drive-thru doesn't fit the small corner lot and funnels traffic onto residential streets.

In Minneapolis, most drive-thru restaurants are found next to interstates. Porky's drive-thru exits onto 19th Avenue: a street serving single family homes and small apartments. The site is adjacent to a single-family home (942 19th Ave NE) and the drive-thru is less than 40 feet from its front door.

The site doesn't have enough room for cars to wait in line to order food. Referred to as "Stacking," drive-thrus need to have room in the line so traffic doesn't back-up onto the street. The location of the squawk box (place to order food) only allows two cars in line before the sidewalk and street becomes blocked.

Want to help? Email us at NeighborsAgainstPorkys@gmail.com to get involved.

Brief History of the 19th and Central Site

Known as the "Jack's Gas Station" site, the southeast corner of 19th and Central has been vacant for about 8 years. The building on the southeast corner of the lot was the only building on the site during its tenure as a gas station. The gas tanks were removed in the 2002 or 2003 to improve marketability and to comply with Minnesota laws.

In 2003, Windom Park Citizens in Action (the city neighborhood group for the site) commissioned a work of community art 8' by 40' to cover an old billboard on the site. Frequently vandalized, WPCiA erected the artwork to reduce the surface available to vandals and to attract more attention to the lot. An additional large painting was placed on the site in 2004 to cover another billboard. Since the two pieces of art were put into place, no vandalism has occurred on the billboards.

Interest in the site has been varied over the years. In 2005, 3 developers began examining the site for possible redevelopment. The Truco group purchased the site in May 2005 with the intention to build a restaurant and housing. The site proved too small to fit both uses on the site, so they decided to examine building another Porky's. Truco owns the Porky's on University in St. Paul; at one point, the Truelson family (owners of Truco) ran 14 Porky's in the Twin Cities. Traditionally, Porky's has been run as a drive-in (old A&W style) restaurant.

Seniors Call St. Paul Porky's Bad Neighbor

Seniors living at the senior residence adjacent to the St. Paul Porky's today stated that the Porky's on University in St. Paul is a bad neighbor. A friend of "Neighbors Against Porky's" visited the senior living center that neighbors Porky's in St. Paul and found that seniors do not like living near Porky's.

Truco (the firm proposing the Porky's on Central) claims senior support for its drive-through. Clearly, Truco isn't telling Northeast senior the whole story about Porky's. Truco needs to give seniors more than hats and t-shirts when talking about Porky's.

Watch this website for more on this interesting development.

Get involved! Sign up to help stop Porky's today. Email us at NeighborsAgainstPorkys@gmail.com to get involved.

Breaking News: Ostrow's Move Creates Rift

CM Paul Ostrow announced an unprecedented meeting today in his ongoing campaign to support Porky's. The October 26th meeting will be held at the Sr. High Rise at 6:30.

Ostrow's "informational meeting" deliberately ignores citizen participation procedures that he helped create. It appears that Ostrow is desperate to tear a rift in the community. It shouldn't surprise people if Ostrow wants to create a hearing that is finally receptive to his pet project.

Neighbors,
We must organize and stand strong against this drive-thru fast food joint on Central. Porky's will create a drag strip environment on Central. Sign up today to help. Email us at NeighborsAgainstPorkys@gmail.com to get involved.

Welcome to Neighbors Against Porky's

Welcome to the Neighbors Against Porky's website.

We will keep you updated on current events related to the proposed Porky's restaurant on 19th Avenue and Central Avenue.

Feel free to leave comments and ask questions. Also, email questions to NeighborsAgainstPorkys@gmail.com.