Photo By Jeff Skrenes
News of a disturbing development on Third Street N. started as nothing more than a cryptic, anonymous post on this blog: Evanner "The Devil" Haymon, former owner of the notorious pill house at 3020 6th St. N., had managed to get himself another piece of property after losing much of his empire to foreclosure:
He had managed to snap up 3007 3th St. N.
First of all, I know this property well...
I had been inside the house when buying a salvaged and repaired lawnmower from "Lawnmower Man," a little episode I wrote about on this blog. So I was inside and--judging from what LOOKED like a jug of urine (could have been Mountain Dew, though) I don't think the house had plumbing. The ceilings were falling apart and--while I watched, trying not to let my amazement show--one of the country boy rednecks living there BANGED ON THE CELING WITH AN AXE to wake his relative, so the relative could come downstairs and sell me a lawnmower, salvaged at curbside and raised from the dead with added parts like Frankenstein.
So, yeah, the property was rough.
But then it went into foreclosure, past redemption, and it was lost. Lawnmower Man moved away, and I wrote about THAT too. So I had picked up plenty of nuggets of info about the house. At one point, I had briefly considered buying the house but I decided it was just too rough. Also, the word from Lawnmower Man was a certain neighbor would call the police CONSTANTLY over minor property issues arising over their shared driveway, and she could never be appeased.
So, yeah, I can definitely see a confrontation a-brewing now that "The Devil" has purchased this piece of property. A "Stop Work Order" slapped on the door shows inspections caught Evannor red-handed, working without a permit, on or about April 10. Subsequently, Evanner went and got a permit. It is posted in a front window, and appears to be the same exact blue sheet of paper that Hawthorne Board Chair Peter Teachout saw Evanner holding at the city office where you apply for permits.
What a small world! And, by the way, I've seen his name also spelled "Evannor," and I have seen "Haymon" spelled "Haywood."
We are worried that when the "pill house" at 3020 6th St. N. gets shut down, "business operations" might be moved to 3007 3rd Street N., just a few blocks away. So committed is Evannor to the neighborhood that he has made this property his HOMESTEAD. A true urban pioneer is Evanner!
And, I might add, 3007 3rd St. N. is a lovely place for a pillhouse! The highway sound barrier creates a feeling of splendid isolation, and there's an apartment complex to one side--plenty of potential customers THERE--and all around are mostly senior citizens plus vulnerable non-English speaking Hmong refugees with little children.
Once I confirmed the alarming veracity of the info about "3007" with online city records, I fired off an email to Jeff. And that pretty much set the course of Jeff's morning. By the time I meandered over to the Hawthorne Neighborhood Council office to give some assistance with photos on their website, Jeff had been to the property and scoped out the situation. We agreed to go over there and eat lunch in the street near 3007, just like we sometimes eat lunch in front of 3020 6th St. N.
You see, when we eat lunch in front of the "pill house," ready to call 911 at evidence of drug-dealing, our mere presence appears to substantially disrupt the drug dealing. The nervousness, the tension, the hostile glaring looks are painfully obvious. All the more reason to "do lunch" in this way.
Of course, if the druggies at 3020 think that's the ONLY time they're being systematically observed--even photographed and videotaped--they're even MORE addled than you might expect of a druggie.
So Jeff and I grabbed some food at Bangkok Deli, and Jeff mentioned to the owner how his food "sustains" us as we sit and disrupt drug traffic. Hearing this, the owner gave Jeff some free sticky rice. We went over to 3007 6th St. N., and it was a special moment, me and Jeff's first stakeout at 3007 3rd St. N. after spending SO MUCH TIME staking out 3020 6th St. N.
Naturally, we ended up talking about how Connie Nompelis (No-bell-iss) makes great bread pudding, using dumpster dived bread. A finely-aged bread is the secret to a great bread pudding, I think.
Mmmmm. Bread pudding.
After we ate, Jeff was determined to go around the neighborhood, knocking on doors, letting the neighbors know the situation with 3007 3rd St. N. One neighbor was not home. Another neighbor was a Hmong family, therefore best contacted through one of our contacts with the Hmong community. However, we hit pay dirt--plus coffee and doughnuts--at another house.
I'd been introduced to these neighbors ONCE by a mutual friend, MONTHS ago. But they were very involved people, holding down that part of Third Street North, keeping it safe. We were greeted, recognized immediately as friends and allies, and told to pull up a chair at the kitchen table. It is always amazing to meet somebody who has lived in North Minneapolis for so long, and seen so many changes. These neighbors had been around since 1963. Back in '63, they said, nobody bothered to lock their door, the neighborhood was THAT safe.
Like most long-time neighbors, they do not describe houses with a mish-mash of street numbers, in the manner of newcomers like myself and Jeff Skrenes. The house at 3007 Third St. N. was "Grizzie's House" (spelling of "Grizzie" unknown) and it sat next to "Windy's House."
There wasn't much we could do or promise, other than make contact and help spread word along the informal social network of decent residents: 3007 Third St. N. is owned by a disreputable person. Be aware, be alert, and we will try to keep you informed as the neighborhood association (not individual neighbors) deal with the bureaucracy to get some action, as well as taking action ourselves, up to and including sitting on the street and monitoring the (expected and anticipated) drug traffic, preferably while eating sticky rice.
I should make it clear we don't want Evanner Haymon treated UNFAIRLY. Oh, heavens no!
We only want him treated the same as any other slumlord whose property is a nexus of constant drug activity, as evidenced by police raids and arrests, and who doesn't bother to get building permits before doing work.
That's really all we want.
Well, snacks are nice, too. Doughnuts. Coffee. Freegan bread pudding. Sticky rice.
A yummy snack or two goes a long way as bachelor buddies fight the endless battle to revitalize a neighborhood, and create urban utopia.
There was one encouraging thing about today's events: talking to those neighbors over coffee confirmed things are REALLY CHANGING in that part of the neighborhood. There has been a substantial decrease in crime and overt social disorder, especially since the demolition of 3119 4th St. N. and 3101 6th St. N., the "Apartment Complexes of Anarchy."
Addendum: information came subsequent to the completion of this blog post that the last purchase of this property, according to incomplete and possibly unreliable data, was in October, 2008, for a mere $10,020 dollars. Further info came from Jeff as follows: the Stop Work Order involved only work done to the outside deck, not other work. Jeff posted pictures of 3007 3rd St. N. on Facebook, under the title "No Sympathy For The Devil."
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Photo By John Hoff
