MINNEAPOLIS – For the second time in less than three years, residents near East 29th Street and Fifth Avenue South in Minneapolis are living next to an encampment.
“We have so much anger behind the city allowing this to happen. We feel so wronged,” said a neighbor.
This homeowner says he didn’t want his face shown for fear of what would happen if the camp’s residents knew it was him speaking out.
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“When I walk down the street, I get harassed. We can’t even be outside without people getting mad at us because they see them walking down our alley,” he said.
He says that on March 27, from his home, he saw people cutting the locked gate to gain access to the garden.
“As they’re breaking in, more and more of us are calling the police and more and more of them are showing up, it happened so quickly. They’re pulling up cars, they’re pulling up trailers, they’re unloading everything,” he said.
He says many in his neighborhood do not feel safe.
“I look outside and I see people sitting on their blankets shooting drugs on the other side of my alley. We just committed a murder, right? They’ve only been here two weeks, but it’s the same thing again. That was it, said the neighbor.
On April 8, the body of a 24-year-old man was found near the encampment.
In 2021, another encampment was built in the same area. According to 911 data, there were more than 2,800 calls for service to that area from July through December. Officers responded to reports of shots fired, property damage, assaults and drug activity.
“But now that they’re allowing our block to experience the same thing we’re experiencing, it’s a complete injustice to our neighborhood,” he said.
In the past five weeks there have been seven reports of disturbances, three stabbings, one explosiontwo ShotSpotter activations and one kill on that block.
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Neighbors gathered to deliver a letter to city leaders describing what they call “the chaos” in their community.
“We are once again faced with drug dealers doing business so close to our home and harassing our children,” the letter said in part.
They want the city to take immediate action to survive.
“If you were to talk to other homeowners, they have bullet holes in their houses,” he said.
The city of Minneapolis sent a statement saying it is working to close the encampment on 5th Avenue South:
The closure will likely take place next week and the city will provide notice of the closure a week in advance. Outreach workers continue to work to connect community members at the camp with available services from Hennepin County and other community partners. These resources include shelters, housing, mental health, and addiction services.
The city continues to balance the needs of camp residents with those of local residents and businesses as it considers its response.
Reg Chapman
