March 3rd, 2010 by JenHosterman

About 100 people showed up for the Frogtown Square meet and greet

Frogtown Square meet and greet

On the corner of University Avenue and Dale Avenue is an empty lot where the old Saint Paul Police Western District Office used to stand. However, it will not be empty for much longer: A new mixed-use development, known as Frogtown Square, will be built there.

There was a ground breaking for the four-story project on November 23, 2009, at which Mayor Chris Coleman, City Councilman Melvin Carter and others spoke enthusiastically about the project. Greater Frogtown CDC, Model Cities, Neighborhood Development Center, and Aurora/Saint Anthony Neighborhood Development Corporation have collaborated to see this mixed-use building come full circle. The ground floor of Frogtown Square will be for commercial use, approximately 10,000 square feet for shops and offices, all of which have been rented by small, minority-owned businesses in the area. The upper three floors will be affordable apartments for independent seniors.

On Feb. 22, developers held a meet-and-greet at the Central Corridor Resource Center to connect general contractors, Benson and Orth Associates/Meyer Contracting JV, with local subcontractors and residents from the neighborhood looking for construction jobs.

Nieeta Presley of ASANDC shared the hope behind the meet-and-greet between the general contractors and the subcontractors. “The development is designed to help the community grow through people working together to make things happen in their own neighborhood,” she said. “Plus, it gives an opportunity to low-income people, minorities, and women. It helps the area to become a better community by letting folks get to know each other and make a difference in their neighborhood.”

Because the project has received Section 3 funding from HUD, it is required, to the greatest extent possible, provide job training, employment and contract opportunities for low- or very-low income residents in connection with projects and activities in their neighborhoods, according to HUD.

Close to a hundred people showed up to the event and were able to meet the general contractors and get connected with those they have already subcontracted with.

Construction is set to begin in earnest later this month.

March 3rd, 2010 by Nieeta

About 30 people attended the Organizer Roundtable on the Building Sustainable Communities project.

More than 30 attendees from 22 organizations gathered at the Model Cities Communities Room on University Avenue on February 24, 2010, to hear impassioned community leaders share their raw experiences — the triumphs and the difficulties — in realizing the true meaning of collaboration.

Collaboration, in this case, meant creating neighborhood-centric, multi-partner coalitions aligned with the Building Sustainable Communities initiative supported by Twin Cities LISC.

As part of a monthly roundtable series organized by the Alliance for Metropolitan Stability, the event, titled “Community Partnerships for Success,” drew excellent attendance according to Joan Vanhala, coalition organizer with AMS.

“I appreciated the different leaders who talked honestly about their challenges in working with coalitions towards one common goal,” said Vanhala.

Those leaders included Mari Bongiovanni, executive director, East Side Neighborhood Development Company; Staci Horwitz, program director, City of Lakes Community Land Trust; Cathy Maes, executive director, ICA Food Shelf; Judy Elling, executive director of ResourceWest in Hopkins; and Nieeta Presley, executive director, Aurora/St. Anthony Community Development Corporation.

During the two-hour session, leaders outlined the formulation of their collaborative, conveying both excitement and frustration in the challenges and rewards of developing cross-sector partnerships.

“I can see that in the different presentations, we’re at different levels of maturity, and we all came out in completely different ways,” said Bongiovanni. “We [St Paul’s East Side] needed to sit at the table for quite a while.”

After four years, Bongiovanni admitted her collaborative is still working on finding a comprehensive voice, which has slightly fragmented recently due to resident churn in a tough economy. That said, she noted the effort put forth in a multi-year process that started with informational meetings and evolved into 64 organizations sitting at a table calling each other to ask for advice and referrals.

“That was a big step,” she said. “Before we were all in our little silos and hoping that we would get funded and others wouldn’t because that would be more money for us.”

The next Organizer Roundtable will be “Race, Power and Organizing,” which will address the dynamics of race in day-to-day life, and how to integrate racial equity in campaign focus.

Race, Power and Organizing

Noon – 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 31
Rondo Community Library
461 N. Dale St.
St. Paul, MN 55103

February 20th, 2010 by Ashanti

Aeon is seeking community candidates for several positions at the housing organization.  The positions include Assistant Property Manager and Maintenance Supervisor. Position descriptions for these and other open positions are available here.

Candidates with a technical question about any of the positions should call Angie Emmrich at (612) 746-0546.

February 15th, 2010 by Ashanti

Rendering of Frogtown Square

There will be a meet-and-greet session from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Feb. 22 at the Central Corridor Resource Center, 1080 University Ave., St. Paul, (Map/Directions or Transit Info) for contractors and others interested in working on the Frogtown Square project. The project at the intersection of University Avenue and Dale Street in St. Paul is scheduled to open in 2010. It will include more than 20,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor and 50 active senior living units owned and managed by Episcopal Homes of Minnesota. It will also include underground parking for residents and surface parking for customers.

For information about the senior apartments project, called Kings Crossing, call Heidi Crumpler, Manager of Carty Heights, at (651) 288-1142, or click here to request an information packet.

February 15th, 2010 by Nieeta

Join Model Cities, the Alliance for Metropolitan Stability, Aurora/St. Anthony NDC and other Frogtown Rondo Action Network partners at an Organizer Roundtable — Community Partnerships for Success: Building Sustainable Communities from noon to 2 p.m. Wednesday, February 24, at Model Cities Community Room, 839 University Avenue, Saint Paul. (Map/Directions or Transit Planner)

In 2007, the Twin Cities was chosen by the national Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) to carry out a Building Sustainable Communities demonstration to promote more integrated and comprehensive approaches to community development. Twin Cities LISC is implementing the project with a focus on five areas: St. Paul’s East Side, the Central Corridor, Minneapolis’ north and south sides, and the suburban community of Hopkins. They chose these areas because each offers a multitude of potential partners, opportunities and issues.

Come hear from community leaders involved in the program about their efforts to direct resources toward community-based projects already under way that would otherwise be constrained by limited means and abilities. Join in the dialogue about how innovative partnerships like this can leverage resources for community projects.

Organizer Roundtables are free but registration is required. Light snacks will be provided. Feel free to bring your lunch.

February 15th, 2010 by Jake Kulju

Wing Young Huie

Surrounded by a panorama of black and white photographs in his Franklin Avenue studio, Wing Young Huie is the portrait of a photographer. Cameras and lenses cover his desk, a large wooden work table has countless pictures, open photography books and quotes written on small pieces of paper arranged in a kind of ordered chaos that is the early soup of Huie’s University Avenue Project.

The internationally renowned photographer is scheduled to debut his work in May of 2010, along the Central Corridor. Huie is working in collaboration with Public Art Saint Paul to create a 6-mile public art gallery along University Avenue. Photographs will be displayed in shop windows, on the sides of buildings and projected on an outdoor screen. More than 500 photographs will be on display, transforming the Central Corridor into an exploratory visual experience that plumbs the depths of University Avenue’s complex cultural and socioeconomic diversity.

Among the community organizations that support this project are University United and the University Avenue Business Association. The exhibit will run for six months, from May through October of this year.

To read more about Wing Young Huie and the University Avenue Project, pick up the spring edition of the Aurora/St. Anthony newsletter.

February 14th, 2010 by JenHosterman

Vic Rosenthal, Executive Director of Jewish Community Action, knows how beneficial it is to partner with other organizations to meet a common goal. That is why he and other dedicated, passionate people at JCA are collaborating with Frogtown Rondo Action Network, not only during the upcoming construction on the Central Corridor Light Rail project, but also well beyond that for the health of a multicultural community a long way down the road.

Vic Rosenthal of JCA

JCA is one of 10 community-based organizations working together as FRAN. With a heart and passion all their own, JCA makes up a key element to this group. JCA’s members have strategically placed themselves inside and outside of synagogues for all Jews who are interested in social justice, no matter where they are. The door is open to everyone, Rosenthal said. The hope was, when they started 14 years ago to be a “Jewish voice for social and economic justice in the community … to be able to put their values and religion into action,” said Rosenthal. “There were a lot of other religious voices in the community and this seemed to be missing.”

JCA’s very mission plays perfectly into what they have begun doing with FRAN, building power within Frogtown and Rondo by forming alliances or collaborations with other organizations and government. By creating and being a part of these alliances, “people who think alike and care about the same issues, are able to work together to advance a common agenda,” Rosenthal said.

To read more about Rosenthal and the JCA, pick up the Aurora/St. Anthony spring newsletter, which should hit the streets in about a week.

February 14th, 2010 by Jake Kulju

Nieeta Presley and Metric Giles of ASANDC celebrate with Stops for Us Coalition at Arnellia's

The community along the Central Corridor in St. Paul has been asking for extra train stops at key intersections since the light rail expansion was conceived. Just a few weeks ago, they got them. Community groups, neighborhood organizations, local elected officials and individuals have been working with federal, state and local officials to find funding and political support for the stops. A celebration was held at Arnellia’s on University Avenue on Feb. 8 to enjoy the sweet success of good old-fashioned community organizing.

With local businesses worried about revenue during construction, lawsuits being filed against the proposed light rail route and an inadequate amount of train stops, many community members have been hesitant to welcome the transit project. This victory was one felt deeply by those who worked hard to achieve it, and the party at Arnellia’s was well deserved.

The local pub was full of community members, leaders and organizational representatives. People from Isaiah, CSP, Jewish Community Action, Alliance for Metro Stability, ASANDC and more were there to cheer the funding of the new stops. City Councilmembers Russ Stark and Melvin Carter III were there as well. The party filled the back room of Arnelia’s with laughter and noise: specifically singing. A song written for the occasion was chanted by everyone, and was definitely the highpoint of the evening. “We’ve been hoping for this for a long time,” said Metric Giles, a board member of the Aurora/St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corporation.

The Stops for Us Coalition: »Alliance for Metropolitan Stability »Asian Economic Dev. Association »ASANDC »Community Stabilization Project »District Councils Collaborative »Got Voice, Got Power! »Hmong Organizing Program, TakeActionMN »Housing Preservation Project »ISAIAH »Jewish Community Action »JUST Equity »Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy »Model Cities »MICAH »Preserve and Benefit Historic Rondo Committee »Saint Paul NAACP »Saint Paul Urban League »Transit for Livable Communities »UFCW Local 789 »University UNITED »University Ave. Business Association.

February 14th, 2010 by Nieeta

Census jobs are available. Call the U.S. Census toll-free jobs line at (866) 861-2010 (FedRelay: 1-800-877-8339 TTY) or visit the Census on the web.

The Census offers:

• Good pay
• Temporary, part-time jobs
• Flexible hours, up to 40 hours a week
• Mileage reimbursement (for field jobs)

The U.S. Census Bureau is an Equal Opportunity Employer

February 14th, 2010 by Nieeta

Duke Ellington in the 1971 film "Jazz Odyssey." Creative Commons-licensed image by Louis Panassié.

Here’s a look at upcoming Black History Month events at St. Paul libraries:

• Saturday, February 20. 1-3 p.m.
  “My People”
  Central Library (90 W. Fourth St., Saint Paul. 651-266-7000)
  Tony Garrett will present “My People”, a genealogical journey about his family and the importance of preserving family history. Program immediately followed at 3 p.m. by a Genealogy Workshop by Saint Paul Public Librarian James Moriarty to teach program attendees how to use the ancestry library.
• Saturday, February 20. 10-11 a.m.
  “Stories of Hope”
  by Isabell Monk O’Connor
  Merriam Park Branch Library (1831 Marshall Ave., Saint Paul. 651-642-0385)
  Acclaimed actress, author and educator Isabell Monk O’Connor will read stories from our national past that are heavily influenced by the African-American journey.
• Sunday, February 21. 2-4 p.m.
  “Take the A Train to the Library for a Tribute to Duke Ellington”
  Central Library-Magazine Room
  Vocalist Debbie Duncan and saxophonist Dean Brewington will perform with a stellar quartet in this tribute to the late and very great Duke Ellington.
• Monday, February 22. 7 p.m.
  “A Face of Courage”
  Sun Ray Branch Library (2105 Wilson Ave., Saint Paul. 651-501-6300)
  Tommy Watson is an elementary school principal and example to others of how one man came from a poverty and crime-ridden neighborhood, to achieve personal success and inspire others. He is the author of A Face of Courage: The Tommy Watson Story- How Did He Survive?
• Wednesday, February 24. 7 p.m.
  “A Literary Evening with Alexs Pate”
  Hamline Midway Branch Library (1558 W. Minnehaha Ave., Saint Paul. 651-642-0293)
  Alexs Pate, best-selling author, hosts a fireside gathering to discuss his varied literary career an thoughts about being an African-American writer today.
• Saturday, February 27. 10-11 a.m.
  “Stories of Hope”
  Highland Park Branch Library (1974 Ford Pkwy., Saint Paul. 651-695-3700)
  Storytelling by Isabell Monk O’Connor
• Sunday, February 28. 2-4 p.m.
  “Warm Up on a Cold Day to Super Cool Miles Davis”
  Rondo Community Outreach Library (461 N. Dale St., Saint Paul. 651-266-7400)
  The Dean Brewington Quartet will perform with vocalist extraordinaire Lila Ammons.
• Sunday, February 28. 2 p.m.
  “Dreamgirls”
  Central Library- 4th floor Meeting Room
  Watch “Dreamgirls,” the film adaptation of a 1981 Broadway musical that tells a story of R&B and Motown funk, based loosely on the lives and career of The Supremes.

Admission is free for all events. This programming is funded in part with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008, which dedicated funding to preserve Minnesota’s arts and cultural heritage.