April 18th, 2010 by Nieeta

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.

September 13th, 2009 by Nieeta

803 Sherburne Ave., one of the MCASA rehabbed homes available for purchase

MCASA Homes, a partnership between Model Cities Community Development Corp. and Aurora/St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corp., seeks to create affordable home ownership opportunities for low-income families. It does so by building and rehabbing homes and working with potential buyers to develop the financial skills necessary to be successful homeowners.

The MCASA and ASANDC partnership invests in the health of the Frogtown-Aurora/St. Anthony community. MCASA has constructed six single-family homes in the Summit-University neighborhood, and is rehabbing up to a dozen more in Summit-U and Frogtown. According to Nieeta Presley, Executive Director of Aurora/St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corp., “This is a long-term investment. We do not just throw people into homes. We connect families to the community, making sure that they are well educated and surrounded with resources.”

“System players didn’t think we could do it,” said Barbara Jeanetta, senior program officer of Twin Cities Local Initiatives Support Corporation. “Now, five years later, we see other banks scrambling to do the same with their own approach. However, they are still not willing to go the extra mile to continue giving families support once they enter the home.”

For MCASA, the “extra mile” takes the form of Home Stretch classes, which are designed to give the participants the tools they need for sustainable homeownership. This is what makes MCASA different.

For more info about MCASA Homes, check out the August/September edition of the ASANDC Newsletter or contact:

• MCASA Homes: Brenda Bailey, (651) 632-8345 | email
• ASANDC: Nieeta Presley, (651) 222-0399, ext. 101 | email

— By Ashanti Austin

April 8th, 2009 by admin

The Met Council’s Joey Browner and Ax-Man owner Jim Segal discuss business issues along the Central Corridor.

Jim Segal knows how important University Avenue is. Owner and CEO of the Ax-Man surplus store, his livelihood comes from the avenue.
“I’d like to keep growing the business … and to make it as sustainable as possible,” Segal says.
Thousands of Twin Cities residents no doubt feel the same way. The Ax-Man has been in business for more than 40 years, offering quirky, rare and just plain weird surplus items to shoppers all over the state. The locally famous shop gives University Avenue much of its unique flavor.
But Segal and other University Avenue business owners are worried about challenges that the proposed Central Corridor Light Rail Transit project might pose to small businesses. A member of the University Avenue Business Association steering committee, Segal and others have been organizing to get their voices heard.
“With the bad economy on top of the fact that we have to deal with the construction, I just want to make [the construction period] the best bad situation possible,” Segal says. “Someone needs to start real solutions.” In an effort to do just that, UABA recently hired a consultant to conduct a peer city study of other rail projects around the nation. The study found alarming statistics about the effects of lengthy construction projects along business-heavy avenues.
UABA is seeking support through community channels, meetings with the Metropolitan Council and with local, regional and statewide elected officials.
“I think that the elected officials are really listening to us,” Segal says with optimism. “[UABA] creates a good forum where a group of people with the same relative interests can share ideas and voice their opinions in one place instead of the elected people dealing with 100 different people. We can amass the main issues of the group and put them forward, which gives credibility to the issues.”
One thing UABA isn’t doing is considering legal action.
“We don’t intend to put the financial resources into legal action — and let me be clear. We don’t intend to stop light rail,” said Segal. “We are concerned about the construction and development issues. We know our business is going to be severely impacted.”

— By Jake Kulju