NEWS RELEASE

For release May 9, 2023 Media Contact:

Rachel Boeke
Executive Director, LCC
rachel@longfellow.org

Neighborhood and Community Organizations Reject City Engagement Process for a New
3rd Precinct Site

(Minneapolis, Minn.) – Longfellow Community Council (LCC) and community partners will host
a press conference in the City Hall Rotunda on Tuesday, May 16th at 10:00am to stand together
against the current engagement process and ask the City to commit to an engagement process
that provides more clarity, transparency, and resources to enable the community of the 3rd
Precinct to influence and understand the scope of this consequential decision-making process
surrounding the future of the 3rd Precinct.

“The Third Precinct is an incredibly sensitive and traumatic topic for neighbors. After three years
of silence, it’s confusing and offensive for the city to suddenly present residents with two options
that aren’t informed by any data or background information. No evidence has been offered to
explain why these are the only options. I want to be clear that what is being presented to the
public is a false choice.” Minneapolis Council Member Robin Wonsley, Ward 2

LCC was thankful and energized to be a part of the community engagement efforts around the
future site of the police building in the 3rd precinct as it is vital to bring residents, businesses
and community organizations into the conversation. The work of taking down the barbed wire
and bringing the site at Lake Street and Minnehaha Avenue back to community use has to not
only consider, but center the voices of the constituents; however the outreach process and
timeline set by the City of Minneapolis did not allow for intentional, community-based
engagement across the full 3rd precinct community.

LCC is the neighborhood organization for the Greater Longfellow neighborhood, in which the
3rd Precinct Site is located. LCC was contracted to organize community conversation sessions
in what was originally set to be a 12-month engagement process. The first intended focus of this
process was to determine from community input if the precinct building should return to Lake St.
and Minnehaha Ave. But the timeline quickly changed to a matter of weeks and a scope of
choice between two predetermined locations for the future site.

“After nearly three years of inaction with the promise of intentional and thoughtful outreach, the
accelerated timeline from the City with this process, now that it's in motion, is opposed to the
concept of real engagement,” LCC Executive Director Rachel Boeke said, “The Third Precinct is
made of roughly 139,000 residents, not including business owners, employees, etc. The amount
of outreach and work required to communicate with a large, representative constituent of this
precinct, is considerable. The sudden urgency of the City to have a response from residents has
reduced our timeline to 4 weeks for organizing locations, informing the community about each
event, and gathering residents into conversation.”

“Our goal with these conversations was to involve as many community members as possible so
the results are undeniable and cannot be pushed aside,” Boeke said. “ We believe that any
decision around the future of the 3rd Precinct Site needs to be made by the people.”

The LCC Board of Directors passed a resolution (linked here and pasted below) rejecting
any decision made though this process and demanding the creation of a community-led
intentional and respectful outreach process that focuses on restorative justice. As of May
9, 2023, additional signers to that resolution include 9 neighborhood organizations
representing 16 neighborhoods within the 3rd precinct as well as 17 businesses and
organizations.

Seward Neighborhood Group and Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association both passed
additional statements, linked as well.

###

Longfellow Community Council

Resolution to Call for a Comprehensive Community Outreach Process and a Delay in the Decision
on the Location of the Minneapolis 3rd Precinct Building

Background:
● On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was murdered by Derek Chauvin, a police officer from the 3rd
Precinct of the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD).
● The 3rd Precinct building, located at 3000 Minnehaha Ave., was damaged in the subsequent civil
unrest and has been shuttered and surrounded by barbed wire since May 2020.
● On May 16 and 29, 2022, the Longfellow Community Council (LCC), the official neighborhood
organization for the Longfellow, Cooper, Howe, and Hiawatha neighborhoods, held community
discussions to gather input from residents and business owners about the future of the 3rd
Precinct building at 3000 Minnehaha Ave., possible alternative uses for the building, and
possible plans for the location of the 3rd Precinct officers. A total of 150 people were in
 attendance at these discussions. Another 50 people engaged with the online survey of the same
discussion points.
○ Of the 200 attendees and respondents, ~75% were opposed to the 3rd Precinct being
located at 3000 Minnehaha Ave.
○ Common themes from the meeting included lack of trust between residents and the City
of Minneapolis, lack of transparency regarding the future of the 3rd precinct and
ensuring public safety, and concern that in 2022, two years after murder of George
Floyd, there had been very few opportunities for community conversations. Full recap
of the conversations can be found at
https://longfellow.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/3rd-Precinct-Community-Conversa
tion-Analysis.pdf
● In March 2023, DeYoung Consulting Services signed a contract with the City to conduct the
community engagement outreach about the future 3rd Precinct building. LCC then
subcontracted with DeYoung Consulting Services to organize and promote five community
meetings to be held in April with the purpose of gathering input from residents, business owners
and community organizations on the future location of the 3rd Precinct. LCC was tasked with
advertising and setting up the meeting spaces. DeYoung was tasked with facilitating the
meetings and taking notes on community feedback to then create a summary report for the City.
At the time of the Request for Proposal (RFP) the understanding was that it would be a
12-month engagement process that incorporated community-based open discussions and
forums asking where residents felt the 3rd Precinct building should be located and how it should
serve residents. The first part of that engagement process was accelerated to 6 weeks for
organizing and holding a series of community conversations to gather feedback and altered the
question to a choice between two predetermined locations for the 3rd Precinct location.
○ The City of Minneapolis, DeYoung Consulting, and LCC settled on five community
meetings to obtain public input on plans for the location of the 3rd Precinct building.
■ Tuesday, April 11th – 125 in attendance
■ Thursday, April 13th – 135 in attendance
■ Saturday, April 15th – 155 in attendance
■ Tuesday, April 18th – 85 in attendance
■ Wednesday, April 19th – 150 in attendance
○ 13 days prior to the first of these meetings, the City provided the information about the
two locations that could be considered by the community:
■ 3rd Precinct location option A: to extensively renovate and expand the former
building at 3000 Minnehaha Ave. at an estimated expense of $12 million.
■ 3rd Precinct location option B: a new building located at 2600 Minnehaha Ave.
at an estimated expense of $24 million, according to the City of Minneapolis.

Whereas, on April 27, 2022, an “Investigation into the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police
Department: Findings from the Minnesota Department of Human Rights states:
 ● “The Minnesota Department of Human Rights Report finds there is probable cause that the City
and MPD engage in a pattern or practice of race discrimination in violation of the Minnesota
Human Rights Act.”
● Specifically, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights finds that MPD engages in a pattern or
practice of discriminatory, race-based policing as evidenced by:
○ Racial disparities in how MPD officers use force, stop, search, arrest, and cite people of
color, particularly Black individuals, compared to white individuals in similar
circumstances.
○ MPD officers’ use of covert social media to surveil Black individuals and Black
organizations, unrelated to criminal activity.
○ MPD officers’ consistent use of racist, misogynistic, and disrespectful language.
● The pattern or practice of discriminatory, race-based policing is caused primarily by an
organizational culture where:
○ MPD officers, supervisors, and field training officers receive deficient training, which
emphasizes a paramilitary approach to policing that results in officers unnecessarily
escalating encounters or using inappropriate levels of force.
○ Accountability systems are insufficient and ineffective at holding officers accountable for
misconduct.
○ Former and current City and MPD leaders have not collectively acted with the urgency,
coordination, and intentionality necessary to address racial disparities in policing to
improve public safety and increase community trust. Without fundamental
organizational culture changes, reforming MPD’s policies, procedures, and trainings will
be meaningless;

Whereas, many people in attendance at the May 2022 and April 2023 community meetings expressed a
lack of trust in the City of Minneapolis process for deciding the future of the 3rd Precinct building, with
common opinions expressed about the process including a lack of transparency and accountability, and a
lack of a healing, restorative practices and operations necessary to move forward toward public safety.

Whereas, the City of Minneapolis is allowing residents to vote only between the two announced
locations, with a community that has been frustrated with lack of engagement.

Therefore, be it RESOLVED that Longfellow Community Council Board of Directors, in light of

community conversations and the recent Consent decree between the City of Minneapolis and the
State of Minnesota:

● Demands the development of a new timeline, to be completed no later than May 2024, for
defining a shared community vision for what a new facility or facilities should be, and how the
former site of the 3rd Precinct should serve the community.
● Supports an intentional and respectful outreach process to allow residents and business owners
of the 3rd Precinct in Minneapolis to more comprehensively weigh in on the location of the 3rd
precinct building specifically and public safety in general.
 ● Demands that the outreach process be community-led and managed by neighborhood
organizations and other community organizations, not the City of Minneapolis, with a focus on
restorative justice.
● Rejects any decision made about the 3rd precinct building until a new community engagement
process has been carried out.

Reference:
Department of Human Rights Investigation into the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis
Police Department

List of supporting community and neighborhood organizations:

Longfellow Community Council: Longfellow, Cooper, Howe and Hiawatha neighborhoods
Corcoran Neighborhood Organization
Seward Neighborhood Group (see additional attachment)
Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association (see additional attachment)
Central Area Neighborhood Development Organization: Central and Bryant neighborhoods
Midtown Phillips Neighborhood Association, Inc
Nokomis East Neighborhood Association: Minnehaha, Keewaydin, Wenonah and Morris Park
neighborhoods
Standish-Ericsson Neighborhood Association
Bancroft Neighborhood Association
Seward Longfellow Restorative Justice
Curiosity Studio: Lauren Callis, ATR, LPCC
Confluence: An East Lake Studio for Community Design
Moon Palace Books: Jamie and Angela Schwesnedl
Laune Bread: Chris MacLeod and Tiff Singh
Arbeiter Brewing: Juno Choi, Josh Voeltz, Garth Blomberg
Sharp Sign Co.: Kelsi Sharp
Gandhi Mahal: Ruhel Islam
Two Bettys Green Cleaning Co
Boneshaker Books
The Hub Bike Co-op: Andrew Magill-Grimm, Cristina Montoya, David Lee, Henry Slocum, Jens
Hoifeldt, John McConaghey, Lisa Olson, Ruby Simione
Seward Civic and Commerce Association
Pastor Ingrid C. A. Rasmussen: Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
Pastor Doug Mork: Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and Building Dignity and Respect Standards
Council (BDC)
Deacon David Rojas Martinez: Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
Firehouse Performing Arts Center (The Hook & Ladder Theater): Chris Mozena, Executive
Director
Articulture: Elizabeth Greenbaum, Executive Director

Residents:
Audrey Boyle, 2901 35th Ave So, Minneapolis
Jeannette Dennis, Seward resident
Elizabeth Brophey, Ward 11
Ann Carter, Ward 11
Dean Zoller, BCR Responder
Becky Back, Ward 12
Liz and Peter Digitale Anderson, Corcoran, Ward 9
Ewart Martens, Resident and business owner
Brian Suerth, Ward 2
Tess Holman, Ward 11, HPDL Community Association Board Member