October E-news

October 2021 E-News

Change is in the Air!

EPNI Calendar for October

Friday, October 1st - Rent Help Pop-Up!
3-7pm • Twin Cities Urban League (2100 Plymouth Ave N)
Need help filling out your Emergency Rental Assistance application through RentHelpMN? Stop by anytime between 3pm and 7pm TODAY. Please pre-register here (although walk-ins are also accepted).

Monday, October 4th - Let's Talk: Mayoral Candidate Forum
6:30-8pm • Plymouth Congregational Church (1900 Nicollet Ave)
Meet the candidates for Mayor of Minneapolis! Presented by Stevens Square Community Organization with support from EPNI and neighboring communities.

Saturday, October 9th - Litter Clean Up
9am • US Bank Stadium Plaza - Vikings Longhouse (530 Chicago Ave)
Green Minneapolis has partnered with Keep America Beautiful, Castrol, and the Los Angeles Rams in their efforts to clean up litter in each city the Rams play a game in this football season.

Monday, October 11th - Ward 6 Candidate Forum
7-8pm • Virtual online forum
Join the League of Women Voters Minnesota during their Ward 6 Forum on Monday, October 11th at 7pm on Facebook Live. Watch at www.facebook.com/LWVMinnesota/ or MCN Channel 6.

Wednesday, October 13th - Twin Cities Mobile Food Market
10:30-11:30am • 15th St & Chicago Ave
Come check out the retrofitted city bus that sells fresh, healthy, and affordable food! You'll find produce, bread, dairy, meat, and more. All are welcome.

Monday, October 18th - Board of Directors Meeting
6-8pm • Via Zoom
The EPNI Board of Directors meetings monthly, on the 3rd Monday of the month, at 6 PM. Guests are welcome to attend and observe. Please contact [email protected] for the meeting link.

Do you have a suggestion or question for a board member? Email [email protected] and someone will get back to you soon!

Thursday, October 21st - Building, Land Use, and Housing (BLUH) Meeting
6-7pm • Via Zoom
Every month, EPNI convenes the community at the Building, Land Use, and Housing (BLUH) meeting. This month's agenda is still in the works but we’re excited to hear from the Minneapolis Civil Rights Department with details on how to file a housing discrimination complaint. A final agenda will be posted on week prior to the meeting.

Bring Back the Band Box!

Do you miss the Sloppy Bro, the coffee, and the counter conversations?

We do and can guarantee that all of the neighbors & surrounding businesses feel the same way. Brad and Heather, owners of Band Box Diner, need your help to get their landmark diner back on its feet. Like many small businesses, the COVID-19 pandemic forced their business to close. Band Box was too small for safe social distancing, so they never reopened to the public. Additionally, Heather and Brad were navigating their son’s distance learning education for the past 18 months while Heather was fighting breast cancer. We are happy to report Heather is doing well and in the final stage of treatment.

While the Band Box has been closed, the diner has been a target for break-ins and vandalism. The break-ins have resulted in a broken front door, broken back door, broken patio door, broken window, graffiti, and multiple plumbing issues. Now, the building is in need of several major repairs in order to reopen. As soon as Brad and Heather feel like they’re making progress on the repairs the Band Box needs, they face even more vandalism, graffiti and property damage.

Let's save history and keep this tiny diner’s legacy alive! Established in 1939, and officially designated as a local landmark in 2000, Band Box Diner is the oldest operating diner in Elliot Park. This is the very last Band Box to survive history. In 1950, there were 15 Band Boxes scattered across the Twin Cities. This lone survivor has not had an easy journey, but Brad and Heather’s love kept this piece of Minneapolis history going strong!

They want to get back to serving you at Band Box but need your help to get there. Brad and Heather are planning to open a take-out style “Hole in the Wall” window featuring some of their favorite menu items.

But first, they must:
• Install a new front door, back door, patio door – these are all custom pieces due to the (amazing) building architecture
• Install a new window
• Install new plumbing
• Install security cameras
• Place a food order
• Create a menu
• Hire limited help

Please share this fundraiser and donate if you are able! Brad and Heather have worked so hard to keep this beloved gathering space alive. Now’s our chance to step up for them. All funds (minus the processing fee) will go directly to Brad and Heather to support their reopening journey.

Donate today: Bring Back the Band Box!

Missed the September BLUH meeting? We've got you covered!

At the September Building, Land Use, and Housing (BLUH) meeting, Tom Hayes of Hennepin Healthcare returned to share an update on Hennepin Healthcare’s ongoing community engagement process that will inform the organization's new vision. Visit hennepinhealthcare.org/ourfuture for more information, or share your thoughts through Hennepin Healthcare’s online survey.

We also heard from Alex Burn of Our Streets Minneapolis. Alex shared information about MnDOT’s Rethinking I-94 project and voiced concerns about the project’s direction. Our Streets MPLS is part of a community stakeholders group that is co-creating a new vision for the I-94 corridor. Alex invited EPNI to sign on to the group’s proposed Purpose and Need statement they will send to MnDOT this month. Learn more about community advocacy around this project at Our Streets’ website.

We also invite you to check out the meeting recording or meeting minutes.

See you at our October BLUH meeting via Zoom. We’re excited to hear from the Minneapolis Civil Rights Department with details on how to file a housing discrimination complaint.

Green Minneapolis/Keep America Beautiful Downtown Litter Cleanup

Green Minneapolis has partnered with Keep America Beautiful, Castrol and the Los Angeles Rams in their efforts to clean up litter in each city the Rams play a game in this football season.

Green Minneapolis is hosting a volunteer litter cleanup in the Downtown East neighborhoods surrounding U.S. Bank Stadium on Saturday, October 9, 2021.Green Minneapolis' sponsor, the Minnesota Vikings will provide us their downtown Vikings Longhouse adjacent to U.S. Bank Stadium for the event. Volunteers will be provided refreshments and snacks from Caribou Coffee and Cardigan Donuts, litter cleanup gear, and have the opportunity to enter into a raffle for a chance to win exciting prizes!

Register here!

Shop the Mobile Market!

The Twin Cities Mobile Market is back on Wednesday, October 13th from 10:30-11:30 am. You can find the bus at Chicago and 15th Street. All are welcome to stop by and shop. The market has beautiful and affordable produce, meat, dairy, bread, and more.

To learn more about the Mobile Market, please visit thefoodgroupmn.org/twin-cities-mobile-market/.

Volunteers needed for Food Delivery Program!

In partnership with St. Stephen's/House of Charity, EPNI has been distributing food to 150 households in the neighborhood. This program is driven by grant funding, volunteers, and community donations. We need your help to keep this program running smoothly! Consider supporting this important service by:

Volunteering to pack bags at House of Charity on Monday mornings. Sign up here!
(Look for the "packing & truck day" on Mondays)
Volunteering to unload bags on the 2nd Tuesday of the month from 10-11am. Sign up here!

Make a tax deductible donation to support this program. Donate at www.elliotpark.org/donate.

Learn more at www.elliotpark.org/food.

Behind on Rent? Apply for Rent Help to Protect Against Eviction

Minnesota's eviction suspension off-ramp is well underway, with all but one protection ending this month on October 12, 2021. If you're behind on rent, the best way to prevent eviction is to apply for Emergency Rental Assistance at RentHelpMN.org. Call 2-1-1 if you need help applying, or attend today’s (October 1st) Rent Help Pop-Up at the Twin Cities Urban League from 3-7pm. Tenants with pending Rent Help applications are protected from eviction until June 1, 2022.

For more information about the eviction moratorium phaseout, visit homelinemn.org/phaseout. If you have questions about your specific housing situation, contact HOME Line's tenant hotline for free legal advice at 612-728-5767 or homelinemn.org/email.

Community Meeting - Mayoral Candidate Forum

Mark your calendars for a Mayoral Candidate Forum on October 4th! Stevens Square Community Organization is teaming up with Lowry Hill East Neighborhood Association (LHENA), Phillips West Neighborhood Organization, Whittier Alliance, and Elliot Park Neighborhood (EPNI) to welcome MPLS Mayoral Candidates Sheila Nezhad (DFL), Clint Conner (DFL), Mike Winter (Independence Alliance), Nate "Honey Badger" Atkins (Libertarian), Paul Johnson (Humanitarian-Community Party), Mark Globus (DFL), Bob "Again" Carney Jr (R), Kate Knuth (DFL), and Jacob Frey (DFL-Incumbent).

Candidates will introduce themselves, share their platforms for the City of Minneapolis, and answer your questions.

Learn more at Community Meeting - Mayoral Candidate Forum.

Ward 6 Candidate Forum

Join the League of Women Voters Minnesota during their Ward 6 Forum on Monday, October 11th at 7pm on Facebook Live. Watch at www.facebook.com/LWVMinnesota./ or MCN Channel 6.

Submit questions ahead of time to: [email protected]

What is the status of Hennepin Healthcare’s planning project?

Hennepin Healthcare is engaging the community as they create a strategic plan to advance health equity for our community. More information on the project is available at HennepinHealthcare.org/ourfuture. To stay up to date, sign up on the site for monthly updates.

The project started with focused efforts to understand our community’s health care needs, barriers and wishes. Hennepin Healthcare and its partner, Imagine Deliver, conducted a public survey, interviews and creative conversations with patients, team members and community leaders, and well as pop-up events and a virtual public forum.

Now, insights gathered from the community are being organized and analyzed. The team is also studying demographic Information, neighborhood plans, and health-related data from the U.S. Census, Hennepin County and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to better understand the causes of health disparities in our community.

At the end of October, the project will move to the second phase of the three-phase project. For the next three months, the team will develop and assess possible strategies to achieve the needs and wishes voiced by our community — and advance health equity for Elliot Park and beyond.