urbanMSP

Greetings Supporters of Neighbors for East Bank Livability,

Well, we finally had a day in court and what a day it was!
Last Thursday, there was a hearing regarding our case against the City of Minneapolis and Alatus. Here are a few of the highlights:

* Judge Moreno agreed to our motion for a Stay, which prevents demolition of the St Anthony Commercial Club building while our case moves through the courts. The significance of this victory is huge on a number of levels as we continue to believe we have a winnable case, which we¹ll now have the opportunity to argue on its merits.

* But Judge Moreno granted the stay on condition that NEBL post $100,000 security by next Thursday, May 25th.

* While the requirement is a fraction of the $6 million requested by the City and Alatus, it is still substantial. The NEBL steering committee met this morning to discuss our options. Given our small window of opportunity, we decided on two actions.

First, we want to invite you to a meeting with Bill Griffith, our lead attorney from Larkin Hoffman, at 5:30pm this Monday, 5/22, at the Winslow House Condominium Party Room (100 Second Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414).

Bill will provide a summary of where we stand in this litigation against the City of Minneapolis and Alatus, the significance of this recent decision by Judge Moreno, what it means for our case and why posting this security is such a critical step for our efforts.

Second, we need your help in raising the $100,000 required security by next Thursday, 5/25. Here¹s how it works:

* If we are successful in raising the money by the 5/25 deadline, NEBL will post the $100,000 security with the court.

*If we win the case, the $100,000 security will be returned to NEBL and thus to those who contributed. If we lose the case, the money will not be returned.

* Larkin Hoffman, NEBL¹s law firm, recommends the $100,00 security path and is fully behind continuing to work with us. [LOL of course they are]

At our Steering Committee meeting, we took a poll of the dozen participants and we committed $25,000 toward the $100,000 security.

Yes, you read that correctly! That means we are already 25% to our goal!

There are two options you can take to make a tax deductible contribution to our efforts.

...

The comment after this one clarifies that and asks them to remove the part about with regards to tax-deductibility.

Since they did not make a new post on their Facebook page, and only added a comment to an existing post, no one is going to see that. That explains why they have raised a grand total of $40 on their latest fundraiser. And because the majority of the neighborhood is apparently fine with the development.

Guess who filed an appeal at the last second?

They have already lost their case 3 times (with the City and in court). When they lose in appeal all those donors lose all their money down the black hole.

But what this will do is delay the project yet again. Where it gets weird is whether they will be able to do the demolition or not based on the bond. Separate things!