Family of five is evicted as affordable housing crisis worsens in Minneapolis

[Ooh-Rah]

The capitalist in me gets this, the human in me believes there has to be another way....

Family of five is evicted as affordable housing crisis worsens in Minneapolis

Jose Lopez has been caught in the cross hairs of the affordable housing crisis in Minneapolis.

Tuesday afternoon he faced off against a property manager, insisting that his family should not be evicted from an apartment in the Whittier neighborhood where he’s lived for the past 23 years.

“It’s been a hot spot for development,” says Scott Smedberg, who lives near Lopez. “This is ground zero for gentrification.”

Lopez, who has a green card, works at the Crooked Pint downtown, and his wife works at a McDonald’s. They have three children: a daughter, 12, and two sons, ages 16 and 4.

“It’s really so mean and unjust,” Lopez said in Spanish, speaking through an interpreter. “How can someone come in and buy the building and we have to leave in 30 days?”

 

[Marauder06]

Average rent for a 2-bedroom apartment in Minneapolis is $2042. This guy is paying half of that.

Average rent in the neighborhood he lives in is $1043. He's paying more than that. That must mean his place is worth more than the average. If he wants to continue to live there, he needs to pay the price demanded.

 

[DA SWO]

You feel sorry for them, but the building owner is also paying taxes at the higher rate, and other expenses come out of that rent check.

 

[Ooh-Rah]

You feel sorry for them, but the building owner is also paying taxes at the higher rate, and other expenses come out of that rent check.

I get all that, and I'm in total agreement with the building owner.

As I get older I'm finding that I have a soft-spot for stories which affect kids in a negative way.

They didn't ask for their situation and now have just one more obstacle ahead of them.

Until I had kids of my own, I never used to think like that.

 

[Diamondback 2/2]

I get all that, and I'm in total agreement with the building owner.

As I get older I'm finding that I have a soft-spot for stories which affect kids in a negative way.

They didn't ask for their situation and now have just one more obstacle ahead of them.

Until I had kids of my own, I never used to think like that.

Plenty of American citizens have had their families up rooted from their homes, for one reason or another. It's a part of life and regardless if kids are involved or not, life continues on. Instead of complaining while here on a green card, in Spanish while government assistance, maybe he should go out there and earn it, like so many other immigrants have in the past. You know teach those kids how to take advantage of opportunities and set goals to achieve, show them how hard work and perseverance pays off.

Or just bitch about it in the wrong language and use "oh my children" as a im a victim card.

 

[BloodStripe]

Sometimes life isn't fair. The faster you accept that, the stronger you'll become. While I feel for the guy, and his family, why should he be given preferential treatment over the next guy?

 

[Kraut783]

"Whittier neighborhood where he’s lived for the past 23 years." "“It’s really so mean and unjust,” Lopez said in Spanish, speaking through an interpreter"

 

[Gunz]

I can't find any emotion for shit like this. I got nothing. How many orphans and widows has Al Qaeda or ISIS made? You can find hundreds of outrages every day if you look hard enough for them. This guy's alive, his kids are alive, they're not gonna starve. Move along.

 

[Devildoc]

We are seeing this in my city. My wife and I owned a rental, we bought it for $89,000. We sold it about eight years later for almost $200,000. The young professionals are sucking up a lot of housing and it is driving prices through the roof.

We are paying a price to be a trendy and hip city, while the low and lower middle class struggle to live. Which is fine, I suppose, so I can go out and spend $12 for a martini.