Latest news with #GeorgeFloydSquare
CBS News
23-05-2025
- CBS News
Sunday will mark 5 years since a police officer murdered George Floyd in Minneapolis
What is George Floyd Square like now? What is George Floyd Square like now? What is George Floyd Square like now? Sunday will mark five years since a police officer murdered George Floyd in Minneapolis. Kya Brown cuts hair at Ralph's VIP Barber Lounge, a few storefronts down from where it happened. She wasn't sure at first her business would find success there. "I'm like, 'I can't work here! Oh my god, this is right at the George Floyd Square. People are really not going to come here,'" Brown said. Many of the businesses around the Square have lasted for years now. Mill City Auto Body has been open down the block for 23 years, but the owner, Dan, says he's struggling badly. "Business is slow," he said. "People [are] scared to come over here. I have four kids in college. I have to keep surviving." Dan carries a gun for protection since he was assaulted in 2020. Multiple nearby neighbors told WCCO they feel safe. "Everything now is getting much better," said Enrique Antonio, who lives less than a block from the 38th and Chicago intersection. Brown says seeing police walk a beat in the neighborhood has made her feel more comfortable. Jerome Richardson, a youth activist, says as time has passed, the emotions associated with George Floyd Square have evolved, specifically to include joy and celebration. "We've been such in a state of grief, and grief takes time, but one of the things that makes Black people most resilient is when we turn our pain into power," Richardson said. Minneapolis police data shows one robbery and one burglary near George Floyd Square this year. There's been one nearby incident of gunfire in the last 30 days.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Businesses left struggling 5 years after George Floyd's murder
The Brief Businesses near 38th and Chicago, where George Floyd was killed in 2020, are struggling five years later. The intersection was closed to traffic for over a year and many businesses have closed. Locals have lost money and some businesses have since sued the city of Minneapolis. MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - You can't tell the story of what Chicago Avenue is today without telling the story of an ongoing and frustrating five-year conversation. The debate over George Floyd Square has lasted years. What will George Floyd Square look like eventually? We don't know. The city council and Minneapolis mayor haven't agreed on how to transform the space and business owners say it is costing them their jobs. "Business is very slow in this area," owner of Just Turkey restaurant, Sam Willis, said. "I have four children. I want to be able to put them through college and things of that nature, but at this point, I'm not able to." Big picture view Before the murder of George Floyd, business was booming near 38th and Chicago in Minneapolis. That changed after May 25, 2020. Immediately after Floyd's death, the area became a memorial site. While parts of the city experienced protests, riots, and looting, the business owners near 38th and Chicago tried to protect their buildings. "We were standing, we were using our bodies to stand there, we were using garbage cans, and we started using vehicles," AGAPE member Reginald Ferguson said. In a sense, Ferguson and others in the area are still protecting their space. "This is our last year. This is the last year. We're gonna be heard," Dwight Alexander, the owner of Smoke in the Pit said. Alexander's family started the business in 2013. He took over in 2021. "Like they say, we lose one sense, you gain another sense. By of the poor traffic being here, I'm tapping into other little things." Ace Rice, owner of PLOT Gallery is new to the space and is optimistic, hoping for a turnaround. "There is at least 12 black-owned businesses and at least if you include culinary arts, at least eight arts organizations all on one block," Rice said. "I think that's something really special." All the businesses decided to open their doors because of the constant flow of traffic which has barely seen movement. They've voiced their concerns about visitors stopping by George Floyd Square to visit, but never spending time shopping locally. "Upuntil 2020, I would say we just saw things really start to pop. Every single storefront here was full. There was a lot of activity. There was lot of stuff going on. It is different now," owner of Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center, Victoria Lauing said. The backstory "How many people have you seen leave?" FOX 9 reporter Symone Woolridge asked. "Oh, several. So many," Willis said. "Even the guy that, you know, helped George Floyd, helped the guy get convicted for the murder. He had a Black Chinese spot right here. He had to move out because he couldn't afford it, you know. He wasn't generating any income." From shoe stores to clothing stores, many stores that were open near 38th and Chicago are no longer there. One business was only able to place signage but never opened and decided to open elsewhere. The argument about George Floyd Square has impacted businesses tremendously. It has been a frustrating conversation for them. "They don't spend no money on this block, but they'll be standing up there doing an interview in front of a camera and then they get in their car and they leave," Ferguson said. "And that's what happens when everybody listens to them and they get their voice heard, and now we say, now this is what we're doing. We're going to do it because of what? We got city councilmen that don't even be in this part. And they're over here telling us what we should do with our community, that we have to deal with every day ourselves." Majority of the council wants a pedestrian mall which would also include a place to honor Floyd. "It's bigger than a memorial," AGAPE member Bridgette Stewart said. Stewart and the other business owners agree with having a place to honor and remember Floyd, but they don't want to have to pack up and find a new home. "By opening up the street, other businesses were able to come in and become somewhat successful. But we want to see them flourish like they were before 2020," Stewart said. "We love this community, we're here for a reason. We don't intend to go anywhere. It has been a struggle, but we are committed and we're, we are here for the long haul," Lauing said. "What I really enjoy is the resilience of this group, and that perhaps this is the first time in Minnesota we refuse to perform what justice looks like, and we really sort of dig in and make sure that we actually get there," owner of Bichota Coffee Terrance Anderson said. "It's beyond just trying to sustain. We need to be able to regenerate," owner of City Food Studio Lachelle Cunningham said. "We need be able heal. We need able to invest back in so that we can create something greater." Local perspective "When the ambulance couldn't come through here, they was telling us to bring the bodies down there to them because they wouldn't come here without a police presence," Edwin Reed said as he spoke with two patrol officers. Reed owns Sincere Detailing Pros. He's one of many that have sued the city, claiming it failed to protect his business. He remembers the horrifying days in 2020 and 2021. The street near 38th and Chicago was closed for over a year, leading to high crime. It was known as a "no-go zone" and police rarely went inside, with the zone blocked by barricades. "Where were you guys for four years straight?" Reed asked patrol officers Drea Mays and Xander Krohnfeldt. The two have been patrolling the area for over a year now, hoping to build trust in the community. "I can appreciate when things are going crazy. And there's not cops to respond. And there were plenty of times where I was on the ambulance and I'd ask for cops, and they'd say, nope, there's no cops, even when the ambulance was asking." Krohnfeldt was a paramedic at the time. READ MORE: At George Floyd Square, these officers hope to build trust in MPD "Now we see firsthand what it's like to not have the police in your community. Because we was in our community, policing our community but we wasn't arresting anybody," Ferguson said. After the experiences that have shifted their livelihood, the businesses are hoping they can go back to what they remember before everything changed in 2020.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
At George Floyd Square, these officers hope to build trust in MPD
The Brief Two Minneapolis police officers are now assigned specifically to the area where George Floyd was murdered in 2020. George Floyd Square became the epicenter of the city's struggle to navigate the tension and frustration that followed Floyd's murder. FOX 9 recently followed the officers as they walked their new beat and interacted with neighbors and business owners. MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Five years after the murder of George Floyd exposed the depths of mistrust in the Minneapolis Police Department, two officers are walking a new beat in an area that still feels forgotten. The backstory The intersection of 38th and Chicago Ave in Minneapolis will become a destination for many this week as the city marks the five-year anniversary of George Floyd's murder. But for the past several years, not everyone has been welcome at what is known as George Floyd Square. In the months after Floyd's murder, the area was considered a "no-go" zone for police officers responding to reports of violent crime even as neighbors and business owners voiced frustration with the barricades that blocked off streets. While the physical barricades were removed several years ago, the Minneapolis Police Department is still trying to overcome the emotional barriers that remain five years later. As the city continues to debate a long-term development plan for the area, two police officers are trying to develop a different type of foundation. "Build that relationship, to build trust, because ultimately, the community deserves to have, you know, police and that's what we wanted to, what we wanted them to see," said Ofc. Xander Krohnfeldt. Krohnfeldt and his partner Drea Mays walk the beat here five days a week. The other side FOX 9 recently followed along as the officers interacted with neighbors and business owners still angry about Floyd's murder as well as the city's response to the community. "Where were you guys for four years straight," said Reginal Ferguson, a business owner who is also a member of the community organization AGAPE. "I have not been able to sleep because I am worried about my business." As Ferguson vented to the officers on the street earlier this month, another resident walking by echoed his concerns. "I live right there and just got robbed and almost killed," she said. "Y'all need to do something about this area." Big picture view Krohnfeldt says he joined the police department in 2021 after previously working as a paramedic. In that role, he experienced firsthand the struggle to adequately respond to the area as the crime rate rose and the number of police officers dwindled. "So I can appreciate when things are going crazy and there's not cops to respond," he said. "And there were plenty of times where I was on the ambulance and I'd ask for cops, and they'd say, 'nope, there's no cops,' even when the ambulance was asking." While the officers hope to establish a consistent presence at George Floyd Square, they must also navigate the neighborhood's complex relationship with the department. After Floyd's murder, state and federal civil rights investigations found the Minneapolis police engaged in a pattern and practice of discrimination for years. "There's obviously systemic problems here…it's not just in the police department, it's in society, it is in the city government," Chief Brian O'Hara said in an interview earlier this year. "And the police department is just a reflection of systemic issues." As Krohnfeltd walked down Chicago Avenue in April, several people yelled out the names of other Black men killed by police in Minnesota and across the country. "It makes me want to have a conversation," Krohnfeldt said. He and his partner appear to be seeking out some of those difficult conversions. They pop into businesses and stop to talk to neighbors on the street. "Just being more open to how people are feeling, what people think, and really truly listening to them and their concerns," Mays said.
