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SNG 2011 Year in Review

Dear Neighbor:

It’s been a busy year for the Seward Neighborhood Group! Thanks to everyone in Seward who worked on the following projects in 2011--it's been a full and productive year, and we couldn't have accomplished all this without the good work of Seward's residents, workers, business owners, and everyone else who calls Seward home.

• Seward Neighborhood Group – 2011 in Review

  • Received approval for the Seward Bike Walk Center , a program to promote safe and healthful people-powered transit in the neighborhood.
  • Won a CURA grant with Bedlam Theatre to produce three 10 minute plays focusing on the East African immigrant experience in Seward
  • Worked with Seward Redesign to implement goals from Franklin Avenue Planning, including : advocating for changes to the City’s planned improvements to the Cedar/Franklin Ave. intersection; and ensuring community involvement in the reconstruction of Riverside Avenue
  • Partnered with Sibley Bike Library to provide 15 low-income residents with the summer loan of a bicycle, classes in bike riding and bike maintenance, and organized bike excursions.
  • Collaborated with neighborhood businesses and over 30 Block Clubs on National Night Out
  • Provided community facilitation services for residents in the Seward Towers ,
  • Resurrected the Seward Profile , a print newsletter mailed to all neighborhood homes and businesses, as a quarterly publication.
  • Worked with gardeners to continue the lease of the Hub of Heaven Garden site from the City
  • Won a two-year grant from the McKnight Foundation to support general operations including a $5000 match for new and increased givers
  • Community Development, Crime and Safety, Environment, and History Committees organized neighborhood action throughout the year on pedestrian safety, convincing Hennepin County to add bike lanes on Franklin and on 26th Avenue, requests for building variances, the routing of high-voltage transmission lines, preserving neighborhood archives and developing a history of Seward, promoting a Greener Seward, and many other issues
  • Coordinated Garage Sale Days in May with over 100 sales
  • Organized the neighborhood King’s Fair , hosting 5 bands and hundreds of neighbors enjoying this one of a kind neighborhood festival
  • Collaborated with the online Seward Neighbors Forum ( forums.edemocracy.org/groups/ mpls-seward)   and Seward Profile news blog ( sewardprofile.posterous.com/ ) and created a SNG Facebook page (facebook.com/sewardneighborhood) to better inform residents about events
  • Organizing the 12 th Annual Seward Arts Festival , with dozens of local artists and businesses participating in conjunction with the Franklin Frolic
  • Worked with residents and the City to carry out an Enhanced Recycling pilot project in Seward, which began in the spring of 2011 ; and continued an Organics Collection pilot program in part of the neighborhood, which started in fall 2010
  • Continued a home improvement loan program
  • Co-hosted with CEE Energy Workshops, giving home owners access to free and low cost energy saving measures. Environment Committee awarded rebates to neighbors implementing energy conservation measures in their homes. Awarded $2,000 CEE Implementation Grant for efforts.
  • Through the Fundraising Committee, continued efforts to create a more stable financial base for SNG
  • Continued support of the Seward Longfellow Restorative Justice Program , through which 25 youth have participated in restorative conferences and returned $500 and 160 hours of volunteer service to the community as restitution.

Help add to the list in 2012! Contibute to SNG, and make Seward a better place to live, work, and play.

Thank you all, 
Sheldon Mains and Mike Trydn, SNG Board Chairs