GreeningFrogtownMarch:April18Reload

MARCH/APRIL 2018
Inside…
Frogtown: The
Comic Book
An official planning
document takes a
fresh new form
— P. 2
At Central High School, wrenchman Matthew Lijewski heads up a low-cost auto repair service available to area residents.
CHECK OUT THE LATEST FROGTOWN ENTREPRENEURS — P. 6
Love, Actually
In Frogtown, the difference between the news and reality
If all you did was watch the news, Frogtown might seem like
a great place to get out of just as soon as you can. Car chases,
murders, gun fights on the street — that's the news. All of
those things happen, but what makes them news is that they
are the exception, not the rule.
The great thing about running a
neighborhood newspaper—after living in
Frogtown for nearly 40 years—is that it’s
easy to see how image and reality differ.
The image might be of an uncaring place,
full of broken families and neglected kids.
The reality looks more like the story of
Lafond Avenue resident Mai Yang, a mother
of six, whose untimely passing in February
has left the family scrambling. Mai was a
cheerful person with serious physical disabilities, whose kids
took turns pushing her wheelchair down to a garden not far
from her Lafond Avenue home. There she planted and
watered a little crop of red and green peppers. Mai was no
movie star, but her family adored her, and they want to honor
her with a beautiful, traditional funeral. Friends, strangers and
neighbors have responded. Five days after it was posted, a Go
Fund Me site to help offset Mai’s funeral costs (“Funeral for
Our Mom”) had racked up more than $1 ,400, donated in
mostly small amounts of $1 0 and $20.
The image is one of short-lived relationships that break up or
go south. The reality looks more like the story of Cesar
Mother, gardener Mai Yang.
Garcia and Vicky Regalado, a dauntless, loving Frogtown
couple nearly 30 years apart in age. When Cesar got off a
Greyhound bus from Mississippi and showed up at the
Regions Hospital back in 1 998, he met Vicky, who offered
him a room in her duplex, no questions asked. They married
in 2001 , but when immigration authorities
got wind of his existence, Cesar got back on
the bus to Juarez. Vicky spent the next 1 3
years working to bring him back home
legally, petitioning every public official she
could think of, and spending thousands of
dollars on legal fees. Cesar’s back in
Frogtown and he’s got a green card now,
thanks to Vicky’s unflagging persistence and
devotion.
The image is one of neighbors who don’t say
hello and don’t know each other. The reality is that when
Greening Frogtown’s editor Tony (my husband and partner)
was hospitalized last week with a life-threatening blood clot in
his lungs, the very first person to visit him was our longtime
friend and neighbor, activist Johnny Howard, (who organized
dozens of block clubs in Frogtown in the 80s and 90s.) We
came home from the hospital to find our sidewalk shoveled
and our dogs walked, courtesy of caring neighbors.
As in any neighborhood, there are stories in Frogtown that
provoke cynicism, annoyance, rage or despair. But very often,
the feeling that living Frogtown inspires is actually… love.
— Patricia Ohmans
Faces Behind
Local Facebook
Together, they run
neighborhood page
— P. 3
In County
Commissioner
Race, Another
Contender
Jennifer Nguyen
Moore makes it a
three-way contest
— P. 5

BIG IDEAS
Frogtown's Future: The Comic Book
The Neighborhood Association takes a crack at putting planning info in a new, readable form
As official documents go, this one breaks
the mold. Frogtown’s Small Area Plan —
a city-mandated, neighborhood-level
addition to the city-wide Comprehensive
Plan — got an airing in early February, as
a mob of neighbors filled the City School
gym to hear the details.
Usually, small area plans are a type-heavy
slog that is part description of what exists,
and part dream list of what could be
created over the next ten years. Generally
they’re created by a small committee,
approved by the local district council,
then funneled off to the city's Planning
Commission.
In this case, the plan — which takes the
form of a 1 00+ page color comic book —
was created over numerous public meals
and neighborhood art events. Illustrated
by local artist Myc Batson, it’s a colorful
and informal look at how to remake
Frogtown over the years to come.
Members of the crowd were all in on the
comic book form. “I’m much more likely
to process information this way than if it
was in an academic report,” said Edmund
Ave. resident Tabitha Mitchell. “I love it,”
said Planning
Commission
member
Kathy
Mouacheupao.
“This is the
next
generation
way of doing
these things.”
The crew
gathered for
the unveiling
included
Mayor
Melvin
Carter and
state rep Rena Moran. “I’ve read a lot of
small area plans,” said Carter, “and I’ve
never before said they were fun to read…
I’m excited to see this.”
You can see the complete document at the
Frogtown Neighborhood Association
website, frogtownmn.org.
Here’s a quick overview:
At the February unveiling, a young reader digs into
the neighborhood's small area plan. Find the
complete document at frogtownmn.org.
The big idea is that Frogtown should
become a
mediumdensity,
pedestrianfriendly
urban
village. It
should be
home to
people with
mixed
incomes.
There
should be a
special
focus on
arts,
entrepreneurship
and education.
The main areas addressed by the plan are
land use, transportation, housing, arts and
education.
Land Use: The plan outlines a push for
more green space that builds
neighborhood health and wellness.
There’d be more active use of empty lots,
a Dale St. transformed into a businessfriendly
Main St., plus street treatments
that make you want to get out and walk.
Transportation: The goal here is to cut
automobile traffic, and increase use of
biking, walking and public transportation.
A connector bus to adjacent
neighborhoods might be created. Zoning
changes would be made to return the
many remaining old-time corner
store/apartment units to combined
commercial/residential space.
Housing: The intent is to create housing
that “serves all walks of life.” Part of the
vision here is for more live/work space,
where residents could run a small
business from their home. Other options
might include a tiny-home village, where
a single Frogtowner could dwell in a
comfortable, big-enough and affordable
home, and dorm-style public housing with
residences above and retail below.
Arts and Education: The plan imagines
arts and education to be “a defining force
in the community,” with more accessible
arts studios and gallery space, including
the rehabbed Victoria Theater on
University near Avon.
PAGE 2 JULY MARCH/APRIL / AUGUST 2018
6

Put a Lid on It! Plans to Cover Freeway
Get Boost from Urban Land Institute
Plans for a freeway lid over I-94 continue
to move forward, as the Urban Land
Institute is set to convene a week-long
session on the project in St. Paul in mid-
March.
The Urban Land Institute is, by its own
description, “the oldest and largest
network of cross-disciplinary real estate
and land use experts in the world,” and is
dedicated to creating vibrant urban
spaces. The local freeway-lid session is a
boost for local efforts, says organizer Lars
Christiansen of Reconnect Rondo.
The freeway lid project is one of those
initially unlikely sounding schemes that
could actually have legs. The rough idea
for now is to create a street-level platform
over 94 that might extend from
Chatsworth to Grotto. The lid could hold
greenspace, business, housing, or all of
the above, and would reconnect
neighborhoods sundered by the freeway.
Among the promoters of the freeway lid
concept is Charlie Zelle, Minnesota
Department of Transportation
commissioner. Last year he engaged the
Urban Land Institute to strategize on how
a freeway lid could restore connections
between neighborhoods and also spark
new development. Zelle’s big question
about the report: “How do we not just put
this on the shelf?”
The lid project is boosted in part by the
increasingly decrepit state of the freeway.
Interstate 94 is reaching the end of its
useful life and will need to be rebuilt
anyway. About half of the 1 45 bridges
between the east side of Saint Paul and
the north side of Minneapolis need work
within the next fifteen years. The timeline
is even shorter for the area from the
Capitol to MN-280.
Freeway lids aren’t quite commonplace,
FROGTOWN NEWS
neither are they anything new. Seattle
built its Freeway Park in 1 976.
Cincinnati built Lytle Park over 1 -70 in
1 970. Duluth’s Leif Erickson Park and
Rose Garden stretches over I-35 as it
heads north out of town. Notable lids
have recently been completed in
Chicago, Boston, Dallas and St. Louis,
among other cities.
The upcoming Urban Land Institute
confab in St. Paul is big opportunity, says
Christiansen. Panelists from around the
country will meet to discuss nuts and
bolts of engineering, but also topics such
as funding. “The panel will collect
information to devise a campaign on how
to raise money. It’s a key step to link to
people and foundations across the
country,” says Christiansen.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Department
of Health and the St. Paul Ramsey
County Public Health Department are
completing a health impact assessment of
the project, comparing the health impact
of the uncovered freeway versus the
impact of a lid.
Christiansen says the Reconnect Rondo
group is also looking at ways to soften
the economic blow for neighbors who
might suddenly find themselves facing a
beauty upgrade. “If you live on St.
Anthony, for instance, and the lid gets
built, your front yard will be spectacular.
That person’s property value will
undeniably go up.”
To mitigate the potential hardship of
higher property taxes, Reconnect Rondo
is looking at models that help prevent
displacement. One example: programs
that reduce tax increases for 20 years on
properties adjacent to new developments
that boost property taxes. “This way
people get a generation to deal with it,”
said Christiansen.
Kyle Wensel Muñoz, Juan Bates: they keep the local conversation coming.
The Brains Behind the Frogtown
Neighborhood Facebook Page
If you’re one of the many casual users of
the Frogtown Neighbors Facebook page,
it can seem like a force of nature —
something that just happens. But the
reality is, Frogtowners Kyle Wensel
Muñoz and Juan Bates are down in the
boiler room, keeping the page clanking.
The pair has maintained the page since
201 5, and watched it grow to the point
where now there are very nearly 3000
participants, sharing information on
everything from lost kitties, to stray dogs,
to break-ins, gunfire, abandoned
mattresses and, well, just about anything
else you can think of. It’s a place for
serious discussion of neighborhood
issues, and a sort of community bulletin
board. Every day there are about 2,200
interactions on the page.
The pair, who knew each other from their
work at Capella University, reached out
to the then-director of the Frogtown
Neighborhood Association, Tait
Danielson, and asked for a kickstart on
potential members. “He added a bunch of
people to the group, and that set us on the
path,” said Bates.
There are occasional troll-ish moments
on the page, but the ongoing surprise is
the level of civility and helpfulness.
People routinely step up with suggestions
on how to make a house safer, how to fix
that plumbing problem, or how to tap in
to food giveaways.
“I look at it every day as a consumer,”
says Muñoz. “Juan is in charge of taking
care of the ridiculous.”
“I had a friend who was an administrator
for the Hamline Midway neighborhood
Facebook page,” said Muñoz, “and that
made me curious what a Frogtown page
would be like.”
“We figured it would be a place where
people could build community — a place
for people to interact,” said Bates.
“The more people we can help be
engaged, the better it works,” Bates says.
“It gives everyone a chance to see what
really happens in Frogtown versus the
perception.”
You can tap into this mighty resource by
going to Frogtown Neighbors Group on
Facebook.
What's on a freeway lid? Parks, housing, retail, or maybe all of the above.
Whee! Stella Baker, 8, enjoys a slippery slope at Frogtown Park. Wintry fun on
offer on Saturday Feb. 24 included free trials of snowshoes for the adventurous.
MARCH/APRIL 2018 PAGE 3
Photo: Laney Ohmans

For County Board
Seat Race, One
More Contender
It’s now a three-way scramble for the
District Three Ramsey County Board of
Commissioners seat, as a second
challenger, Jennifer Nguyen Moore,
entered the race in January.
Moore joins Trista MatasCastillo in
running against incumbent Janice
Rettman, who has held the seat since
1 997.
The county board is one of those fogenshrouded
posts in government, hugely
powerful but dimly understood. County
government has its hands in county
parks, roads, social services, elections,
libraries, property records, the sheriff’s
office, courts, and much more. The board
directs the broad outline of policy. If
you’re alive in Ramsey County, you’re
affected by decisions the county
commissioners make.
Like MatasCastillo (see our
January/February issue at
greeningfrogtown.com/archive for an
interview with her and Rettman), Moore
says of Rettman, “I think the number of
years she has served is plenty. I don’t
think
anyone
should make
a career out
of it.”
Moore, 32,
grew up
near the
corner of
Victoria and
University,
where her
father
owned the
building
now
occupied by
Tai Hoa
BBQ. As
part of a
family of 1 2
children,
Moore
learned first
hand about
the county's
long reach.
FROGTOWN NEWS
Board candidate Jennifer Nguyen Moore.
“We had all these Ramsey County
services we made use of. We had food
assistance, disability services, WIC. I
think it’s important to have elected
officials who have used those services
because they have a perspective on
how to get funds to people who need
them.”
Moore’s work
career
includes
stints at
Eureka
Recycling,
and,
currently, at
the City of
Bloomington,
where she
coordinates
the transition
to municipal
garbage
hauling.
Her priorities
if elected:
Streamline
and humanize
the process
for receiving
county social
services. “We need to do this with more
cultural competency. There should be
more processes in place to help people
though the application process. If you
have to share information about all of
what you don’t have with the county, that
can be really traumatizing.”
Environmental justice and public health:
Moore is a critic of a recent county move
to insist on burning all Ramsey County
garbage at its Newport facility. By her
lights, more effort should be put into
waste reduction, with attention to big
compostable items such as food waste.
Restorative justice: “I have a relative who
as a minor made stupid choices,” says
Moore. “Non-violent offenses, but they
add up. There needs to be a way to address
the racial profiling, and how people of
color are being targeted. It’s not just the
jails, it’s the probation system, the court
system. Once people have a mark on
themselves, they can’t get a job. It feeds
them back into crime to survive. We
should ask how we can break the cycle of
poverty.”
With the DFL endorsement convention in
mid-March, the primary on August 1 4, and
the general election on November 6,
there’s still a long road ahead in this race.
But at this point it promises to be a more
hard-fought contest than it has often been
in the past.
Rettman ran unopposed in 2002, 2006 and
201 0. In 201 4 she faced Gerard Goder, a
29-year old environmental supervisor for
Washington County’s Public Health
Department. Rettman clobbered Goder, a
relative political unknown, by a three to
one margin.
MARCH/APRIL 2018
PAGE 5

NEW ENTREPRENEURS
is published six times per year by Health Advocates Inc.,
843 Van Buren Ave., St. Paul, Minnesota, 551 04,
and is distributed door-to-door from Lexington Parkway to 35E,
and from University Avenue to Pierce Butler Route.
Publisher: Patricia Ohmans • Editor: Anthony Schmitz
651 .757.5970 • patricia.ohmans@gmail.com
651 .757.7479 • apbschmitz@gmail.com
Ad rates & more at GreeningFrogtown.com
Next issue, May/June • Ad deadline April 1 5.
Health Advocates also sponsors Frogtown Green, an initiative that promotes
green development to increase the health and wealth ofFrogtown residents.
Special thanks this issue to Dolores Ohmans, Emily Greger and Anna Schmitz.
Out of the Box
Ask the Animal Humane Society
Q: My indoor cat has always used a litter box without any
fuss, but for the past two weeks, she’s only using it sometimes.
How can I get her to stop?
A: New litter box issues are often signs of cat stress about the box or other changes in
the home. First, clean up the messes with an enzymatic cleaner so she isn’t attracted
to go there again. Then, make sure you have enough litter boxes. We recommend
keeping an extra box available. So, if you have one cat, use two boxes. Two cats?
Three boxes. Put the litter boxes in different, quiet places. Cats often avoid boxes if
there was commotion or noise when they last used it. Make sure the litter box has
both a way to get in, and a way to get out, so that kitty doesn’t feel trapped. Use
unscented, clumping litter, and scoop it daily. If these tips don’t help, call or text
trainers Katie & Elise at 651-802-8246 for more advanced ideas! We give free over
the phone, text, or in person behavior help through the Outreach program of Animal
Humane Society.
Central Village owners Bernard Jones and Georgia Giles-Jones.
CENTRAL VILLAGE SOBER HOUSE: Among the latest Frogtown
entrepreneurs are Georgia Giles-Jones and Bernard Jones, a
married couple who recently pened a branch of their Central
Village sober housing for women on Blair Ave. near Grotto.
The sober house provides a drug/alcohol free home for women on
a path to recovery. To get in, women must be sober for at least 30
days, attend two Alcoholics Anonymous or similar meetings per
week, go to work, school or volunteer or outpatient treatment 20
hours a week, work with a sponsor weekly, and stay for a
minimum of three months. Overnight guests are not permitted. An
off-site manager oversees the house.
“These are women who know they need to make a change in their
lives, but they’re not strong enough yet to fight the urges on their
own,” said Giles-Jones.
The couple comes to the work with a personal understanding of
how difficult it can be to achieve sobriety. Between them, they
have a mother, sister, a son and other family members who have
been chemically dependent. “This is a business where you can
help people,” said Jones.
The Blair location has eight beds, while their first facility on
Central Ave. in Aurora-St. Anthony holds another 1 2. To neighbors
concerned about a nearby group residence, the couple had this
response: At least you know that these neighbors are sober.
PAGE 6
MARCH/APRIL 2018

MARCH/APRIL 2018 PAGE 7

City Rehab Fund
Now a Pay‐off for
Good Landlords
If you’ve got a good landlord who is on
top of maintenance, here’s some helpful
news you can pass along. A city program
to help landlords maintain their property
has recently expanded to include rental
units that are generally well-kept.
Late last year the city set aside a
$750,000 revolving loan fund to finance
improvements on rental properties. It’s a
great deal — no interest loans, with a cap
of $30,000, and quarterly payments that
can be extended over ten years for rental
properties with up to four units. But the
initial catch was that the loans were only
available to properties that city inspectors
classified as C or D. Those are properties
called out for a significant number of
necessary but unmade repairs.
The city recently expanded the pool of
potential applicants to include landlords
with A and B level properties — those
with few or no necessary repairs, in the
view of city inspectors.
One reason for the new rule: landlords
with C and D properties weren’t biting.
That wasn’t a complete surprise,
according to program manager Jules
FROGTOWN NEWS
Atangana. Department of Safety and
Inspection staff “said we wouldn’t have
many applications,” Atangana noted.
“They said these properties are the worst
of the worst, and the owners don’t want to
improve.”
Meanwhile, landlords with rental units in
good shape complained that the worst
operators were being offered a great deal
on fix-up money, while their reward for
maintaining their units was to be
excluded.
The loan money can be used for repairs
such as a new furnace or roof, problem
tree removal, basement moisture control
and more. So far $60,000 has been
loaned, leaving $690,000 to be disbursed.
Your landlord can get more information
from Atangana at 651 -266-6552.
At University, Dale,
More Retail and
Senior Housing
The latest new prospective University
Ave. development is a five-story combo
senior housing and commercial/retail
space on the corner of Dale and Unversity
now occupied by Big Daddy’s and several
other brick buildings.
According to Mike Temali of the
Neighborhood Development Center, the
building, along with Frogtown Centre
across the street, will form a gateway to
the neighborhood when completed. What
promises to be a $23 million project will
include 55 to 63 units of senior housing,
plus two stories of commercial and retail
space below.
The new building will be the final stake
through the heart of what was once
Frogtown’s notorious porn center. The
Rondo Library was once home to the
Faust Theater, a long-time skin-flick
venue. Frogtown Centre was built on the
site occupied by the Belmont Theater, a
bar and strip joint. The empty lot on the
northwest corner, now a patio for Big
Daddy’s, was home to the Flick, a peep
show operation.
The new project, says Temali, has been
years in the making. A two-day design
charrette to develop ideas for the corner
was held back in April of 201 2. Four
years ago NDC negotiated a purchase of
the Big Daddy’s parcel and the two
adjacent buildings, which are now held
by the Twin Cities Community Land
Bank. Last year it bought the lot at
Sherburne and Dale, formerly occupied
by the Rock ofAges church. And it
bought an adjacent home on Sherburne,
which will become part of the project site.
The business incubator at 501 N. Dale,
now home to the Community
Stabilization Project and Frogtown
Neighborhood Association, will remain
intact with some improvements. As a
safety consideration, the alley will be
rerouted to empty onto Sherburne instead
of Dale St. At present it’s a blind alley
that funnels traffic onto a busy street.
There aren’t building drawings to date,
but Temali says the project will be
stepped back from the corner in the style
of Frogtown Centre across the street.
NDC is working with local artist Seitu
Jones to add a jolt of artistry to the
building.
For now the groundbreaking date is
tentatively set for Spring 201 9.
According to Temali, the project will
continue NDC’s history of training local
entrepreneurs to put together solid
business plans, financing and know-how
to help them succeed in business. When
we do projects like this or Frogtown
Centre,” said Temali, “We’re doing it to
make a place to house neighborhood
entrepreneurs.”
PAGE 8
MARCH/APRIL 2018

BY THE NUMBERS
Where Bikers, Walkers Get Whacked
Traffic volume and vehicle crashes involving walkers and bikers
This map shows traffic on major roads in Frogtown. Thicker lines mean higher traffic
volumes. Red dots indicate where vehicles have crashed with bikers or walkers from
201 0-201 5. The dark green areas on the map show city parks. Lighter green areas are
within an eighth of a mile of a park. Yellow areas are within a quarter mile of a park.
The map shows that while many Frogtowners are within what urban planners consider
to be walking distance of a park — one quarter mile — there's a notable exception: the
midsection of the neighborhood, the area bounded by Minnehaha, University, Western
and Dale. Kids trying to cross Dale Street to get to West Minnehaha Recreation Center,
or dashing across Western Avenue on their way to Scheffer Rec, may be at particular
risk of getting hit by a car.
The map also shows that Frogtown fits a pattern, according to the US Department of
Transportation, which notes that "the lowest income neighborhoods within large cities
have a disproportionate number of (bike and pedestrian) fatalities." The DOT notes the
outsized risk experienced by people of color, observing that "deaths ofAfrican
Americans and Hispanics are disproportionately high."
Average daily traffic volume by number of vehicles, 201 4-201 6.
This map is the first in a year-long Greening Frogtown series looking at environmental
health disparities and challenges in our neighborhood. We acknowledge support from
the University ofMinnesota's Office ofCommunity Engagement to Advance Research
and Community Health.
Collisions between cars, bikes and walkers—while not always fatal—are almost always
preventable, according to transit experts and advocates. Streets can be designed to be
friendlier to pedestrians and bicyclists in a number of ways, ranging from the obvious
to the subtle. The Frogtown Neighborhood Association's new Small Area Plan offers up
bike lanes, roundabouts, speed bumps and bump outs as some of the more obvious
possibilities. Since 201 2, transit advocates at Transit for Livable Communities & Smart
Trips (TLC) take a more educational approach. They have offered ways for residents to
give input and engage with transportation issues in Frogtown and Rondo – most
recently, they supported Slow Roll rides in partnership with Cycles for Change with a
goal of getting more people biking. "Ultimately, it will require a variety of approaches
to lower these numbers," says TLC spokesperson Emma Pachuta.
— Map by cartographer Maya Swope, Frogtown Green
Ready to talk climate? Join activists with the Will Steger Climate Generation
for a 2 day workshop on March 1 2 and 1 3. Scholarships available,
www.climategen.org/talk-climate-institute.
MARCH/APRIL 2018
PAGE 9

FROM PAGE ONE
Money to Go!
Top tips to help you get around on the cheap
Feeling the pinch of the Metro Transit fare hike? Bike all busted? Carless
but in need a of a transportation solution to move your new sofa? We’ve
got you covered. In this issue of Greening Frogtown we’ve rounded up
ways to save this spring no matter what your preferred method of
transportation. Read on for bus pass discounts, free bikes, auto repair for
a $1 0 service fee, and car rentals for $8.50 an hour. — Laney Ohmans
MetroTransit fare discounts
$1 Fares with the TAP program
If you qualify for SNAP, free or reduced
lunch, Section 8 Housing, or Energy
Assistance, you also qualify for
MetroTransit’s Transit Assistance
Program (TAP), which discounts transit
fares to $1 .00 per ride. More information
on how to enroll in this program can be
found on the Metro Transit Website,
here: https://www.metrotransit.org/tapriders.
$25 for a Summer Pass
Is there a high school student in your
household? For just $25, they can take
unlimited rides all summer long with a
Metro Transit Summer Pass. The passes
go on sale in May, and can be purchased
online, or at a Metro Transit service
station.
https://www.metrotransit.org/summerstudent-pass
Another source for bike bargains is the
local nonprofit Mr. Michael Recycles
Bicycles (520 N. Prior Ave.). Mr. Michael
offers free bicycles to those in need, used
bikes for sale, and dirt-cheap bicycle
repair. To get on the waiting list for a free
bike, call the shop at 651 -641 -1 037
during business hours. Call soon! In early
March the wait time will likely be only a
couple of weeks, but it fills up quickly.
Can’t wait that long? On March 24 from
11 am-2pm, Mr. Michael’s co-owners
Benita and Michael Warns have
planned a bike sale and repair clinic
in partnership with Zion Lutheran
Church (1 697 Lafond Avenue). All
bikes for sale will be priced at less
than $1 00. There will be food
available for a donation, and free
repairs for those who already have
a summer ride.
Discounted Nice Ride Rentals:
If you’ve seen the racks of neon green
bikes on Frogtown street corners, you’re
familiar with the Nice Ride program.
Nice Ride offers need-based discounts to
their seasonal membership fee, dropping
their $75 unlimited 60 minute ride
package to just $1 0. Contact Access
Manager Tina Cho via email:
tcho@niceridemn.org, or phone: 61 2-
361 -8003 to sign up.
Bikes and Bike Repair
Free Bikes, Cheap Bikes, and Bike
Maintenance
Faithful readers of Greening Frogtown
already know about the bike values
offered by Cycles for Change at 721
University Avenue. The non-profit shop
offers refurbished bikes for sale, plus
tune-ups, overhauls and repairs, all at
reasonable prices. Find out more at
cyclesforchange.org.
Car Repairs
Student Mechanics Offer Deep
Discounts
The Central High School Service Station
(11 57 Selby Ave.) is a hidden gem of
bargain maintenance. High school
students (closely supervised by their
instructor, ASE-certified master
technician Matt Lijewski), perform
repairs that align with their
curriculum for a $1 0-20 service fee,
plus the wholesale cost of parts. To
get on the waiting list for an
appointment, stop by the service
station and drop a repair request slip
into the box on the front door.
Car Rentals
Short-Term Rental Deals
Both Turo (www.turo.com) and
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HourCar (www.hourcar.org), offer shortterm
car rentals for relatively low rates.
FROM PAGE ONE
Turo for Day Trips
Turo is a good bet for trips that are a day
or longer. Turo is similar to AirBnB, but
for vehicles – Minnesotans on the site
offer their cars for temporary rentals as a
way to make extra cash. A recent search
of the area found 1 5 reservable cars for
less than $30 per day.
Hour Car for Errands
If you’re making a grocery run or picking
up a Target purchase, HourCar is the way
to go. For a one-time $25 application fee,
and a $6/month membership fee, you
have access to any of the cars in
HourCar’s fleet for $8.50 per hour.
Insurance, gas, and repair is covered in
that rate, and you can return the HourCar
to any station convenient to you. Just be
careful when you are making your
reservation. Late fees accrue hourly, and
run $40 per unreserved hour.
Behind the Scenes at Central's Garage
Certified auto tech Matthew Lijewski runs Central High School's repair shop.
The Central High School Service Station (11 57 Selby Ave.) is a hidden gem of bargain
maintenance. Donated to Central High School/St. Paul Public Schools in 1 963, this
former Skelly’s gas station has been transformed into a teaching laboratory. Guided by
ASE-certified master technician Matthew Lijewski, students enrolled in the Auto
Technology levels 2 and 3 at Central High School complete a variety of basic repairs
for a $1 0-20 service fee and the wholesale cost of parts.
In general, the student technicians tackle repair projects that align with their curriculum.
The shop is open to the public, and students rely on a steady stream of client cars for
practice. Potential clients may have to wait a few weeks for their repair to be relevant.
Lijewski is committed to prioritizing the students’ needs and skills when scheduling
repairs. “It’s pretty rare that your starter will go out, and it’ll be starter week for us,” he
says, “People that come here have to be people who are willing to wait for their
repairs.”
That said, the shop has many repeat customers, some of whom have been patrons for
decades. They have fond memories of the original Auto Tech teacher, Mr. Roth. One of
these regulars has a car in the shop right now, in fact. He’s one of the lucky few chosen
for this semester’s batch of long-term repairs (in his case, a faulty clutch). Each
semester Lijewski selects a few of these projects for the class, all of which require more
time and attention than a brake job or an oil change. The advanced students will work
on this car all month, rebuilding the transmission and replacing the drive shaft so that it
is driveable again. — Laney Ohmans
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