The aftermath of riots

I think this aspect of the consequences of rioting should get some attention.

Neighborhoods where stores were destroyed become food deserts overnight

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In many neighborhoods that have seen looting and vandalism over the past week, residents are now left with few — if any — grocery stores, pharmacies and other essential businesses. Which is made even harder by the fact that lots of stores are also closed because of the pandemic. There’s a 6-mile long commercial corridor in South Minneapolis called Lake Street, and it has been destroyed. “We no longer have pharmacies in our community,” said ZoeAna Martinez, who works for the Lake Street Council, a business association. “We no longer have gas stations as well. Our largest grocery stores are also gone,” Martinez said. “Right now, our community, we live in a food desert, which happened overnight.” In Minneapolis and Saint Paul, hundreds of businesses have been damaged or burned to the ground. The same has happened in cities around the country. “Pretty much half of a city block completely burned down Sunday night,” said Bea Rider, interim executive director of the New Kensington Community Development Corp., a neighborhood group in Philadelphia. Pharmacies, bodegas, clothing stores, check-cashing spots — all gone. And these losses hurt certain groups more than others. “Low-income families who are underbanked, so they rely on check-cashing businesses, they’re definitely feeling a pinch,” Rider said.

It's especially hard for people who don't have cars to drive to a supermarket somewhere else and the elderly.


Manufacturer that burned as Minneapolis protests turned violent plans to relocate from city

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A Minneapolis manufacturing company has decided to leave the city, with the company's owner saying he can't trust public officials who allowed his plant to burn during the recent riots. The move will cost the city about 50 jobs. "They don't care about my business," said Kris Wyrobek, president and owner of 7-Sigma Inc., which has operated since 1987 at 2843 26th Av. in south Minneapolis. "They didn't protect our people. We were all on our own." Wyrobek said the plant, which usually operates until 11 p.m., shut down about four hours early on the first night of the riots because he wanted to keep his workers out of harm's way. He said a production supervisor and a maintenance worker who live in the neighborhood became alarmed when fire broke out at the $30 million Midtown Corner affordable housing apartment complex that was under construction next door. "The fire engine was just sitting there," Wyrobek said, "but they wouldn't do anything."

via International Skeptics Forum https://ift.tt/37fryd1