Pastor Edrin Williams requests business license review of two businesses in crime hotspot area

Pastor Edrin Williams Image courtesy of Twitter

A meeting about Merwin Liquors and Winner Gas Station's future is open to Northside neighbors, and residents are encouraged to attend the gathering. Pastor Edrin Williams is pushing the reassessment of both businesses' licenses.

Petition for More Harmonious Neighborhood 

The informational meeting on Tuesday night will tell attendees of the steps being taken to restore order to that intersection. For example, the City of Minneapolis reprimanded the liquor store just last week for failing to uphold its obligations regarding handling alcohol.

The Minnesota Attorney General opened a civil investigation into the two businesses days before, and the petition started spreading. The objective is to determine whether the companies are making the necessary efforts to combat crime, the source posted. 

Pastor Edrin Williams promotes a petition to review the business license of two businesses. He has witnessed violence outside the liquor store and petrol station next to his church for the past five years. Additionally, the preacher is promoting a petition.

The pastor wants to know if Merwin Liquors and Winner Gas Station are upholding the requirements set for all Twin Cities businesses. If they don't, they'll urge the city to withdraw their license so they can't profit off this community's suffering.

City Officials are Taking Actions

The community has been engaged in discussions about how the Minneapolis Police Department and the Minnesota Attorney General's Office will work to curb the crime occurring here for years.

One of Minneapolis' riskiest junctions is thought to be at the corner of the gas station and the liquor shop. So, to reduce crime, city and state officials outline the next steps.

City officials are now discussing the location that appears to be the ignition point for much of the violence due to the problematic surge in crime in the neighborhood.

We Push For Peace Partnership 

We Push For Peace CEO Trahern Pollard was unsurprised when the Minnesota Attorney General announced that there would be an investigation into the violence surrounding Merwin Liquors and Winner Gas Station. He was questioned, nevertheless, as to why the city officials waited so long to address the issue, according to Fox 9 report.

Merwin Liquor hired the group on Thursday to start working at the store as security and employees in the hours following Ellison's statement that it was under investigation for its role in the ongoing use of guns and drug trafficking along Broadway in North Minneapolis.

Pollard claimed that although they have been in contact with Merwin Liquor over the past few months and have carried out some outreach activities, the outcomes are short-lived. He added that it needs cooperation to stop the ongoing problem in the area. 

According to Pollard, he intends to contact other companies to coordinate efforts to address this issue. For example, he claimed that stopping people from congregating at a single store was not the solution. The problems won't be solved unless they all work together.

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