Minneapolis City Council overrides mayor’s veto of its plan for George Floyd Square

The Minneapolis City Council voted 9-4 on Thursday to override Mayor Jacob Frey’s veto of its plan to create a pedestrian mall at the south-side intersection where George Floyd was killed nearly five years ago.

Council Member Emily Koski changed her vote from December to help override Frey, whom she’s running against for mayor in November.

In a statement, Koski said Frey failed to work with the council on a compromise. She said Floyd’s family had called on her to override the veto.

“For nearly five years, his family has come to George Floyd Square to grieve and heal. To them, this is sacred ground, a place of resilience, justice and humanity,” Koski said.

“When decisions are made without centering the needs of those most affected, they disregard the heart of justice.”

Frey had a different take.

“The council’s decision is a betrayal of the community’s wishes and a colossal waste of time and tax dollars,” he said in a statement after the override. “Why the council is content to let this site sit idle, without any meaningful development and no legitimate plan, is beyond me.

“Our city staff have worked tirelessly alongside the community to bring forward a thoughtful, community-centered vision. Yet, this plan is being ignored by a small minority, which is simply not good governance.”

The mayor and council have competing visions for the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue at George Floyd Square, which is marked by a raised fist sculpture, memorials, artwork, a community garden and a protest space.

In late October, the Frey administration proposed an overhaul of the area that would allow traffic to fully return. The plan included a “flexible street design” that would close streets for public gatherings.

But a council majority rejected that idea in favor of keeping traffic to a minimum and creating a pedestrian plaza. It voted to direct the city to evaluate a pedestrian mall layout adjacent to the former Speedway gas station, where protesters still meet.

After two years of community workshops and a nine-month engagement process, city officials eschewed the pedestrian mall option in favor of a plan that would restore Metro Transit’s D-Line bus rapid transit service and Route 5 transit service along Chicago Avenue.

But in December, the council rejected that plan and instead chose an option that city officials say would only allow emergency vehicles.

City officials said that would delay their plan to begin construction after the fifth anniversary of Floyd’s killing in May.

Activists still regularly meet at the former Speedway gas station and push for 24 “demands for justice.” The demands include requiring police officers to maintain private liability insurance and firing some leaders of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

On Wednesday morning, George Floyd Square activists held a news conference at their protest headquarters, the People’s Way former gas station at 38th and Chicago, urging City Council to study reconstructing the street as a pedestrian mall closed to most traffic.

They were joined by Council Members Katie Cashman, Robin Wonsley, Aisha Chughtai and Jason Chavez, as well as local business owners.

Independent journalist KingDemetrius Pendleton, also took part, holding an upside-down American flag as a symbol of the “distress” of 38th and Chicago.

In his veto letter, Frey said he doesn’t oppose a pedestrian mall but that a survey shows the community opposes it and the option would delay development for at least a year.

He also said a pedestrian mall may not be feasible because state law requires support from at least half of nearby property owners, but none of those who responded to a recent survey supported the council plan. Of the 20 surveyed, 15 responded, and all opposed a pedestrian mall.

Activist Marcia Howard, who lives near the intersection, criticized Frey’s portrayal of unanimous opposition to the plan among adjoining property owners. She said he was conflating property ownership and public will.

Howard said there is a difference of opinion between landlords who aren’t present in the immediate community and business owners who daily work at the intersection.

Some area business owners support reopening the street to traffic, however, and joined Frey at a news conference Thursday to say so.

The Frey administration’s plan calls for construction of new streets, bikeways, pedestrian lighting, green spaces, a raised traffic circle in the intersection, wider sidewalks, upgraded pedestrian ramps and expanded community spaces.

It would not allow traffic over the spot where Floyd died but leave the raised fist sculpture in place and redevelop the former Speedway gas station into a community space run by a nonprofit.

Voting in favor of overriding the mayor were Koski, Cashman, Chavez, Wonsley, Jeremiah Ellison, Jamal Osman and Aurin Chowdhury, as well as President Elliott Payne and Vice President Chughtai.

Voting against were Michael Rainville, LaTrisha Vetaw, Andrea Jenkins and Linea Palmisano.