George Floyd Square business owner says he was ‘collateral damage’

NINA MOINI: Five years ago, George Floyd was murdered by a police officer on the street outside of a small convenience store in south Minneapolis, after a clerk had called 911 to report he believed Floyd had paid with a fake $20 bill. After the world saw video of Floyd's final moments, the intersection where he died became an ongoing tribute to Floyd almost immediately and a symbol for conveying the importance of Black lives in Minneapolis.

In the years since, some small business owners in the area say the city of Minneapolis has mishandled the area around 38th and Chicago, known as George Floyd Square, so much so that it's become largely unsafe to do business and neglected by law enforcement.

Edwin Reed is the owner of Sincere Detailing Pros. His business has been in that area for 13 years. He's part of a lawsuit against the city. And he joins us now to share his perspective. Thanks for being with us this afternoon, Edwin.

EDWIN REED: Thank you for having me.

NINA MOINI: Your business sits just a few buildings away from Cup Foods, which is the convenience store where this happened-- the event occurred with George Floyd. And it was well documented that this area was an area that a lot of people in community started to flock toward almost immediately after the murder. So, if you would, take us back to the beginning, right after George Floyd's death. Paint us a picture of how the block started to change almost immediately.

EDWIN REED: Sure. After George Floyd died, I received a phone call that following Monday of May 25, 2020, from a cousin of mine saying that someone got killed on our block at the corner. So the next day when I arrived to work, traffic started to build up right there in that intersection where people were bringing roses, laying flowers there.

Actually, I was going to get gas in my gas can for my equipment. A lady ran up and gave me a hug and said, oh, my god, I'm so sorry what happened here. And I just was kind of gathering everything as the day went. Yeah, and so it kind of grew from there.

And so I do notice that it was quite a lot of people in our community that I've never seen before come there, and they're grieving about everything that happened there. And so me as a business owner, with all the other businesses there, we were kind of just watching and hearing everything while we were trying to stay working.

NINA MOINI: Overall, what is your message to the city of Minneapolis? What do you feel the city could have done, or still could have been doing better, to help business be able to flow in that area and people to feel safe?

EDWIN REED: The city had an opportunity. The number one thing to do is do not kill this man. Give this man an opportunity to go to jail and let due process take its course. They didn't allow George Floyd to do that.

And they actually killed George Floyd. He was screaming out there, "I can't breathe." They had him down with their knee on his neck. And they were telling everybody to back away, otherwise you guys will be arrested. And I just think that the city had an opportunity to basically handle George Floyd and bring him to jail.

And they didn't do that. And I feel like they dropped the ball once they did that. And so after that, George Floyd's death, they blocked us in with barricades. The barricades were on every corner of the street.

It didn't allow our customers to be able to make it in. That, right away, caused our businesses to plummet right away. I'm thinking to myself that they're going to move the barricades within a month. A month turned into 3 and 1/2 years.

They claim, the city, that those barricades were up for a year. That street has been closed for 3 and 1/2 years or more. That street properly wasn't open the right way. It's a difference of you telling the public that, hey, we're opening up this street, versus us working down there, seeing what actually took place.

It was total chaos on what we had to deal with there as business owners. And we were basically collateral damage. And my customers, they don't want to deal with it. They don't want to see it. And then also, the gang violence ramped up as they took away the police protection and caused crime to run rampant over there.

People knew that police wasn't coming in that area, so they went there to rob. We were seeing murders happen right there in front of our faces. And we called 911. And 911 dispatch told us they can't come.

And so just to hear that was just something I've never, ever seen ever in my life. This fell on deaf ears with the city.

NINA MOINI: And these are the claims that are in your lawsuit against the city of Minneapolis, that it was sort of a no-go zone in the area. What is it feeling present day, five years later?

EDWIN REED: We're still pretty much blocked in. There's shrines in the streets. There actually started dumping old mattresses, trash, clothes, things in that area like it's the Salvation Army. They've cleaned everywhere else up, and they've fixed every other business around that surrounding area but the George Floyd Square area, where all the 12 businesses have been interrupted.

And I just really feel like no one cares right now, because they only care about what happened to George Floyd. And it's just sad that they've had opportunities to say what's happened during the aftermath of George Floyd to our businesses. And they just-- they're just turning away. They're not even thinking about us. They're not even thinking about who else this hurt.

NINA MOINI: What do you say to people who say, well, this area is for George Floyd, and it is a place for social justice, and that the symbolism of the area is what is paramount?

EDWIN REED: When George Floyd died, my company died right along with George Floyd. And that's just how I feel-- people that are coming over here, guarding this place, and keeping this place the way that it is, and don't know that it's hurting our businesses. And just seeing them over there just makes me upset.

And I just wish they would go away so we can get our businesses back up to par. And I don't see that happening. I don't.

NINA MOINI: With that perspective, Edwin, will you continue to keep your business where it is? Have you thought about moving? What's the situation right now for your business?

EDWIN REED: Honestly, I really don't know. I would have lost my company a long time ago if I didn't own it right out. I never took any bank loans to start my company. I started my company with $15,000. And we're a $5.5 million business over that course of time.

NINA MOINI: At this point, what is your hope for the future of George Floyd Square, the businesses in the area, the residents in the area, everybody who makes up that area near 38th and Chicago?

EDWIN REED: My outlook, the people who have been coming over there to visit the memorial, they're going home to their jobs. They're going home to rest easy while I have to sit here and worry about what my business is going to do, how my business is going to turn around, and just how this has fallen on deaf ears with the city.

I pray that they respect us. I pray that they can honor what we're saying. And I just feel like they don't care about us. Mayor Jacob Frey, he had a state of the union speech.

He only spoke about how he's helped the Somali community and all the businesses down Lake Street. But what about us? They're fixing everywhere else in this city but the George Floyd Square area. And it's horrible what's happened to us.

NINA MOINI: Edwin, thank you so much for coming by Minnesota Now and sharing your perspective with us. I really appreciate it.

EDWIN REED: Thank you for having me.

NINA MOINI: That was Edwin Reed, the owner of Sincere Detailing Pros, located at the area known as George Floyd Square in Minneapolis. The city of Minneapolis has asked a Hennepin County judge to dismiss the lawsuit Reed is a part of. MPR News reached out to the city about the lawsuit, and the city declined to comment.