“I stand here today not just as a representative, but as a voice for the families and legacy residents of Heritage Park a neighborhood with deep roots and rich stories, many of which are at risk of being erased if we don’t act with urgency, intention, and care.
For over a decade, the people of Heritage Park have been caught in the crosshairs of the Blue Line Extension project. First it was the original alignment, then the second. Through each change, each new map, our community has been told to wait. Wait to be heard. Wait to be seen. Wait to be mitigated.
But how long should a community have to wait for justice?
Heritage Park is not just another stop on a transit map. It is home. It is the heart of North Minneapolis a neighborhood of legacy residents who have stayed through disinvestment, through demolition, and through broken promises. These residents have roots here, history here, and they deserve more than continued displacement.
What’s especially painful is that $10 million dollars were allocated through community advocacy by our state legislature, yet the funds have not been disbursed into the community. The delay in releasing those funds isn’t just a policy issue. It’s a human one. It’s putting real pressure on families pushing them closer to the edge of displacement every day.
Let me be clear: the people of Heritage Park deserve easy access to those funds. They deserve the resources to repair their homes, to build equity, and to break generational cycles of poverty. These are not luxuries they are rights.
Our community deserves investments without displacement. We deserve infrastructure that doesn’t uproot us. We deserve transit that connects us, not divides us. And above all, we deserve a future where development does not come at the cost of our community’s survival.
Let’s honor the legacy of Heritage Park not by replacing it, but by reinvesting in it. Not by moving people out, but by helping them stay and thrive. Release the funds immediately.”
–Anndrea Young, Executive Director of the Heritage Park Neighborhood Association, speaking at a Blue Line Coalition press conference held on August 7th, 2025, outside Metro Transit.
bluelinecoalition.org 