Lyn-Lake beautification project aims to restore hope to businesses after riots
Volunteers are working on a Lyn-Lake beautification project by filling more than two dozen planter boxes that line the sidewalk. (FOX 9)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A small business owner in south Minneapolis is committed to helping businesses that were impacted by the riots following the death of George Floyd.
“I know how much we all as small businesses committed our savings, our 401k’s to do this dream and to see them going up in flames was really, really heartbreaking for me,” said Faatemah Ampey of SuiteSpot SalonSpa.
In the days following Floyd's death, businesses on Lyndale Avenue S and W Lake Street were set ablaze. The building housing Ampey's salon was also damaged.
“I think that there was a large sense of hopelessness for a while,” said Ampey.
Nearly four months later, many businesses are open but remain boarded up. Financially, Ampey says some are struggling, but there are still signs of progress.
“I thought that we need healing, we need energy, we need beauty,” said Ampey.
Ampey and a group of volunteers recently embarked on the Lyn-Lake beautification project by filling more than two dozen planter boxes that line the sidewalk.
“I thought that we need to let people know that we’re back and that we’re here again,” she said.
It’s an ongoing effort to restore hope in an evolving landscape.
“We’re so much more than we think we are,” said Ampey. “Until something bad happens and you either run or you rise and I rose.”