Controversy on the corner

Claiming unfair bias, store owner defies St. Paul signage citation

St. Paul business owner Lucky Rosenbloom has been known for years for plastering his St. Paul office and its surrounding area with signs. Until recently he did so with impunity, but recently a City department decided he had gone too far.

Driving past the corner of Dale Street and St. Anthony Avenue, one will see signs on everything from college prep classes and abortions to firearms and gun lessons. “This is what we have been doing on the corner for 57 years,” said Rosenbloom, who inherited the space from his deceased father, the original proprietor of the iconic Tiger Jack’s shack.

But, Rosenbloom is convinced it’s his Trump signs that are putting him on the wrong side of the law. Rosenbloom recently received a letter from the City of St. Paul demanding he remove his signs or face a criminal citation.

“This is selective enforcement,” asserted Rosenbloom. “Not only is it selective, it is racist. You can drive all throughout the city and see signs advertising their business. They have never been told to take their signs down. I am the only Black man in this area that has been told to take their sign down.

“Whenever I put up signs about Melvin Carter, supporting Rena Moran or any Democrat, I don’t have a problem,” he continued. “The moment I put up a sign about Trump, the moment I put up a sign about Bush, put a sign up about ‘Black abortion is racism,’ or if I put up a sign about any Republican policy, then it’s a problem.”

Rosenbloom, who appealed the citation last week, said that the City called Monday to close the case. Nevertheless, he wants his proverbial day in court.

“I do not accept it as proper for the City to issue a threat of criminal prosecution [and] advise of an appeal policy, only to be denied right after filing,” he wrote in a statement to the St. Paul City Council.

For Rosenbloom, the fight is now a matter of principle. “I paid my fee. I am appealing, and now [the City is] telling me I can’t come to the hearing,” he told the MSR. He has decided he’s going to attend the originally scheduled hearing on September 25 anyway.

And, he plans to keep his signs out front and center. “Let’s take this thing as far as it’s going to go.”