urbanSTL

Another quick update on activity in BPW.



The Bad - There have been several issues with blocks, but to my knowledge, they are being worked.



The Good - Saturday night included the annual Membership Appreciation and Silent Auction. With over 100 members and guest in attendance, the evening was well received. Those who missed the event will hear, from those who attended, that this is one of the best events in South City.



Check out past dinners:



2005 - Mayor Francis Slay was the featured speaker

http://archcitychronicle.mycapture.com/ ... vent=76717



2006 - Catherine L. Hanaway, U.S. Attorney for the Easter District of Missouri was the featured speaker

http://archcitychronicle.mycapture.com/ ... ent=200602



Watch for the 2007 pictures, soon to be listed on the web.



As a note:

Nov 3 - Fall Festival for St. Wenceslaus Parish Church

Nov 9 - Five Star Senior Center - All you care to eat spaghetti dinner - Sponsored by Benton Park West Neighborhood Association.



Dec 13 - Annual Holiday Potluck, in conjunction with the South Cluster - Graduate Neighborhood - Operation Weed & Seed



November and December might not have any major events for Benton Park West Neighborhood Association, but know that the Board for 2008 is already starting work/planning for 2008.



As always, any questions, feel free to contact the neighborhood office at 314-771-0803 or e-mail bpwna@yahoo.com.

BPW Resident wrote:Update on Leadership in Benton Park West:



Last night elections were held for the 2008 Board.



President is Bill Byrd

Vice-President is Carrie Sleep

Treasurer is Rhonda Shaw

Secretary is Anne Childers

Two positions of member-at-large will be filled by Melba Arnold and Pamela Welsh.

And may the good Lord bless each of them in their duties. Truly there is a lot to be accomplished here and only with strong neighborhoods throughout can we all enjoy a prosperous city.



It is often hard to decide what makes each of us fall in love with our little part of town but these folks have chosen BPW and I wish them the best.

BPW Resident wrote:So, as I've stated before...we are on the cusp of being near the end of the last cycle of neighborhood restoration.

I wish I could say that about where I live.

Yes. There is a good amount of work to be done. However, the leadership of BPW also understands that things many times take time to "process".



As the saying goes "you can't through nine pregnant women together and get a baby in one month".



The key to good leadership is to keep the momentum moving and knowing when to push and when to step back and let things mature naturally.



Please keep submitting comments on this blog. While there is a lot of information bubbling up from residents...another avenue of information are others in the general community. The leadership wishes to hear from EVERYONE...good or bad. Without this feedback, they won't know what is really working and what isn't.



Ok..believe it or not, I'm done...can we call this a short post? LOL!

kermit_the_frog wrote:
4) When citizens do call the police, they get fined for "improper summoning of the police" or something like that. My friends, whom I've known for 9 years, awoke to a woman screaming and banging on their back door--banging so hard that the glass shattered. They, and their next door neighbors, called the police. The police arrived, showed little interest in their concerns, and flippantly chalked it up to the "local crazy woman." A couple of weeks later, my friends received a letter stating that they were being fined for wasting the police officers' time. My friend luckily got it dismissed by going down and yelling at the precinct captain.

I remember this story from my neighborhood listserve. If I remember correctly the fine was for the alarm going off improperly and not for calling 911. After 1 time the city does fine you if your alarm goes off and there isn't a break in. They were too busy following up alarms where someone's cat set it off. It was appropriate for the police to come out in this instance though. The woman was drunk and banging on the door of the wrong house. She thought she was at home and someone changed the locks?? Middle of the night banging would have given me a heart attack.

Don't forget the community meetings for Benton Park West in November.



Nov 6th - Benton Park West Board meeting, 7p, Cherokee Place, 2715 Cherokee Street, lower level



Nov 8th - Police meeting for the South Cluster Weed & Seed at 6:30p, 2832 Arsenal



Nov 8th - 3rd District Public Affairs meeting follows Weed & Seed at 7:30p, 2832 Arsenal



Nov 15th - Benton Park West membership meeting, 7p, 2832 Arsenal - Five Star Senior Center.

From stltoday.com

1 dead, 1 critical after 2 STL shootings

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

11/21/2007



ST. LOUIS -- Detectives are investigating two city shootings that both happened about 10 last night; one killed a 17-year-old girl and another left a man in critical condition.



The dead teen was identified by police today as Jasmine McKinney of the 3400 block of Lafayette Avenue.



McKinney was shot as the car she was riding in passed through the intersection of Potomac Street and Oregon Avenue. A man standing near another car opened fire, police said, striking the car's rear windshield and hitting McKinney in the head.



The driver of McKinney's car sped to the parking lot of the Schnucks grocery store at South Grand Boulevard and Gravois Avenues, where he got help from a police officer. The driver and another front seat passenger were not injured, police said.



The girl was transported to an area hospital where she was pronounced dead at 10:32 p.m..



The injured man, 26, who was not identified, was shot near the intersection of Texas Avenue and Utah Street in the Benton Park West neighborhood. He was transported by ambulance to St. Louis University Hospital, where he was treated for wounds to his face, back and right leg. His condition remains critical, but it has stabalized, police said.



No suspects are in custody in either shooting.

...and the beat goes on...

StL man, 21, killed in overnight shooting

By Carolyn Tuft

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

11/23/2007



ST. LOUIS -- City homicide detectives are investigating an early-morning murder in south St. Louis today, police said.



When police arrived at 3318 Texas Avenue in the Benton Park West neighborhood at 12:33 a.m., they found Gary Smith lying in the front of the home, police said.



Smith, who lives in the 3400 block of Minnesota Avenue, was lying with his feet resting on the front steps of the Texas Avenue home, police said. He had a gunshot wound to the left and to the right side of his head, police said. Police were unsure whether the second wound was an exit wound, police said.



Smith was pronounced dead at the home.



Neighbors told police that they had heard three gunshots, but no one actually saw the shooting, police said.

I'm really sick and tired of this cr*p.

This is really messed up. THREE shootings in the same neighborhood within three days! It sickens me... Neighbors need to watch out for each other and report any bad or suspicious neighbors!!!! If they did, sh*t like this wouldn't happen as much.

^Three gunshots...not shootings. It's still bad, but that's a pretty big difference

No sir. There were 3 shootings in benton park west. Look at Dweebes post, page 4, for the other shooting story. Two people died within days of each other in the same neighborhood! This is not good.. I urge everyone to keep an eye on bad neighbors and report criminals.



From Dweebe:

1 dead, 1 critical after 2 STL shootings

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

11/21/2007

ST. LOUIS -- Detectives are investigating two city shootings that both happened about 10 last night; one killed a 17-year-old girl and another left a man in critical condition. ...McKinney was shot as the car she was riding in passed through the intersection of Potomac Street and Oregon Avenue. A man standing near another car opened fire, police said, striking the car's rear windshield and hitting McKinney in the head. ...The injured man, 26, who was not identified, was shot near the intersection of Texas Avenue and Utah Street in the Benton Park West neighborhood. He was transported by ambulance to St. Louis University Hospital, where he was treated for wounds to his face, back and right leg. His condition remains critical, but it has stabalized, police said.





From Dweebe

StL man, 21, killed in overnight shooting

By Carolyn Tuft

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

11/23/2007

ST. LOUIS -- City homicide detectives are investigating an early-morning murder in south St. Louis today, police said.



When police arrived at 3318 Texas Avenue in the Benton Park West neighborhood at 12:33 a.m., they found Gary Smith lying in the front of the home, police said.

brickandmortar wrote:^Three gunshots...not shootings. It's still bad, but that's a pretty big difference

And unfortunately this is exactly why people live in west county and st. charles, etc... So many of my family members think I am crazy for living where I do, and honestly sometimes I think the same thing; I love the city and I love living in it, but crime is such a serious issue, I'm sure most people in O'fallon don't even think about being shot at

It's too easy to get a gun on the street. Where are they coming from?

I guess I didn't catch the article that Dweebe posted. This area has gotten out of hand pretty quickly in the last few months. Cops need to be doing a better job.

brickandmortar wrote:I guess I didn't catch the article that Dweebe posted. This area has gotten out of hand pretty quickly in the last few months. Cops need to be doing a better job.

The cops need top blitz the area heavily and put some pressure on the effing morons who are killing people.



All I know is this has made me cross Benton Park and Benton Park West off my list of possible places to move. Sorry guys.

^ The differences in Benton Park and Benton Park West are almost night and day. I think West is still a Weed and Seed neighborhood and therefore still on the up and up.



Cops can only do so much. The residents are the eyes and ears of the police department.



If you see a guy on a corner during late night hours, chances are he is doing criminal activity.

If you see kids throwing trash around, chances are they don't respect their neighborhood.

If you see people coming/going from decrepit homes while honking car horns at all hours of the night, chances are there is illegal activity.



Point is, *we* need to take back our streets. We have to become aware and call the cops a lot more when "things don't seem right". I would hound the Alderman, in this case Craig Schmid, so he can get more cops in the area.



Whether you live in Carondolet, Gravois Park, TGS, or the CWE *we* have to become aware and take back our streets and our neighborhoods. Historically, crime in the city goes up in the warm summer months but to have so much shooting during "off peak" season is very unusual and sad.

Rustedhinge nailed it. We have to be proactive in keeping an eye out for things that shouldn't be happening and then reporting it. Just waiting for the police to see it or for someone else to handle it just lets things get worse and worse. In our neighborhood (TGE) I and most of my neighbors call the cops for anything that seems wrong.

Yes there were two shootings in BPW last week, one of these shootings was in Gravois Park and while we don't want shootings, but we do live in the City and as long as the "bad" is allowed to happen, things like this will continue. At least these shooting were reported, unlike what happens in the suburbs. This is why it is so important for residents to bond, keep their eyes open, report even if they suspect. It is the responsibly of the community to take the neighborhoods back!!



Crime happens all over the metro east. The residents of Benton Park West Neighborhood have been fighting crime for a number of years, and we won’t stop! Yes, this takes a little steam out of our sails but we won’t give up! If you want to meet some determined residents I invite you the January neighborhood meeting the 17th at 7:00pm at Five Star Senior Center

Thank you so much, Chad, for your emotional, financial, and communitarian investment into Benton Park West. It is truly an example that the rest of St. Louis should follow. So many of us cite very valid, but self-serving reasons for not "pioneering" into struggling neighborhoods--family concerns, schools, crime. I, too, hope to do the same upon my return to St. Louis. The stable neighborhoods of St. Louis are great, but I've always been a bit more taken with some of the fabulous, but more worse for the wear ones.



I think Benton Park West is already on its way to recovery and your efforts are appreciated by all who support St. Louis.

Neighbors need to watch out for each other and report any bad or suspicious neighbors!!!! If they did, sh*t like this wouldn't happen as much.

well, here's your problem with many of the city's residents:

The stop sign in the above post is exactly what is being focused on by the new Board in 2008.



A mindset that has been around for a long time is so very true; the "Broken Window" effect. If one window is broken and not fixed, then someone will think it's OK to have the broken window and break another.



Same holds true for trash. If litter/trash isn't picked up, people will think it's "OK" to have trash on the street and will drop their trash were ever.



Just as there are cycles in the financial, business, etc. worlds, so is there a cycle when crime is involved. When the cycle starts, the worst can happen before it gets better. In the last cycles, it seems things are worse because things have gotten better. When something terrible happens, it makes it that much worse because we’ve become complacent that things are better.



In BPW, other than a few hot spots, the neighborhood as a whole has been "quiet" for the last several years. Now, when there is an issue in a single block area, from a property that has been a nusiance property since July when new tenants moved in, it seems that things have gotten worse. This is untrue, but only a wake up call that our job is not completed.



The issues over the past week have been isolated to a single street. There is already action in motion to deal with the property.



Being proactive from the "broken window" effect is what must be done. This action can not be just from the Board or handful of residents doing the work, but from ALL residents.



Again, the focus for the 2008 board is Quality of Life issues and working the "broken window" issues to continue the clean up.



Thanks to all who have endured through the years in this cycle of crime...we are near the end. If we give up now and leave, THEY win and all of our hard work will be for not.



Thanks to those who will come after us and continue the fight to keep the streets clean of trash and problem properties/people.