urbanSTL

A simple solution to "Crack Alley" is to get the police in the area in full force, arrest the dealers, seize the properties of slumlords, sell them to rehabbers, and rehab the properties. Demolish the property that gets no buyers, or that cannot be repaired. Build new houses on vacant lots, or on lots in which buildings were demolished.



Of course this takes more time and money than the traditional destroy everything approach... I guess our leaders are just lazy and incompetent.

stlpcsolutions wrote:A simple solution to "Crack Alley" is to get the police in the area in full force, arrest the dealers, seize the properties of slumlords, sell them to rehabbers, and rehab the properties. Demolish the property that gets no buyers, or that cannot be repaired. Build new houses on vacant lots, or on lots in which buildings were demolished.



Of course this takes more time and money than the traditional destroy everything approach... I guess our leaders are just lazy and incompetent.

Or they are not a part of the Old Soviet Union.



So what about the rest of the city, while the cops are there in "Full Force"? Free for All?



We seize the property of drug dealers, not their landlords. To do that you need a tool...Eminent domain...which was used.



What rehabber would have touched crack alley? Personally, I felt like No neighborhood in the city had the notoriety of Mcree Town. Maybe thats because North City always got lumped together, but between drugs, violence and arson McCree Town was on the news by name, a lot.

I'm not saying no one would, but there are a lot of other properties in better places, with less stigma for risk takers to go to. Its easy to say, they would all be vacated, and sold by the city. Well it takes LRA like two+years to process and sell a property, and a lot of the time its to someone's cousin. And in the meantime yu have all those vacant buidlings, which are magnets for drugs, and prostitution. So you eliminated the already marginal stable elements in the neighborhood, and replace them wiha big void. Great. Then what follows is a major undertaking to rid the place of squatters one structure at a time, and keep them away. And perhaps the rehabbers are harassed by the criminal element. Tools are stolen materials taken. Metal strip for scrap. It would have been an almost impossible uphill battle. And you say, but not impossible, so it should have been done. But even good landlords and rehabbers are in the bussiness to make a profit. So if the going gets tough, or costly , they get going. To an less arduous area.



I know, and agree that swath clearing should be a thing of the past. I also can see the concerns that its a dangerous presedence. You fear that one alderperson will say"well, it work for botanical heights" with some of the characters in city government, it might not be unwarrrented.



However, I look at this particular situation and say "its the only thing that would have worked for McCree Town. And Forestpark Southeast, Southwest Garden, and Shaw are all better off for having Botanical heights as their neighbor, and make them that much more viable as neighborhoods and places for further rehab and restoration and busiess."



Sorry for the rant. First time I've really gotten in on the thread.

Firstly, a task force entering a neighborhood and arrenting drug dealers is completely legal and has nothing to do with the Soviet Union; this is called law enforcement.



Secondly, the LRA is a problem, and 2 years is completely horrible, since during this 2 years, many other problems arise. The LRA should take no longer than the actual market takes for property to be sold. Perhaps the LRA should be reformed, and have real estate agents take over. I would have to investigate the LRA further to reach a final conclusion, however, reform is needed.



What I am asking for is an idealistic shift in public policy towards this situation. Obviously it is unrealistic for me to expect a change any time soon, however, I do not believe that settling for this horrible policy is the correct way to preserve the urban landscape. We need leaders to reevaluate many of our policies towards decay, instead of destroying the mistake, and buring it beneath new development. Prevent this from happening again, however, if it does, take an an equally drastic, less destructive approach.



Botanical Gardens moving, yeah right, that is the biggest load of political coercion I ever heard. There is no way Botanical Gardens would move to the County, it is Internationally known for its unique displays and History. Botanical Gardens is one of the most unique assets the City has, and I seriously doubt the Garden would move. They were just threatening to get the City to take action, which I understand, however, they pushed for the wrong action.



Respectfully I disagree, however, I am glad we can discuss this issue, as it is quite important.

... I would encourage anybody criticizing this development to go tour the display home. I think they're open daily from 10 to 6. The all-brick display is terrific; the one across the street I don't like as much, but it's also priced lower



Cleaning up troubled neighborhoods is not a simple task. Sadly, this area of McRee Town was beyond salvation thanks to absentee landlord profiteers and other factors that began with the construction of Highway 44, ripping the neighborhood in half. The construction of Highway 44 killed this neighborhood, and it continued to bleed and get worse over a period of years.



This project is the long-needed bandage this part of the South Side has needed for years ...