urbanSTL

lukethedrifter wrote:I hate to be a downer but I don't see that good news lasting very long. There is a subculture that is in place in which car clouting is a solid job. I don't see what options there are for those members of the alternative economy to cross over to the mainstream. What jobs will they take to replace their income? If none, why would they "retire"?

And then there's our justice system- it doesn't matter how many criminals that the SLMPD get off the streets if those responsible for crime won't be doing any time.

I'd love to see exactly how many criminals receive suspended sentences, because I know of at least one person that might be alive today if the thug responsible for her death would have actually served the time from his two previous sentences. I love living in St. Louis, and I feel quite safe most of the time, but I don't have any illusions about any significant reduction in crime no matter how effective our police protection may be.

quincunx wrote:It looks like the raging hordes of teens of the Loop from 2008 are back. U City has expanded the curfew. Back in 2008 the incidents at the Delmar and FP stations didn't help the metro tax effort back then. Do you think treating teens like this is fair? How else could they deal with these large groups that show up and freak out patrons?

KSDK story

I'm happy that when I'm jonesing for a beer at Ciceros or Blueberry Hill I can walk over without dealing with swarms of kids who can't get into any of the bars anyway.

innov8ion wrote:Our Neighborhood Stabilization Officer (NSO) just got off the phone with me and provided some information on this topic. Apparently she's received many calls and emails of late.

She said the property owner has received or will be receiving a cease and desist order regarding nuisance activities. She advised that it's important to document further nuisance activity which may be done by calling the police (non-emergency # is 314.231.1212.) If the nuisance activity is coming from Lure, be sure to provide their address -- 1204 Washington.

There are a variety of actions that can be taken if nuisance activities do not stop. It seems that the city holds building owners accountable and the sh*t rolls downhill from there. Hopefully they and Club Lure will be responsible and take action to prevent this from recurring.

Also, the DSLRA is sponsoring a safety meeting this Thursday. Details are below...

Location:
Landmark Association
911 Washington Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63101

Date:
June 17th - Thursday
Time: 6:30 - 8:00 PM

Special Quest: Captain Spicer, SLPD & Maggie Campbell, CEP Partnership for Downtown

Does anyone know if they were able to start a petition after the meeting?

Downtown2007 wrote:Did anybody hear this last night at Tucker and Washington? Looks like it stepped from the group at Lure nightclub.

"Two St. Louis police officers were on their way to break up a fight in a downtown parking lot early this morning when a man fired shots at them.

At least that's the word from police, who say the shots came from a man standing outside a newer, gray Pontiac Grand Prix with tinted windows. The incident happened at about 2:30 a.m. in the 1100 block of St. Charles Street. Police give this account:"


http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/s ... enDocument

Downtown loft residents want loud, violent clubs to leave

Brian Kelly Reporting

ST. LOUIS (KMOX) -- "We would like to see this club shut down and moved out of town, if possible. That would be a dream come true for us."

That's Earl Westfall, one of the residents who've now filed a petition to drag three Washington Avenue nightclubs before the liquor control board in an effort to get club owners to clean up their act -- or pack up and move out.

read more
http://www.kmox.com/Downtown-loft-resid ... -t/7499381

News reports have started....I expect it to make the TV rounds soon.

From the RFT: Pi Kitchen Manager Brutally Beaten Outside McKinley Heights Jack in the Box

http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/gutche ... 062310.php

Coupled with the attempted robbery of Tuckers employees, last Sunday was a rough day for Soulard and the immediate vicinity.

BTW, this was days after the police department was bragging to the media how car break-ins were down in Soulard.

Doug wrote:No disrespect to business owners in the Loop, but the kids can't drink. If they want to hang out in groups on the sidewalk then what is the problem if they are not breaking the law? If they freak out patrons then maybe patrons should get more exposure to African American youth? Then perhaps they wouldn't be so scared?

Call me old-fashioned, but I'm of the school that children and youth are to modify their behaviors in accordance with that of responsible adults, not the other way around.

There's a distinction between "kids being kids" and aggressive, abusive, and borderline criminal behavior. Some kids cross that line, and if that ruins the party for the rest of them, too d**** bad.

Just my opinion of course.

Doug wrote:So kids can't hang out in malls, not in the Loop on public sidewalks, so where should our youth go at night? Stay inside and play xbox? City parks are also not open late either. What options exist for kids these days? I'm asking because when I was a kid I basically did LAN parties and other things, though I am guessing not everyone would be into that today.

No disrespect to business owners in the Loop, but the kids can't drink. If they want to hang out in groups on the sidewalk then what is the problem if they are not breaking the law? If they freak out patrons then maybe patrons should get more exposure to African American youth? Then perhaps they wouldn't be so scared?

Given the police presence in the Loop, I think it's a good idea that kids are on that street rather than some less policed streets elsewhere. Give then number of pedestrians, crime would be easily spotted and kids arrested. Would that occur elsewhere?

Every post of yours that I encounter involves bringing up a racial issue. Have some respect, this just further feeds a stereotype. It's a losing battle to bring these issues up online, you should know better.

Doug wrote:So kids can't hang out in malls, not in the Loop on public sidewalks, so where should our youth go at night? Stay inside and play xbox? City parks are also not open late either. What options exist for kids these days? I'm asking because when I was a kid I basically did LAN parties and other things, though I am guessing not everyone would be into that today.

No disrespect to business owners in the Loop, but the kids can't drink. If they want to hang out in groups on the sidewalk then what is the problem if they are not breaking the law? If they freak out patrons then maybe patrons should get more exposure to African American youth? Then perhaps they wouldn't be so scared?

Given the police presence in the Loop, I think it's a good idea that kids are on that street rather than some less policed streets elsewhere. Give then number of pedestrians, crime would be easily spotted and kids arrested. Would that occur elsewhere?

Kids- including black kids- have been hanging out in the Loop for 30 years without a whole lot of problems so I ask you just what sort of exposure to African American youth are you talking about?
If the issue is people freaking out because OMG THERE ARE BLACK PEOPLE!!! then maybe you are right. But if the issue is large groups of kids menacing the public are you good with that? I'm guessing yes.
An acquaintance had a friend nearly beaten to death after getting of the Metro by one of those groups when this stuff first started happening 2 summers ago.

Sometimes I have no idea what you're after.

On my way home from work this evening, I happened to drive by this scene as Police were arriving.
Apparently an attempted robbery at Rally's on Jefferson, ended with both of the suspects and the victim shot.
http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.as ... 01&catid=3

ebo wrote:On my way home from work this evening, I happened to drive by this scene as Police were arriving.
Apparently an attempted robbery at Rally's on Jefferson, ended with both of the suspects and the victim shot.
http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.as ... 01&catid=3

What a strange, horrible incident. While on one hand I give a high-five to the gun-carrying victim who brought down the two suspects, OTOH it's sad because it's this type of story that really gives the city a bad name. A shoot-out in a fast-food restaurant parking lot during the dinner hour? Yeah, that's a turnoff to potential residents. I guess if there is a bright side it's that this was unusual enough to make the news.

The positive is that 2 thug robbers got what they deserve. The negative is like you said, no matter what happens, the City gets a bad rap. I sure hope the victim was a respectable person who had a license to conceal/carry versus a thug in the wrong place at the wrong time, not that either scenario is a good one. A conceal/carry victim would send a warning to all thugs that you never know who your robbing or what your getting into. I know it is naive to believe that will stop these thugs, but maybe just a small % thinks twice. Details on the victim have yet to surface. I just hate it when things happen that give our City a 'wild west' reputation. Better yet, I'd like the whole incident to not be random at all, but something personal. I doubt that is the case from all reports so far.

Central, I hope you mean Rally's, but sometimes we all need some bacon cheddar fries--it's what brings us all together. This is the second time in a short period that I have come within fifteen minutes of being at that location at the wrong time. The problem is, I only see the same few people speaking up and doing something about it (at least around me in Fox Park, I can't speak for Benton Park West). It feels like the momentum we had is gone. I've had to call the police more in the past two months than I have in the entire time I have lived here, and not for petty stuff.

The Central Scrutinizer wrote:

DOGTOWNB&R wrote:The positive is that 2 thug robbers got what they deserve. The negative is like you said, no matter what happens, the City gets a bad rap. I sure hope the victim was a respectable person who had a license to conceal/carry versus a thug in the wrong place at the wrong time, not that either scenario is a good one. A conceal/carry victim would send a warning to all thugs that you never know who your robbing or what your getting into. I know it is naive to believe that will stop these thugs, but maybe just a small % thinks twice. Details on the victim have yet to surface. I just hate it when things happen that give our City a 'wild west' reputation. Better yet, I'd like the whole incident to not be random at all, but something personal. I doubt that is the case from all reports so far.

Given the location, I'd bet the "victim" was also a thug.

This sh*t gets old after awhile.

urbz wrote:The problem is, I only see the same few people speaking up and doing something about it. It feels like the momentum we had is gone. I've had to call the police more in the past two months than I have in the entire time I have lived here, and not for petty stuff.

You could cut and paste my neighborhood into this statement and it would also be true. It's so frustrating.

urbz wrote:

It feels like the momentum we had is gone. I've had to call the police more in the past two months than I have in the entire time I have lived here, and not for petty stuff.

Do you feel that the area is that much worse, regarding crime & neighborhood unity, than it was when things were on the up and up? When did you feel things started going south and why? Do you see this as a trend in Fox Park or in the entire area from Benton park to 44?
I am trying to get a guage on things down there, from a residents perspective. Now that my cop friend is in that district, I never hear anything positive. The stories that don't even come close to the news are quite disturbing. They anger me actually!
I own property in McKinley Heights. When I bought almost 10 years ago, the area had such a great vibe in it. Is that vibe fading? As a resident, how do you start gaining momentum again?

DOGTOWNB&R wrote: Do you feel that the area is that much worse, regarding crime & neighborhood unity, than it was when things were on the up and up? When did you feel things started going south and why? Do you see this as a trend in Fox Park or in the entire area from Benton park to 44? I am trying to get a guage on things down there, from a residents perspective. Now that my cop friend is in that district, I never hear anything positive. The stories that don't even come close to the news are quite disturbing. They anger me actually!
I own property in McKinley Heights. When I bought almost 10 years ago, the area had such a great vibe in it. Is that vibe fading? As a resident, how do you start gaining momentum again?

I do not think that the area is that much worse. We have definitely made progress, and I see new residents moving in all the time. The problem is that the new residents think they are moving into a crime-free world. I am happy that they think this is a great place to live, but everyone needs to be on guard. I would say the same thing to someone moving into ANY neighborhood in ANY city. I think we became stagnant (as opposed to going downhill) when the real estate market crashed. That, combined with too many rentals left. The pioneer spirit that the rehabbers had pretty much stays in their little circle. No one tells the new residents that we still have work to do. They just want to move in and assume everything is okay. Who could blame them? I assume that this would be a problem in many neighborhoods along Jefferson, but again I can't speak for anyone else. My landlords were active rehabbers in Fox Park until they couldn't make it on their own anymore and had to take a job opportunity in Chicago. They begged me to buy this property because they knew it would be in good hands. I just couldn't take the risk at that time. We need more dedication like that. But we will not get it until things pick up again, and things will pick up.

Regarding crime, I think we dropped the ball when we hit this lull. I still have drug deals across the street. We tried to kick them out. Long story short; they are related to a retired Lieutenant down the street. Our attempts will keep getting shot down, and they know it. The gang activity boggles my mind. I call the police every time I see a large group of white shirts walking through the neighborhood. Many of them get arrested, go to jail and get out again. This is the 2700MAC gang, but no new resident would know this unless someone tells them. We need more communication. Everyone needs to know their NSO, block captains, etc.