STL Picked for Strong Cities, Strong Communities Program

Northside Neighbor · PostJan 17, 2014#12014-01-17T13:36+00:00

STL is chosen for the Strong Cities, Strong Communities program by the Obama Administration. This initiative is more than Northside Regeneration, it's also about reducing crime and advancing the city's sustainability efforts. It will be interesting to see how it plays out as a lever to help rebuild neighborhoods, especially weaker areas.

Northside is a different animal. It's not rebuilding a new neighborhood. It's starting from scratch. The McKee area took about 60 years to pretty much completely bottom out. Hopefully that scenario is not the model for other struggling parts of the city.

Strong CIties has half of its focus on helping the city carry out its Sustainability Plan. That's an encouraging piece for a big part of St. Louis. Taken together, maybe we now have a new game changer?

Credit the Mayor's office for pushing to get STL on President Obama's radar screen. And credit Paul McKee and his supporters for taking the risks to set the table in the Northside area.

leeharveyawesome · PostJan 17, 2014#22014-01-17T21:41+00:00

Heck, why not at this point. We'll take it even though it isn't necessarily money.

But surely we can all see the irony of bringing in a few bureaucrats to help our local government navigate the complexities and "red tape" of bureaucracy. If this was a chapter in the book Catch-22 it would be hailed as a black comedy masterpiece for the ages.

But at this point, whatever. I hope something good comes out of it.

JuanHamez · PostJan 17, 2014#32014-01-17T21:52+00:00

I'm pretty happy with this development. Never hurts to get additional attention and some outside advice. Some cities have already undergone the major redevelopment and gentrification programs that we are about to undergo and it would be helpful to get ideas that are known to work and not have to reinvent the wheel.

Northside Neighbor · PostJan 17, 2014#42014-01-17T22:10+00:00

It's all about positioning things for future success, and this is one step in that direction.

If you read the lists of cities qualifying for this help, the only one west of maybe even Missouri is Fresno, CA.

Everywhere else is more traditional eastern/rust belty sorts of cities.

gone corporate · PostJan 21, 2014#52014-01-21T19:20+00:00

My personal hope:

Federal involvement includes their realization that, for STL to advance, then the Near East Side must be addressed.

The Near East Side is endemically poor, has little business, horrible housing, rampant crime, derelict buildings that drop bricks on the sidewalks during strong storms, enormous vacant warehouses & former manufacturing sites, garbage dumps that are taller than the adjacent Cahokia Mounds World Heritage Site, and reputations by Federal law enforcement agencies that the towns of Washington Park, Brooklyn, Alorton, Centreville, and East STL are as lawless as the wild west.

And it has been forgotten by the rest of the State of IL. Hell, it's almost kept poor just to keep Chicago more attractive than STL.

How can STL advance when, hyperbole aside, the very worst urban environment in the US is right across the Mississippi River? How can we expect to reduce crime in STL when so many criminals from the Near East Side cross into STL to commit crimes? Can we get businesses to invest in the area without fears of crime being realized? How can we get all these poor people to work in decent jobs and advance from poverty?

Truly, the best successes SC2 can claim are the ones that involve our neighbors to the East. Fix them, and we can fix ourselves.

Northside Neighbor · PostJan 21, 2014#62014-01-21T19:32+00:00

Sounds great, but the SC2 grant was awarded to STL city, not ESL.

gone corporate · PostJan 21, 2014#72014-01-21T19:42+00:00

True. We need the Feds working in STL City to see that many of the City's problems come from IL residents doing shady things in the City, and that STL City is spending time & resources to clean up IL's problem. While the State of MO can't get the State of IL to allocate resources to fix East STL, the US Federal Government can provide some encouragement and maybe do their own things to fix the problems across the river.

Northside Neighbor · PostJan 21, 2014#82014-01-21T19:45+00:00

SC2, as described by STL city officials, has two main thrusts:

First, to help kickstart the Northside Regeneration development, and second, to help implement the city's Sustainability program.

Figuring out how keeping criminals from crossing into STL from Illinois fits that program is a stretch.

jstriebel · PostJan 21, 2014#92014-01-21T20:17+00:00

Think all GC is saying is that these will be employees of the federal government witnessing STL first hand. They don't have to spend their focus on this issue, just take notice of it, and perhaps suggest to their peers that this be something the federal government consider.

gone corporate · PostJan 21, 2014#102014-01-21T20:17+00:00

Amen to that.

If the Federal consultants are kept in a very tight box, then yes, they'll focus only on the MO side of the river. .

If they're able to get a view for STL outside of just the City limits, then our friends from DC will get to see across the river. And from here, hopefully, they'll be able to get some help over there.

I'm of the mind that the US Federal Government is able to do things that the City of STL can't.
I also think that these Federal consultants are smart. And connected to others that can help things besides the implementation of NorthSide Regeneration, which is their priority, but not the only thing they can do.

Northside Neighbor · PostJan 21, 2014#112014-01-21T20:40+00:00

Does anyone here actually think the Feds don't know ESL is fraught with problems?

jstriebel · PostJan 21, 2014#122014-01-21T20:49+00:00

I'm sure many do. I'm not sure they understand how much it drags down STL on the other side, though.

Northside Neighbor · PostJan 21, 2014#132014-01-21T21:27+00:00

Oh, they do.

It's very similar to the whole Camden/Philly situation.

jstriebel · PostJan 21, 2014#142014-01-21T21:49+00:00

I wouldn't assume everyone knows about our situation. Or that situation for that matter. I don't know much about the Philly/Camden situation.

Granted, I hope many of these federal employees are more knowledgable than I am, but it's not a guarantee.

Northside Neighbor · PostJan 21, 2014#152014-01-21T21:55+00:00

East St. Louis has been the butt of jokes since way before this:

http://punchingkitty.com/2012/04/09/snl ... uis-jokes/

gone corporate · PostJan 21, 2014#162014-01-21T21:58+00:00

re Philly/Camden: I am old friends with a Jesuit (old high school teacher) who operates a non-profit in Camden to help uplift the community, especially children who are vulnerable to slip past the rest of society. They do amazing work. Fair to say, though, that the Feds aren't knocking down his door to help the neighborhood out.

What's important is that these SC2 Federal consultants become aware of what's going on in STL and the role of the Near East Side, especially noting how their departments can very, very, very effectively initiate changes there that must be done if our region is ever going to thrive. I think we all can agree on that.

NN: What's the deal with nit-picking over everything? Seriously. I think we all understand the mission of SC2. I'm writing that I hope these Feds can further the scope of what their home offices do with some time on the ground in STL. I'm not looking to quarrel over semantics. I see what you're saying; can you see what I'm saying? Let's get off the comment snipes and return focus to the big picture and having these threads advance productive conversations, please. Sorry to get off-topic. Thanks for your attention here.

Northside Neighbor · PostJan 21, 2014#172014-01-21T22:17+00:00

NN: What's the deal with nit-picking over everything? Seriously. I think we all understand the mission of SC2. I'm writing that I hope these Feds can further the scope of what their home offices do with some time on the ground in STL. I'm not looking to quarrel over semantics. I see what you're saying; can you see what I'm saying? Let's get off the comment snipes and return focus to the big picture and having these threads advance productive conversations, please. Sorry to get off-topic. Thanks for your attention here.

FWIW, HUD has taken away its programs from ESL and now runs them at the County level. ESL is very much on the federal radar screen. It's viewed as an area with major problems, so major they can't even run their own federal entitlement program.

When it comes to productive conversations, I'm right there with you. I do like to keep things real though, and not come at things from a very broad, 30,000 foot, academic viewpoint. The issues we discuss here are very visceral, gut check issues.

Look at some of the comments here - things about tracking movements of ESL people into the STL. I didn't make those remarks, yet I get called out about semantics and comment snipes.

Do I get what you're saying? Yes, I do. And I appreciate very much your thoughtful discourse.

However, do you get what I'm saying when it comes to living and working in the trenches compared to the 30,000 foot high academic postulations about these issues?