This is a new problem next to the schools. People have always gathered at various places around downtown and done drugs. Spencer ran on cleaning it upjshank83 wrote: ↑Aug 25, 2025Serious question because I don’t know the answer.dbInSouthCity wrote: ↑Aug 25, 2025It is hard to escape the conclusion that some children in our city matter more than others to the Spencer administration. For the past four months, I have raised repeated alarms and reached out to both the Mayor’s office and SLMPD about a public health crisis unfolding at the city park at 14th and Pine. This site has become an open-air drug camp just 62 feet from the entrance of St. Louis Voices Academy of Media Arts, where 250 students attend school, and only 400 feet from Confluence Preparatory Academy, which serves another 353 students.
These children walk past overdoses on a near-daily basis. They witness violent fights, stabbings, and multiple shootings that have occurred this year in direct proximity to their schools. I pray that no student’s life is cut short by a stray bullet or by the consequences of continued inaction from this administration.
This situation would never be tolerated for even a single day if it were occurring near Francis Park or 62 feet from the front door of Mayor Spencer’s own child’s school. Yet here, in the heart of downtown, these students are forced to live and learn under conditions no child should be subjected to. Immediate action is not just warranted, it is a moral obligation.
Is this a new problem or was it the same over the last few administrations?
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I feel like everyone that has ran over the years said they will clean it up. None have seemed to do much about it once in office besides cycle around where they gather.dbInSouthCity wrote: ↑Aug 25, 2025This is a new problem next to the schools. People have always gathered at various places around downtown and done drugs. Spencer ran on cleaning it upjshank83 wrote: ↑Aug 25, 2025Serious question because I don’t know the answer.dbInSouthCity wrote: ↑Aug 25, 2025It is hard to escape the conclusion that some children in our city matter more than others to the Spencer administration. For the past four months, I have raised repeated alarms and reached out to both the Mayor’s office and SLMPD about a public health crisis unfolding at the city park at 14th and Pine. This site has become an open-air drug camp just 62 feet from the entrance of St. Louis Voices Academy of Media Arts, where 250 students attend school, and only 400 feet from Confluence Preparatory Academy, which serves another 353 students.
These children walk past overdoses on a near-daily basis. They witness violent fights, stabbings, and multiple shootings that have occurred this year in direct proximity to their schools. I pray that no student’s life is cut short by a stray bullet or by the consequences of continued inaction from this administration.
This situation would never be tolerated for even a single day if it were occurring near Francis Park or 62 feet from the front door of Mayor Spencer’s own child’s school. Yet here, in the heart of downtown, these students are forced to live and learn under conditions no child should be subjected to. Immediate action is not just warranted, it is a moral obligation.
Is this a new problem or was it the same over the last few administrations?
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holy sh*t DB is OBSESSED. that or somebody's paying him for the social media blitz. nobody spends this much time trying to defame the mayor that beat their friend—starting before she even took office—unless they have an unhealthy vendetta or are getting compensated. i'm curious whether DB's wife's PR firm is involved...
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I was going to say something a bit similar but different to that. My thing is why so much anguish towards the mayor stuff like this happens all over the city even during jone’s time so this isn’t anything new but to continue to bash the mayor who’s only been in office a short time is very unnecessary. Allow things to evolve then we all can begin to make our judgements but this seems a bit excessive & redundant.
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I like Cara, but I think it's ridiculous to just let things like this slide, even if for a few days. Residents, students, and visitors would all equally appreciate the drug camp bring cleared. Only a handful of people could possibly be upset, but who cares if its for the public good? Hypothetically it could be cleared pretty rapidly and if it moves somewhere else, clear it again.
And we're back to accusing people who have criticism of Spencer of being paid. Nice to see the high level of discussion being had.
This is the exact type of thing that got Jones raked over the coals for years by well meaning people and by dishonest people. But most of them, the vast majority, have stopped caring rather suddenly. Now, as DB has pointed out, hundreds of kids will be in this area everyday due to school starting. It's a simple fact that this is a public nusiance that is not being dealt with by the city or the police that is costing taxpayers dollars everyday. The impetus is now on Spencer to make improvements. And she didn't do herself any favors by campaigning like she was the end all be all for problems the city faced.
This is the exact type of thing that got Jones raked over the coals for years by well meaning people and by dishonest people. But most of them, the vast majority, have stopped caring rather suddenly. Now, as DB has pointed out, hundreds of kids will be in this area everyday due to school starting. It's a simple fact that this is a public nusiance that is not being dealt with by the city or the police that is costing taxpayers dollars everyday. The impetus is now on Spencer to make improvements. And she didn't do herself any favors by campaigning like she was the end all be all for problems the city faced.
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You should see a therapist.urban_dilettante wrote: ↑Aug 25, 2025holy sh*t DB is OBSESSED. that or somebody's paying him for the social media blitz. nobody spends this much time trying to defame the mayor that beat their friend—starting before she even took office—unless they have an unhealthy vendetta or are getting compensated. i'm curious whether DB's wife's PR firm is involved...
In your logic, and it’s beyond stupid, anyone that didn’t vote for Trump, now cannot criticize him. Again, very good therapist
You want daily overdose deaths to evolve? Into what? Friday kids were getting picked up at 13th and Olive as 4 pd officers surrounded a stabbing suspect, what should we wait for that to evolve, when a child gets blood spat on them from the stabbing? Maybe it can evolve into a bullet in a child’s head?PlatinumBlues wrote: ↑Aug 25, 2025I was going to say something a bit similar but different to that. My thing is why so much anguish towards the mayor stuff like this happens all over the city even during jone’s time so this isn’t anything new but to continue to bash the mayor who’s only been in office a short time is very unnecessary. Allow things to evolve then we all can begin to make our judgements but this seems a bit excessive & redundant.
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Come on now. This is an irresponsible accusation and it doesn’t even make sense. What would DB even be getting paid for? He’s posting for a few people in a niche forum and a few Reddit users. He’s biased against Spencer to a degree, but many people are biased towards her one way or the other.urban_dilettante wrote: ↑Aug 25, 2025holy sh*t DB is OBSESSED. that or somebody's paying him for the social media blitz. nobody spends this much time trying to defame the mayor that beat their friend—starting before she even took office—unless they have an unhealthy vendetta or are getting compensated. i'm curious whether DB's wife's PR firm is involved...
Yes. This is the monday feed I sought, to blaze across the balls of my eyes. 
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I never said allow the drugs around kids to evolve I said allow Spencer as mayor to evolve yes I agree getting drugs off the streets around schools should always be a priority no matter who is mayor but the constant nagging and harassing about a mayor that’s not been mayor for 5 months is just not necessary give her a year or 2 then we can all criticize….dbInSouthCity wrote: ↑Aug 25, 2025You want daily overdose deaths to evolve? Into what? Friday kids were getting picked up at 13th and Olive as 4 pd officers surrounded a stabbing suspect, what should we wait for that to evolve, when a child gets blood spat on them from the stabbing? Maybe it can evolve into a bullet in a child’s head?PlatinumBlues wrote: ↑Aug 25, 2025I was going to say something a bit similar but different to that. My thing is why so much anguish towards the mayor stuff like this happens all over the city even during jone’s time so this isn’t anything new but to continue to bash the mayor who’s only been in office a short time is very unnecessary. Allow things to evolve then we all can begin to make our judgements but this seems a bit excessive & redundant.
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Expecting Cara Spencer to just solve the homeless encampment problem is probably not feasible considering almost every American city bigger than 100k is dealing with this. The STL homeless problem isn't even that bad all things considered.
I would agree that this encampment shouldn't be next to a school or even downtown, but what options does any mayor have to deal with it? Currently the options are:
Add in bathrooms, showers, and social services and it could actually be a pretty decent place. Have officers there to keep the peace but not mess around with enforcing stupid stuff like drug laws.
I would agree that this encampment shouldn't be next to a school or even downtown, but what options does any mayor have to deal with it? Currently the options are:
- Clear the camp - TJ did this a lot, but what ends up happening is the group moves to a new spot not far away. This group has been moved like 10 times but clearly they are still here so not exactly effective.
- Increase services and get these people housing/help - This is the ideal solution, but building homeless shelters is extremely difficult politically and they are chronically at capacity. Even if we had the money and capacity, many of the people at these camps simply don't want to seek help. This subset of the population will always be out there.
- Imprison or institutionalize - While this would clear the camps, the administration wouldn't survive the obvious ethical implications. The Trump regime might just do this anyways.
Add in bathrooms, showers, and social services and it could actually be a pretty decent place. Have officers there to keep the peace but not mess around with enforcing stupid stuff like drug laws.
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Nobody is asking the Mayor to solve homelessness, this issue at 14th and Pine isn’t a homeless issue. Instead of listing all the reasons why overdoses, shootings and stabbings should continue 62 feet away from a school, the mayor and her team ran on fixing problems “oh well we don’t have good options” isn’t good enough
If 30 people were openly doing drugs at this corner of Francis Parks from 11 am to midnight, it would have been ended by 12pm on day one.
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The candidate bankrolled by suburban interests is permitting the kind of activity that drives capital out of the city and into the suburbs!? I’m shocked
I don't disagree with this approach. There is no political will to do what needs to be done for an immediate fix (forced rehab and large scale homeless shelters) and the city doesn't have the resources to implement long term policies to ensure future people do not fall into the same addiction traps that these people have fallen into.GoHarvOrGoHome wrote: ↑Aug 25, 2025Expecting Cara Spencer to just solve the homeless encampment problem is probably not feasible considering almost every American city bigger than 100k is dealing with this. The STL homeless problem isn't even that bad all things considered.
I would agree that this encampment shouldn't be next to a school or even downtown, but what options does any mayor have to deal with it? Currently the options are:
My dumb idea is a kind of Hamsterdam situation. Create a fairly large area in a low visibility area and build basically a warehouse where people can come and go as they please. They can set up their tents and live somewhat communally like they currently do, but have a roof over their head.
- Clear the camp - TJ did this a lot, but what ends up happening is the group moves to a new spot not far away. This group has been moved like 10 times but clearly they are still here so not exactly effective.
- Increase services and get these people housing/help - This is the ideal solution, but building homeless shelters is extremely difficult politically and they are chronically at capacity. Even if we had the money and capacity, many of the people at these camps simply don't want to seek help. This subset of the population will always be out there.
- Imprison or institutionalize - While this would clear the camps, the administration wouldn't survive the obvious ethical implications. The Trump regime might just do this anyways.
Add in bathrooms, showers, and social services and it could actually be a pretty decent place. Have officers there to keep the peace but not mess around with enforcing stupid stuff like drug laws.
There are plenty of vacant and/or non-residential areas in both north and south riverfront where the city/PD could say "we won't mess with you", etc. Obviously this is far from perfect, and is like morally abhorrent, but the city doesn't have many options.
I think everyone can agree that this can't be allowed to happen adjacent to hundreds of students.
I agree that it is a problem that needs fixed. It is a little disingenuous to act like it hasn't been an ongoing issue. 62 ft or 200 ft is too close. It was definitely with the range of the latter with the two previous administrations.dbInSouthCity wrote: ↑Aug 25, 2025Nobody is asking the Mayor to solve homelessness, this issue at 14th and Pine isn’t a homeless issue. Instead of listing all the reasons why overdoses, shootings and stabbings should continue 62 feet away from a school, the mayor and her team ran on fixing problems “oh well we don’t have good options” isn’t good enough
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600 feet and 720 feet the previous 2 years and the previous admin is irrelevant, a parent of a child that get shot by a stray from this site will not feel better after the Mayor says "but Jones admin...."STLAPTS wrote: ↑Aug 25, 2025I agree that it is a problem that needs fixed. It is a little disingenuous to act like it hasn't been an ongoing issue. 62 ft or 200 ft is too close. It was definitely with the range of the latter with the two previous administrations.dbInSouthCity wrote: ↑Aug 25, 2025Nobody is asking the Mayor to solve homelessness, this issue at 14th and Pine isn’t a homeless issue. Instead of listing all the reasons why overdoses, shootings and stabbings should continue 62 feet away from a school, the mayor and her team ran on fixing problems “oh well we don’t have good options” isn’t good enough
Every single downtown stakeholder that voted for Spencer saw the daily open air drug camps as a low hanging fruit to squash and they’re all pissed she hasn’t. Alderman Aldridge has pleaded with the mayors office multiple times to bring DHS employees with police and they’ve not done it
Now this will move on to the next stage; media coverage.
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I would imagine they’ll act pretty quickly to clear it out once the media coverage begins.
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Thats the goal, meeting with STL Mag tomorrow at the park
Trying a new tactic in emails to police commanders and city officials.
Trying a new tactic in emails to police commanders and city officials.
We can have humane concentration camps built and maintained by the city, where the homeless go to access whatever social services are available away from the law abiding public.Auggie wrote: ↑Aug 25, 2025I don't disagree with this approach. There is no political will to do what needs to be done for an immediate fix (forced rehab and large scale homeless shelters) and the city doesn't have the resources to implement long term policies to ensure future people do not fall into the same addiction traps that these people have fallen into.GoHarvOrGoHome wrote: ↑Aug 25, 2025Expecting Cara Spencer to just solve the homeless encampment problem is probably not feasible considering almost every American city bigger than 100k is dealing with this. The STL homeless problem isn't even that bad all things considered.
I would agree that this encampment shouldn't be next to a school or even downtown, but what options does any mayor have to deal with it? Currently the options are:
My dumb idea is a kind of Hamsterdam situation. Create a fairly large area in a low visibility area and build basically a warehouse where people can come and go as they please. They can set up their tents and live somewhat communally like they currently do, but have a roof over their head.
- Clear the camp - TJ did this a lot, but what ends up happening is the group moves to a new spot not far away. This group has been moved like 10 times but clearly they are still here so not exactly effective.
- Increase services and get these people housing/help - This is the ideal solution, but building homeless shelters is extremely difficult politically and they are chronically at capacity. Even if we had the money and capacity, many of the people at these camps simply don't want to seek help. This subset of the population will always be out there.
- Imprison or institutionalize - While this would clear the camps, the administration wouldn't survive the obvious ethical implications. The Trump regime might just do this anyways.
Add in bathrooms, showers, and social services and it could actually be a pretty decent place. Have officers there to keep the peace but not mess around with enforcing stupid stuff like drug laws.
There are plenty of vacant and/or non-residential areas in both north and south riverfront where the city/PD could say "we won't mess with you", etc. Obviously this is far from perfect, and is like morally abhorrent, but the city doesn't have many options.
I think everyone can agree that this can't be allowed to happen adjacent to hundreds of students.
Or, we can have fascist concentration camps built and maintained by the federal government with no social services were the homeless (and, eventually, political dissidents) go to die.
Either way, we're getting a concentration camp. I hope the Spencer admin chooses the former before we're stuck with the latter.
Forcing people into rehab and providing housing is the most humane way to go about fixing some of these chronic issues America faces. Reality is many of these people can not take care of themsleves and need to be taken care of or forced to make the correct decisions.SB in BH wrote: ↑Aug 25, 2025We can have humane concentration camps built and maintained by the city, where the homeless go to access whatever social services are available away from the law abiding public.Auggie wrote: ↑Aug 25, 2025I don't disagree with this approach. There is no political will to do what needs to be done for an immediate fix (forced rehab and large scale homeless shelters) and the city doesn't have the resources to implement long term policies to ensure future people do not fall into the same addiction traps that these people have fallen into.GoHarvOrGoHome wrote: ↑Aug 25, 2025Expecting Cara Spencer to just solve the homeless encampment problem is probably not feasible considering almost every American city bigger than 100k is dealing with this. The STL homeless problem isn't even that bad all things considered.
I would agree that this encampment shouldn't be next to a school or even downtown, but what options does any mayor have to deal with it? Currently the options are:
My dumb idea is a kind of Hamsterdam situation. Create a fairly large area in a low visibility area and build basically a warehouse where people can come and go as they please. They can set up their tents and live somewhat communally like they currently do, but have a roof over their head.
- Clear the camp - TJ did this a lot, but what ends up happening is the group moves to a new spot not far away. This group has been moved like 10 times but clearly they are still here so not exactly effective.
- Increase services and get these people housing/help - This is the ideal solution, but building homeless shelters is extremely difficult politically and they are chronically at capacity. Even if we had the money and capacity, many of the people at these camps simply don't want to seek help. This subset of the population will always be out there.
- Imprison or institutionalize - While this would clear the camps, the administration wouldn't survive the obvious ethical implications. The Trump regime might just do this anyways.
Add in bathrooms, showers, and social services and it could actually be a pretty decent place. Have officers there to keep the peace but not mess around with enforcing stupid stuff like drug laws.
There are plenty of vacant and/or non-residential areas in both north and south riverfront where the city/PD could say "we won't mess with you", etc. Obviously this is far from perfect, and is like morally abhorrent, but the city doesn't have many options.
I think everyone can agree that this can't be allowed to happen adjacent to hundreds of students.
Or, we can have fascist concentration camps built and maintained by the federal government with no social services were the homeless (and, eventually, political dissidents) go to die.
Either way, we're getting a concentration camp. I hope the Spencer admin chooses the former before we're stuck with the latter.
Obviously the Democrats are way too scared to do that, the "left" is too unserious to consider it, and the modern GOP will just seek their eventual deaths.
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Downtown open air drug camp will get a story in STL Mag tomorrow or Friday
Also in contact with chief of staff Millburg.
Also in contact with chief of staff Millburg.
Worth a shot
+2
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I dig the idea of the earnings tax reallocation. Have you gotten any feedback from alders about it?