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All posts written by St. Louis City Talk contributors unless otherwise noted.
Kennard Classical Junior Academy (KCJA) is a magnet school within the St. Louis Public School System, focusing on "gifted programs" serving children grades pre-Kindergarten through 5th. The school has been located at 5031 Potomac Avenue in the North Hampton Neighborhood since 1928. We interview a parent with a student at the school.
The southern most tip of the near Spring and Delor is seeing some exciting redevelopment of some formerly problematic properties just north of the Holly Hills neighborhood. Here's a bird's eye view of the area:
Several multi-unit apartment buildings between Itaska and Delor on Spring Avenue (built in 1962) are being repurposed with a more modern, contemporary, vibrant look. I love the fact that they didn't just tear down all the old structures, but are redoing some of them to hopefully make them sustainable, positive properties for the future.
For anyone familiar with this area, you know there have been serious crime and other issues with terrible tenant screening, garbage galore and mis-managed properties. The area is at best an eye sore and at worst an uncomfortable, violent place along with the Speedway Mart just across Spring Avenue at Delor. I used to live near here and know firsthand how ugly this part of town had become. Don't believe me? Just check out the 120 CSB complaints on the
website who list the owner as Southtowne Apartments Associates LP at 611 Olive Street, 63103.
Back when I published my Dutchtown neighborhood profile, the properties were looking rough and the tenants had already been evicted in preparation for the renovation:
July, 2011 STL City Talk Photo
July, 2011 STL City Talk Photo
I read of the ongoing work
and
and decided to check the places out for myself. From the Post-Dispatch article:
The St. Louis Regional Housing and Community Development Alliance and the Dutchtown South Community Corp. are doing the $9 million project jointly. Some redone apartments will be available this month. When completed, Southtowne will have 40 rehabbed units and 11 new apartments. RHCDA, a non-profit housing developer, is reconfiguring the site by demolishing 15 buildings, rehabilitating the remaining 10 and constructing six new buildings. The result will be 51 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and a management office. Renovations include structural enhancements, exterior facelifts, new floor plans, modern amenities and architectural improvements designed to increase market value.
Just from reading the construction sign out front, the former Southtowne Apartments have been rebranded as Fox Manor Apartments and was largely funded by public entities and will be leased out by Vatterott Properties:
Here's what I saw on a beautiful Sunday morning April 7, 2013:
vibrant colors brighten up the street views along Spring
small decks on the second floors; new construction juts out toward rear parking lots
Southern view down Spring from Beckerle Park
Rear parking lot facing apts on Delor which are also part of the re-development
Parking in back?...check. Modern amenities and design?...check. Decent setback from the curb?...check. Excellent re-use as opposed to 100% demo?...check. Next major boxes to check off are
tenant screening and property accountability
...and some new urban street trees would be nice along Spring and Delor.
Overall, I love this project and think it's a great potential step forward for the area.
In other positive news for this part of Dutchtown, St. Mary's High School has continued to invest in their campus. The relative new Divis baseball field is directly across the street and looks absolutely fantastic along with the football and track and field facilities. They are excellent neighbors and keep an amazingly beautiful property.
Let's hope the former apartment buildings on the northwest corner of Spring and Itaska are part of this project as they are in dreadful condition and have not been maintained in their vacancy...people have been inside of these stripping the valuables and partying/squatting. Entry has taken place at ground level on nearly every building and dumping and further property destruction has ensued.
come on in!
The overall site design of these 1960's apartment complexes that face inward toward a "courtyard" appear to be recipes for disaster in St. Louis where consolidation of poor tenants and poor property owners in these settings seem to routinely occur and eventual strips the area of dignity.
The apartments on the northeast corner of Spring and Itaska still appear to be occupied.
Another springboard for the area would be to improve the curb appeal of the small Beckerle Park; some new trees have been planted toward the southern edge; this could be a great spot for dog walkers, etc to enjoy with a little TLC.
Southwest corner of Spring and Itaska
Cheers to Dutchtown, keep fighting the good fight Alderman Cohn and others.
The French language immersion school is located at 1881 Pine Street in the Downtown West Neighborhood just across Olive Street from the future St. Louis Police Department headquarters. We interview a parent with a student at the school.
Wilkinson Early Childhood Center @ Roe School (WECC), is a magnet school in the St. Louis Public School System (SLPS). It serves children in grades pre-school to 2nd. WECC is housed in the Roe Schoolhouse built in 1919 by renowned architect Rockwell M. Milligan and is located at 1921 Prather Street in the Franz Park Neighborhood, otherwise known as "Dogtown". We interview a parent with a student at the school.
This is a long, long, long winded post. There is a lot going on in Fox Park, and I have a ~2.5 year story to tell. If you don't get through this, please let me begin by asking for your support. If you would like to volunteer for our Park Committee, email me. We always need help manning our weekend gardening hub, Spring and Fall planting projects, fire hydrant painting, grant writing and getting a dog park going. If you have skills in these areas and want to be part of an up-and-coming neighborhood, let me know. This is my pet project so to speak, so I can't be shy when it comes to drumming up potential support. People always say we need more doers and less talkers in St. Louis. I concur; but, I say we need both. This is my "doing" project and the talking, well, you know I just can't shut up when it comes to my favorite city.
For those familiar with Fox Park (the park) you may have noticed some very significant changes. Starting this spring, you are about to see more substantial changes. It is an exciting time.
Kind readers, this is your chance to follow the work that's been taking place in Fox Park over the last two years or so.
First a little on Fox Park the neighborhood:
Fox Park is a south city neighborhood located between some of St. Louis' greatest neighborhoods. With boundaries of I-44 to the north, Nebraska to the west, Jefferson to the east and Gravois on the south, the neighborhood is embedded amongst the swanky Compton Heights and Lafayette Square neighborhoods on the west and northeast and shares borders with the comparable up-and-coming neighborhoods of Tower Grove East, Benton Park West and McKinley Heights.
The 2010 U.S. Census data counted 2,632 in Fox Park, a 17.1% decline compared to 2000 counts. Racially speaking, the neighborhood is 61% black, 32% white and 5% Hispanic/Latino. Those numbers are basically unchanged from 2000 to 2010.
This is a key area of the city that must continue to improve to stabilize the southside. This part of the city has seen a lot of changes in the last 50 years. In talking to neighbors, it probably hit rock bottom in the crack epidemic years of the late 1990's. The entire city and nation as a whole really had a rough time when crack hit the streets and the murders spiked:
However, things have calmed down since the 1990s. The police deserve a lot of credit here. Also, renovation really picked up and gentrification started to take hold in the early 2000's. Now, after living here for over 2 years, I would say this is a bona fide up-and-coming neighborhood with tremendous potential. I am raising a family here, making friends here and we honestly love it here. But, it's not Shaw, Benton Park or Tower Grove South just yet...it's rougher around the edges. There is very little walkable business and nightlife compared to those previously mentioned neighborhoods. We have some work to do...but there are people here willing to put in the sweat equity to help make it happen.
In many ways the park from which the neighoborhood takes its name is a good representation of the neighborhood and area itself. Years of deferred maintenance, dis-investment and blind eyes turned/no-snitch societal norms have made the park a not so nice place. Destructive activity by unsupervised kids and local adults who have been binge drinking, fighting, selling/smoking weed and crack here for years has taken its toll. It's so obvious, you'd have to be a fool not to notice how unchecked this area has been for years. With the bad guys doing business right out in the open under the pavilion on Shenadoah. Long time neighbors and decent residents don't go to the park for this specific reason. How do I know you might ask? Well, outside of good old street smarts and conventional wisdom, we have some data as well...our former (excellent) alderwoman Kacie Starr-Triplett organized a door to door canvasing of the residential blocks immediately surrounding the park to get a feel for what people like and don't like about the park, and what they want to see in the future. The idea here was to attempt to engage the people who live around the part to be part of the solution and not the problem. We informed people about how to get involved and attend neighborhood meetings (which are advertised publicly with signs throughout the neighborhood). Sadly, we did not get anyone to volunteer their time as a result of this effort, but we did get some good feedback. The overwhelming response from residents was that they were scared to go to the park because it's ghetto and the dealers and large groups of people drinking, etc was intimidating and violent. Fact. All this is now being addressed head on...full on...there's no quitting this time...this cannot go on in a public place where little kids and decent people should feel welcome and safe.
Shenandoah right by the pavilion is the favorite dealing spot for these guys who seek to "own" the park and did not get asked questions from the decent neighbors and residents for years, in fact many of these guys are neighbors. All afternoon-long and into the night binge drinking parties took place on the Victor side of the park by the old time residents and visitors, again unchecked by the neighborhood. This has been going for years if not decades, say the long time residents. This was not a nice, feel good block party-like scene. A group of people standing, yelling, fighting, hassling passersby, at times blocking the street is not a healthy public park.
What decent person regardless of race or class or upbringing wants to be subjected to this at a park where little kids are running around and playing? It was embarrasing and a black eye for the neighborhood. It had to be addressed. Now was the time.
Fast forward to a Gateway Greening community garden tour where I met someone from Fox Park (my new neighborhood at the time). This person I met just so happens to be an urban pioneer with her partner in the Fox Park neighborhood. Turns out they rehabbed the building next to our house and have done the same to other homes and own some other property in the neighborhood. To say the least, they are invested and really, really care.
We hit it off fantastically and are now good friends and co-leads of the Fox Park Park Committee. Her name is Beth Stelmach and she is one of the urban pioneers that has put her unending dedication to this city and specifically, this neighborhood, on display. She is a super nice person, but a bulldog on issues that need frank discussion and straight talk. She is a woman of kind and measured action. She brings people together in ways that inspire me constantly, and I guess I'm just blessed and fortunate to have met her.
Beth has tirelessly led the reincarnated Fox Park Park Committee for over 2 years. Her accomplishments and no-quit attitude are on display in the park today. We have ridden this emotional rollercoaster together through the thick and thin. Making positive change is an uphill battle sometimes. The best way I can sum up my experience working in Fox Park so far has certainly been "two steps forward and one step back". I'll share examples in a moment. Through all the adversity and crime and harassment we've dealt with, it's been Beth and her partner who have given my family and others the resolve and strength and encouragement to never stop. I'm a very simple man who thinks positivity and love can always flush out negativity and hate. Given that I'm drafting much of this post on MLK day, I'll share one of my favorite quotes of his:
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." Martin Luther King, Jr.
Back in 2004 the Fox Park Neighborhood Association and then Alderwoman Phyllis Young worked with a local firm (H3) to draft a Masterplan. The masterplan was developed based on a thorough canvassing of the neighbors around the park to get their input on what the neighborhood wanted the park to be. Here's the product of that endeavor:
Key elements of this plan included new landscape, trees, a dog park, a new basketball court, playground and spray pool. There was no money set aside for this work, it was just meant to serve as a template for future improvements.
One key element of the plan was implemented shortly thereafter in 2009. The open field area along California Avenue on the western edge of the park was graded and seeded at a cost of ~$9,840; the Fox Park Neighborhood Association paid for this. Longtime residents tell me this part of the park used to be a small grocery store which became a big problem property when it became a spot for the local dealers and thugs to ruin for everyone else. The building was demo'd and buried in the foundation making planting in this area a struggle.
Another key element of the masterplan that took place during Alderwoman Young's tenure was the installation of new playground equipment:
please forgive my shoddy cell phone camera photos
The original plan was to have the playground extend to the east as well per the Masterplan and the following design:
The area circled in blue and green never happened, and we got a scaled down version of the above design circled in red including the swingset to the north. The city paid for this nice new playground equipment and swing set out of Aldermanic capital funds.
As I mentioned before, when a neighborhood which has been dominated by negativity and neglect is faced with a new influx of positive activity and investment, the bad guys tend to react immediately as they are scared that their place of business and hang out is threatened. I will provide proof of this at every step...not in an attempt to be a downer, but to keep it real and let people know that this is the fight that must be waged in order to have decent, safe public spaces for ALL to enjoy. Haters and thugs are amongst us here and they have tried to fail nearly all attempts at improvement. I want to tell that side of the story as well.
In this part of town there are some "gangs" of kids, teens and longtime residents known as the 27 Mac and ACG. Everyone knows they exist and this has been going on for years as my neighbors who have been here for much longer than I have have educated me. Tagging is one of their favorite pastimes, and here's their immediate contribution to the new playground equipment right after it was installed:
Let it be known that if normal people go to the park with their kids, these knuckleheads will make some noise, denegrate themselves and move on. They don't like people who will call them out on their behavior and will leave until the decent people leave and then they return. They also put on display their feelings for women and the "n-word" in the freshly poured concrete. They also burned holes in the slides and the rubber surface. Thanks guys, way to go. 2 steps forward, one step back.
Fast forward to the new park committee formed by Beth. We started by walking the park together and talking about what needed to be done immediately. We removed graffitti and gang signs. We picked up trash. We made a list. We contacted the alderwoman to introduce ourselves and hopefully get her support.
Our first set of goals were:
Remove the dead and dying trees throughout the park; we identified the ones that needed to be cut down and the city forestry and park's dept did a good job of removing the trees and grinding the stumps. The Cardinal's 2011world series victory gave the city some extra money and we were told the tree removal was a result of that windfall:
dead pines surrounded the basketball court
dead deciduous trees lined Victor Street
We now needed new trees to provide shade and beauty and replace the ones that were dead or dying. We were told there were no mature trees available from the city, so we had to get creative. We wrote a grant to Missouri ReLeaf Communitree and got 40 + trees in 3 gallon pots. We got a crack group of volunteers to help plant these trees throughout the park. We rented industrial grade augers and planted 20 tulip poplars, 10 serviceberry and 10 eastern red bud in addition to some extras that we purchased through the neighborhood association. We put in hours and hours of digging, mulching and watering these trees to have them only survive until the following spring when the unsupervised kids and park partiers pulled them out of the ground and threw them up by the pavilion, or simply snapped them off. We lost > 75% of the trees we planted. They didn't stop there, they also destroyed several large trees the city planted that were ~3' in diameter. We photo documented all destruction and negative behavior so we could build a case to the city and anyone else who would listen that we have a problem on our hands.
We didn't stop there, we wrote another grant in the fall of 2012 for trees that were 3 times larger in an attempt to make it a little harder to destroy. We planted 3 vernal witchhazel, 3 northern red oak and 3 blackgum. They still stand as of now, but we'll have to keep an eye out come warmer weather.
The park goers were littering the park with trash empty beer cans and gin bottles, we needed to get more trash cans. Drive by the park today, you may notice the cheesy white plastic trash cans.
Kind of ugly, right? All other city parks have the metal ones. We can't have those because our old ones were stolen for scrap. We got new metal ones from the city, those were stolen too. Thanks again assholes, I guess we have to stick with the plastic ones for now until we can quit being the target. Metal trash cans are all over the city, these were targeted by people who are pushing back at the positivity We got a grant from Gateway Greening for 4 beautiful large plastic trash cans designed for parks. These will have to be installed in concrete requiring more hours, expertise and money from the park committee and neighborhood association. Here's a photo of the nice new cans to be installed in 2013:
The old crappy and unsafe basketball court that exists near the right field of the ballpark had to be addressed. This area had several dead and dying trees surrounding it and the roots eventually destroyed the surface. The people that have lived here for years have not demanded better conditions, and they proceeded to destroy the rims, backboards etc. This was one of the former hotspots for intimidation, binge drinking and public weed/crack smoking. It was insanely prevalent and not a welcoming site...of course, right next to our playground. Here's what it looked like:
^ notice the grown men drinking Bud-Ice 40's right next to the kids playing
We set up a meeting with our new alderman Kacie Starr-Triplett whose ward now covered the park after redistricting. We shared with her our ideas about implementing the long-shelfed masterplan and getting a new basketball court was a big part of that. Moving it to the spot at Victor/Ohio was a key element of the adopted masterplan. We were able to establish a great relationship with Kacie and one of her advocates, Christine Ingrassia, then Director of Community Outreach - 6th Ward at Jeff Vanderlou Initiative. This budding relationship turned out to be a game changer for us...more on that later in the post.
Kacie said the basketball court project "spoke to her". We wanted to set ourselves apart from Lafayette Square and many other neighborhoods surrounding Fox Park that got rid of their public basketball courts when they became havens for thugs and other assholes that make the parks uninviting, loud and violent.
We got funds through Kacie to get the old court removed and a new one built per the masterplan. We got a seat at the table in City Hall to meet with the capital improvement project liaison who put together the plans and dimensions and asked for our input. Come spring, 2013 ground will break on the first new basketball court in this part of town in years. This is extremenly exciting and we invite any and all to join us shooting hoops at the new court. If you want to set up a league, send me a note.
I know what some of you are thinking, this is not going to turn out well. Why are you rewarding the same people who have destroyed the current court and shit all over the park every night/weekend? I've heard that argument, but I disagree. We may need help from the police and cameras, but we will not let this court go to pot and become a place where kids and others will be intimidated. We have to continue this fight. Fox Parkers deserve a court for decent people to enjoy. We will have that now.
Furthermore, there was a delapidated 8 foot fence that was in disrepair along the right field line along Shenandoah. This fence was installed to presumably keep people out of the park??? It had to go.
holes in the fence
stay out of this park!
4' silver and 8' green fence didn't match at all...shoddy
The fence was removed by the park's dept and we now have an open view of the beautiful maple trees and this side of the park is much more inviting to the residents of the neighborhood and has much better curb appeal.
The park committee thought we needed more positive activity in the park. We worked with Gateway Greening to establish Fox Park as a South City garden hub. A hub garden is basically a "home base" where gardeners throughout the city can come to borrow tools for their gardens/landscape projects, buy inexpensive fruit, vegetable, herb seeds and get good gardening info and advice. Gateway Greening gave us a lawn mower, weed wacker, rotor tiller, hand tools, etc. to loan out for a small deposit for anyone to use. We have a dedicated but small set of people who volunteer a couple hours on Saturdays to open the hub up to all. People come from all over the city to buy seeds, plants and loan out tools. GG installed all the tools in our pavillion and all this stuff was secured behind locked doors. Continuing on my two steps forward, one back theme, the assholes who saw us using the pavillion broke in and stole everything except the rotor tiller which was rented out. They took everything except the seeds. Thanks again guys. One morning, someone accidentally left out some sidewalk chaulk and the thugs took to tagging the pavilion with 27 MAC stuff, their calling card. Thanks again guys. We got new locks and new tools that were donated to GG from kind folks in their network. Guess what thugs, we aren't going away. In fact we got a great sign to establish the pavillion as a garden hub. Furthermore on the 2 steps forward, 1 back theme, this sign was pulled out of the ground once and torn off the sign post another time. Thugs hate positivity. I installed it once more this time with the best hardware I could get. It stands as of today, and we'll keep putting it back up. The thugs especially hate this because this is the drive up window for drug sales during warm months.
As part of our grant from GG, we also got 2 brand new picnic tables which we wanted to go between the maple trees along Shenandoah. We had a very generous neighbor who spent 2 days staining them with 3 coats of varnish.
The picnic tables became a nuisance to the neighbors as they attracted large, loud, rude crowds who didn't pick up and left the areas completely trashed. We heard a lot of complaints from people who live on Shenandoah and Armand. It looked bad from the streets as well. So, we moved them to the California side. The thugs and haters didn't like the move and splashed cans of paint all over the tables. Thanks again asshole. Our now neighborhood prez and vice prez cleaned up the paint. We aren't going to quit.
We knew we could update and refresh the signage in the park as well. There was a rather aged shadowbox type sign at California and Shenadoah. It was meant for people to post notices, park info, etc, but it was never used. We decided to move this shadow box to the pavilion to post upcoming events and ask for volunteer support and help keeping an eye out for safety and calls to the police to report ghetto behavior. This was also an attempt to inform those that are destroying our work to help pitch in and have a voice in the park. That has not materialized to date.
GG lent us the services of a dedicated and skilled employee who drilled into the brick and installed this awesome sign under our pavillion. Thanks GG! Of course, the thugs tore down all the flyers we had placed in the sign to talk about the new basketball court and watching out for new trees in the park, etc. So Beth bought and installed locks to the sign.
When we opened up one of the doors in the pavilion, we discovered 3 unused signs just lying in wait for some TLC. We worked with an artist who lives in the neighborhood to design a font and make lettering for the signs. We got bids for installation and went with a local business in Old North St. Louis who did great work. We got $ from the neighborhood association to execute the job. And the signs are standing proudly at California/Shenandoah, Victor Street and Shenandoah Avenue.
The areas around the signs will be the site of much landscaping work to be completed in 2013.
We took a look at the tired and beat up fire hydrants around the park. Something had to change. We worked with a talented artist, Grace McHammond who has done many of the murals in the Grove. She was awesome to work with and drafted up a couple designs. We chose this one and now you'll see these around the park.
We kicked off an "adopt a hydrant" campaign to get all hydrants in the neighborhood painted with this. Click HERE to be part of that campaign.
More good fortune was upon us.
As mentioned before we struck up a professional relationship with Christine Ingrassia, who tirelessly fought for us and listened to our complaints. She commisserated with us and a lot more...she went to work grant writing for funds for a children's spray pool as per the Mater Plan. She got the support of local city leaders all the way up to Senator Claire McKaskill and got us a ~$160,000 grant wiht the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for a children's spray pool directly south of the pavilion leading to the playground. You should see ground breaking on this in 2013.
Christine didn't stop there. She worked with then alderwoman Triplett, to get us a meeting with the Park's Department, Police and Police Athletic League which "runs" the baseball field. Thankfully, the alderman and Christine attended the meeting with us. Let me just say we got some push back on our efforts and not all invited parties could be characterized as professional. That being said, a lot of good came out of it. We got access to the ballpark for neighborhood events. PAL does not "own" the park and we can now use it. We held a Spring youth t-ball league organized by Ms. Ingrassia. It was open to all and it was a great time. Christine also organized a fall festival to get neighbors together in the park. Good times were had by all.
We also got help from the police. They got tough, issued some tickets, made some arrests and cracked down on the ghetto behavior. They got rid of the parties on Victor. I mean gone...to this day, it's cleaned up. Also, they made some busts on the playground, basketball court and at the pavilion. They parked the armored police vehicle with cameras there for over a week. It was awesome. The police were ON IT. And things got better for awhile. It was a message we could never have given on our own. Thanks to the SLPD for the dedication and support. The dealers are still around, they are just scared for now, but they will be back in the warmer weather. We won't quit though. A new Capt. was assigned to our district, so we are very hopefull that we'll have their full support in protecting our investments in the park.
Thanks to all the great people I've met in Fox Park. You are the ones on the front lines of St. Louis' streets making this a city we can love as opposed to one we're embarrassed to bring our friends and family to. These are the grass roots that truly make change on the urban landscape.
This year, we are convening to discuss our plans for 2013. We hope to start a fundraising campaign for a dog park and walking paths throughout the park to encourage dog walkers, stroller pushers, joggers, etc to use the park for exercise.
The park has gotten exponentially better. I have no doubt it will continue to get better, and as goes the park goes the neighborhood. If I didn't believe we have the right group in place to make this happen, I wouldn't be spending my time on this. Believe me, we will make Fox Park just like Shaw and Tower Grove. It just takes time.
Keep up the love yall! Drop me an email if you want to be part of this action-oriented group.
Cheers, Mark
Mullanphy School, or Mullanphy Investigative Learning Center as it is currently referred to by the school system, as an elementary magnet school within the St. Louis Public School System. The school is housed in a beautiful building designed by renowned architect William B. Ittner. The school has been located at 4221 Shaw Boulevard in the beautiful Shaw Neighborhood since 1915. We interview a parent with a student at the school.
Hello readers and friends. Fox Park is making tremendous progress as an "up-and-coming" neighborhood. This part of the city is clearly on the rise. Part of making a vibrant city is to embrace public art. Someone driving or walking by will notice the creativity and life that artwork brings and think, wow this place is organized and happening. Think of the many signs and murals along Manchester in the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood between Vandeventer and Kingshighway. The place is eye-catching and alive.
Some in Fox Park have taken notice of the Grove and other like parts of town and contacted the very talented artist that creates many of those beautiful murals. She came up with a design for Fox Park that was met with much love from the majority in the nabe.
The park, for which the neighborhood gets its name, is undergoing a major renovation. I will be posting a comprehensive story on that in the coming days. The fire hydrants around the park were tired and rusty and faded, so we sanded them down, primed them and dressed them up with the new logo.
From this:
To this:
This change was met with positive feedback from the park users and neighbors. So we are taking it to the next level...and you can help.
The neighborhood was walked and we located each and every hydrant in our small neighborhood. There are a total of 80 hydrants...let's paint them all!
Here are the locations of the hydrants:
You can be a part of the remaking of a small part of our city by "adopting" a hydrant for a mere $50/hydrant. The cost will go to wire brushes, paint/supplies and paying the artist to paint the fox design...the remainder goes to our dog park fund raising campaign. The donation is tax deductible and you will get a receipt. Just click
to learn the details. So pick your top 3 locations and send in a donation to the following address:
Fox Park Hydrant Campaign
P.O. Box 58718
St. Louis, MO 63158
Help a critical part of St. Louis shine like it should!
Thanks for your consideration, Mark.
Staring at a map of St. Louis' 79 neighborhoods, you can't help but notice the large park/cemetery areas throughout the city that in some cases exceeds the area of many of the neighborhoods. Seven of these in particular are among the largest and ones I hope to explore and blog about.
I'm starting with
(BFC), a 314 acre property that dates back to 1816; the oldest graves of the Hempsted family existed here when their former farmland was purchased by
a group of prominent men in the city, led by banker and former mayor
and established in 1849. The first burial was in 1850. BFC was clearly a revolutionary place in its day. Up to the early 19th Century, burials were typically on church and private properties. Paris, France was the 1st city to design a cemetery utilizing the "rural garden" concept which was meant to be a beautiful place of solace and natural beauty open to the public.
BFC was created with the same vision and the timing couldn't have been more appropriately aligned with St. Louis history. The on-going 19th Century building and population boom in St. Louis coincided with a fire on May 17, 1849 that
destroyed 15 city blocks and 23 riverboats. Then of course, the cholera epidemic of 1849
that swept the city killing ~6% of the population. The timing was right and Bellefontaine was St. Louis' forward looking answer to dignified burials for the next generations of citizens.
The founders had the foresight to hire
from
in
to design and maintain the grounds. He designed most of the roadways and landscaping, and led cemetery operations as Superintendent for many years.
The
Bellefontaine Cemetery (officially non-denominational, but largely Protestant) at 4947 W Florissant is flanked by the
to the south and west and the
to the north and east. Calvary Cemetery (Roman Catholic) is to the north and west and O'Fallon Park is to the south and east.
The property is atop very high ground that slopes down, overlooking the Mississippi River to the east; while the North Riverfront neighborhood today is largely unsightly trucking operations and contemporary metal warehouses, you can imagine what the view must have been when the property was established. But let me tell you, this does not mean that BFC is not a beautiful setting. It is. The perimeter is lined with ornate fencing and entry gates.
For my first visit to BFC, I was able to connect with the current Landscape Architect for the property, Earen Hummel. She is a professional landscape architect of 13 years and hails from Colorado. She is highly qualified, having worked in various National Parks and ranches around the country, in addition to a WWII battle site in the South Pacific where the Enola Gay took off for its bombing over Japan. Prior to joining BFC, she was part of a consultant team that helped to prepare a 100-year master plan for the cemetery. At the completion of the master plan, the cemetery hired her to become the in-house landscape architect. Some key elements of the plan are increased native plantings and habitat, sustainability and the reduction of storm-water runoff, mowing and chemical treatments in the landscape, all while complementing the original Hotchkiss design. This is a very fitting and sensitive approach as it intelligently adds new trees, planting and other elements to naturally enhance to property for the next 100 years while preserving the historic character and updating the natural landscape and seeking to meet the changing needs of the times including more burial space between two lakes that exist on the property. Ms. Hummel is working to develop gardens to draw together the two lakes, and to enhance the space that exists in this part of the cemetery. This is part of a 10-year goal and in underway now. Sustainability is certainly a catch word of our era, sometimes more often spoken than seen; however, this plan completely embraces the idea and you can SEE the low energy, low maintenance, natural planting concepts that I view as the renaissance of landscape design in play here. This is not just talk, this is action. Drive through the park and witness the massive amounts of grading and tree planting that is underway as you read this. Very impressive...here are some drawings of the design:
Additionally, BFC has become a certified
. Sassafras, persimmon, oaks, black gum, hawthorn and river birch are among the trees being planted. Out are the sweet gums and yews!
My favorite part of our discussion was knowing the property is in good, caring hands. And, the cemetery is loved and protected. The care that Hotchkiss put in is living on in Ms. Hummel's and the cemetery Board's vision. It will continue to be open to the public and will function as an active burial site for years to come.
Of course, this cemetery is the final resting place of hundreds of American notables and figures including William S. Burroughs, Adolphus Busch, Susan Elizabeth Blow, Thomas Hart Benton, William Clark, Phoebe Wilson Couzins, James Eads, Sara Teasdale and many, many more. You can still purchase a plot here. In fact, there is a newer section with Bosnian, Croatian and Roma citizens that recently immigrated to the region as well as an area for under-privileged children whose parents could not afford a plot.
I was lucky enough to be treated to a showing of the famed
which is on the U.S. National Registry of Historic Places and is one of only two tombs that can be opened to the public. Every square inch of this monument is a work of art. I was lucky enough to hold the key in my hand and enter this important place on a cold and wintry St. Louis day.
Exterior of the tomb:
Interior:
Is St. Louis great or what? BFC has a large endowment to care for the grounds & landscape and plans to be here for the long run. They are going nowhere and only seek to enhance the area. They are partners in the Mark Twain and Walnut Park neighborhoods. They are a fixture and the cemetery is a full-on landmark.
Bellefontaine Cemetery does tours and if you are interested in history at all, please "like" them on
. They routinely do bios filled with stories and photos of notable citizens buried there. Total fodder for history lovers, and very well done. The website is phenomenal and includes an awesome
to play with. Go there to check out the full list of famous people buried there. They have conducted Beer Baron, Civil War and other notable tours, both by bus and walking. BFC is in good hands and will continue to improve and be a National Treasure for years to come. Drive up Salisbury Avenue from Downtown to get a good view of the north side and go check out BFC for yourself and let me know what you think! Even if you've been here before, please visit again and witness the landscape as it morphs into a more native, sustainable environment.
On to Calvary! Stay tuned friends and readers...
My latest spiel on words commonly considered as provocative or misunderstood or at a minimum, ambiguous in St. Louis is on the word "gentrification".
I've touched on the word and ghetto so far, two words most in the region use with a strong local meaning. Even though these words may carry negatives, they are highly descriptive and continue to be used whether we like it or not. There's no doubt in my mind that those two words are pretty universally understood and used with accuracy.
Gentrification on the other hand, not so much. First of all, it is a relatively modern word that was added to the dictionary a mere 48 years ago. What the word means, especially in the context of St. Louis, is fascinating to me. Some see gentrification as a good thing, others not.
Let's start with a dictionary definition:
the process of renewal and rebuilding accompanying the influx of middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often displaces poorer residents (source)
Simple, right. Yet, I've been in several conversations where the topic simply gets out of hand and fast. When I hear anyone speak negative of sensitive investment, infrastructure upgrades or renewal in any neighborhood in St. Louis, a city that has seen staggering population losses and destruction of historic property, I am flummoxed. How can that be bad regardless of what powers are doing the planning, bank rolling and execution?
Another definition:
the buying and renovation of houses and stores in deteriorated urban neighborhoods by upper- or middle-income families or individuals, thus improving property values but often displacing low-income families and small businesses. (source)
This one describes the potential negatives of gentrification in a little more detail. It touches on property values raising and pushing out the same people who may have provided the area with much soul and flavor for decades. Think Cherokee street mom and pop Hispanic/Latino businesses being pushed out by higher rent and changing demographics. That would be a bummer.
But is that really going to happen here? I don't know but I doubt it.
Still, with the current state of affairs in St. Louis, investment of any kind seems pretty good to me. Every neighborhood in the city could use an influx of people with money willing to invest right here in the city, no? I'd kill for some more of that medicine in my neck of the woods.
I think the gentrification as a negative argument just doesn't play well in St. Louis. The city seems inherently built to not push out poor people; it was built for the huddled masses when the country was in a state of massive immigration from Europe and migration from the South. Sure there are mansions and swanky residences, but the vast majority of homes are of modest size compared to the national average. In fact the Midwest has the lowest average new single family home sizes compared to the rest of the country:
The average home size in 2010 was 2,265 square feet in 2010, 2,020 in 1992 and 1,445 in 1973. The vast majority of homes in St. Louis were built prior to 1973. So, based on these data, you can assume in the heydey of our building boom from the late 19th Century to 1955 or so, the average home was even smaller than 1,445 sq. ft. The point I'm trying to make is, St. Louis is built smaller and more dense than the new construction areas and trends of bigger is better. You could argue that our built environment is set up for density and the masses....hence it'll be cheaper to live here based on overall lower square footage and supply & demand keeping costs of living much lower than the national average.
We have rows and rows of houses that are very modest in size from the northern tip to the southern tip of the city. These are all over, look no further than the concentration of such homes in North Hampton, Walnut Park West and many many other neighborhoods.
the North Hampton neighborhood
the Walnut Park West neighborhood
Furthermore, there are cheap rents all over the city. There are so many multi-family and multi-unit properties here, I just don't see rents skyrocketing over the next 10-20 years enough to push people out of St. Louis. Maybe a street or a block, but not an entire neighborhood or city.
If you think gentrification is a bad word you probably have not been around our fair city. This word having a negative context in Portland, New York or San Francisco makes sense.
Pushing out people who are from somewhere and give that area a certain vibe, history and feel is not good. But that doesn't seem to be happening here in St. Louis, we just don't have that kind of demand and masses of wealth elevating property values to a level where the folks living in a neighborhood for decades can no longer afford it. The rich and poor are dispersed all over the city, especially the diverse southside. Compton Heights, DeBaliviere Place, Central West End, Downtown and Downtown West have some of our richest and most priviledged residents, yet these places I just mentioned are diverse (economically and racially) and no one is getting pushed out of these areas.
Now let's give some thought to a few neighborhoods that are going through a gentrification phase as we speak. Why not just pick out Old North St. Louis, Forest Park Southeast and Gravois Park as examples. If you view the activity in the last 10 years in these areas as negative or exclusionary of any particular race or economic level, than please make your points. I am genuinely interested in your take; but I only see these areas as exciting, inspiring and improving.
Manchester Avenue in the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood between Kingshighway and Vandeventer is gentrifying. This is St. Louis' most obvious gay nightlife part of town, it has a tattoo shop, a skate shop, R&B-heavy music venue (Gramophone), a reality-TV profiled business and many other restaurants and bars...all of which are affordable and you will see people of all kinds in Sanctuaria, Sweetie Pie's, Gramophone, Atomic Cowboy and Everest (the only places I've been).
If you don't like that kind of stuff, and see it as negative then please tell me why. Or if you think there was some awesome, positive, local, soulful vibe in these areas that is being replaced by milk toast interests by white people, hipsters, gay people or monied people in general, than please point them out to me.
Gentrification to me means more residents, less vacant property, more business, less vacant storefronts, more jobs, more fun, less abandonment and ghetto B.S. This ain't New York or Boston where rents are prohibitive and exclusive...this is St. Louis, a city that has lost 500,000 people in 50 years. Our most swanky/happening neighborhoods like CWE are clearly racially and class diverse, check the census data:
In 2010 the neighborhood's population was 58.0% White, 28.0% Black, 0.2% Native American, 11.1% Asian, 2.2% Two or More Races, and 0.5% Some Other Race. 2.7% of the population was of Hispanic or Latino origin
I think the gentrification debate would be more appropriate in other cities that have seen even more investment than St. Louis. Most of St. Louis investment has occured in the midbelt, from Downtown to Downtown West to Midtown to Grand Center to the Central West End. Outside of CWE, most of those areas were largely unpopulated. Remember what Washington Avenue looked like in 1994? Dead. No one got displaced, there was no one there.
Here is one of my favorite recent articles on gentrification with Washington D.C. as the focal point of the story. Some quotes from the piece:
“Gentrification” is like the secret word in Pee-Wee’s Playhouse — say it and everyone freaks out.
“It’s possibly the most charged word in the built environment right now,” says Christopher Leinberger, the well-known urbanist and a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. The image of mustachioed, trust-fund hipsters displacing poor people of color will do that. And that’s a shame, because gentrification has some undeniable upsides: reduced crime, better services and a more diverse array of businesses — and not just coffee shops.
“As a Detroit native who has seen this place rot from the inside-out, I’d kill for a little gentrification,” Detroit Free Press editor Stephen Henderson recently tweeted.
It's a complicated story, but in a city like St. Louis, I just don't think it applies. I say bring on the investors and next St. Louis that has prouder streets and neighborhoods than the last generation could muster up. There is no shame in wanting that. Bring on the middle and upper class. Bring on the hipsters. Bring on money, bring on highly educated residents. We can all be good neighbors.
My favorite local blog right now is the St. Louis Neighborhood Development Blog. It highlights homes/businesses under renovation throughout the city and indicates the $ amounts that the building permits are for. Nothing...NOTHING...makes me more hopeful for the future of St. Louis than money rolling into our brick beauties to bring them back to life for another generation, or modernizing the old systems to serve citizens for another generation. A home being rehabbed in the Ville or St. Louis Hills is equal to me...investment...and that is all good. No exceptions. No one is being pushed out of anywhere in St. Louis. I just don't see it. I think negative perceptions of schools and crime displace more people across the income and race spectrum than property values and walkability scores.
Gentrification means uplifting our neighborhoods...is that wrong?
Thoughts?
So back in December I shared some thoughts on what an "up and coming" neighborhood means to me. I posted a reader poll based on personal curiosity to see if my thoughts and gut feeling on the subject compare to the readers of my blog. Now, I'm fully aware these free polls are entirely subjective and non-scientific and really just for fun.
Here are the results:
We have a winner, Dutchtown by 1 vote over Midtown. Some thoughts on the responses:
My vote was for Forest Park Southeast. When my family was looking to move from the far southside to the middle belt of the city, we considered this area. However, we couldn't find a house that met our needs. I would live here in a heartbeat. In fact, I'll be doing a follow up post on Forest Park Southeast in the near future. So stay tuned.
I was happy to see Fox Park and Benton Park West get 20 votes apiece. To me, McKinley Heights, Fox Park, Tower Grove East and Benton Park West are the most important swing neighborhoods in the entire city for the next 10 years. These neighborhoods are among the few areas that are racially and economically integrated and gentrification, safety, urban living, development, etc will be hot topics for the next 10 years or so. As go these neighborhoods, so goes the entire city of St. Louis. This part of town is the barometer of where St. Louis is headed. The battleground for our future.
I have lived in an area that I would wholly consider an up and coming neighborhood for nearly 3 years and I've learned more about my urban sensibilities, needs, wants, fears, etc. I feel like I know what is great and exciting about St. Louis and what is frustrating and sad and tough as hell.
Bottom line: for now, I feel like I am part of something transformational living close to the action. I am happy to see building permit stickers all over this part of town. I am happy to see young people moving in. I am happy to see people who want to be engaged in their surroundings and the future of St. Louis in larger numbers.
Cheers to the up and coming neighborhoods of St. Louis.
The Mark C. Steinberg Ice Rink opened on November 11, 1957 in Forest Park right in the shadow of Barnes-Jewish Washington University Medical campus on Kingshighway.
Mr. Steinberg was a native St. Louisan and a self-made man starting out as an office boy in a brokerage firm, eventually starting his own firm, the largest of its kind in St. Louis at the time.
Mark C. Steinberg (source)
His wife Etta Eiseman Steinberg was a big part of the many charitable organizations and philanthropic donations and leadership by the Steinberg's including Steinberg Hall which houses the Washington University College of Architecture, Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design, and the College & Graduate School of Art, the Steinberg wing of Barnes-Jewish Hospital and of course the Ice Rink.
Etta Steinberg was impressed by the Central Park skating rink in New York City, so she gave $600,000 toward the $1 million skating rink in Forest Park in St. Louis, known as Steinberg Skating Rink (source).
Mr. Steinberg (1881-1951) grew up in North St. Louis and was buried in New Mount Sinai Cemetery in Affton, Missouri just south of St. Louis.
The skating rink is the largest outdoor rink in the Midwest at 27,600 square foot of ice. The rink is fully functional and available for skating lessons and all day passes for public use, private parties and corporate/charity events. It's a mere $6.00 to skate all day and figure or hockey skate rental is $4.00; or, of course, bring your own.
The rink is typically open from mid-November through February. There is a zamboni machine on the premises, so the surface is safe and smooth for optimal fun for all ages. The area is used for sand volleyball May through August. There are two regulation, lighted sand volleyball courts, again available for leagues, private parties and corporate functions.
The park area surrounding the rink is professionally landscaped and is framed by the Barnes-Jewish Medical Complex in the Central West End neighborhood, providing a big city vibe right among natural Missouri plants and beauty.
River Birch, Bald Cypress and other trees flank the outer edges providing a wind break and shade. The "knees" of the cypress are spiking up in the exposed areas at the base of the trees...I love it!
There are plenty of parking spaces in the adjacent surface lot and an ample supply of bike racks for the many cyclists in Forest Park.
Other outdoor features include a large open fire pit to warm up to, lights strung over the rink providing a great scene for skating after dark and a sound system that was swinging with some classic rock deep cuts on my visit.
There are plenty of benches for spectators both inside and outside with great views of the rink on 2 of the 4 sides.
Speaking as a product of the 1970's, mid-century bowling alleys and skating are part of my formative years...so the interior of the rink is nothing short of retro gold (or in this case aqua) for me...feels like home. When the facility was recently renovated, they kept most of the original touches (including old school time card clock in machine, bathroom fixtures, etc) and man am I glad they didn't throw up dry wall over the glazed brick.
Here's some stuff that caught my eye on the interior of Steinberg:
beveled aqua bricks frame the windows
even the font and style of the staff jackets look right outta 1975
hey tough guy, don't mess with those lockers
Winter in St. Louis can be lots of fun!
Reviewing all the news stories of 2012 got me thinking about the horrible stuff that unfolded at Penn State University. One of the most vivid memories I will have of that whole incident was the image of the students defending Joe Paterno, Jerry Sandusky, the football program and the University amidst some pretty ugly evidence. Through all that uproar and outrage, I'm reminded of how much a college can mean to a city, state and region as well as to people personally. And how much the actions of one man (Sandusky), or maybe 1 regime (Nittany Lions athletics) can at worse tarnish the reputation of a respected university or at a minimum place an undeniably disgusting/greedy blackspot on the timeline of an historic collegiate sports legacy.
It got me thinking about the intense, blind loyalty or even love some have for their University and everything that it means and represents. From sports teams, to school colors, to the institution itself, Americans generally LOVE their local college/university and sports teams.
I'm not getting that vibe here though. St. Louis, a city of ~318,000 people only has 2 universities. The extremely small Harris-Stowe State University and the much larger and renowned St. Louis University.
Here's a little background on Harris-Stowe:
Harris–Stowe State University is a historically black public university located in Midtown St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1857, Harris–Stowe State University is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Missouri. Founded by the St. Louis Public Schools as a normal school, it was the first public teacher education institution west of the Mississippi River and the twelfth such institution in the United States. During most of this period, the emphasis focused on teacher education, however, Senate Bill 153 enacted in 1993 enhanced the mission of Harris–Stowe to include a wider selection of degree opportunities. Harris–Stowe State University was called Harris–Stowe State College until it was renamed in August 2005.
Harris–Stowe State offers over twelve degree programs including: Bachelor of Science in Education, Bachelor of Science in Urban Education, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with specialization areas, Bachelor of Science in Health Care Administration, Bachelor of Science in Accounting, Bachelor of Science in Hospitality and Tourism Management, Bachelor of Science in Information Systems and Computer Technology with specialization areas. (source)
The second of course is St. Louis University.
Saint Louis University is a private, co-educational Jesuit university located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by the Most Reverend Louis Guillaume Valentin Dubourg SLU is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River. It is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. The university is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. SLU's athletic teams compete in NCAA's Division I and the Atlantic 10 Conference. It has a current enrollment of 13,785 students representing all 50 states and more than 77 foreign countries. There are currently 8,406 undergraduate students enrolled in SLU as well as 2,437 graduate students and 2,942 professional students. This year’s enrollment marks the first year that SLU’s enrollment passed 13,000. Of all the students, 59 percent are from out of state. The university provides undergraduate, graduate and professional programs. Its average class size is 23 and the student-faculty ratio is 13:1.
Its Madrid, Spain campus has from 600–650 students, a faculty of 110, an average class size of 18 and a student-faculty ratio of 8:1.
Saint Louis University (SLU) is located on Lindell Boulevard, originally outside the City of St. Louis in an area originally called Lindell's Grove, and is the second-oldest Jesuit college in the nation. The first M.D. degree awarded west of the Mississippi was conferred by Saint Louis University in 1836. (source)
Not too shabby, eh? St. Louis is such an important city when it comes to firsts in American history and westward expansion. We are truly the Gateway to the West and SLU is a part of that amazing American story. A potential source of regional pride if there ever was one.
Other regional universities including McKendree University, Maryville University, Washington University of St. Louis, University of Missouri-St. Louis, Fontebonne University, Webster University, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville and Lindenwood University are located outside of St. Louis' boundaries in the suburbs and small towns in Missouri and Illinois.
So for all intents and purposes, SLU is our only major division 1 university in the city and even the region. Washington University in St. Louis has a fantastic global reputation and is a trusted key partner with and investor in St. Louis in the East Loop, Barnes-Jewish Medical Complex, Central West End, West End, Forest Park Southeast, Skinker-Debaliviere, and other neighborhoods of St. Louis. Wash U is ranked the 14th best University in the nation, right between Johns Hopkins (Baltimore, MD) and Brown (Providence, RI)...not bad company, eh? Wash U is essential to our region and have done and continue to do lots of great things for St. Louis even though they are located in University City, Missouri a streetcar suburban city of ~36,000 that abuts the western border of St. Louis. Close, but no cigar (until the region can put aside its differences and just merge like other progressive cities/regions are doing)...Wash U continues to be a leader in the region and employs more people in the city than any other institution.
But back to St. Louis University...
For most of my time in St. Louis, I've lived far from St. Louis University. Living in the farthest reaches of South City, I had such a fondness for SLU as an outside observer. I'd occasionally drive around the Grand and Lindell area and look at that awesome cathedral and the old campus and just think what a beautiful setting for a school. Furthermore, I split season tickets to Billikens basketball games in the Larry Hughes years, and became a big fan of his crossover dribble, Conference USA rivalries with other major urban universities, SLU basketball and the whole college game experience as a result. Since then, SLU moved to a lower-grade conference that is way less competitive and has no local or otherwise rivalries...BORING to most outside of the die-hard fans.
However, I recently moved to a neighborhood much closer to SLU, so I've seen the other side of their campus in much more detail...the medical side mainly in the Gate District and the Tiffany neighborhoods.
Now, I've got to be up front here. I love SLU and want nothing more then for them to do well. I root for them in basketball more than my alma mater. They are now "my team". If all goes as planned, my kids will attend undergraduate university here...and I'd be a proud papa. My wife works for SLU, and she has a great job that she genuinely likes and really enjoys working at a non-profit higher place of learning.
Yet, St. Louis as a whole and especially residents and neighbors around SLU's main and medical campuses seem to be particularly split on SLU as a positive entity in St. Louis. Some are adamantly against the destructive policies as seen near the medical campus in recent years. They are tearing down all the homes immediately surrounding the medical campus. Instead of trying to get medical residents, employees and students living near the hospital, center of advanced dental care, etc...SLU is demolishing homes, leaving more mowed weed fields/grass lawns with "No Trespassing" signs and zero development. There are no communications, no plans revealed to those investing and living around the area, just seemingly mindless destruction and further isolation of the school from the city.
As a recent example, they are closing formerly through streets including Virginia Avenue in the Gate District neighborhood and taking away street parking presumably to guide patients and employees into pay lots that SLU owns. Bye-bye urban street grid, hello fallow acres of nothingness and mowed weeds:
the formerly through Virginia Avenue near Rutger on SLU's medical campus
I'm not the first to make this observation, those much more informed and articulate than I have drafted posts on these topics.
I can't help but feel that SLU will continue its intents to fence off their campus from the surrounding neighborhoods and city. They want no one other than SLU employees, students and associated patrons to be able to access the campus. They are blocking out the residents with fences, no trespassing signs, etc.
Now on the other hand, SLU recently completed a beautiful athletic track for the Track and Field Team. It is not fenced in, and neighbors are allowed to use it. People play soccer in the middle, and walk/jog on the track. It is awesome, has great views of Downtown and is a great place to get some exercise.
Secondly, there is a small garden/chicken farm right at Compton and Caroline maintained by the food sciences dept and the fruit, veggies, grains, herbs and eggs are used by the school and served to employees and students on the medical campus...this cafeteria called Fresh Gatherings operated by the school's Department of Nutrition and Dietetics is AWESOME and my wife brings home great stuff from here, and we buy family and friends reasonably priced fresh bread and spices grown, dried, processed and sold as gifts and cooking supplies. Anything the cafeteria can't produce, they get locally to the best of their abilities. Miller hams, Cherokee street tamales, Missouri/Illinois farmed-raised beef comes from within 150 miles of campus, etc.
They have a summer culinary camp for kids. It's freaking awesome. I would love my kids to ride their bikes to this summer camp.
I mean, wouldn't you love to live close to the campus to walk to work or a soccer game or a basketball game or rock show at the student center? I would. I would love to fly the Billiken flag and be proud, but they seem to not want the citizens and residents of Tiffany, Gate District, Midtown, etc to engage as part of the SLU world...they seem to want to get rid of people and places on the periphery of their campuses.
Furthermore on the negative tip, the recent loss of the Pevely dairy outbuildings and smoke stack (latter of which was listed on the historic register) were destroyed to make way for an ambulatory care extension...that they all of a sudden said, you know what, never mind on all that. And now those that live around here or own property around here have to have passers by witness SLU's abandoned piles of debris as part of their daily lives. Thanks a lot for that. To pour salt in the wounds of those who like historic buildings and cities vs. suburbs, SLU threatened to move to the county if they didn't get to destroy these structures even though they own acres of already leveled, vacant property throughout the city. A slap in the face to this proud city lover and many others.
Ideally, SLU would engage the community in their plans. Most rational thinkers and investors in the area would put up with the lingering mounds of debris and mourn the loss of the Pevely office building and smokestack...but, if they were going to build a shiny new urban building sensitive to the surrounding city, then I would be totally cool with it. If they had a long term plan to build new housing for its residents, students, etc, I'd be all for progress. But that is not how the current administration rolls/rules. Wash U behaves much better in the CWE, they don't leave people hanging, make bullying threats to the city leaders and preservationists alike...they seem to respect the city and want to be part of it and build it up not isolate it and privatize it.
SLU's leadership seem suspect at best from afar. A recent vote of no confidence in the current president, Lawrence Biondi, by the faculty and students further erodes my confidence in the institution and its future. Or, maybe this is a sign of brighter days of transparency and community cooperation as opposed to my way or the highway tactics.
I can't allow myself to believe that Biondi or SLU is evil or hates the city it resides in. I just think they are arrogant, ignorant and short sighted. I would like to think that they are trying to improve the campus; but it seems only to the benefit of SLU and not St. Louis. I don't think those currently in charge understand that SLU should be striving to be part of the city and not a fenced off entity who feels stuck in the city. This is why I think many locals and residents of St. Louis can't fully get behind SLU like other American college towns get behind their school/team. Penn State this ain't. University of Illinois, Butler, Mizzou...forget it, nothing like that.
I'm trying to be reasonable and get on board...but Biondi's regime makes it nearly impossible. I mean look at the beautiful, modern, Canon-designed research building at Grand and Chouteau...it is utterly beautiful and awesome; but they surrounded it with a vast expanse of grass and fountains and fences and dead space that will NEVER add to my city. It's an utter dead zone devoid of anyone...student, resident, employee, anything. An urban moat on the outskirts of a castle.
I am concerned about SLU as a neighbor. I am concerned about them as a University. I am concerned about their reputation. So is the faculty. I want to feel loyal to SLU and be proud of the institution as a neighbor. SLU is a great place, I want nothing for them to succeed and grow and continue to educate and invest. I want my kids to go here...I want them to be responsible and respectful to STL.
SLU, please turn those acres of green pastures into something before you knock down another irreplaceable building. Show us a plan, quit closing down our streets, quit knocking stuff down without so much as a peep as to what is going on. Quit bullying the residents of St. Louis. St. Louis leaders, quit pandering to these bullies...you look cheap and unimaginative and intimidated...weak.
SLU is our greatest historic place of higher learning in the city limits. Please, please engage the community in your future...it can only help build trust, Billiken pride and loyalty to a fantastic historic university. I'm ready to wave that blue and white flag.
Here's to a better future...why not start in 2013.
Alright kind readers of St. Louis, I'm continuing my spiel on words. Words that are misunderstood or words that are unjustifiably viewed as inflammatory or unecessarily provocative or words that no longer represent what they were originally intended to. Our words and how we use them.
These words will of course have an urban connection or at least a St. Louis connection, as this is
St. Louis
City Talk...right? I took a stab at understanding the history and current context of the word
back in June, 2012. And now I will explore the word ghetto...a word I hear almost daily when talking to people about STL issues. This word is commonly used and excepted universally...yet to some it's inflammatory. Those who would rather bury their heads in the sand on issues of race would rather not talk about this stuff and I've been criticized for using the word in blog posts. I was taken aback by the inflammatory nature of this word to a small elitist minority who don't like this word, and truly don't understand why this word would be taboo in any circle when it's so darn descriptive and used by nearly everyone regardless of race or class. While I try to be responsible in my writing and thoughtful of the words I choose, I loathe censorship and the demonization of some very useful modern English words. Ghetto is one of these words.
Certainly, language evolves to meet the needs of the present day. As an example, think of what images the word gangster brings up. The gangster of 1920 is nothing like the present day gangster. Google it if you don't believe me. 1920's:
Now think of what gangster means to the general population since right around the time when NWA broke in the 1980's and still exists today and is self proliferated by black people across the country, who re-coined the term as the more modern 'gangsta':
The word carries the same definition, but the times define the image or the description as a very different one based on the needs of the current times. It's still a great word that should never be taboo. It evolved quite well to meet the society of the day.
Furthermore, think of other recently validated words such as "ginormous" which was recently added to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary. Enormous or gigantic just wasn't big enough, eh? Ginormous burrito...it just rolls off the 21st century tongue so well. Popular culture and technology usually drive new words into the language.
Doh and phat were recently added
to the Oxford English Dictionary, which is widely considered the leading authority on the English language. You may not like these words, but they are not taboo either...they should not be censored or forbidden.
But back to ghetto. Some think this word should not be used in it's modern context. Some in the politically correct set in STL think it's racially charged and should never be uttered by a white person. I'm of the opinion after living in St. Louis for 18 years that not talking about issues of race and ignoring our problems are the worst thing you can do. Get over yourselves St. Louisans...the city is split nearly 50:50 between white and black people. We are equal in numbers so quit being so damn offended and thin skinned. We are what we are and we need to talk about it and get along under honest terms.
Now let's take a quick run through the history of the word ghetto.
According to
Meriam-Webster, it's an Italian word whose first known use was back in 1611. It's from Venetian dialect ghèto island where Jews were forced to live, literally, foundry (located on the island). Other sources will tell you ghetto was originally used in Venice derived from the word Borghetto, meaning Little Borgo, a cluster of homes and buildings often outside Italian city walls, to describe the area where Jews, tradespeople or agricultural workers were compelled to live. In rural Italy, Borghetto is not necessarily a pejorative term.
So although the Italians are known for the origin, it is steeped in Jewish history and connotation.
And here's the
definition:
1: a quarter of a city in which Jews were formerly required to live
2: a quarter of a city in which members of a minority group live especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure
3a : an isolated group
So there you have it. It's a word dating back to 1611 coined by the Italians with a strong connection to forced isolation/persecution of Jews.
But let's break down the 3 definitions cited. The primary definition is the historical one, the secondary definition is the more current one and the third one is getting much closer to the modern day use of the word.
I think many in St. Louis know how the word is used today in the context of our fair city. It's got nothing to do with people of the Jewish faith...nothing. If someone asks you if you shop at the ghetto Schnucks, you know they don't mean the one with the killer latkes and matzo ball soup.
Ghetto isn't really used to describe an ethnic enclave either. Few probably refer to
as a ghetto (Italian-American heritage). Nor,
as a ghetto (Bosnian/Croat/Roma immigrants). Nobody thinks of the 3 neighborhoods of Dogtown as a ghetto (Irish-American heritage). Few probably refer to
as a ghetto (more owner- occupied, middle class African-American neighborhood).
The modern use of the word ghetto is no longer really referring to a physical settlement or enclave or even a place at all; it might not even be a noun, rather more of an adjective to describe a run down, crime ridden, violent, low-dignity, hopeless kind of place.
Ghetto is not a bad word, at least I don't think it is. It's a fact that today ghetto describes a particular behavior/mindset and scenario. I've heard all races use it casually. Google it and click on images. You'll see both the historical and modern context illustrated for you quite clearly if you don't know what I mean.
It's an extremely descriptive word. "Do you shop at the ghetto Schnucks or the one on the Hill?" "Are the state streets ghetto by you?" "I heard that alley is pretty ghetto." "Is your part of the block ghetto?" "Yadi's tats are so ghetto". This is how I've heard the word used in St. Louis.
Ghetto also desribes a behavior and a look more than anything. Trust me, those described as ghetto go to great lengths to let you know they are ghetto. Black people own this style and mindset...yet some white people emulated it for sure. From the hair cut to the language to the volume of speak to the dress...it's a honed look that one tries very hard to achieve...being ghetto is not an accident these days, its a learned behavior. It's a look, a style, a lifestyle...not unlike 'hipsters' which I will tackle in a future post. It's like a hoosier, only another set of people...it's proud ownership of a low-brow lifestyle and vibe.
Will this word continue to evolve? Will it become a bad word that white parents don't allow their children to say for fear of them being accused as a racist? Will it be something people say under their breath and pause before saying in mixed company? Or, will it be a word that is completely shameless and free to use without offense or inflamation of the politically correct set...a word that hones in on a particular situation without confusion or ambiguity? Where are we headed with this word?
In St. Louis we have no shortage of ghetto behavior and scenes in our neighborhoods. One could venture to say it's our biggest problem at displacing and frustrating non-ghetto people. This ghetto image and prevalence in many places of St. Louis displaces many people whether they admit it or not. Ghetto carries a price.
Look no further than the tony areas such as the East and suburban West Loop, Central West End or Washington Avenue to see how a ghetto element can change things from fun to violent pretty quickly. This ghetto behavior carries a tremendous additional overhead that businesses and residents have to deal with. These areas are spending big dollars and resources to install cameras and extra security and police tactics to try and deal with ghetto behavior (or as the current mayoral office says: "knuckleheads" cause they are scared of the word's racial undertones).
Ghetto is a mindset, and it's prevalent in St. Louis. It's overwhelming in some areas. It's startling and scary at times. The worst thing is the utter ignorance and self destructiveness that is passed down very openly to the next generation as ghetto "parents" beget ghetto kids in a self-perpetuating cycle that seems to only get worse in St. Louis. I think choosing ghetto behavior is simply defined as willful ignorance.
I'm not alone in my fears of ignorance:
"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." Martin Luther King, Jr.
Thoughts?
Okay, I know most readers of my blog are urbanists, etc. Kids and fatherhood are usually topics I try to avoid as most people I've met who read this blog are usually younger than I and without kids. And, raising kids is obviously a pretty personal thing; stuff usually left off the Internet and kept private. But, I see a crisis here in STL that is really worth talking about, and I hope to make a couple points without getting too personal. But parents talking about kids and raising kids in a city vs. a suburb or small town can easily get personal fast. So I hope not to offend or come across as judgemental on how/where one chooses to raise a family.
Let me start with a disturbing fact:
28,895 people up and left the city in the 10 years from 2000-2010. 21,999 of those who left (~76%) were under 20 years of age.
(source)
Of the 21,999 people under 20 who left, the biggest block of 17,433 were between the ages of 5-14: school age kids.
That is a big loss, right? Now give it some thought. Is that a direct reflection of parents leaving the city because of the perceived and/or real problems with the public and charter schools? You would certainly think so.
Another look at the numbers will tell you St. Louis showed a gain of young people in their 20s where an increase of 5,925 was observed. A gain of 14,471 of the so called "empty nesters" between the ages of 50-64 was also seen. Nice, we're doing good attracting young, post-high school people and parents of post-high school children who want a hip, vibrant, non-suburban lifestyle. Yet, we're taking a beating on school aged kids.
I think this is telling of the greatest problems we have to face in the next regime and generations. Schools and crime. Whether perceived or real, these 2 problems displace more decent people than anything else.
It's going to be brutal to hear entrenched city leaders in the 2013 mayoral race talk about what a great job they are doing when clearly, people are voting with their feet and continue to leave, sinking us to < 319,000 people.
There's a very personal side to this story of kids being pulled out of the city by parents. Here are my thoughts as a parent of 3:
One could surmise that kids are not welcome here; that STL is a bad place to be a kid or raise kids. But, you've got to wonder, what kind of kids are leaving? Are well educated/wealthy St. Louis Hills parents packing up the beautiful little college bound things in the leather seated mini-vans and heading for the greener pastures of Kirkwood, Wentzville, Millstadt or Chesterfield where the yards are bigger and the neighbors are more homogeneous, right-minded or well-heeled? Or, are cognizant, active/loving urban minded parents who are trying to live a humble life in the public education system, in a used car in an affordable apartment/house, in a city neighborhood, packing it up because they've been frustrated and disenfranchised by their city public/charter school experience and can't afford or don't want to attend private schools? Or, are young, low-income single moms with multiple kids leaving to find a way elsewhere because they can't get a footing in STL and are making a jump to the county? Or lastly, are nice families who want the best for their kids hearing the sensational local news and reading the paper and deciding to not even research or consider options in St. Louis for their kids and are actively planning on vacating for the burbs once junior gets to be school aged...no questions asked?
I don't have the answers, but judging by the numbers, the ratio is roughly 3 kids/teenagers per every 1 adult heading out of town. If I had to guess it is probably more young, poor single mothers taking a couple kids and leaving. If it were married families or committed couples, the numbers would be more balanced toward adults:minors leaving St. Louis. A further look at the 2010 numbers will tell you that African-Americans are leaving at a much greater rate than any other racial class counted by the census. Most losses were from the most run down north city neighborhoods where counts were ~ 20% lower.
Yikes.
Anyhow, the reasons for mass minor exodus are probably a little of all of the above (and possibly other) scenarios. The thing I know for sure is lots of kids are leaving the city. Each one a lost opportunity for the future. Each one a citizen that will no longer identify with St. Louis as his/her childhood home or experience.
So where does that leave those of us who have chosen to stay in St. Louis with school aged kids? More importantly, where does that leave the next generation of parents considering kids or with kids nearing school age?
Let me give you a taste of my experience with the SLPS...
I consider myself an active dad, I love my kids and my wife and want nothing more than for them to live a happy life where they can have some say in what they do for a living and work toward what they think is right or wrong in the world. Choices are huge with me. If you have no choices in your schooling and your career and your future in general, you can feel cornered and defensive...sometimes defeated. And animals act weird and out of their element when they are cornered. Fight or flight is a psychological concept I've always been interested in and STL living keeps me on the edge of that fight or flight teeter totter.
Living in St. Louis can be a constant fight. The odds are stacked against you when it comes to raising a family. When junior turns 5, you don't just walk up to the local public school administration office to sign your kid up for the shiny new neighborhood school closest to your home where you are met with smiles and open arms and plenty of other happy families, familiar faces and neighbors with precious little things in tow. It isn't like that. Many of the employees at the SLPS have gotten/retained their jobs due to nepotism and other antiquated ways of entitlement. Many are accountable to no one and the service you get is horrible and enough to turn a normal, dignified person away after the first interaction. Many cannot speak proper English, many will yell at you, or are raging racists and will not file your requests if you get cross wise with them or call them out on their behavior or performance. Yes, we recently gained partial accreditation and that is fantastic, but somebody needs to clean house in the administrative arm of the SLPS. Many of the teachers, counselors, principals, etc work their butts off and are top shelf educators and administrators. But if your VERY FIRST touch point with the public schools is some racist, non-coherent person who hates their job, that can be enough to make you walk away. Why would you want your kids to be around this type of person, right? It can only go down hill from here, first impressions are very important as a parent. You can lose decent people immediately, before they have even given the educators and schools a chance to work with your kid(s). And you know what the most popular move is for a parent who is disenfranchised? You guessed it: move to the burbs.
Furthermore, neighborhood schools were abolished for racial de-segregation reasons clearly needed at the time in the 20th Century, but not so much now. In essence, this deseg action eroded much of what was good about neighborhood schools and played a hand in destroying the fabric of neighborhoods and adding a tremendous overhead of busing and extended school days for kids that should have more time to study and play then sit on a bus for an hour or more to get to a decent school, regardless of where you live. I realize I am over simplifying the complex history of a deseg policy, but some parents who leave for the county just want their kids to go to school with their neighbors kids. Simple, right? Can't blame someone for that.
Additionally, some SLPS schools perform very poorly, some are not safe and have a tremendous amount of knuckleheads/punks filling the seats...many of these kids have no active parents who want them to do better and have more opportunities than they did. Willful ignorance abounds. Many have no responsible father in the picture at all. That's just a sorry fact. Some don't get any re-enforcement at home to focus on homework and they suffer as a result. This obviously lowers the quality of education for others in the room and exhausts the teachers and the system. The thing is, many of the SLPS are simply not an option for any normal, loving parent who wants a dignified, safe learning environment for their kids.
As a result, in St. Louis as an active parent, you have to work extra hard to find the more rare, suitable options for your kids if you want to live here and have them in the best position to get a quality education and childhood school experience. It's not easy like it is in say west county, where you just pay your crazy high property taxes, fill out the papers at Parkway West and all the dominoes start falling and you are just a happy little fish swimming with the stream. No, St. Louis isn't like that. If you want the good options, you've got to fight for them and in some cases you've got to have luck on your side as well.
You have to be informed. You have to be active and prepared for a fight to get a decent way for your kids. Sometimes that fight can be exhausting and sometimes contentious. It keeps my finger on the eject button constantly. If my kids are wronged and it's out of my control, I'll have to bolt for U.City (the Yale or Jail district), Oakville or Maplewood or some other civilized suburban city to try things out there. Yet, there are great public, charter and affordable private schools in the city. More choices exist now than they did previously and for that I'm thankful. I think there are options a normal family who want their kids to succeed in an urban, diverse environment would consider. I hear about more and more of them as I listen to other parents and neighbors talking.
I assume that many parents on the brink of a big decision to stay or go know that they are not up for the fight and choose the path of least resistance: move to the burbs. That may sound lazy, but can you really blame them?
With all that in mind, let me tell ya, raising kids in the city has been a blessing...so far. It's a lot of work, and it takes effort. Let me also tell you that I'd by lying if I didn't say we also have gone through some pretty serious fight or flight scenarios. An STL parent puts up with lots of crap that many of my suburban parent friends simply do not. However, these suburban parents don't live in places that I find nearly as interesting and beautiful, but that's another story. But, it has been an inspiration to live here, one that is completely unattainable in many of the burbs. The chances of meeting someone I see eye to eye with on many levels (including parenting) are much greater here than other places. I know what some are thinking...those are adult, selfish needs and its just not right raising a kid in the city.
However, the honest story is that we think we are doing better for our kids future to live in a city where they'll be exposed to a much more broad spectrum of kids and experiences than what we had growing up in smallish towns.
Here are some pluses for me: my kids are exposed to constant beauty, taste, history and arts in their surroundings. My wife has a background in the fine arts; it's part of why I fell for her back when I was 19. We have a long history of enjoying the beauty that St. Louis offers in the museums, galleries, stores, parks, restaurants, neighborhoods, buildings and streets. It's an inspiring place. I'm a simpleton, and can appreciate a blooming tree in Tower Grove Park or a Marsden Hartley painting in the SLAM, or hearing a favorite song on KDHX and just be floored and completely happy. I am all about feel and experience...and going out to lunch or hanging out in Ballwin, Olivette or Creve Coeur has never matched the fun and inspiration and welcomeness I've felt in STL spaces that fill old buildings where the brick and mortar and hand cut lumber add to the authenticity of the overall visit. Take the same pizza and serve it up in a strip mall in Marlborough, MO or a renovated, former beer malt house in St. Louis (think PW Pizza) and I'll take the latter any day. It will be the same pizza, but a better experience. One I don't mind spending the cash on and one I'd recommend to friends.
My kids have attended a magnet school in the SLPS for many years now, and I love the building they are in, the neighborhood and many of the families/kids that go there. The school draws people from all over the city and county from different economic backgrounds. It's as diverse as a St. Louis school can be I suppose. Additionally, as a middle class-raised in the suburbs white dude, I like the fact that there are African-American authority figures at their school. In my up bringing there were black bus drivers, janitors and maintenance men, but few to no black teachers, principals, counselors, etc. Their current principal holds a PhD and is an African-American woman. So, playing with, living with, attending school with and listening/learning/looking up to people from different races is exactly what this city and America in general probably needs to get over a lot of the racist B.S. that holds us back greatly.
But the ultimate bottom line is this...I think they are getting an excellent education, and they are smarter and more focused than I ever was as a kid. The public schools have many amazingly smart, dedicated and hard working teachers and administrators. We've been lucky enough to have great teachers almost every year for all 3 of our kids. We are happy, my kids are happy. But you have to fight for these happy scenarios...the good thing is we are not unique, other families who have fought for their kids best interests are among us. You walk together in great numbers and you get to be surrounded by extremely dedicated parents from all walks of life from all parts of the city...and you walk side by side with those that have chosen the good fight just like you. The trials and tribulations are shared...but at the end of the day you're a city person who is succeeding with children that are succeeding as well. You stayed, fought and just may win.
Now, I know there are plenty who don't have good things to say about schools no matter where they are. I'm not trying to polish turds here, I'm not bragging, I'm not saying St. Louis has an advantage in any way over the 90 suburban cities in the county...I'm simply trying to explain that you can find a decent path for your family in St. Louis. It ain't gonna be easy and it won't be perfect...but I don't think there is a perfect school anywhere. I just wish parents and kids who are succeeding in St. Louis would speak up and tell their story a little...more on that in a minute...
Back to the census data...based on the numerical increases, I like the fact that we have thriving, energetic, young people in their 20s here. They inspire me and make me hopeful for the future. STL is an easy sell to young suburban or creative class kids looking for more than their boring childhood environs; or, gay people who want to feel more welcome than a rural/suburban setting can provide, empty nesting progressives seeking an active/walkable scene, entrepreneurs looking for a deal, immigrants who want to live/start a business on the cheap, lovers of architecture, history, I can go on and on about the easy STL sell.
But there's something we don't talk enough about: we need families and kids that grow up here in order to be an even stronger city in the future. Again, we lost 29,000 people from 2000-2010. 3/4 were under 20 years old. Damn. It's the fight of our next decade to sell this place and retain middle class people with school-age kids. Yep...I really believe this to be true. It's bigger than crime and black/white racism.
Now that I've been a parent of ~10 years with 3 kids and the blessing of a devoted mom/wife that runs the family and is as up for the city experience as I...I know my kids are on a path to a life of beauty and respect for their surroundings and history and nature that I want them to have.
I must admit, I have a bit of a defiant spirit in me. When I see and hear people I don't necessarily like or respect on any level railing against the city, I want to tell them to fuck off, or better yet, prove them wrong. But the city really does stack the cards against you when it comes to raising kids with all the modern amenities and with all the suburban pressures that exist. There's not cheer-leading squads, lacrosse teams, baseball teams at the city's best magnet schools. Nor for charters. If you want that stuff, you'll have to work hard to get them involved in CYC, YMCA or other ventures; or, you'll have to move to the higher tax districts and live in a place where you may not have a decent park, history, bar, restaurant or just "places" in general to be; or send them to private schools.
The elementary city school my kids go to doesn't have organized sports teams, so you have to look elsewhere to get kids involved in sports. The Catholic schools and the YMCA can help fill this gap..but again, it's extra work and $ for the parents to make this happen. It's not part of the package. This drives some away as well.
It's hard work and takes a lot more effort to raise kids to the best of your ability here in St. Louis and that is the honest reality of the current situation. If you are willing to be active and put the extra work it takes to get your kids involved in the right situations for them, you can make it here. You can be very happy. Things are not as bad as the media makes it out to be. The fact is, most people that complain and bitch about the city schools have ZERO first hand experience with them. I would urge parents of young children to research the reasonable possibilities for an education before they leave. Be part of the solution and not the ongoing problem.
In keeping with that last statement, I am going to try and do my part and take on a new side project...I will be researching city private, charter and public schools and interviewing parents on their experiences. How do you get in? Is there a lotto? What are the costs? Where do you go to get enrollment info and tours? What are the other families like at that school?
At the end of the day, I hope to have a guide (not unlike my neighborhood guides) for expecting parents and families/couples with kids to access real information from real people...not haters. I hope to keep it real and talk about pros and cons.
If you are a parent with kids in a city school and would like to represent...drop me a line if you'd like to meet for coffee/beer/whatever and do a quick 30 minute interview of "your story". I will respect your anonymity if you so choose. We can also do an interview over the phone or email if its easier.
I honestly feel that we have hit rock bottom in many of parts of this city and that better days are ahead. I feel that if decent, hard working parents with nice families who are mostly happy with their kids education would speak up, we could counter the negative stories and the uninformed haters as well.
If you would like to do your part, I can be contacted here:
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