The other day our niece – a 20-something professional – posted pictures from inside the revamped St. Louis Armory, noting what a great, fun place it’s become.
Today I ventured to Crown Candy in Old North St. Louis to, well, buy candy. I went after lunch to steel myself from sliding into booth for a BLT and a malt. (Still, I suspect you ingest about 50 calories every time you inhale.)
Outside Crown, alas, remains typical of today’s St. Louis. The pavement only qualifies as a road because of street signs, many classic red brick homes have devolved into mounds of ruble, drivers make their own rules, and, cops aren’t around.
This being St. Louis, the parking meters near the candy store work, giving just eight minutes for 25¢.
The census estimates pegged the city’s population in 2021 at 293,310 people – less than half the 622,236 residents of 1970. And, better than 7,000 people under the 300,528 from the 2020 census!
So, despite all the hoopla over The Armory, City Foundry, Ballpark Village, trendy new apartment buildings and the soccer stadium, the city as a whole continues to decline. Like the Cardinals, all this flashy stuff depends on ‘outsiders’ (many even from Illinois) dive bombing into small, select, heavily-patrolled areas to leave money.
Yes, I like the fancy streetlights along Market Street. I’m not sure any of the streetlights along North Market still work.
To me a city ought not be measured by the expensive amenities created for tourists, no, a city succeeds or fails on the quality of life offered its residents.
By that standard the southern portion of the city does okay. Residents complain of dumpsters not emptied and thefts of Korean cars but they have grocery stores and restaurants, nice parks and tree-lined streets.
Most of the trees in the north part of the city are gone. I passed a ubiquitous dollar store on the way to Crown Candy but full-sized grocery stores avoid the north. (The gas station convenience stores do have signs noting acceptance of EBT/food stamps.) A few eateries remain but the bars on the small windows still the ambiance.
Enter new police chief Robert Tracy. The current chief of Wilmington, Delaware he also worked in New York (starting as a patrolman in 1984), in private sector security, and, in Chicago. He earned a Master of Public Administration degree and has a couple of pages of fancy stuff on his career summary available from Wilmington. [ Robert Tracy (wilmingtonde.gov)] He has a wife and five kids. (His career summary didn’t mention if any of the kids were named Dick.)
Pretty much everyone who follows the St. Louis Story agrees that the city can’t move forward without reducing crime and the fear of becoming a crime victim. Tracy enters the game with a shortage of officers. He must deal with low morale caused by low pay and friction with the Circuit Attorney. In addition, the Missouri legislature took away the ability to get most guns off the street. Some in Jefferson City have called for once again placing the city police under the control of a board appointed by the governor.
In other words, the new chief will have about a week after he takes command in early January to prove himself as a competent leader and a master politician. No pressure. The new chief and the myriad of complex issues facing the city will make 2023 very interesting.
Oh yes, I couldn’t find an answer to the question Chief Robert Tracy will be asked a thousand times…Where did you go to high school?
Glenn