Twenty-Fourteen In 63 Pictures

The end of another year…so for the last post of 2014 I’ve selected 63 images from the 800+ I uploaded throughout the year. Enjoy, please be patient as they load.

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

For July through December click more below.
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Readers: Limiting NLEC to 32 Beds is Fair, Alternatives Exist

A week ago today the city’s Board of Adjustment ruled the New Life Evangelistic Center homeless shelter must 1) limit beds to the licensed 32 beds 2) seek a new license that would allow more emergency beds or 3) close. Larry Rice, however, wants to continue as he has been — stuffing far more people into a rundown facility after coercing them to do lots of free labor.

Here are the results from Sunday’s poll:

Q: Thoughts on the city calling Larry Rice’s NLEC a “nuisance”? (pick up to two)

1. TIE:
   1. Limiting the licensed occupancy to 32 beds is fair, considering the conditions. 28 [25.69%]
   2. There are other/better alternatives to NLEC available. 28 [25.69%]
2. Rice’s TV televangelism empire depends on a large visible homeless population 18 [16.51%]
3. NLEC was there before the condos & apartments 15 [13.76%]
4. Where will the homeless sleep if NLEC is limited to 32 beds? 10 [9.17%]
5. NLEC should be able to sleep 300, or more, if they want 3 [2.75%]
6. Other: 3 [2.75%]
   1. If NLEC had better job training and mental service, open all day Add as a poll answer
   2. it’s high time for NLEC to cease and desist. It’s not a church but a flop house
   3. It and he are nuisances.
7. NLEC is a religious facility, no government license should be required. 2 [1.83%]

The #2 answer is closest to the truth — Rice desperately needs to maintain the exterior appearance of lots of homeless. Without a visible homeless population he doesn’t have a hook to get donations.

In 2009, court documents estimated New Life has assets between $40 million and $50 million, including radio and television stations. In 2008, the center reported receiving more than $1.8 million in cash contributions. (stltoday.com)

I can assure you other non-profits do more for the homeless with a fraction of the total assets, social workers & researchers are now realizing there is a much more effective & humane way to help the homeless than how Rice has operated NLEC for nearly 40 years:

• Permanent housing, not a hard cot in a room crowded with hundreds of men
• Hot meals prepared by a trained chef in an inspected kitchen, not sandwiches out of a trunk on the street
• Social workers & occupational therapists to find & resolve problems, not free labor & religion
• Secure places to store belongings, not encouraged to carry bags to increase visibility
• Daytime space & activities, not being out on the street for 12 hours.
• Security inside & outside during operations, not ignoring everything that happens just outside.

In these examples the former is how other agencies in St. Louis are trying to end/reduce homelessness, the latter is how Rice maintains the visible problem that keeps millions in coming in. I don’t expect this to be over in May, Rice will fight to maintain his status quo.  He misses the old days of vacant warehouses, lack of restaurants, jobs and any sort of measurable economic activity downtown.

— Steve Patterson

Followup: Gotham Apartments Completed

In late 2012 I posted about an upcoming project.  Now, 2+ years later, I finally stopped to see the end result. The Gotham Apt project involved the renovation of an old building and the construction of a new mixed-use building consisting of apartments over storefronts.

b

Once the Loop Trolley project is built we should see more urban infill like this.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Thoughts on the city calling Larry Rice’s NLEC a “nuisance”?

Tuesday afternoon the city’s Board of Adjustment, after of 12+ months of hearings on a citizen petition, concluded Larry Rice’s New Life Evangelistic Center (NLEC) was a nuisance:

A city board ruled Tuesday that Rev. Larry Rice’s homeless shelter downtown is a nuisance and will be closed effective May 12, 2015, unless he complies with city terms.

Rice’s occupancy permit allows him to have a maximum of 32 beds. Many nights, Rice allows upwards of 300 people to stay in the shelter. (stltoday.com)

A perfect subject for the final poll of 2014: Thoughts on the city calling Larry Rice’s NLEC a “nuisance”? The poll is in the right sidebar, vote until 8pm.

I have thoughts on this, but I’ll save my views for Tuesday when I post the results.

— Steve Patterson

1893 House on Delmar Blvd Getting Rehabbed

I like to end each week with a positive post and nothing is more positive than a favorite building, long written off, getting rehabbed. A large house on Delmar, with unique dormers, has been in disrepair for years.  A few months ago a friend posted on Facebook that work was starting on the building. Earlier this month I took the #97 MetroBus to photograph the progress.

City records indicate 4270 Delmar Blvd was built in 1893 and contains 5,687 sq ft. This property is just a couple of blocks West of another favorite building, that also recently got rehabbed, now known as Freedom Place. Fingers crossed someone will take on the building at the East end of Fountain Park.

— Steve Patterson