Community Organizing

Revitalizing Neighborhoods

By Francis G. Slay

April–May 2002

Historical April–May 2002 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.

I have been Mayor of St. Louis for almost a year now, and as I have visited different parts of the city, I have been greatly encouraged by the strength of neighborhood organizations. Time after time I have seen them act as a force to improve the quality of life.

They have been a galvanizing force for change in neighborhoods that have seen hard times; a stabilizing force – in a time of great transition; and an uplifting force that provides services such as home repair, commercial development, and even youth programs. Having been to a great number of neighborhood and block meetings across the city, I am more certain than ever that, together, we can bring this city back to greatness.

In order to assist you with the preservation of your neighbor hood, my administration will be starting several initiatives over the coming months.

These Neighborhood Life Initiatives will be designed to focus attention on various aspects of the quality of life in neighborhoods.

They are part of an overall strategy to enable our city to fulfill its enormous potential as a place to live, work, raise a family, go to school, or start a business.

Some of the initiatives that you will hear about include: Problem Properties and Nuisance Offenders: A single vacant or derelict property can bring down the value of a whole block, and can also act as a magnet for crime. in order to help give our residents the safe and pleasant neighborhoods they deserve, my administration will soon begin to put in place a series of steps to crack down on absentee landlords and aggressively enforce residential building codes.

We will work with the Police Department, the Neighborhood Stabilization Officers and others to make sure that people who behave unlawfully in our neighborhoods will be prosecuted before they further disrupt the quality of life on our streets. Crime: For far too long, too many of our neighborhoods have been hindered by crime and the fear of crime.

This must change. That is why I am working with the heads of city, state and federal law enforcement agencies on formulating a common strategy to reduce crime.

This unprecedented level of cooperation between the Mayor’s Office and our various law enforcement agencies will be a great asset in making St. Louis a safer and more vibrant city. Efficiency in Government: I want to make sure that City Hall is an asset — not an obstacle — to neighborhood progress. For too many years, City Hall has been a center of inefficiency, bloat, and poor service — hardly the innovative, effective ally that our neighborhoods need. That is why I have created an initiative called CityView.

This will be a management tool, a way to measure what city departments are doing with the resources you provide us.

I am currently working with department managers to determine what services should be measured and the proper ways to measure them. Essential services that residents need most will be highlighted. Trash collection, street repair, and building inspection are some of the services that will be measured. And I can assure you that I will make each and every department head accountable for his or her actions. None of these initiatives can succeed without the cooperation and support of the residents of each and every neighborhood. Whenever you tell us about a problem property, alert the police to criminal activity, or join a neighborhood organization, you are going a long way toward ensuring that St. Louis’s best days are still to come.

An engaged and enlightened citizenry is the first line of defense against the evils that can plague a city, and the first line of offense in bringing it back. Yours sincerely, Mayor Francis G. Slay