Petition Will Ask City to Cede Land for Homeless Camp

From the RFT -- St. Louis - Stlog - Petition Will Ask City to Cede Land for Homeless Camp

photo c/o The Riverfront Times STLog

Adding flame to the (inside my head) fire that St. Louis is really like the Village in the 80's. Doubt me? Check in to the film 200 Cigarettes (especially when they're "past avenue B") and/or the part of RENT where everyone's protesting to keep "Tent City" ... indulge me briefly.

Benny, that attitude toward the homeless is exactly what
Maureen is protesting. Maureen is protesting losing her
performance space, not my attitude.
           
CIose-up: Benjamin Coffin III.
Our ex-roommate who married Allison Grey
of the Westport Greys. His father-in-law bought
severaI buildings on the block and a nearby vacant Iot,
home to Tent City.

I'm not a RENT head, and I'm not trying to torture you via outdated musical theatre and odd parallel worlds...but think about this. Substitute some words and what have you got? If you're a friend or a rando reader (which means you're a friend, sorta!)...let me know what you think. Blythe? Weigh in! Is STL just NYC but 25 years ago? What's that mean?

Also like, check old newspapers about NYC in the 80s (when it was "scary") and valid sources and whatnot b/c that's *maybe* better than a movie only you and your High School friends watch and a musical.

I'm right, though.

Bike tour!

Hiatus over.

Just saw this bike tour thing RFT's got going. Cool!

Converting to corndog mysticism

>Have you written your postcard for Joe's yet?

Just got off the phone with the riverfront times for an article about the place. Crazy blogs! They'll get you into some mixes, apparently.

Ooooh, Joe's closing makes me so grouchy, I'm sure I rambled on and on about how much respect I have for Joe's and how angry I am about its closure for longer than necessary. Bless that reporters heart. I recall griping about the cabaret license that puts tables in the middle of *my* dance floors, too. Ooo, I do know how to digress!

But what better opportunity than to remind you to write your letter about why you like Joe's?

Joe's Cafe c/o Christman Studios
6014 Kingsbury Ave
St. Louis, MO 63112


Can't wait to be interviewed again when the place re-opens, though I DO worry that all the press it may take to get it may open may get it too many visitors who won't be respectful, listen to the music, clean up their trash, and appreciate the neon signitude of it all. That's a better problem than the current situation, I guess, where no one can go, respectful or no.

Here's the code that's apparently causing the trouble.
14.01.060 C.O.L. license.

A "C.O.L. license" shall permit the consumption of intoxicating liquor and nonintoxicating beer between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday and between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 12:00 midnight on Saturday upon a premises, for which a drink license has not been issued, where food, beverages, or entertainment is sold or provided for compensation. It shall not be necessary for the operator of a premises where food, beverages, or entertainment is sold or provided for compensation to procure a C.O.L. license to allow intoxicating liquor or nonintoxicating beer to be consumed upon such premises between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. (Ord. 61289 § 2 (part), 1989.)

Hey! Are you a lawyer who loves live music? Maybe you can find a loophole, huh?

Also, 1989? Seriously?

So ok....I guess all frat parties with a cover are also illegal, too. Oh, and if I have a party on a Thursday where I might make my friends bring their own O'Doull's, but also make them give me a dollar to do a tap dance to "I've been workin' on the Railroad"...that would be illegal, too - between the hours of 10pm and 6am. (it just so happens I already have a choreographed dance to that song, so it's a natural choice) Grrr.

Oh whatever, I'm an outsider kid anyway. What do I know about such grown-up things? In the face of all the crazy bureaucracy/ordinances/whatever, just being hopeful seems like clapping your hands twice if you believe in fairies to bring Tinkerbell back to life.

Still, a little keepin' the faith surely ain't hurting anyone.

UPDATE: here's the article

Le Saint Louis - Faites-Le Vous-Meme

I think there 3 schools of people in St. Louis and in the US as far as cities are concerned.

• There are people who want/need to live in a BIG monster city (Chicago, LA, DC [maybe], SanFran, NYC) for their work. Things like acting, wall street, the presidency and some Silicon Valley-type work come to mind.
  

• There are people who want/need to live in a BIG monster city (Chicago, LA, SanFran, NYC, Portland) b/c they're into "city life" and they want the city be very obvious. "Ooo look! A subway! A tenant apartment! People wearing weird sunglasses and big scarves! I feel like I'm in europe and I can walk EVERYWHERE!" The city part of the city is all set up for you to enjoy, and you see it in the movies - so you have some idea how to act in these types of cities.
  

• There are people who want/need to live in a smaller, dirtier city (StL, Memphis, NOLA, Philly) because there's more opportunities to do something regionally/universally "new" and there's more room to stretch. Maybe they have time to figure out how to act, maybe these are fixer-upper type people looking to bring a little something more to a town that's forgotten itself, maybe they're artists developing their work before they move to hit it big in NYC. I don't know.

...right?

Anyway, while looking for a map that shows where all the red light cameras are in St. Louis and I came up on this letter printedin an/the RFT blog from a confused Indiana-type-of-hoosier who's really struggling to find his place in St. Louis, poor guy.

"Please, good reader, tell me. I am either blind, ignorant, or too caught up in my own issued to see it. ...What the hell is this town about? I really do wish to know."

I mean, I told him.

To me, St. Louis is the town that built the City Museum across the street (more or less) from Lucas Park Grille. When you think about it, that's pretty cool. Sounds like he just needs to drive around - have some donuts, maybe.

Maybe he should have a one of these.

I also can't tell if he's trying to disrespect or if he's genuinely asking for help. But most frustration comes out in a tone a lot like his letter, so I'll just assume he's distressed. I will say though, St. Louis is not an obvious city. But that's part of what the town is about! Still, there should be some way to translate St. Louis for poor stl transplants. Hmm, that's something to think about.

One of my favorite tshirts says, "La Nouvelle Orlean - Faites-le vous-meme." It means, "new orleans - do it yourself." It means a little more than that though.

What's true for cities like NOLA is true for St. Louis. I happen to think it's one of the best things about my town. Gotta get up and do something.