Bosley seeks tougher rules on brick dealing
As scores of families have abandoned north St. Louis since the 1950s, the very bricks from the homes they’ve left behind have become symbols of decay.
Rows of vacant homes in neighborhoods such as the Ville and St. Louis Place have provided fertile ground for an underground brick market. “Brick rustlers” are known for their creativity, sometimes backing their truck into an otherwise healthy wall to unhinge potential product.
Recognizing that brick thieves also depend on being able to exchange their goods quickly for cash, Alderman Freeman Bosley Sr. has proposed tougher regulations on those who buy bricks from street dealers.
Bosley, whose wards includes areas where brick theft is most rampant, wants to require brick yards to be closed on the weekends. He also wants to mandate that the yards have video cameras to record each transaction, footage that is available for review by police.
A hearing on the bill will be in front of the Legislation Committee at 10 a.m. today in the Leisure Room at City Hall. (UPDATE: The hearing has been canceled)
Perhaps, caning brick theives…
“the plan is to rebuild and move residents to the county areas.”
Are we just assuming all of these people living in the North Side can afford to move to the county? Or is McKee going to subsidize their moves with his millions of dollars?
bizniche28 - On the contrary, I’ve been to the north side lots of times, and know my way around there better than most people who live here. I am aware that there are pockets of improvement, both rehabbing of historic buildings and new construction. But for every rehabbed home, there’s hundreds of decaying ones. If you aren’t aware of this, perhaps YOU haven’t been to the north side in a while.
Couldn’t the City forbid buying brick from anyone without a City business license?
http://keepstlouisfree.blogspot.com/2008/09/alderman-freeman-bosley-sr-law-to-stop.html