Bulldoze the Ghetto?

In response to flyers handed out at City Hall this morning warning of plans to "Bulldoze the Ghetto", Alderman Freeman Bosley, Jr., 3rd ward, said the concerns were overblown.

The anti-eminent domain groups are going, "off the chain," said Bosley. He said their actions were instigating fear among residents.

Bosley said no action to blight the land can happen without aldermanic approval and neither he, nor the other aldermen in the area have been asked.

"They are just wrong," said Bosley.

The flyers were passed out by members of Citizens for the Near Northside. Topped by the headline "Plans to 'Bulldoze the Ghetto'", the flyer includes a map sketching out a rough trapezoidal area bounded by Delmar to the south, Natural Bridge to the North, Interstate 70 to the East and North Grand to the west. The area at risk includes Bosley's 3rd ward, April Ford-Griffin's 5th Ward and the currently vacant 19th ward (soon to be occupied by Committeewoman Marlene Davis who is running unopposed).

The organization says the Blairmont Group–made up of a dizzying array of small real estate companies–is poised to reap the benefits of future development in the near north side. Northside urbanist and dedicated observer of developement, Michael Allen, has mapped out the numerous properties attributed to the group and written a history of his search on his blog.

The alleged linchpin in the effort is the future of the Pruitt-Igoe site. The 34-acre, city-owned property, is slated for future development and the St. Louis Development Corporation is expected to request proposals later this year.