In St Louis even the old bricks leave town

Press, 19 April 1982, Page 20

In St Louis even the old bricks leave town

From the “Economist,” London

Residents of the near northside of St Louis often wake up to a strange sight these mornings. A house that was there

the night before is gone, its bricks stolen and a pile of debris left to mark the site. Between 70 and 90 houses in

Across 1— Demise of Ned Tatler. (6, 3) 8- to stay in the rain, nevertheless. (3) 9- for measuring ghostly activity? (6, 5) 11— Goes over wrong markings. (7) 12— It’s an.unfortunate blemish. (5) 13— constant. (6) 15-Commander-in-chief ran certain country in hiding. (6) 17— A role on its own. (5) 18— impression of no change. (7) 20—Footballer gets the contents correct. (6, 5) 22- in addition. (3) . . 23- hallucinations of matters at boiling point? (3. 6). Down • ■ 2— Serpent used in Cleopatra’s plan. (3) 3— may well have been taken by the left. (5) 4— silent revolution: (6) ■ 5— The inventor of diverse varieties. (7) 6— it reduce friction in the art world? (3, 8) 7— Acting together during entertainment (2,7) 10— Working as a surgeon? (2,9) 11— What the angler should do in.a poll? (4. 1,4) 14— semi-nude examinations. (7) ■ 16—The .Captain’s game? (6) 19— Resting-place for a bird or a fish. (5) ; 21—Not quite very big embrace. (3) (Solution tomorrow) Saturday’s solution Across: 7, Exodus: 8. Bureau; 10. Learner; 11, Belie; 12. Rock; 13, Watch; 17; Greed; 18, Prop; 22, Knave; 23, Trainer; 24, Models; 25, Robust. g . Down: 1, Declare; 2, Romance; 3, Bums; 4, Put back; 5, Realm;-6, Ruler; 9, Ornaments; 14, Ordeals; 15. Bran-tub; 16, Spirits; 19, Skimp; 20. Hardy; 21, Manor.

this poor, mostly black neighbourhood, have been stolen within the last year. The houses, abandoned and sometimes condemned, are targets tor roving thieves called brick bandits. True to their name, they steal the bricks and dispose of them to dealers who, in turn, ship .them by the trainload to the booming'areas of the sunbelt. A good many of the “instant heritage” buildings now in fashion began in a St Louis ghetto. Usually working at night or at week-ends, eight or nine bandits can demolish a house and clean and load the bricks in a few hours. Used bricks from an average house can fetch up to $2OOO, a return almost as good as a car theft and with almost no chance of punishment. Mr Albert Nerviani, the building inspection manager for the city, says the maximum charge the city can bring is demolition without a permit, which carries a fine of up to $560 and a jail term of up to 30 days. The few bandits who have been caught have received no more than a $lOO fine. If the city can find the owner of the stolen building it can file a felony complaint against the bandits. But tracing the absentee owners is often difficult, and on occasion the inspectors find that the owners wanted the building demolished anyway. In the only case brought to triaL so far it emerged that the owner actually hired the bandits to avoid paying the city $5O for a demolition permit and $2OO to disconnect services. If the owner is not always upset to find that his building, has been stolen, the city government and local residents are. The bandits leave open basements, exposed mains and wires and dangerous debris that the city has to clean up. Since the salvageable materials are. gone, the city must pay someone double the usual $6OO fee to finish the job. Most of the buildings in St Louis are brick. The older bricks, handmade by Irish and Italian immigrants during the last , century, are prized, for their weathered appearance. St Louis bricks, therefore come with a reputation that makes them easy to sell.