Urban Review Wins RFT Readers’ Choice for Best Blog
Thank you! The RFT issue is out this week with their annual Best Of list. Last year Urban Review was selected by the editors as “Best Civic-Minded Blog” and this year they included “Best Blog” among the items to be selected by their readership. There was some great competition out there so I am honored to have been your choice.
It seems I was also selected by the RFT editors as Best Gadfly:
It was so simple. Fifteenth Ward Alderwoman Jennifer Florida backed a request from a McDonald’s on South Grand Boulevard that wanted to move a block north and across the street. Then serial blogger Steve Patterson got wind of the plan. Via his Web site, Urban Review, Patterson cast himself as the voice of opposition, criticizing the fast-food franchisee’s “suburban” design and warning that area property values would soon rival the price of a Value Meal. Signs were made, a protest was staged, and by May a cadre of activists was calling for Florida’s ouster. Florida dug in her heels and Patterson fought on, implying at one point that the alderwoman was responsible for an “attack” that caused a 90-minute meltdown of his Web site. How did the saga end? It hasn’t. Florida’s still in office, the McDonald’s is on track to move, and Patterson’s still blogging away.
gad·fly
1. A persistent irritating critic; a nuisance.
2. One that acts as a provocative stimulus; a goad.
I’m sure those on the receiving end of my criticisms will go with definition #1 above but I’ll go with #2. And, talk is the McDonald’s deal is dead.
well deserved – congratulations!
From one winner to another, congratulations! Well deserved sir!
no argument here. congrats!
Congratulations – very well deserved!
Be sure to keep your phone lines open this morning in case Jennifer wants to treat you to a fine congratulatory lunch.
You can guess where.
Considering all the new people who will be hitting your site over the next couple of days, perhaps you need to an “encore” posting of two of your Sept 18th entries – “What happened to the new McDonald’s?” and “How to run for local office”
I’m thinking that would be very appropriate.
Great job Steve!
Since McDonalds has decided to close their current location, and if the deal to move the McDonalds across the street is dead, which it does sound like it might be from what I’ve heard, then we will have an empty McDonalds to match the existing empty Burger King down the street. They will make lovely bookends for the neighborhood.
Travis; Have you ever been inside that McDonalds on Grand? Believe me, having it stand empty is a vast improvement over having it open in it’s current state. The place is easily the filthiest restaurant I’ve ever seen.
First of all, Congratulations Steve. Your insight and tenacity are a welcome addition to the development/politcal scene in St. Louis.
And Travis, as has been pointed out numerous times, McDonald’s could very well rebuild on their current site regardless of site concerns. To blame Steve’s demand for the highest and best use of both sites for creating a vacant McDonald’s building is both short-sighted and juvenile. While I admire your naive optimism on many other fronts you may want to WTFU.
I don’t think Steve is to blame for McDonalds pulling out of the move, nor closing their doors, and never said as much. What I did say was that it is unfortunate that we are going to have another empty fastfood storefront in our neighborhood.
Mazel tov, boychick.
McD’s new sandwich is the McSteve… guaranteed to cause local elected leaders to run for the Pepso bottle. Congrats!
Travis the fact that the McDonald’s is closing has nothing to do with Steve or anyone involved in the recall. McDonald’s was going to be closed anyway due to its lack of sanitation and “surrounding crime.” If you want to blame someone then look to Jim Proctor. Maybe if he did not run it like a slum it would still be open.
Travis you are forgetting the Senior Homes. Maybe those will go forward on the old Sears site or the McDonald’s site. There is great potential for both sites as they could be redesigned as pedestrian centered mixed use.
I think it is clear from the SSJ Southtown article that suburban design will only fail in an urban environment.
Don’t hold your breath about the McDonald’s deal being dead just yet.
The whole thing is probably awaiting approval of tax credits for the senior housing project.
Then all the pieces will fall together.
Don’t blame Jim Proctor or Jennifer Florida for everything. John Steffen engineered this whole debacle, yet few bloggers or commenters ever call him out on it.
Considering that Socrates is known as the first gadfly, that’s a pretty high compliment. Cheers!
Congratulations Steve! Keep irritating them all!
Desco really does need to put an STL Bread Co at the Loughborough Commons.
Get Carondelet into the 20th century!
An exiled Carondelet resident
Steve, you are not only providing valuable critique and perspective, you are documenting an era in St. Louis that is quite important in its history. Gadfly on, brother!