Anticipation Builds on N Taylor with 2 Days until Home Repair Blitz
Alderman French, Rebuilding Together and Boeing Anticipate Huge Volunteer Turnout, Massive Impact on the 4000-4100 Blocks of N Taylor
(ST. LOUIS) — Rapid preparations are underway for Saturday’s 21st Ward Rebuilding Day blitz, where 14 homes on the 4000-4100 blocks of N Taylor will be rehabilitated completely. This is a first-of-its-kind project conceived by Alderman Antonio French in partnership with Rebuilding Together- St. Louis. The blitz will take place this Saturday, June 26th, powered by a 300-strong volunteer team, many from the Boeing Corporation. This is the second of 6 monthly “blitz days” that Rebuilding Together is organizing in the 21st Ward this year.
A projected total of 66 homes are targeted for repairs this year as part of Alderman French’s “Block-by-Block” initiative, in comparison to the prior system which was able to service an average of only 6 homes per year. Saturday’s day-long blitz will see volunteers handling everything from replacing tiles, flooring, and minor carpeting, to electrical, wiring, and plumbing. In the past few weeks, the Rebuilding Together team has begun work on minor repairs in several homes in preparation for Saturday’s event.
“Previously, the floor of my kitchen used to flood whenever it rained. It was repaired once, but the flooding still continued. Now, the Rebuilding Together team has replaced the entire floor of my house from the front room to my kitchen in just one week, and starting work on reinstalling the kitchen cabinets,” said Mrs. Mildred Scott, the homeowner of 4025 N Taylor, one of the homes currently being worked on by the team. “I called Alderman French for some help in home improvement, and he introduced this program to me. I started attending the block meetings in the neighborhood and the next thing you know, we were already discussing how and when to do these improvements.”
In addition to the pre-repairs going on now, these 2 blocks of Taylor will also receive many needed City services, such as sidewalk repair, tree trimming, street light replacement, and alley cleaning, with the focus of maintaining active and responsible membership in the neighborhood block unit.
