European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 19, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Golfers take an afternoon tee break at a downtown Chicago course before  finish the Day s work. City Golf fits business schedules to a tee by the associated press Ike a lot of businessmen. Steven Swinder brings his Golf clubs and a change of clothes to work. Unlike a lot of others he does t have to go very far to use them. Three blocks away from his Chicago office is the country s first Center City Golf course nestled Between traffic jams and a world class Skyline. Quot i take a cellular phone and i m Only five minutes from the office a Swintner an accountant said recently As he waited with attorney Mark Liss for their 5 . Tee time at Illinois Center coif. A. The nine Hole Par-27 Public course opened in August. It has been crowded in late afternoons with golfers who pay $22 for a 70-minute round or $9 to hit a bucket of balls on the driving Range a High fees by Chicago standards for comparable courses. A however the course located in a former rail Yard along the Lake Michigan snore is a Mere five minute stroll from crowded Michigan Avenue. Though open to the sky it s surrounded by the foundations of buildings and elevated streets. The fairways Are Lush with Tricky greens a no 9 is surrounded by water and reached by a Bridge a and sneaky hidden Sand traps. The holes Range from 57 Yards to 145 Yards on traffic noise is a distraction a someone with a bad slice could smash a Windshield on lower Wacker drive a but the spectacular Skyline views from the fifth sixth and eighth tees Are pleasant diversions. �?7 the course is across the Street from the 80-Story Amoco building and within 250 Yards of at least one Large hotel a in Range of a Long drive though players probably would t use a Driver on this course. The Swiss Tel Chicago with glittering Glass Walls rising for 43 stories just beyond the ninth Hole in t worried about Ball damage and sees its proximity to the course As a plus particularly for attracting Golf crazed japanese guests. It s cheap compared to what they have to pay Quot in Japan said hotel spokesman Robert Allegrini. The . Coif association said it knew of no other Urban Golf course so close to a downtown business District. Ohio neighbourhood closes Gates on crime by the associated press to the casual observer the five Oaks neighbourhood a couple of Miles from downtown Dayton Ohio presents a typical midwestern scene. Children skip Down tree lined sidewalks past stately Homes and manicured lawns. A closer look reveals steel Gates held by Brick posts blocking traffic along streets and alleys throughout the area. Residents of five Oaks have put themselves behind barricades to keep crime on the outside looking in a arid there is every indication it  from burglaries drug dealing and prostitution the neighbourhood installed the Gates in 1992 to discourage drive through traffic As part of an anti crime strategy. By the end of 1993, reported crimes had dropped 26 percent.  Quot in a Way it s sad that it s come to this a said Ann Szabo a neighbourhood activist who pushed for the Street barriers. Szabo a Mother of six who grew up in five Oaks said the problems began about 10 years ago when residents became More transient. Traffic and burglaries increased used condoms littered alleys prostitutes moved in an random gunshots were fired at an apartment. Enter Oscar Newman an architect and Urban planner who champions barricades to give neighbourhoods Quot defensible  Newman is director of the Institute for Community design analysis of great neck n.y., a research organization for government agencies and housing authorities. Newman had erected barriers in neighbourhoods . Louis Miami and fort Lauderdale Fla neighbourhoods in Baltimore Boston Chicago Denver fort Worth Texas Gary ind. Hartford Conn. Oakland Calif. Seattle and Wilmington del., Are thinking of following suit. Newman said his Gate system creates Cul de sacs and mini neighbourhoods. Residents know who strangers Are get to know each other and can better police their streets. Newman was invited to make his pitch to Dayton in 1991, and the City put up $693,000. By july 1992, More than 50 Gates were erected closing the streets and alleys to nil but pedestrians. Only a few streets were left open to traffic. Police dosed several drug houses the City set up a fund to help residents Spruce up their Homes and police assigned an officer to patrol five of is. By the end of 1993, violent crime had been Cut in half according to. A City study. Drive through traffic plummeted by 67 percent. A Home sales increased by 29 percent and the average Sale Price jumped from $45,000 to $52,000, a Short subject homeowners hot for bulletproof siding by Richard a. Serrano los Angeles times Scott Shaheen and Alan Sharp of san Antonio never expected such a demand for their new. Fibreglass Wallboard siding which they claim is Strong enough to withstand a Bullet dozens of Calls came in from people living in High crime areas in los Angeles where drive by shootings Are reported with regularity. Rural residents in Ohio wanted Protection from stray bullets fired by Hunters. In the Tornado Belt homeowners sought Relief from flying debris that damages Homes. In areas such As California that Are prone to earthquakes people wanted reinforcement for their hallways and doors. And in the Midwest one lady living next to a Golf course asked for Protection from errant Golf balls. With so Many orders coming in for a product that was started As a Good neighbor attempt to protect residents from drive by shootings Shaheen and Sharp a two building contractors and longtime friends a May have stumbled onto something big. Quot we Don t know where this thing is going to Lead us Quot Sharp said Quot but we do know that everybody seems to want it.�?�. They hit on the idea after attending a neighbourhood watch meeting. In san Antonio with White Black latino a even Cowboy a gangs on the Rise where police said there were 1,262 drive by shootings last year where recently a Young girl was shot on her living room Couch and another child was hit in his bedroom some residents had had enough. The meeting was held in an affluent part of town where a few gang members had recently moved in to new federally financed housing projects next door. Homeowners were scared to death Shaheen recalled. To ease their fears Sharp and Shaheen developed a half Inch thick material that for roughly $4,000 will cover the inside of your Walls doors roof and garage and for additional Protection sliding panels that cover the windows at night the product is similar to aluminium siding Only it is Bullet resistant. In fact according to the two entrepreneurs a customer can order the material Tough enough to Stop bullets from a .38-caliber special a .357-magnum, even a semiautomatic Rifle. Quot you re buying a level of Protection Quot Shaheen said. Quot you re buying what you think you need for a War zone when they attack your  to demonstrate their product they invited the san Antonio police gang and bomb squads for a test firing earlier this year. At a gun Range the police threw a Large amount of firepower at the mock panels set up to resemble the front of two Homes. When the smoke cleared the panels had a withstood the test. A we put hundreds of bullets into this thing and nothing got through a Sharp said. Only one san Antonio Home has been. Fortified thus far but the Media attention from that venture left Sharp and Shaheen deluged with inquiries from individuals and Home builders around the country. They now plan to put together a marketing strategy where they would franchise the know How and materials to subcontractors. And while acknowledging that it could be seen As a big Money maker they said their primary intention is to produce something that can help others. First people began buying backyard floodlights Sharp said. Quot then it was Security alarms and then burglar bars on their windows. Some people just Don t feel Safe at Home . The stars and stripes wednesday october 19, 199