Edgewater Development Corporation sponsored a Commercial Real Estate Trolley Tour with the support of 40th Ward Alderman Patrick O'Connor, 48th Ward Alderman Mary Ann Smith, and 49th Ward Alderman Joe Moore. The Tour highlighted commercial real estate properties available for sale or lease within the Edgewater community and presented an opportunity for the Aldermen to present their vision for additional development in Edgewater. * info and photo from the EDC e-newsletter
10 comments:
Last night while I was waiting to cross the light at Broadway and Thugdale a kid tried to sell me drugs. "Yo, party favors? Party favors?" He and several friends were dropped off. Fuckin carpetbaggers. We live in the North Pole. A drug-dealing, gang-banging destination. I walked by Bunz and there were about 10 shitheads in there, some I recognized as the cast of characters who keep Thorndale in the ghetto. As long as CPD refuses to do their job, our retail corridors are doomed. "Yo, party favors?" Good luck EDC. Get us another Aldi or a fricking bank.
I commend the EDC for trying to market Edgewater commercial property. Bringing new businesses to the area are never a bad thing. Its easier to commit a crime in front of an empty storefront than an occupied one.
I commend Mike for telling it like it is. It is a very frustrating situation, one which has been dealt with for over 10 years that I have been involved. It is a persistent, nagging, on-going problem. We have tried so many things to get rid of the problems. We've invited CPD to group meetings to strategize and get the various block clubs on both sides of Thorndale and the one west of Broadway involved. ECC has been involved. I quit. I'm done. Let someone else step up to the plate with their grand ideas.
It would be nice if Chicago had a better, stricter loitering law..but until then...
Has the area tried going after the people buying? I mean it must be a lucrative corner if they have been conducting business here for so long. Maybe if they go after the peeps buying it can help rid the area of the druggies and create a less lucrative corner and they can move on. For instance if the buyer is in section 8/CHA, they should be kicked out and not allowed to live in the neighborhood. Make the buyers paranoid they're buying from an undercover and maybe they'll think twice about gong to this corner. If the business isn't there, the dealers in theory won't be either.
Also, do the police not have photos and details on the regular dealers that hang out on this corner? How about post their faces all over the area and in businesses and people can call the police to sit on them when they are out. They could be listed as most wanted drug dealers...
I'd also suggest calling 911 if you get solicited so at least the a**holes will have to scurry when they see the police.
Do the business have security cameras? I know there is a blue light camera on the corner but if the business would also have cameras it may help.
Great idea! EDC and the police are not one in the same. How is this a bad thing? How do you recommend the EDC spend their time to better the community, patrolling the streets? What would you prefer, empty storefronts throughout our neighborhood with no actions to spruce them up or lease them out like Uptown has? Thats working out well.
"Thanks asshole."
That's what I said to a Loyola student scoring weed from one of the urban terrorists on Thorndale. He looked at me like I had ten heads. I said, "how'd you like it if I went to your parents' neighborhood in Iowa and dragged it down, asshole? You are ruining my neighborhood." Argh. I agree with the previous commenter ... at this point I realisze it's easier to just fuckin' move.
Or the same mentality when I see these jerks come into the alley or on the corner of property to pee. Do I come to your neighborhood and piss all over your yard? I don't think so.
Until the police rid Broadway and its sidestreets of drugdealing thugs, EDC couldn't pay most retailers to take those empty storefronts. I live in one of the highrises along Hollywood Beach and I spend nearly every dollar outside the neighborhood. Most of my neighbors do the same. I don't buy groceries, clothes, hardware, housewares, gifts or gas in Edgewater. I do have my oil changed at Jiffy Lube in Andersonville. That's about it. It isn't enough that the neighborhood is relatively safe compared to others, it has to LOOK SAFE. I'm not going to walk over to any retailer on Broadway feeling like some extra in an Al Pacino movie. Not going to happen. Not when the Edens expressway and Skokie is a short car ride away.
To the commenter above, move to Naperville. You're a part of the problem, not the solution.
EDC has in its possession an extensive list of goods and services people within the neighborhood want. We focused on "Why do people leave Edgewater to get goods and services?" and "What types of businesses do area residents want?" How many times can we review the same list? Why don't people walk to / from instead of driving north to Evanston and / or Skokie? Easier? Available parking? It's not surprising businesses aren't thriving in this economic crisis. With restaurant and food costs increasing, it's not surprising to see restaurants close. I hope this does not happen on Granville Avenue.
Post a Comment