This photo was taken today, but easily could have been taken the day after the fire, two years ago, or a year ago. Nothing has changed, unfortunately, since residents found out their building was on fire by watching the news, back in 2007.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Three Years Later, A Sad Anniversary
This photo was taken today, but easily could have been taken the day after the fire, two years ago, or a year ago. Nothing has changed, unfortunately, since residents found out their building was on fire by watching the news, back in 2007.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Maybe they are waiting for us to pay for it.
ReplyDeleteVery ugly building, like commie block style.
ReplyDeleteSorry but I think that thing will have to be torn down sooner or later.
Coops usually work better when they are smaller buildings, that seems like a poor choice to be a Coop. And obviously since it hasnt been fixed after so many years, its not doing well.
So strange......3 years later?
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of driving on North Avenue and seeing the C. Green buildings.
No need to fix it, let's just use TIF money to overpay a developer for an entire building!
ReplyDeleteI have a view of this building from where I live and I swear something was telling me just this morning that I should check UU to see if the anniversary of this fire...and subsequent lack of repair... were coming up. Lo and behold, that "something" was right.
ReplyDeleteIt is a very ugly building, even before the fire. It has this appearance of an abandoned high rise in Chernobyl, left derelict for decades....
ReplyDeleteThanks to our beloved Helen, there are many more co-op buildings like this in Uptown, and they'll be around for years. Low income, co-op and a highrise are three things that don't often mix well. When they do, you will wind up with situations like Gill Park because there is not enough money to make repairs.
ReplyDeleteMs. Kitty, this and other buildings like it predate Ms. Shiller's tenure as alderperson. Most were originally built in the 1960s and 70s and are scattered throughout the North Side - yes, even Lakeview. The quality of life/management varies from building to building and it's a shame that this building, located as it is in a fairly "prime" neighborhood now, can't get its act together financially.
ReplyDeleteWhy is this the case? Are there not HUD rehab funds available, or must the management go to a private bank for funding?
I find it hard to believe that a building like this does not have any type of insurance that could be used to fix the damage. But if they did not even have fire alarms maybe not. Don't building codes apply to co op buildings? Nice that my new deck has been inspected two or three times in the past few years with new code requests that we needed to fix even though the deck is less than 7years old. But other buildings can just have unsecured units for years. Imagine what it is like to live next door to a untit that has not had windows for 3 YEARS. I would think the internal damage would just be getting worse each time it rains/snows. I also have a view of this building out of my windows and can't believe that it appears there is no plan to fix the damage. I hope no young kids have access to the windowless units.
ReplyDeleteLocal Lassie - I was "thanking" Helen (and to some extent O.N.E) because during her tenure she has assisted in turning many of these 60's and 70's buildings into permanent low income, co-op housing. Many of them were ready to be turned into market rate, but she assured that didn't happen.
ReplyDeleteSure, some are managed better than others, but the financials for these buildings are a little risky when its low income.
I wasn't saying she was responsible for building them.
The city should fine them for failure to maintain their bldg. There must be some statutes that say you can't do this and leave it for years. The new alderman should make sure they at least put in windows.
ReplyDeleteYes, I remember the fire, that building's hole is an scary eyesore. Makes me sad and it looks eerie, seeing it still not repaired. I'm concerned the debris might fall off over time...
ReplyDeleteAlso, makes me wonder which buildings in Uptown are the most crime drama? It would be nice to have a list of "warning" buildings to "watch" for our neighborhood safety. This is because I was told by a friend, "...that building is usually crime drama, that one, this one, that one..." So which is which? Would be nice to have security cameras up on them all or a map of areas that has danger or something to be aware of.
I've only been a resident of Uptown since April 2009 (Lived in Suburbs, but visited Uptown since 2006 until I finally moved here), and I love Uptown, especially the "sleeping beauty"--The Uptown Theatre, so I am motivated to make this town to get better, and definitely looking forward for the NEW Alderman soon!
Thank you for marking the anniversary.
ReplyDeleteLast year I watched hopefully as they completely redid the east side of the building - repaired and painted the wall - installed new windows. Then work stopped. They continue to ignore the fire damage. Knowing they had funds for repairs but didn't restore the units makes having to look at the boarded-up windows every day even worse.
That is interesting Steve I agree. I remember when they were painting the east side of the building last summer. At the time I figured they were finally going to get to the missing windows. But no such luck, does not really make much sense. I wonder if there is some lawsuit working its way through the court system to determine who is responsible to pay for it. But three years?
ReplyDelete