A reader writes in:"Guess which residence is the ONLY home on the 4600 block of Winthrop not to shovel their snow today? Every other building and home had clean sidewalks by 10 a.m., but by 5:30pm, the HRC-managed Scattered Site housing at 4643 North Winthrop still hadn't bothered.
Seems weird, eh, that places that don't have management companies still manage to have their snow removed in time for the kids to walk to school. And the SSA snowplow is out there bright and early clearing the sidewalks. But HRC, for some reason, feels it's fine to just ignore the law."If you live on Winthrop and have noticed this pattern and want to contact the building management, here is the info:
Scattered Sites Northeast
4429 N. Clifton Avenue
Chicago, IL 60640
Phone: (773) 769-1555
Fax: (773) 769-3085
Steven Brown, Property Manager
4429 N. Clifton Avenue
Chicago, IL 60640
Phone: (773) 769-1555
Fax: (773) 769-3085
Steven Brown, Property Manager
"Pride of place" there is none it seems. In the summer I see scattered housing with more litter and trash than any other property. I understand that people that live there make less money, but last I checked, tossing garbage in the trash instead of littering is free.
ReplyDeleteJust south of Buena Pointe, there are 2-3 building who clear the snow and ice up until the sidewalk. For weeks there was thick ice where elderly and families walk on a daily basis. What does a person do to make them take care of the sidewalk, which i thought they had to according to the city. funny how the building that take care of the sidewalk are, well, the type of people Shiller hates.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking as someone who very regretfully gets out of my warm bed on snowy mornings to go out and shovel in front of my building, so the kids walking to school and the mail carrier can pass without problems, it's very frustrating to see all the HRC-managed scattered site buildings that don't clear their sidewalks.
ReplyDeleteI've spoken to people all over the neighborhood who share my frustration. HRC could create a lot of goodwill with its neighbors simply by taking care of the sidewalks, as the law requires. Not to mention making it easier and safer for the residents who live in their properties and use those snowy/icy sidewalks every day.
Salvation Army on Marine/Lawrence doesn't bother to do their sidewalks either.
ReplyDeleteCall 311. I called to report a neighbor of mine (a locally owned business) who also didn't shovel over the past few snows, and within 2 days they had shoveled.
ReplyDeleteI will add that if it snows hard overnight I'm faced with shoveling at 4:30 am before I go to work, or when I get home. By then it's been packed down to 2" of ice and with the temps in the single digits I'm forced to spread salt and hope for the best.
ReplyDeleteThere are 3 single family homes on the corner of Beacon and Lawrence who never shovel their sidewalks. They will shovel the walk to their house, but not the public walkway. Sad that they are rich enough to own a single family lot, but can't find the will or money to live up to their responsibility as homeowners.
ReplyDeleteCall 311. It takes 3 minutes.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the many problems plaguing the poorly managed CHA buildings in Uptown.
ReplyDeleteWhile some of their properties have good tenants and few problems, there are other buildings with drug dealers, gangs and are poorly maintained.
4510 N. Magnolia is the hub for hanging out, broken gates, etc., and has been for years.
The CHA is been mildly responsive and basically throws their arms up in the air when asked by CAPS to address the long term problems.
Colin---thanks for being a good neighbor and your efforts to keep your sidewalk safer. The Uptown Ace Hardware can set you up with some "pet friendly" salt when the snow gets packed and they also sell an inexpensive ice chopper. It just takes a handful of salt and some patience for the ice to soften up enough to get chopped.
ReplyDeleteHope this helps.
What about the farm at Ainslie and Kenmore....Cool farm but shovel your snow.
ReplyDeleteTurn lemons into lemonade. Does anyone have any curling stones? We can play a few games out in front!
ReplyDeleteThe building in the 4400 block of malden don't shovel nor do those on the corner of malden and sunnyside. Both of those building cover 2-3 city lots. I live in a rental building and ours is usually shoveled within a day.
ReplyDeletewhy can't the residents get off their butts and shovel - I would love to have everything given to me and done for me
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure city ordinance gives you a full 24 hours from the last snowfall to clear the snow.
ReplyDeleteJust saying...
The people who shovel tend to be owners. If you look at my bloc, the one building that doesn't shovel in a timely fashion: a rental.
ReplyDeleteSame on my block. Walkway in front of the HRC bldg has not been shoveled once this winter. (and I walk my dog past it daily so I know). In the summer, the grass is overgrown, litter, etc... I guess the residents think b/c they pay little to nothing for their housing, they should do little to nothing to maintain the property.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't put the responsibility for removing snow on the tenants unless it's part of their lease deal to do the shoveling and maintenance of the property. I'd say it's on the management company. They need to make sure their property is compliant with the law.
ReplyDeleteAs most of us know live near HRC-managed properties realize, they don't feel any such need to comply with the law.
Which is:
The snow which falls or accumulates during the day (excepting Sundays) before four p.m. shall be removed within three hours after the same has fallen or accumulated. The snow which falls or accumulates on Sunday or after four p.m. and during the night on other days shall be removed before ten a.m.
http://chicagoist.com/2008/02/05/ask_chicagoist_26.php
Thank you for speaking up for the residents who actually live in these buildings. It is the management of these buildings who have failed. Call HRC at the number listed if you have any complaints about their properties.
ReplyDeleteMaryville Academy at Montrose and Clarendon hasn't adequately shoveled or salted the East or North side of their property all winter. I almost hope someone falls and sues them. At least they have deep pockets.
ReplyDeleteSo you have to call 311 to get this fixed? Funny I seem to remember when I was on the Condo board at my old building that Shiller's office called us the ONE time our management company did not come out. They told us we had until the next morning or we would get a fine.
ReplyDeleteWhy doesn't someone call Shiller's office and get her interested in collaborating with the community to develop a fund to pay local teenagers or unemployed people to shovel snow for these CHA buildings? It could be a win-win situation. The snow shovelers would earn some extra cash (with no skimming off the top by a multinational corp!!!) and also know that they are contributing positively to the community.
ReplyDeleteWe need more creative solutions to the issues facing all residents in this community.
One would think that Hull House, of which HRC (the scattered sites' management company) would have thought of this already.
ReplyDeleteI'd hate to think bad things about Hull House. But what's the deal here?
Ahem. Edited to make sense:
ReplyDeleteOne would think that Hull House, of which HRC (the scattered sites' management company) is a part, would have thought of this already.
If you want to talk to HRC about shoveling thier sidewalks, pls attend the 2311 caps meeting this tues at 7 PM (room off of cafeteria). We had a meeting with them on Friday and they personally want to come to this tuesday's caps meeting to tell us about their system they want to use for complaints. A complaint can be from anyone - (residents, neighbors, anyone really) -- if they see things at HRC sites that are not taken care of (this includes broken gates, poorly or not shoveled sidewalks, etc). Please attend on Tuesday if you can. It doesn't count for people to talk on a message board but not show up to any meetings. So if you want to be there to meet with them like we are doing this Tuesday, please attend. Note: 2311 caps meetings are always the first tuesday of every month
ReplyDeletefrom jami the 2311 beat facilitator
Let's not forget that low income places are NOT the only ones not shoveling- tell the yuppies who own condos on the north-east corner of Magnolia & Leland. They NEVER shovel on the Leland side. They forget since their condo is on a corner that their building is responsable for both sides! So if your going to bitch- make note of other places in the local area besides a CHA building!
ReplyDeleteActually that's a rental building.
ReplyDeleteI'm not putting the rap on anyone who doesn't shovel their snow... if they have a management company that's supposed to be taking care of it! When I rented, I never even thought about how the snow went away. It just did, because the building's management took care of it.
ReplyDeleteSo the problem seems to be with HRC and/or the rental building's management. This issue doesn't have a damn thing to do with the income level of the people who rent in the buildings.
Actually no it's not- Leland is on the North side of the buildings(2 sets of condos on one lot)was built durring the mid-nineties so it's not an apartment. Give me a break- a new building in Uptown or anywhere else in Chicago that's an apartment?! HA! BUT that's not the point-any building on a corner lot HAS to shovel both sides of the walk. It just seems that someone here is a bit biased with anything to do with CHA buildings. If your going to write "Get a Shovel" then you should look around beyond one building, whether it's businesses, residential, condo or rental.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised Jamiko Rose from ONE and Marc Kaplan from Courag aren't aren't at City Hall right now delivering 200 protest post cards to the Mayor's Office and testifying to the administrative citations department. You know as far as they are concerned any enforcement of ordinances against any low income housing providers is evidence of racist gentrifiers forcing poor people out of the neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteThey prefer to defend spending no maintenance or minimum safety feature money so that low income housing residents can fall on their asses, become disabled and be forced onto the public welfare rolls for life.
Since the interior sidewalks at the property on Winthrop are always shoveled, it seems someone cares that the people who live there can get around. It's just a big "SCREW YOU" to the neighborhood outside the CHA site.
ReplyDeleteGood Point.
ReplyDelete