Mark your calendars folks. For those of you who happen to have the day off on Thursday, May 29 or maybe you are downtown in the vicinity of the Daley Center, head over to room 1111 of the Daley Center for the housing court hearing of the Wilson Men's Hotel. It starts at 9am and court advocates (concerned residents) are needed to show the judge that this is indeed a serious issue in our neighborhood that needs attention. People who walk down this stretch of Wilson need no reminder of the blight this establishment has brought onto our community, but in case you do, check out these photos. The gentleman with the red arrow is our favorite litter-bug. He loves to chuck whatever he has been drinking down on the sidewalk when he is finished. The shopping cart full of beer cans you see below (which we photographed on Wilson) has since moved around the corner and is on the Clifton side of the Wilson Men's Hotel chained to a street sign.
I won't be able to make it by 9 but I would like to go. Anyone know the "window" for the WC hearing?
ReplyDeletePS-I am intending to go because cage hotels are inhumane and this property is a blight on hotel residents and neighbors alike.
Excuse me, but one person littering doesn't seem to be a sufficient cause to shut the place down.
ReplyDeleteDo you hate the building or just the type of people it attracts as residents? If its the latter, you ain't got a case.
1:54, why are you commenting on this issue when you clearly have no understanding of it?
ReplyDeleteWe want the Wilson Men's Club to provide safe, decent housing for people who are good neighbors.
ReplyDeleteSorry, 1:54, while I don't know the enter case of the Wilson, I'm pretty sure they're going to housing court for more than a guy littering. Been living in the area since '86 and, trust me, it's more than throwing a beer can on the ground. There are SRO's/men's hotels that are a better example of how this type of housing can work.
ReplyDeleteThis is the reply that I received whem I contacted the Uptown Chamber/Business Partners about their plan to appoint Jay Bomberg (Wilson Men Club Hotel owner) to their new board slate:
ReplyDeleteThank you for writing. I understand your concerns and know that they are shared by other members of the community.
With regards to Mr. Bomberg - he has been a responsible property owner/manager and business person in Uptown for a long time and has a history of taking difficult properties and turning them into respectable places. As I understand it he has only owned the building you refer to for less than one year so has not had enough time to deal with the many challenges that the property presents.
Knowing Mr. Bomberg's history I am sure that he will do everything necessary to address the code violations and other issues that make that building a problem
for the community.
To clarify the phrase "in good standing," it refers primarily to a chamber member who has no outstanding financial obligations to the chamber - a member in
good standing retains the right to vote on any matter brought before the membership for a vote. Mr. Bomberg has been a member in good standing for well over a decade and that combined with his history of being a responsible business
person in the area as well as being willing to donate time and effort to serve on our board is what qualifies him as a candidate.
Due to a realignment of our
election process Mr. Bomberg's election term is only for 1 year.
With regards to the chamber's recent reputation as an organization that is not delivering enough services to the business community - as the newly appointed executive director of this organization (Mr. Van Howe is no longer with the chamber) it is one of my first priorities to let the community know that the
chamber is here to support our local businesses. My main priorities are to promote Uptown's commercial district, create opportunities for the businesses to connect with each other, the residents and the visitor market, to offer educational opportunities for the small businesses so they can ensure their own sustainability and to offer one on one assistance to the businesses whenever possible. The Uptown chamber is an 85 year old organization so it is natural for it to experience the ups
and downs of any small business; we are entering a cycle of growing and evolving into a strong, healthy organization that is able to provide the services required of a good business association. I really love what I do and plan to be with the chamber for a long time so I think the stability of consistent management will go a long way in resolving the issues the chamber has had in the
past.
Thank you again for writing - I hope my reply has not been too long winded! Feel free to call me or write any time. Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend,
Christie Hahn
Executive Director
Business Partners, The Chamber for Uptown
(773) 878-1184
4753 N. Broadway Suite 822
Chicago IL 60640
christie@uptownbusinesspartners.com
Original message to Uptown Business Partners:
I recently received an invitation to attend your annual commander's luncheon. I noted that at that time you will be voting on a board slate that includes a candidate that is being brought before the Cook County Circuit Court next week to address 44 building code violations against a building he owns in Uptown (NEWSTAR, May 21, 2008). The city's case against him has also been turned over to the Chicago Corporation Counsel's Drug and Gang House Special Unit, for
alleged criminal activity occurring on the premises or by residents leaving the hotel.
>
>I also note that at your luncheon you will be voting on new by-laws that require members "be in good standing."
>
>Our community has struggled for some time to know what to think about an Uptown chamber/business partners that has had ... as I am certain you know ... a very
poor reputation in the past for actually promoting commerce and business in the area. I know that this organization has tried
recently to make some important organizational changes that may address those concerns.
>
>Would you please reply to my email with a statement about Mr. Bomberg's board candidacy, in light of his code violations and the city's pending case against
him at the Chicago Corporation Counsel's Drug and Gang House Special Unit?
>
>I will be happy to share your statement with my neighbors and local block clubs upon your reply.
"People who walk down this stretch of Wilson need no reminder of the blight this establishment has brought onto our community, but in case you do, check out these photos."
ReplyDeleteI see two photos: one of a man standing next to the building with several others standing nearby, and another of beer cans in a shopping cart.
So where is the "blight?" There are scenes like this all over the city at any given time.
anon posters 1:54 and 2:52:
ReplyDeleteFirst, are you the same person? Second, do you even life in Uptown and have any idea of why the Wilson Men's Hotel is in court?
"Don't go around photographing people without their permission and then stating they did this or that without proof."
ReplyDeleteAmen to that, bro. The people who run this blog are like Chicken Little elevated to a witch hunt. They certainly make the case for needing real journalists over reactionary bloggers.
Just a reminder, folks. This case is being heard in a court of law before a judge. Conduct yourselves accordingly.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I guess "celebrating our diversity" meets a dead end directly in front of the Wilson Men's Hotel.
ReplyDeleteI was in tony Evanston over the weekend and noticed a facility at Main and Maple sts. with mental patient residents hanging out in front and in the park across the street. There was a similar facility with residents doing the same further north at Chicago Ave and Greenwood sts.
Both facilities are near $1million homes, parks, and business districts, but no one seems to be freaking out over their presence.
"Both facilities are near $1million homes, parks, and business districts, but no one seems to be freaking out over their presence."
ReplyDeleteHow do you know? You come to this conclusion just by passing through Evanston this weekend?
Well, maybe Evanston will be getting some new residents once the court has it's say. Maybe Evanston will even send some residents to the court hearing requesting the Wilson Men's Hotel to send them their residents since they like it so much.
You could be right though and if you are it would be for one reason and one reason only . . . Evanston probably has better leadership than the 46th ward of Chicago.
btw- of the faces you can see in the picture. 2 are light skin and two a dark skin. Seems pretty far to me. So do not use the racist card on this one - that is a weak play troll. Maybe we should take a picture of the inside for you. A pic with nobody. Would that make the troll (probably shillers office) happy.
ReplyDeleteIf any of these so-called supporters of the Wilson Men's Hotel really cared about the people who lived there they would be outraged that a building with so many code violations would be allowed to operate.
ReplyDeleteIt's just another instance of someone who is supposedly for the poor, profiting off of the poor.
I don't believe anyone has ever stated that James would or could solve all the problems of Uptown. He would, in my opinion, at least make an effort, and that is all people are asking for. We don't see that from the current office holder.
ReplyDeleteI see the trolls are all over the site today. How dare you post photos of someone on the street? It's an outrage!
ReplyDeleteActually it's perfectly legal and you don't need permission. There is no expectation of privacy on the street.
How dare you use the photo of a murder victim at a rally! It's an outrage!
You are all racist! It's an outrage!
You want change! It's an outrage!
James Cappleman is likely gonna run for alderbeast again! It's an outrage?
It seems to me that what is happening is likely an organized effort among a few idiots to try to slow down any effort at change in the ward. They don't like rallys or efforts to get the Wilson Men's Hotel to be up to building code.
Given the tone and writing style I would place my bets on a certain "institution" based on Wilson. Or it could be independent trolls yucking it up for grits and shins.
Ignore them and do what has to be done.
This neighborhood will be a good and decent place for all races and income levels to live one day. That day is coming.
The trolls will mourn the old Uptown. I will not.
I'm going to start taking my camera around and snapping shots of people with their dogs, or on their bikes and then writing a comment about what illegal things I saw them do...but the camera does not show and I want to know....
ReplyDeleteWILL YOU POST THEM?
I am going to guess that he won't. Why? Because this is his blog and he will post whatever he pleases in line with the law.
You are free to take pictures of anyone on the street. So go ahead, take the pictures, sign up for a log, post them and see what happens. Depending on your accusations I see the result ranging from a very low page view count to a libel suit.
Does anyone know the typical length of time these proceeding take? I am relatively new at my job and don't know how late I can come in.
I was inspired look for photos soon.
ReplyDeletehttp://uptownusualsuspects.blogspot.com/
A "cast of colorful characters" blog is not really the point. Go ahead and highlight the "wacky street folks" if you wish, but if you REALLY want to help uptown, post the photos of the ones who are helping to destroy it (i.e., drug dealers, gangbangers) as well... of which neither groups is comprised totally of one race.
ReplyDeleteTo 4:59....I don't think they last very long. Also, I think the courtrooms are pretty small. If you're not sure about your job flexibility, I would recommend passing on this hearing and try to make a commitment to attend future hearings. Just my two cents.
ReplyDeleteHow is bringing a drunken vagrant hotel "up to code" going to make the inhabitants into "respectable neighbors??????"
ReplyDeleteThey will just be drunken vagrants in nicer digs, probably somehow funded by us taxpayers.
What if "60 Minutes" or "48 Hours" showed a third world country where poor people were forced to live inside chicken-wire cages in sweltering heat? Where there was no way to fight the conditions in summer when the temperatures inside climbed well into the 100s? Where the rickety wooden stairway is the only way in or out? Where people died -- often -- from the subhuman conditions?
ReplyDeleteThink there might be an outcry? That people would be urging Red Cross or Red Crescent to get involved and asked to find a solution for the conditions these unfortunates live in?
Well, those subhuman conditions are right here in our community, and have been for years.
Yet people who want to see it changed and improved are mocked and called racists and classists here.
The old "That's the way it's always been and always will be" argument is creaky and outdated. The conditions at the Wilson Men's Club fly in the face of human decency. If it takes the City of Chicago taking the hotel to court to improve things, well, I'm all for it.
Obviously the folks complaining about photos taken at street level have not been to Google street maps. They have literally millions of photos of residential strret in many cities including Chicago. In many of the photos you can see people walking, talking, working in the yard. Do you think Google is breaking the law?
ReplyDeleteI don't know if Google has broken the law in the US yet, but they're definitely pushing it--which is why they allow people to request that their photos be removed. It's quite possible that Google is already breaking privacy laws in Canada, the EU, and other places, which is why they're starting to blur people's faces in the street views.
ReplyDeleteGoogle aside, there a huge difference between posting a photo without commentary...and posting one with little red arrows pointing people out and saying snarky and often derogatory things about them. Breaking the law? Probably not. However, I think it's in bad taste for a blog that purports to be about building community. I could walk up to a stranger in public and start insulting and making fun of them right to their face... Would that be illegal? Not if I didn't cross some very obvious lines. Should I feel proud of such behavior? Only in bizarro world, perhaps.
Oh, and I've witnessed chronic litterbugs that belong to all socio-economic classes, all races, all ages, and all cultures. I'd say they're no worse at the Wilson Hotel, or in Uptown as a whole for that matter, than anywhere else. Can we concentrate on the problem here? Hint: It's the ownership of the hotel, not the residents. Mocking the residents (and inviting such mockery) just distracts from the problem.
"Oh, and I've witnessed chronic litterbugs that belong to all socio-economic classes, all races, all ages, and all cultures. I'd say they're no worse at the Wilson Hotel, or in Uptown as a whole for that matter, than anywhere else."
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that we should focus on the Code Violations and the Court Hearing, I beg to differ that the Uptown litterbugs are "no worse ... than anywhere else".
My partner and I spent at least six hours a week on weekdays picking up litter in a one block radius of our home, only six years ago during the spring and summer.
On weekends we would take a shovel with us to collect litter from the storm gutters. One Saturday I remember collecting over seven "big leaf" garbage bags full.
At that time, we were hardly the only ones picking up litter. One man who spoke in repeated words. (not stuttering, but more like he may have had autism) You would see him with a garbage bag just about every evening. Everyone would always thank him for his efforts.
Every Monday, we would treat ourselves to dinner at our favorite restaurant for having done our good deed for the day. We would pick up litter on the seven block walk to the bus, depositing it in the corner trash cans along the way. (yes, we did wash our hands a the restaurant, ya' sicko's)
Things have gotten a lot better since then. Once a week or so back then you would see hundreds of rubber gloves and alcohol swabs kindly "distributed" along the parkways, probably for a social service to feel good that they had helped IV drug users stay somewhat sanitary. You would also see hundreds of the small zip lock crack bags scattered on the ground under the window of a local dealer who the police "couldn't arrest" because he was under age.
The windy days were the worst. Some kind soul would leave newspapers in the alley on those days, so that the wind would scatter the newspaper page by page down the street, swirling in the wind eddies.
The only litter we see in our surrounding block now are the daily collection of beer and liquor cans and bottles dropped there during the work day. You also see plastic juice bottles and paper plates from the homeless shelter meals on nice days.
One day, a man threw a beer can on the ground. I said to him, "don't worry, I'll get that" and picked it up to take to the trash can a few feet away. He went on to say that the leaders at the Cornerstone shelter told him that it teaches the neighbors a lesson that life isn't always perfect if you leave trash on the ground, and that it's a good lesson for the kids.
Is Uptown worse than other neighborhoods? I'll let everyone decide that for themselves.
He went on to say that the leaders at the Cornerstone shelter told him that it teaches the neighbors a lesson that life isn't always perfect if you leave trash on the ground, and that it's a good lesson for the kids.
ReplyDeleteWTF? Must have been Jon Trott who said that. He also says on his blog, "Christ did love the rich. But he was not always very kind to them, because sometimes those with more need to be awakened to their true spiritual poverty, just as the poor sometimes need to be awakened to their true worth."
So, littering and being unkind to the "rich" (no clear definition of what "rich" means)are doing Jesus' work here on earth? Who wants to just stick to the 10 commandments when you can also spend your time being unkind to rich people and throwing your crap on the street?
You might see more litter in Uptown on a given day than in some other locales, but does that mean there are more litter bugs per capita...or does that mean there is higher population density combined with fewer available services to remove litter?
ReplyDeleteI think Uptown's litter problem has improved since the SSA started...but that doesn't mean there has been a decrease in litterbugs.
WTF? Must have been Jon Trott who said that.
ReplyDeleteOr, perhaps, the guy was just fucking with him.
So, littering and being unkind to the "rich" (no clear definition of what "rich" means)are doing Jesus' work here on earth?
The word "rich" was never mentioned by the poster who relayed this story, so I don't know where you're getting that from. He said "neighbors", not "rich" or even "rich neighbors".
Look at my post more closely. My reference to "the rich" comes from Jon Trott's blog where he says (again) "Christ did love the rich. But he was not always very kind to them..."
ReplyDeleteI was drawing a parallel between that poster's story (i.e. them cleaning up your garbage isn't a bad thing because it can teach them a lesson) and what is stated on his blog (i.e. while the rich should be "loved" being unkind is OK because it can also teach them lessons) I guess I can't convince you but I see a very coherent message: it is ok and even necessary(?)to provoke those suspected of spiritual poverty in ways that may result in their awakening.
Hey Tribulation,
ReplyDeletethis ain't Canada. This ain't the EU. This is America and as much as it may bother your god fearing soul there are still some rights we have. Like taking photos on public streets.
Get over it or better yet move to Canada. I'm sure JPUSA could start a branch there for Whackjob Canucks.
tell me said,
ReplyDeleteI follow you now. You went on a greater tangent than I expected. I can see the parallel, but I still think it's a bit of a stretch. However, knowing what I do about JPUSA (and having had online arguments with Jon Trott), I wouldn't put any bets on the two not being connected.
Hey Irish Pirate,
ReplyDeleteThis ain't Canada. This ain't the EU.
Never said it was. Glad you realize it to. In fact, I made sure to state that Google is not violating any laws in this country as far as I've heard. However, there are certainly concerns, and lawsuits yet to be decided, so it's not as crystal-clear cut as you'd like to pretend.
This is America and as much as it may bother your god fearing soul there are still some rights we have. Like taking photos on public streets.
First, if you made the ASSumption that I'm somehow affiliated with JPUSA, then you need to pull your head out of said ASSumption.
Second, I don't dispute that people have the right to take photos on public streets. Since you weren't able to infer it from my post, let me clearly state that I don't see this as being a legal issue in this country (i.e., go shove your pseudo-patriotic bullshit rants up those same ASSumptions).
Although I acknowlege that we all have the (good-old-honest-to-god-flag-waving-home-grown-claw-it-from-our-cold-dead-fingers American) right to be asses to one another, my point was that it isn't the most productive path to take on a blog that purports to be about the community.
If Uptown Update wants to rub people in the same gentle loving way that Irish Pirate does his prostitutes, then this blog should by all means follow his advice.
Tribulation,
ReplyDeleteJPUSA and their esteemed Great Leader, Jon "Worship me and my Tattoos" Trott, really, really, really have a problem with people taking photos. He really got annoyed with them during the last campaign and complained that people, that would be me, had the audacity of taking photos of their wonderful building festooned with Shiller campaign signs. It would almost be like a martyr complex. "They are out to get me. They have cameras. I love Jesus. Stop them Jesus".
Google is not breaking any American laws as far as you've heard? HMMM, and as far as Hillary has heard Obama ain't a Muslim.
Now your last comment was borderline amusing. Keep trying. With work and prayer you can do better.
Now if you will excuse me I need to call up some hookers.
Irish Pirate,
ReplyDeleteHe really got annoyed with them during the last campaign and complained that people, that would be me, had the audacity of taking photos of their wonderful building festooned with Shiller campaign signs.
I remember. It was during that same time period when I got into the online argument with Jon Trott.
Google is not breaking any American laws as far as you've heard? HMMM, and as far as Hillary has heard Obama ain't a Muslim.
Well, if I were running for the highest office in the land, you might be able to complain about how I parse my words. However, in this case it's just an admission that I haven't spent hours on "The Google" researching the topic.
Now your last comment was borderline amusing. Keep trying. With work and prayer you can do better.
You think I aspire to amuse pirates? That's priceless!
PB, you come across as a shocked suburbanite. Maybe too much time on the crime blotter has left you scared and angry. And this snarky little pissing match between irishpirate and tribulation is silly...like watching girls slap each other on the playground. And I am actually on the same page as most of the readers of this blog with regard to the changes we would like to see here in Uptown. What a way to be united. Why are differences of opinion about any random thing so f-ing hard to tolerate that people resort to being jerks. How about this: If you hate litter so much--and we all do, right?--just take a second to reach down and pick it up now and then. It takes a fraction of the time that it does to write nasty, insulting comments on a blog. BTW, I am not a troll nor am I affiliated with JPUSA, HS, COURAJ, or any of those groups.
ReplyDeleteFunny because I have never once resided in a suburb.
ReplyDeleteAnd this snarky little pissing match between irishpirate and tribulation is silly...
ReplyDeleteYou are the pot, talking to the kettles...but thanks for sharing.