A reader sends us this photo showing "Tiztal Cafe" at 4631 N. Clark this evening:
"I walk by Tiztal Cafe on a regular basis and noticed the main entrance has been covered in plywood and metal shutters are covering the main window. Does anyone know if they were robbed? This is really getting old!"
i'm sorry if this is the case. they had a broken window two weeks ago as well.
ReplyDeleteWith all the shattered windows (at least 8 in the last few weeks, by my count) in Uptown storefronts lately, you have to wonder if it is someone's strategy to either:
ReplyDelete1 - Bring blight to Uptown to prove that Wilson Yard is necessary.
2 - Scare condo owners to get them to move away from Uptown.
3 - Intimidate neighbors who are making a positive difference in the Uptown area.
4 - Scare away potential developers.
When the Starbucks first opened on Wilson, all kinds of tricks were used to threaten them and their patrons. The doors were superglued shut, Alderman Shiller and COURAJ members protested in front of the store and within a couple weeks a major sewer project blocked the street for months. Even afterward, that intersection has had road construction every single year for five years...on a new road!
I'm not saying Alderman Shiller is involved. I hope she isn't, for her sake. I'm just saying that it's very cooincidental that the Fix Wilson Yard lawsuit claimed Uptown was not blighted enough to justify the TIF and voila...broken windows, increast in taggings, streetlight failures, scarce police prescence, gang shootings.
...as if on cue.
"Alderman Shiller and COURAJ members protested in front of the store"
ReplyDeleteAnd of course the funniest part is that the Starbucks there was opened by Magic Johnson's foundation, which opens Starbucks in ghetto areas to stimulate retail growth and jobs. Far from the "yuppie oasis" label, indeed! It's funny to see Couraj and Shiller protest something that is supposed to end blight by bringing money and employment opportunities.
She is so twisted.
I ate there today and talked to the owner. Windows were broken twice. First time they just broke the window. Second time they got inside and robbed the place of $500.00.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever taken notice some of the guys that hang around that area i.e. in the alley, around Carol's pub or Max's place? Some of them are known homeless guys with criminal records...Their strategy is simple, look for any opportunities to rob a garage, business and on occasion your home. It's become so bad these past 2 years, you have to be so careful after dark.
ReplyDeleteIt just seems odd that this happened all of a sudden, just after the FixWilsonYard.com lawsuit was announced.
ReplyDeleteIf you're right gingrsnap that it is homeless guys with criminal records, why are they just now doing this?
Uptown has had a large number of homeless shelters in recent years and this rash of storefront windows being shattered is a new thing.
Also, it's not like the homeless population has been impacted by the losses on wall street or the loss in home values.
Now, Bob from the office is another story. Maybe he launched a crime spree like in "Fun With Dick and Jane" when his welfare and food stamp applications were denied.
We park our car in that alley and I have never seen a homeless person back there. There's a mechanics back there and I see those guys during the day, but I've never seen anyone at night. On the other hand, I see shady people hanging out in "street" behind Vis Vitea all the time. And they've had numerous windows broken as well. I'm more apt to believe that it might be coming from that direction. Or from a drunk fool walking home from Carol's at 4am.
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