Monday, June 15, 2009

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors, Part II

It was last spring that readers started sending in photos of the omnipresent group of loiterers in front of Dearborn Wholesalers (Montrose just east of Sheridan), and the drinking, defecation, harassment of passersby, blocking of the public way, and passing out on the sidewalks that accompanied that scene.

Well, we passed by Dearborn last week, and all we can say is, what a difference a fence makes.

It's our hope that some of the regular crew, when their "hangout" became less enabling, took advantage of the many social services available to them to change their lives. Life on the street isn't safe or desirable, and we doubt that there's anyone who advocates it. One thing we are sure of: their absence has certainly made that section of Montrose safer and more hospitable for the schoolchildren and pedestrians who walk past every day.

We also compliment and commend Dearborn Wholesalers on improving the once-dismal lighting in their lot. Two photos, before and after, taken at 3am. What a change!

11 comments:

  1. Can we get a couple fences down the middle of Clarendon Park? Maybe around Maryville too?

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  2. Down Wilson Avenue at Clifton?

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  3. The Dearborn is now once agin safe and sound thanks to the fences they put up. It feels good to walk by that place and not be harassed by the groups of people that use to hang out there. What a difference a fence does do...Fences around the empty maryville would be good but I think they are going to be torn down and replaced with high rise condo`s I hear and I hope not low income as Wilson Yard is a few blocks away.....

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  4. Yes it is great...only problem is they have now just taken over the public bus stop on a daily basis.

    Anyone know if there are any laws to keep them from doing this? The sad thing is I see elderly people standing with their canes or walkers waiting for a bus while several of these people take a seat and drink openly on the bench that the city has nicely provided for them.

    This is happening at both the bus stop at Montrose and Sheridan in front of Jakes as well as the one at Montrose and Broadway across the street from Wilson Yard.

    Cops seems to pass right by without a care. Bigger problems in the area I guess.

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  5. I know I'm going to get "flagged" on this...BUT...that famous Robert Frost quote, if you look at it in the context of the poem, is meant IRONICALLY! The point Mr. Frost is making is that fences - between neighbors, groups of people, or countries, do NOT make good neighbors! He's advocating the classic liberal approach of his era: tearing down the fences and boundaries, physical and otherwise, that separate us will ultimately make better "neighbors" of us all.

    Sorry for the rant...but there must be another popular quote out there that can convey what you're meaning to say, without dissing the legacy of one of America's greatest poets.

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  6. Gayle, it's a old proverb, centuries older than Frost. He appropriated it for use in the poem, but it predates him.

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  7. Re: Loitering and drinking at the bus stops, etc.

    What has been the police response at CAP meetings, or has it been brought up? I haven't heard about it at mine yet, but am planning on listing it as a point to discuss.

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  8. At a CAPS meeting I attended a while ago, the police advised us that we can/should call 911 to report people loitering at CTA shelters. So there you go.

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  9. Bus stop benches can be used by anyone unless otherwise posted. They did have sighs up at north bound Broadway and Montrose and 1 other location. I believe it is now gone. My guess is that it was challenged and lost. They were trying to enforce the same law that is used for giving up seats on trains and buses for the elderly and handicapped. At least they tried. And just so you know the sign was placed there at the request of Shiller.

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  10. WOW! Shiller requested a sign to be put there. It must be getting close to election time.......

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  11. The signs went up 18 months to 2 years ago at 2 locations. Bus stop benches are considered public furniture, the key word being public. Making it very difficult to restrict use. And my guess this is why the signs are no longer up. It is not CTA property.

    On a side note there are a lot of anonymous 911 calls stating that there is drinking in the bus stops. As a way to get the police to respond. When in fact they are not drinking. This crying wolf is beginning to annoy the police.

    If they are drinking call 911 and point them out and where the beer is so the police can take action. When there is a actual person as the complainant the police are more likely to ticket or arrest.

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