A reader sends us the following pic and info:"While walking my dog yesterday I was excited to see new concrete being poured at the corners along Dover. I decided to deviate from my usual route to check out the completed work at Wilson and Dover and came upon an unwelcome surprise. There is a rather large cursive LK (Latin Kings) "tag" in the now hardened concrete."
Isn't there a law that says if you come across drying cement, you're obligated to write in it? Either way, it's hard to resist. Gang members are human, too. Personally I would have gone with "fnord", but to each their own.
ReplyDeleteThis has also happened at my corners of Sunnyside and Hazel, although I think it might be 4 corner hustler tags? A neighbor called 911 when s/he saw the kids tagging it, but then would not identify them when the police picked them up.
ReplyDeleteI have tried a variety of remedies. I called Graffiti Busters, but was told it was not their issue, because it was in concrete and also did not have an "address" that could be plugged into their computer system. I have called the alderman and talked to a few different people, most recently Karima. That was a couple of weeks ago, but I have not heard anything back. I will gear up to call her again. I have also called "city services" and 311 but was told to talk to the alderman. I have also been told it is a Streets and San issue, or a Water Dept issue, since the cement was poured following sewer work.
If new cement is poured, new tags will reappear, obviously. It would be great if the tags could be sanded out, wouldn't it? Any other ideas?
Amy, when this happened in our neighborhood, we talked to the city workers who were doing other corners and told them we would bring out the lawn chairs after they redid it and have "positive sitting" until the new cement dried.
ReplyDeleteAs for the gang tags in other sidewalks in the neighborhood, I'm very tempted to get some Kwik-Crete and do some home repair work.
Unless someone who knows how to get the city to do it, posts with suggestions.
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ReplyDeleteGee, SM, I thought Candice was just engaging in some ironic humor. The "fnord" (little journalism in-joke) reference gave her away.
ReplyDeleteBTW I like the idea of "filling up" graffiti with caulk.
Candice, firmly planting herself in the pro-gang-tagging and vandalism camp! Good to know where you stand :)
ReplyDeleteSo would it be morally wrong to get out there with a sledgehammer and pick and just destroy the sidewalk a little but until the gang tag is gone?
ReplyDeleteIs a slightly busted up sidewalk better than a gang tagged sidewalk? I'm somewhat torn on this one.
Candice! YOU are part of the problem. Tell the parents of kids murdered by other kids that "Kids will be kids just couldn't resist shooting." Your sense of reality is disgusting
ReplyDeletePerhaps get some neighbors together, mix some concrete and patch it up? It doesn't have to be the prettiest patch job but if it gets rid of the legible bit of the "tag" i guess it will do until the city gets to it. Wouldn't hold your breath on that though! I think they make really fast set drying cement these days too.
ReplyDeleteI guess your other option is to call and speak directly with the person in charge of streets and san in your ward and see if they will react. If they won't do anything file a complaint against them with the city and contact the streets and san director for the city? Just a thought.
I've noticed a lot of similar tags in cement around the neighborhood, something that really bugs me because it's so permanent and assumes such ownership of public areas. Sunnyside mall is another prime example of this. Perhaps if we have a master cementer among the UU population we could make a "punch list" of gang sidewalk carvings around the area and spend one Sunday morning doing a patch tour and then a positive loitering/guarding event until it dries. I'm not the cement expert, but I know there are hydraulic cements that dry SOLID in less than an hour. I'm not sure if we could find something that matches, but it sounds like something that would send a positive message and eliminate some of the outwardly visible "turf" sentiment.
ReplyDelete*Clearly, it would be better if we could get streets/san or (gasp) the alderman involved to do it, but I'm not sure who is responsible for this specific concern and in what decade we could expect it to be addressed. If anyone has any thoughts on this I'm willing to make some calls to try and do this on the straight and narrow before moving forward with Operation Cement Patch.
I would love to tag their faces.
ReplyDeleteIt would be good to get a little instant cement patch and do it yourself as the city will not fix or cover it. Its pretty easy to wipe it out.......
I don't spend a lot of time reading sidewalks, but if you're that bothered...
ReplyDeleteThe letters are not very deep and could probably be sanded. If you put another layer of cement on top, it would just chip off after the first freeze.
Candice, I get the joke, and appreciate it.
Jane, are you implying that it's unreasonable to be bothered by gang markings by the Latin Kings? Gang violence has claimed many lives in Uptown. These guys have blood on their hands, but I get the sense that you think it's no big deal.
ReplyDeleteJane, I'm fully aware that it doesn't bother some people. I have been accused of having a rather sick sense of humor and I hope I never lose it.
ReplyDeleteI guess I would get this as a joke if it wasn't such a problem in the neighborhood and such a sore spot with so many of us who have been victims of crime, me included. I was raised to respect the Golden Rule and when I see something like this, I have to think it frightens parents in the neighborhood who don't want their children tempted to join gangs.
If someone scratches or paints a gang symbol on your residence or car, perhaps you'll find some humor in it too. Please report your feelings about it on UU when it happens.
I was not implying anything, quietlyconscious.
ReplyDeleteI do believe gangs - which could be wiped out if the powers that be were willing to invest the time and effort - are one of the most disgusting aspects of our society.
I'm just not personally that concerned about a tag on the sidewalk. However, I did offer some sound advice for anyone who is willing to fix it, as the city so obviously is not.
In the time most of you took posting, you could have gone down to Ace, gotten some quick dry cement and have been done with it....
ReplyDeleteThe unions might be a little pissed at you though....
Man Barryfishing, you are OLD SCHOOL...I like it!
ReplyDeleteyes Jason I am. On the old street in Bridgeport, 30th and Princeton if punks where caught tagging property some of the guys on the corner social club would have a nice talk with the punk and its really hard to tag property with broken hands......Those where the good old days.....
ReplyDeletewhen i first encountered the writing in the cement, i felt frustration for whatever thirteen year old wrote it, gang member or not. i wondered if i was that young would i have been able to resist the temptation without the forethought that it was somehow marring the neighborhood. but then i ultimately wondered why the corners were redone as i didn't see anything wrong with them in the first place--now minus the patch of grass that was there.
ReplyDeletePlease, "marring the neighborhood," if you think a bit of graffiti destroys a neighborhood you need to move out of the city. There is not one area in the city that doesn't have graffiti. The graffiti blasters do a damn good job cleaning and covering. Instead of everyone pissing and moaning buy a $5 container of concrete patch and cover it up, then you can send pictures to UU and bask in the glory.
ReplyDeleteThere's a big difference between "marring" and "destroying" a neighborhood. While the tagging most definitely marrs the neighborhood it's the gangs and concentrated poverty (thank you Helen/Peter) which will destroy the neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteTagging is an issue not because it's "free expression" or giving into an irresistable temptation, it is an issue because tagging marks "territory". There is a big territory battle going on in the neighborhood (maybe it has always been going on...), and the bother about the tags is that they mark territory from block to block, adding more fuel to the block-by-block turf wars that contribute to drive bys at Sunnyside/Hazel and other corners.
ReplyDeleteJane, you may not spend a lot of time reading sidewalks, but there are many, many people that do. Small attempts by a range of neighbors to push back can make a positive difference, even if it is related to something as seemingly-trivial as what someone writes in wet cement.
So barryfishing, modern gang violence is big no-no, but violence committed by members of organized crime syndicates is totally cool? I mean, you're constantly talking up the mob in your posts.
ReplyDeleteNice rationalization there.
I didn't want to say it, but considering there aren't any Latin Kings in Uptown, I find it hard to believe LK Choco is even a gang tag...also evidenced by the lack of other symbols, most notably the five-pointed star or crown.
ReplyDeleteUptown gangs are the Vice Lords and Gangsta Disciples. Although, Latin Kings and Vice Lords are both People Nation, so their symbols are mostly the same.
"Jane, you ignorant slut".
ReplyDelete(sorry for the SNL reference)
The Latin Kings do have a presence in Uptown. It's mostly along the western edge of Uptown around Clark. Years ago the Latin Kings dominated large swaths of the Buena Park section of Uptown.
Click around this map and become enlightened. I will receive total consciousness on my deathbed because I once fixed the Dalai Lama's bike tire on the Lakefront path. Long story.........So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.
Obviously at the moment the black gangs dominate in Uptown, but not too long ago there were white gangs such as the Gaylords and Kenmore Boys being a real pain in the arse.
Jane, actually, this graffiti in the photo is located directly within the Latin King's boundaries. A few weeks ago, Lorraine Swanson posted a map from James Cappleman's campaign that shows where each of the gang's territory is in Uptown.
ReplyDeleteHere's the piece again that I got from Cappleman's website. He quoted the Chicago Police as his source, so it sounds reliable.
jamesfor46ward.com
I stand corrected. My information was obviously outdated. Thanks for the links!
ReplyDelete