Residents will be out at Leland & Sheridan, and Leland & Malden, between 7-8pm this evening, on the lookout for shenanigans and getting to know each other. Please come by if you can, even for a few minutes. Bring your dog, bring your neighbor, bring yourself. It's yet another small way to start taking back our neighborhood.
Update: We got an email from Cafe Too's management that says, "Cafe Too [4715 N Sheridan] supports the positive loitering initiative the Uptown residents are conducting and would like to help – all participants are invited to pick up a complimentary coffee or tea to keep themselves warm out there." Thank you, Cafe Too!
FYI to all - Another great positive loitering event at Leland and Malden last night. Even with the rain, good turn out, and hearing the stories from neighbors and making many observations during that short hour reminded me of why we need to keep doing this AND a whole lot more. Interestingly, lots of new faces too.
ReplyDeleteNear the end of the hour, I was interviewed by a reporter from the Tribune, so look for a story soon on Uptown and responses from the communities to the unacceptable rise in violence.
Glad Leland & Malden had a good turnout. I was pleasantly surprised at the dozen or so folks who showed up at Leland & Sheridan, even in the cold and rain. I very much appreciated the hot bevvies from Cafe Too on a night like that.
ReplyDeleteGo, Team Uptown!
Lets hope all your positive loitering has some effect on the punks that rule your area......
ReplyDeleteI believe positive loitering has some effect, but the best thing about it is that it gives a chance for neighbors to meet one another. You just can't beat that.
ReplyDeleteI noticed that there are some people at W. Leland/N.Malden who walked past us looking a little bothered that we were doing this. I can't help but think a few of them might still view us as residents who want to get rid of people with lower incomes. That needs some work, but I believe it can change. We go out of our way to be very pleasant and invite everyone who passes by to join us. Slowly, they, too, will see that safety is a value shared by everyone.... except maybe by gangbangers.
I had a great conversation with the head of Chicago Justice Project. I learned that incidents of domestic violence are vastly under reported, especially in areas with high poverty. I wonder if children witnessing domestic violence has any bearing on them entering gangs as they get older. I don't know, but it's worth checking out. Whatever the case, more needs to be done to address this, if for anything else, highlighting that it's out there.
Post the next one to Windy Citizen. I suspect the folks over there would have liked to hear about it.
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