From CTA Tattler:
"The CTA will use up to $3 million in tax increment financing to rehabilitate the Red Line's Wilson station -- long considered one of the worst stations.
Earlier this month the CTA board approved the agreement with the city to tap funds from the Wilson Yard TIF District. Planned station improvements include replacing flooring, walls, windows and railings inside the station, said a CTA spokesperson. Other enhancements would include replacing the roof, electrical system, plumbing and heating/cooling units and improving the concession spaces in the Gerber building -- the Wilson stationhouse built in 1923. The improvements are targeted to preserving the historic building.
No word yet on when construction will start. But this is really great news."
I'm so glad to hear this but it will always smell like a bathroom because people will continue to use it as one, unfortunatley. I've seen people mopping the stairs to the street level (usually only to assist in sopping up the water from snow or rain outside)but does any of the rest of the stop ever get cleaned? It would be so easy and take no time at all to use a pressure washer to clean it.
ReplyDeletePardon my pessimism....a band aid on a amputated limb. Like I said previously, this will end up as some new light bulbs and a fresh coat of paint.
ReplyDeleteThis is all political theater. Yes I hate Helen, yes I want her out of this ward. This is so that when she gets slammed on the political front for ramming through her vote farm she can say "But I gave you a Target and fixed your El station".
GO AWAY HELEN!
And budget some $$$ for a foot beat Policeman to chase away all of the ghetto sh*tbirds that frequent the area. Unless you want to rehab the place for these bums to relieve themselves and sell dope out of there, hang out and fight, etc. Its a muggers paradise late at night, lets not fool anyone here.
ReplyDeleteMuggers paradise?
ReplyDeleteI've been through there countless times late at night and have never had any trouble being mugged? I have many friends with the same story.
Is there anyone on this board who has actually been mugged at the Red Line stop in Uptown?
I've been jumped, but they didn't get anything.
ReplyDeleteSo is the $3M from the TIF funds just a portion of the funding that will be going into this project? As someone noted on the other blog, that's not a lot of money given the level of repairs needed.
ReplyDeleteStill, very glad they will be working to fix a miserable station. let's hope the other changes with Target and other development help to clean up the area in general. If not, the changes are only going to be temporary.
This is just a political stunt by Helen. $3 million dollars can't even begin to clean the station up. To do it correctly, they basically need to gut all of it (send Popeye's packing), clean it up and add an elevator. Then viable retail might come knocking.
ReplyDeleteThis "rehab" will result in not much more than new paint - and a few more votes for Helen (because some people fall for her crap hook, line and sinker).
how about cleaning the bums on the street and the station will take care of it self. I agree with the post for having more foot patrol to kick these people out from using it as their bathroom. I have never been mugged but no of many people being harassed by these fools.
ReplyDeleteMight this be for Target's private access? You know... so their customers don't have to deal with the station at large.
ReplyDeleteAnyone having doubts about crime near the Wilson station, check the Chicago police clearmap. Look for the "face mask" icon, that indicates a robbery. Strong arm or handgun, take your pick. Last week's showed a string of masks going west on Wilson from Broadway. Be sure and click "check all" to get the entire picture. It will be some what clear one week, and wild and crazy the next. Keep sticking your head in the sand, Metal. The problem will go away on its own. Right.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what "roof" they're going to replace, they just replaced the metal roof over the platform several years ago (along with all the other vintage north side stations), they also upgraded the lighting & sand blasted 90 years of paint off the platform canopies as well.
ReplyDeleteBut as some would say, it's like putting lipstick on a pig ... Look at the new Howard station, its beautiful, but because it's still used as a toilet by a few, it still smells like one.
Personally, I've never had a problem at any elevated station with muggings, etc. I have been mugged on the street before (in Wicker Park), but it was due more to my inebriation & lack of attention, nor do I blame anyone but myself for that.
Regardless, I find the station to be one of the most interesting in the city, especially on the north side. Whats with the mentality that everything needs to be squeaky clean for it to be fit for us? This is a big city, not Disneyland.
Can I suggest...SECURITY!
ReplyDeleteWhats with the mentality that everything needs to be squeaky clean for it to be fit for us?
ReplyDeleteThink about how interesting the stop would be if it were maintained in a manner worthy of its history, and respectful to the community.
No one's asking for "squeaky clean" ... just being "clean" would suffice.
No matter what is done to rehab the station, it will only stay clean if it is not utilized by litter bugs, total scum bags and deadbeats. With the high concentration of above-mentioned types around the station, that is not going to happen.
ReplyDeleteWindow dressing. Personally, when I need to take the Red line home, I get off a few stops early and cab it. I won't deal with the garbage around that stop. Thanks Helen.
ReplyDeleteAgain, the amazing thing is that this is just steps away from the 46th Ward Office. Are they taking the Red Line on a daily basis? They can't be.
ReplyDeleteI love dogs....but I'd rather have a 'less crusty' L stop than another dog park.
Whats with the mentality that everything needs to be squeaky clean for it to be fit for us?
ReplyDeleteThe neighborhood didn't come pre-sanitized.
Kenny said...
ReplyDeleteWhats with the mentality that everything needs to be squeaky clean for it to be fit for us?
The neighborhood didn't come pre-sanitized.
ummm, UU, honey, that wasn't a compliment.
So, we have no choice -- We have to accept the neighborhood as it is (riots on Sheridan, high crime at the Wilson el, gang busts across the street from the el, drug sales on the Sunnyside Mall, guns being drawn in the bank just across the street from the alderman's office, kids getting shot walking to elementary school -- and that's just so far in 2010)... and if we don't, if we want something better for ourselves and our kids, then we're accused of wanting to live in Disneyworld?
ReplyDeleteAh, Uptown, where the Shilleristas want to keep it encased in amber, never changing, and anyone who aspires for anything better is accused of wanting to live in Disneyland.
You are really pitiable, because you're so scared of anything better for yourselves. Sad, really.
TSN every girl dreams of a knight in shining armour, but hell hath no fury like a woman (or ward) scorned...
ReplyDeleteKenny, you're complaining that your comments are being posted? That can be remedied. ;-)
ReplyDeleteCaring Neighbor I'm just testing the water. When eveyone thinks alike, no one is thinking.
ReplyDeleteOr so I've heard.
When eveyone thinks alike, no one is thinking.
ReplyDeleteIndeed.
It's amazing how applicable that statement is to so many people.
And not just the folks on this site.
Wouldn't you agree?
TIF funds won't be used to install an elevator. Not when the US Congress can appropriate federal funds from the Stimulus or the next big spending bill that excretes from the Beltway.
ReplyDeleteThe City won't pay for an elevator that the Americans with Disabilities Act would finance.
Check the D2 report. You might see transfers from the Wilson Yard TIF into the Citizens for Shiller account. What you will see is transfers out of the Wilson Yard TIF to SB Freidman & Company around the same time SB Freidman & Company is transferring funds to Citizens for Shiller. Ditto for the fine proprietors of Walsh Construction.
This is all legal in the corruption capitol of the world.
Something I would hope her political adversaries would call her out on as well Brennan. Amazing that in this town the only way things get done is if Newspapers write a story about it. Maybe our friends at CBS2 would be interested in that nugget.
ReplyDelete