And while we're on the subject....
Please join your neighbors for another evening of Positive Loitering tonight from 7-8 PM at the corner of Leland and Sheridan. The event is being sponsored by the Uptown Chicago Commission and all are encouraged to attend. Our friends at Soggy Paws have graciously provided treats for your four legged friends. The Dog Dude has promised to remember to bring them this time!Bring a friend, bring a dog, bring a friend's dog! Just come out and enjoy a beautiful summer evening.
I'm a strong supporter of Positive Loitering, but I'm puzzled as to why this event isn't being held at the intersection of Magnolia and Wilson. Clearly, Magnolia has been the hub of gang misconduct all summer long, and Positive Loitering at this intersection would send a strong message to the gang members that our community is united in our efforts to take back our streets. I realize Positive Loitering may have originated in Truman Square, but we need to be flexible enough to go where the negative action is at. This summer the gang activity has been thriving on Magnolia. Much like a Police Gang Hot Spot, which changes each week, our Positive Loitering events also need to change to accommodate shifts in gang activity. I'd like to advocate for Positive Loitering to be held at Magnolia and Wilson next week and all remaining weeks that gang activity remains active on this street. If anyone else agrees, please add a comment to this blog to urge the Positive Loitering coordinator to host the event at Magnolia and Wilson for the next few weeks.
ReplyDeleteThe Magnolia/Malden block club is in the process of organizing positive loitering events for this corner occurring on a weekly basis. Stay tuned for details.
ReplyDeleteMost of the people who show up at Positive Loitering at Leland/Sheridan and Lawrence/Sheridan are Truman Square residents. I would ask that the block clubs and residents in the Magnolia/Wilson area work with UCC to begin a positive loitering group in their neighborhood. If even 15% of the people who showed up at the Beat 2312 beat meeting earlier this month committed to show up at Positive Loitering, it would have quite an impact on the activities going on at that corner and on that street.
ReplyDeleteThe positive loitering that you see at Leland and Sheridan is because when things got violent there last summer, people who live there decided to do something.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't any sort of official thing, it's just neighbors who hang out and chat while making one corner a little bit more peaceful.
Positive Loitering (capital P and L as you put it) is a concept that has been shared around the neighborhood....there is no license on it, the group at Leland/Sheridan isn't any sort of exclusive thing. The reason it is successful is that there are enough people nearby who consistently commit to attending, even when it is cold or otherwise undesirable.
If you want positive loitering at Wilson and Magnolia, send UU an email saying "there's going to be PL" and then show up...that's all the coordinator does. Unfortunately, even though there have been efforts and encouragement to get it going, in the past nobody at Wilson and Magnolia takes the effort to show up. Trust me, if there isn't enough interest to take the bull by the horns and make it happen, nobody is going to do it for you.
In other neighborhoods there are several locations of PL at any given time. I'm not trying to be rude, but you shouldn't expect what has persevered in Truman Square to just move to your liking. I have participated in it from the very beginning, and like that it's having a change on the blocks that immediately affect me. I hope neighbors near Wilson and Magnolia are motivated by the recent escalation in violence, commit to their own group, and get the chance to feel the same way.