A reader writes in:"Please, can you post an alert about the towing scam happening in the parking lot near 5000 N. Broadway (east side of street where the Spin Cycle, Citibank and Rosati's Pizza is located)? I contacted the alderman and they posted one sign. There is some operation set up that as soon as a person leaves their car in the parking lot, a guy sitting in front of Rosati's radios the tow truck that is parked behind the building. The tow truck does not turn on its light and does it very stealthy and literally, the minute the driver leaves the lot. It usually happens when the lot is about 1/2 full and less and on nights when the restaurants and nightclubs nearby are at their peak hours. Even worse, any tow warning signs they have up are at least 14 feet off the ground and/or are obscured (perhaps purposefully). The other warning signs are in Chinese. One night I watched the radio-guy and the tow truck and it was like clockwork."
Help! Help! I need some of your money! Hurry!
ReplyDeleteAnyone who parks in a private lot for a specific business doesn't have the right to leave their car in that lot while they shop elsewhere. This isn't a "scam," its the businesses protecting their limmited parking resources for their customers.
ReplyDeleteHopefully you called the police after your incident on Argyle.
a male 'cries' for help at 430am in uptown and you walk up to him? did the writer want to be jumped? if you are really concerned, call 911. otherwise walk away. this ain't mayberry.
ReplyDeleteAgreed w/ urbaneddie--what the reader described isn't a "towing scam" if the drivers parked cars in that lot and then walked off to Fat Cat or elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteHey, at least you didn't have a black man yelling at someone on his cell phone as he strode up and down Montrose (between Magnolia and Malden) at 3:45 this morning. I've seen him before, doing the same thing...he was wearing a black Carmelo Anthony jersey. I could hear him from three floors up, although the only words I could make out were "n*gger," "motherf*cker," "b*tch" and "sh*t," and that was only because he used them repeatedly.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like two examples of someone not using there head. Have you lived in the city for a few days or something?
ReplyDeleteA bunch of unhelpful comments on here
ReplyDeleteContrary to the others' posts, I fully believe it's a scam. I constantly see people trying to lure unsuspecting drivers to park in the lot. It's usually a team of two, and most often on concert nights. They encourage people to park there by standing at the parking lot's entrance and waving people in, then call the tow truck immediately.
ReplyDeleteIt's a scam because these people would not have parked in the lot unless there was someone waving them in.
Unfortunately there is no scam here. The vehicle was parked on private property. The lot is for use of people patronizing the businesses at that lot. The owner of the lot has a chosen relocator for their property and posted the apporpriate signage on the property notifing vehicle owners they will be towed.
ReplyDeleteThis is perfectly legal and happens all over the city. They also have a right to boot your car instead of towing it. If you want to see it in action sit in the lot across from Binnys on Clark and Wellington on a Saturday. You will see an old beat up blue Toyota Camry with two upstanding citizens in the car. They are there to monitor the lot and watch every sinble person who pulls into the lot. As soon as you walk off the property with your car in the lot they run over with a big yellow boot and lock it up. You have to pay them to remove it. Unfortunately its all perfectly legal.
It is very true that anyone who leaves the parking lot other then going to the stores for that lot can and will be towed. The lot has a signed posted and it is your responsibility to read it. Most tow drivers, like Lincoln, will pay someone to sit in there contracted lots and call each time they see a parker leave the lot. Private enterprise at its finest.
ReplyDeleteMaybe someone could explain why it matters that they are black?
ReplyDeleteThe shop owners seem to be aware of this issue. At Silver Seafood, the employees are careful to give you a parking pass to put in your windshield while you are in their restaurant. If you don't get such a pass from other stores in this strip mall, shop/eat somewhere else. So, only use their lot while you are shopping in their mall and while you have a valid pass - then, no problem! I recall the tow signs being very visible at the south entrance to the lot...
ReplyDeleteI am first David, not second David. Anyway, Maria, it matters either because it helps identify the scammer for other people, should they encounter it, or because it is . . . accurate.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, help! Help! I need some of your money! Hurry! I need more than you think because we actually split the money! Didn't I introduce you to my . . . partner?
David, Im pretty sure Maria is referring to the comment made by Jeff...."Hey, at least you didn't have a black man yelling at someone on his cell phone as he strode up and down Montrose" Which I also find very offensive. His comment, and comments like that in general, make no positive impact on any of us. Keep the negative, ignorant comments to yourself.
ReplyDeleteI really don't understand why people get so upset when a person's race is used to describe him or her. There's nothing wrong with stating the obvious as a descriptor. Is there something wrong with being black, white, Asian, etc., that we shouldn't mention it? Should we also refrain from calling him a "man" and simply refer to him as a "person" for fear of offending those who believe gender is not an important matter? I find all this "neutrality" just a wee bit silly, and I hope that those who believe in this misdirected, Uber- political correctness don't hold back on descriptive words when you call 911.
ReplyDeleteNearly all the comments today have been people wanting to argue. Can we back off, please?
ReplyDeleteI really don't understand why people get so upset when a person's race is used to describe him or her.
ReplyDeleteIf the race is key to the issue (i.e. to identify a suspect in an actual robbery, etc.) then, no problem. The police and the community need that information to make an arrest. But "there was a guy yelling on his cell phone...and he was BLACK!"..why is that relevant? This wasn't a crime being committed where a description of the suspect was important. This was just some guy yelling on his phone on the street, hence his race was of no real factor in the story. If only whites yelled on their phone on the street and someone came across a black person doing it, then I guess that might be worth noting. But as it is, it's kinda pointless and (to me) just further gives ammo to those who think the situation in the neighborhood is a race-based on instead of a thugs vs. decent people one.
And I hesitate to say the race of the scammers is important to because, while it may be accurate, ANYONE out on the streets at 4:30 a.m. might be a scammer/threat and focusing on one race can desensitize you to the possibility of scammers of ANY race. "Two guys hanging out in front of X story acting suspiciously at 4:30 a.m." would probably be an apt description as it is.
bottom line: If it involves a suspect in actual criminal act and a description is needed to apprehend them, race is an important term. Some guy just acting like an ass...not so much.
Here's another cautionary tale.
ReplyDeleteApparently there was a gang related beatdown around Buena and Kenmore on Saturday or Sunday night around 10 PM.
If anyone has specific information please post it. I've heard conflicting accounts.
Perhaps the people who post the accounts can argue.
I agree lil Tomato. I posted the same, but some of my posts magically do not make it onto this uncensored blog. I'll give it another shot:
ReplyDelete"Give it a rest, way over PC on this board. I am sure if the guy was purple and had two heads, he would have mentioned that. To be fair, everyone please start stating all the white, brown, etc people you seeing yelling on phones, committing mugging, flashing gang signs, getting drunk on CTA benches, shooting people and so forth. Just to be fair, let's see how that works out for the race card baiters"
Posted Aug 18th 1 of 5 in Aug. (re posted at 6:20, same day)
I used to work at one of the retail stores in the strip mall at Clark and Wellington. My coworkers and I would see illegally parked cars being towed all day, every day.
ReplyDeleteMost lots like that have signs posted which warn against parking there (if you're not patronizing one of the businesses) and also provide the towing company's information.
These parking problems are a result of Uptown's critical mass of retail infrastructure.
ReplyDeleteThis was most famously a characteristic of the "Punkin' Donuts" lot at Belmont & Clark in the 80s and 90s (don't know about the situation now). Kids would park in the lot, buy a donut then go shopping at all the "hip" boutiques nearby...then go back to the stores for instant refunds so they could reclaim their wheels!
ReplyDeletehope the poster called 911
ReplyDeleteregarding the carmelo anthony jacket guy yelling at 345 am
otherwise just complaining about
it on a blog is not goin to do anything
disturbance of the peace
its against the law
your description and race is important when you let the 911 dispatcher know about the incident
Lassie:
ReplyDeleteThis is still the case. In fact, they have a guy who usually hangs out across the street near the Starbucks or audio equipment store and will radio the guy sitting in DD that the customer has gone into a non-Alley store. I got fined when I walked into the bong store not realizing it was not part of the Alley stores.
Also on a side note, on the police scanner, I hear the dispatch constantly say things like "25 year old BLACK on a bike"... or "Was assaulted by a 20 year old BLACK male." Perhaps our UU poster was trying his best to give a description of what he thought a potential threat was, and not to put down any race. Truth be told, in Uptown at 4:30am if someone is trying to set you up as a victom it doesn't matter what race that person is.