The link says concerns "should be criminal, quality of life or neighborhood disorder in nature, which affects more than one person and should be addressed by the police, city services and the community." So that brought to mind this situation, received from another reader:
"This arranged mound of junk has been on the north side on Ainslie between Ashland and Clark for 13+ months. Yes - over a year. Strew between the stacks is every disgusting, imaginable piece of garbage including used condoms, syringes, old clothes and shoes, bum poop, etc. Enough already. Thirteen months???" Our suggestion is to get an exact address and write the CAPS link. We'll see how it works out.
"Exact" address is 4906 N. Clark - former site of the fire-destroyed Lee Clark Auto Body Shop. The phone number of the shop was at one time 773-769-4444... not sure if this goes anywhere anymore or not... regardless, something should be done here, it's pretty nasty.
ReplyDeleteWhat does the alderman's office for that address say?
ReplyDeleteThats also a 311 call and a call to the aldermans office and a call to the owner of the business.
ReplyDeleteMultiple calls make things happen, especially by multiple people.
The squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Does anyone hear helecopter activity in the area of montrose and hazel?
ReplyDeleteThe amazing thing is, that most of my 'community concerns' are routinely posted here via UU's postings.
ReplyDelete(thanks to UU for holding up a mirror that spotlight's the issues up here).
I've not had much luck, with the Ward offic.
On jeffo's squeaky wheel theory, what can we do about the lawrence house? How do we get in touch with their managers/owners??
ReplyDelete@weekend
ReplyDeleteThe owners of the lawrence house know about all about the problems there. Fixing them costs money they do not want to spend.
I think the idea the place can be brought up to decent livable standards is naive. It will cost so much to rehab the building itself that it will no longer be profitable for its current use.
So Alek - what do you recommend?
ReplyDeleteI walk this strip of road on the daily and refuse to walk on that cluttered side of the road. The gaps between the supplies up there provide ample space for use as an outdoor bathroom.
ReplyDeleteLawrence House is already in housing court.
ReplyDeleteWith a new alderman we're trending on new ground here, so I can only speculate on the housing court outcome. But as privately owned facility whose owners are out to make cash, if and when they are forced to make what will be expensive repairs, I suspect the profitability of the property drops and the owners walk away.
ReplyDeleteAlek - but they own other properties, so could not they get a lien on their other properties?
ReplyDeleteIs there any way to follow the case in housing court? Would that be discussed at court advocacy meetings?
Alek is on a role.
ReplyDeleteAnybody want to tell me what Lawrence House is without bashing me as some kind of bad Uptowner? What is its specific use and occupancy? Is it a homeless shelter? A Low income project? Subsidized housing?
From what I know about Lawrence House, I would likely walk away and sell my interest in the building.
ReplyDeleteThe unfortunate reality is that, because it has been allowed to deteriorate to its current condition, it is probably very difficult to restore the building and maintain its current use.
I have learned that there are some unique characteristics of the building that would make it difficult to convert economically to several more desirable purposes, but I sure wish someone with a whole lot of courage and money would try!
I feel for the good people that still live in Lawrence House, but the most good for the most amount of people (residents, the community, emergency services, etc.) may come from from shutting it down, giving it the TLC it deserves, and starting over.
There are a great deal of housing issues that have gone unresolved for a long time in the 46th ward. Frankly, there are all kinds of physical, social and organizational issues that have gone unresolved for a long time. But I don't think any of the issues mentioned here have gone unnoticed by our Alderman Elect. However, finding solutions to all of them is going to take some time. But if I had to guess which is all this is, I believe housing court referrals are going to be handled a bit differently after next Monday by our ward office!
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