A reader writes in: "I was just (recently) driving past "S-Pantry" (formerly S&L) on the infamous corner of Lawrence and Sheridan (4759 N. Sheridan) and noticed a LARGE group of local gang members loitering outside. This needs to end NOW! Please follow the link and submit a formal complaint with the Dept. Of Business Affairs as I just did.
I submitted my contact information for better processing. I will continue to file complaints until this matter is dealt with, I will not rest until S-Pantry no longer exists. Let's help each other clean up this intersection.
In my description I noted that gang activity runs rampant here, that multiple arrests have been made right outside their front door, gang loitering goes unchecked on a daily basis and that the safety and quality of life for surrounding residents is severely threatened by this business remaining open. Please file and continue to file until we rid ourselves of this terrible business."
how about making this a dry corner to tackle the JJ Peppers/S Pantry 1-2 punch?
ReplyDeleteUU - did they JUST send this in today? Just trying to gauge whether they are outside now?
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this information. I urge everyone to file a complaint. S&L seems to be getting worse and worse and even this am there was flagrant gangbanging going on in front. Sheridan and Lawrence seems to have gotten much worse in one year, and it is to the point where my family can no longer walk in that area.
ReplyDeleteWe need the exact address of this miserable place. Thank you for posting this complaint form. I have raved and ranted about this place for years. That corner will be entirely different without that business, plus they are doing other illegal transactions in there.
ReplyDelete4759 North Sheridan Road
ReplyDeleteChicago, IL 60640-5051
(773) 271-6270
That intersection really is a dump right now. If there aren't bangers in front of S Pantry, they are in front of LH, JJ Peppers or somewhere else in that awful strip mall. Even if that immediate intersection is cleaned up, as long as the booming market remains, you have to imagine the action will just shift north or south a block or two.
ReplyDeleteOnly JJ Peppers sells liquor.
ReplyDeleteRemember, we have an alderman now who takes suggestions and feedback from the community.
If you feel strongly about this, (1) look up the address of Sheridan Pantry, (2) write to the Consumer Affairs Department linked in the article, and (3) contact Ald. Cappleman's office about your concerns.
There has been talk about voting the precinct dry of package liquor sales. Tell your alderman, who is also a legislator and lawmaker, how you feel about it.
As one of the people who posts items on UU (although not this one), I am all for comments on a blog, but they don't lead to change. Contacting the right people and getting active yourself is the only way to make change happen.
If only JJ Peppers sells booze, how come I have seen beer can litter (only a block away from both stores) on my street w/ price stickers labeled "S Pantry"? Are they illegally selling?
ReplyDelete"Even if that immediate intersection is cleaned up, as long as the booming market remains, you have to imagine the action will just shift north or south a block or two."
ReplyDeleteAlek, that's exactly how you clean up a neighborhood. You keep bouncing them over, and over, and over. This does two things: It disrupts their drug sales because the customers can't find them, so the neighborhood becomes a less profitable place to do business; and it takes away their turf, which is what gangs value over everything else. It takes a while, and you have to be vigilant, but that's exactly how Lincoln Square and Wrigleyville and North Center did it 20 or 30 years ago. I saw it happen. No reason it can't happen here.
Weekend, I can't answer that question, but only JJ Peppers has a liquor license. Sheridan Pantry does not.
ReplyDelete@TSN
ReplyDelete"It takes a while, and you have to be vigilant, but that's exactly how Lincoln Square and Wrigleyville and North Center did it 20 or 30 years ago. I saw it happen. No reason it can't happen here."
I get your point, have submitted a complaint and will fight the good fight, but I don't think it's fair to compare the hyper concentrated drug market in Uptown to what was present in those neighborhoods.
If you know for a fact that S&L is selling alcohol, you can submit a complaint specifically for that. Please do!
ReplyDeleteI just wrote to both alderman and filed a complaint. I also sent this info to my neighbors and asked them to consider doing so as well.
GANGS OUT OF UPTOWN.
Unless you contact Cappleman, AND vote the precinct dry, as was done across the street, nothing will happen.. and to those asking why there are beer bottles in front of SL Pantry,,because they buy them from JJPeppers, and um, walk across the street... VOTE IT DRY! Here, I will make it easy for you all to start.. email James at james46ward@gmail.com.
ReplyDeleteAlek: "I get your point, have submitted a complaint and will fight the good fight, but I don't think it's fair to compare the hyper concentrated drug market in Uptown to what was present in those neighborhoods."
ReplyDeleteLet's have a history lesson. Parts of the neighborhoods surrounding Uptown were just as bad as Uptown is now. In fact, the point can be argued that Uptown is the way it is now because the problems from those surrounding neighborhoods were driven away from them and into Uptown, and Shiller was too busy declaring Uptown to be a nuclear-free zone, and declaring Uptown to be anti-apartheid, and trying to shut down UCC, to want to stop it all from ending up here. In fact, I remember her saying that she would take all the poor and all the gangs in the entire city into Uptown if she could (and she tried her damnedest). The mothers of some of the worst gangbangers in Uptown worked for Shiller at her "service office."
So if you were a gangbanger and being driven from a community like Lincoln Square, where would you go set up shop? Try Uptown, where no one stood in your way or shoved you out. What we have now, here, is the result of the surrounding neighborhoods getting tough, and Shiller standing here with open arms. Well, she's gone now, and it's time for us to do the same. The concentration of the problem doesn't matter -- the method works.
"Let's have a history lesson. Parts of the neighborhoods surrounding Uptown were just as bad as Uptown is now. In fact, the point can be argued that Uptown is the way it is now because the problems from those surrounding neighborhoods were driven away from them and into Uptown, and Shiller was too busy declaring Uptown to be a nuclear-free zone, and declaring Uptown to be anti-apartheid, and trying to shut down UCC, to want to stop it all from ending up here. In fact, I remember her saying that she would take all the poor and all the gangs in the entire city into Uptown if she could (and she tried her damnedest). The mothers of some of the worst gangbangers in Uptown worked for Shiller at her "service office."
ReplyDeleteSo if you were a gangbanger and being driven from a community like Lincoln Square, where would you go set up shop? Try Uptown, where no one stood in your way or shoved you out. What we have now, here, is the result of the surrounding neighborhoods getting tough, and Shiller standing here with open arms. Well, she's gone now, and it's time for us to do the same. The concentration of the problem doesn't matter -- the method works. "
The history lesson wasn't entirely neccesary as i'm not ignorant of the dynamics at play, but I think you made a pretty good argument that the concentration matters and matters a lot.
Since the drug market in Uptown has been purposefully inflated and has become so profitable, I don't think the traditional methods that have worked in other 'hoods will be enough. Will it help, sure, but it's just piece of the puzzle which begins and ends with the incredible concentration of users, which aren't going to leave Uptown for Lincoln Square, Lakeview or Cabrini Green for that matter anytime soon.
@jon - i think weekend was saying that the beer can was actually labeled "S Pantry"
ReplyDeleteOkay, Alek, you live with Uptown as it is, and throw up your hands and say "It'll never change." I'll keep working against the gangs until they or I draw my last breath. I've lived in this part of town for over 50 years, and my family for 50 years before that. I've seen it change, both for better and for worse. But you're locked into your mindset, so I won't waste any more time saying what I've seen succeed. Sorry I tried to change your worldview. It won't happen again.
ReplyDeleteProblems like these are only hopeless if you give up. People hanging out on a corner drinking evidently have nothing else to do. You like me probably do, so they have that advantage. We however have the law and starting this month the lawmaker on our side. Also there is a lot more people who want this cleaned up than want to hang out and drink there. The trick is to stay organized and on top of it. It is very easy to make a lot of noise and then forget about it. When that happens the people with nothing else to do, ALWAYS come back. But if we stay on top of it, things can change. As someone else said take at look at Lincoln Square or Southport today.
ReplyDeleteI have to imagine there are about 1,000 things that need our new Alderman's attention today. Situations like these have to be on that list. But communication that you are willing to partner with him on the problem goes a long way to move it up the list. Trust Me!
"Okay, Alek, you live with Uptown as it is, and throw up your hands and say "It'll never change." I'll keep working against the gangs until they or I draw my last breath. I've lived in this part of town for over 50 years, and my family for 50 years before that. I've seen it change, both for better and for worse. But you're locked into your mindset, so I won't waste any more time saying what I've seen succeed. Sorry I tried to change your worldview. It won't happen again."
ReplyDeleteI said, and I quote, "I get your point, have submitted a complaint and will fight the good fight".
Please do me one favor and explain how that equates to saying "It'll never change" or implies that I have no desire to put in the work to improve the area?
I just filed a complaint! Thanks for the heads up!
ReplyDeleteQuick suggestion for UU and readers who make requests for community action: please include the exact address for the business, residence, graffiti tag, etc. in question. I'm a loyal UU fan and take action whenever it comes up (file complaints, request graffiti blasters, etc.). Having the address in the post makes it easy to take action immediately! Thanks!
Lets not fight over this stuff. Lets just agree that we all want a change and that there are many ways to go about doing so. Everyone needs to do something whether you call the alderman, file a complaint, or vote for new laws it can all come together to do good. We should be fighting the gangs not each other!!
ReplyDeleteI filed a complaint with the Dept. of Business Affairs. I got a call in less then 1 hour after I filed the complaint. She told me that she received a few others that filed a complaint but there was little her department could do. She told me that you need to get a community action group together or go to your Alderman. Everyone just kicks the can down the road. Might be better off to contact the States Attorney Generals crime stopper division at 1-800-535-STOP. They might have some resources to get this place shut down for good.
ReplyDeleteWhat was the context in which Ms. Shiller allegedly "invited" all the gang members to come to Uptown? I'm suspecting it was some typical political hyperbole, expressing the idea that there would be agencies providing alternatives for at-risk youth in Uptown that maybe weren't available elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteI really can't imagine any alternative explanation that would make sense.
Alek, are you just arguing for the sake of arguing? If you agree with TSN, then why the long response after you said you 'will fight the good fight'? Quit talking about it and be about it.
ReplyDeleteUU-Thank you for posting an action item! I frequently feel helpless in these situations simply because I'm not sure who to contact. I submitted a complaint so it is at least another tick mark against S&L. Every little bit helps right? I had the impression that JJ Peppers and S&L were on James' radar screen already?
ReplyDeleteAs a business owner with a little bit of insight as to how the city of Chicago departments work - here's my advice.
ReplyDeleteThe department of business affairs & consumer protection (BACP) only handles licenses, including liquor licenses.. If there is concrete proof that S&L is selling liquor without a license, there is a complaints department that you can contact directly - 312.744.4006 (e-mail: cserve@ci.chi.il.us)
There's also an Enforcement & Investigations team that should be able to handle the issue if they're selling liquor without a license - that # is 312.744.6060.
As for cleaning up the place and getting rid of drug dealers - there are 2 concrete ways of going about it.
1. Have an organized chat w/the owner of the establishment. Advise them of the concerns and let them know the neighborhood will not continue to support if the activity continues.
In addition,
2. Call into Cappleman's office. He cares about his ward. Advise him of your concerns. He has immediate connections w/the police chief in the ward. If there is illegal activity, the police will investigate - as this is their primary responsibility.
A call to the local police station and a chat w/the sergeants wouldn't hurt either.
Just my two cents...
-The Cupcake Gallery Guy!
PEOPLE PEOPLE PEOPLE... I bet you all thought I was talking about you...Nope, I was talking about the Peoples Church homeless shelter that is right next door to that store, that does no drug testing, has no filtering at all, to my knowledge, of who comes in... and thus, you have a drug corner at Lawrence and Sheridan.. add in the mess at Lawrence House a block in the other direction, and you have the 'perfect storm' Ask Alderman Cappleman to crack down on those two hot messes...
ReplyDeleteBeyond all of the suggestions on this post perhaps the sustainable solution is an old solution...the Beat Cop.
ReplyDeleteI know there are not enough police to go around but that seems like the only solution long term.
Sheridan Pantry could pick up a little good will....fairly easily by sprucing up their display windows, doing something in them. Its good for business and neighborly.
Guapo! is spot on and i'd be stunned if Cappleman wasn't aware of those problem buildings.
ReplyDeleteI totally steer clear of that area. I would suggest having the alderman set up a meeting with the owner. That stuff works.
ReplyDeleteA little off topic but I just checked out James' new website. Pretty darn nice! Welcome to the 21st century 46th ward.....
ReplyDeleteThis intersection IS nasty. On both the southwest and southeast corners, I've had to walk around sizable groups of aggressive gang bangers who weren't inclined to part to allow anyone to pass. One one occasion (in front of S&L), one of the gang bangers started yelling at me to get away from them, then he and another guy approached me at a clip until I darted out into the street. I've lived in the city for the bulk of my life and thought it wasn't possible to be intimidated into running into traffic. Apparently I was wrong...
ReplyDeleteI was driving west at the intersection of Wilson and Sheridan today. I had the red light so I was stopped. There was a car heading south on Sheridan, and one of these thug looking dudes was crossing Sheridan from the west to east, on the south side of the street.
ReplyDeleteThe thug dude of course, slowed down is gait to stay in the middle of the street. The driver blared his horn and slammed on the brakes, and the thug looking dude just slowed down more, and didn't react to the horn to be a tough guy. What is wrong with these people?
Captain-
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question they are terrorists and need to be shipped off to guatonamo bay with their terrorizing counterparts.
I had full view of the Peppers parking lot and S Pantry for a good eighteen months before I bailed on the Lawrence House, the problem is near-constant. Also, more often than not if I had my window open I'd hear an officer commanding somebody to put their hands up. Peppers, S Pantry and Lawrence house have got to go.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to keep the next S Pantry beer can I find as evidence...
ReplyDeleteI am all for supporting positive economic activity by responsible businesses in our neighborhood. That's not what is what is happening at Sheridan and Lawrence lately. It has gotten to the point where it is not safe to go to this corner, and, at best, is very unpleasant.
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree with Cupcake Guy - Has anyone organized an effort to reach out to the business owners first? Do we even know whether the activity around their business frustrates them as much as the surrounding community?
If they don't care and don't value the good people of Uptown, then hell, let them know our identified solution is to try to shut them down. If they are bothered too, maybe working with them, the police, and the property owners might be a whole lot more effective.
I took a cab home from work last night and heading west from LSD on Lawrence at about 8 PM. When I got to the corner of Sheridan and Lawrence, I was literally terrified...
In front of the S&L, there was a large thuggish looking man who refused to move for a tidy looking woman rolling a suitcase down the street. All of the sudden, the look on her faced turned from smile to fear as the thug established his dominance over the sidewalk. What did the woman day? She rolled her suitcase into the street into oncoming traffic to avoid this idiot. In the process, she nearly got run over.
As my cab crossed the intersection, I witnessed two young males in red caps clearly "standing watch" over the dumpsters behind JJ Peppers. As my cab rolled by, a third individual walked up, purchased something from the two in a very quick exchange, and moved on.
Lawrence is my most direct route to the lakefront, and I am to the point now where I will divert as far north as Foster or as far south as Montrose to avoid Lawrence/Sheridan and Wilson/Sheridan.
A suggestion to the relevant block clubs there. Make cleaning up that corner your chief aim in the near term. Focus on that effort, and get those that can help in your cause over to your side of the fence (Alderman, property owners, business owners come to mind). Take the initiative to identify the actions that will make a difference, and develop a plan to get them done. Believe we can succeed...
I have to imagine the business owners like it the way it is. Thugs and addicts are the target demographic for their wares. Who is going to buy all the flavored blunt wraps, newports, king cobras, candy, chips, lotto tickets, etc if the thugs are gone.
ReplyDeleteUnless the owners are doing something illegal that can be leveraged, I don't see what a sit down meeting will accomplish. Heck S Pantry already has a bunch of token we call police crap up.
Cracking down on places that supply a customer base like Peoples Church and LH seems much more prudent.
what makes you think that anyone on the street is a "'gang member"? Is it their race? Apparent non-employed situation?
ReplyDeleteAs a resident who has lived 40+ years on this side of town, I've seen a lot of things on that corner. Mostly poor people.
I think equating these folks to "gang members" is a bit of a stretch, don't you?
David, Im against profiling as much as anyone. But it doesn't take a rocket scientist to spot a gangbanger. I see many men and women of different races than I all the time in Uptown, and many of them I would not suspect are gangmembers. WHY?
ReplyDeleteBecause they are not:
-Standing on the corner littering
-Standing in the street not moving
-Wearing all red
-Shouting down the street to other men
-Shaking hands with bums and addicts (aka dealing crack)
Do you need more identifiable charactaristics?
Not really. Gang members are not hard to pick out from the other people who are there, aka the poor people, the mentally ill or the drug addicts. Gang members tend to wear their colors proudly (note their red and black shoes, sweatshirt and hat) and tend to be younger and more alert.
ReplyDeleteAlso, when they throw gang signs or sell drugs in front of you it is a pretty good indication of their affiliation.
"what makes you think that anyone on the street is a "'gang member"? Is it their race? Apparent non-employed situation?
ReplyDeleteAs a resident who has lived 40+ years on this side of town, I've seen a lot of things on that corner. Mostly poor people.
I think equating these folks to "gang members" is a bit of a stretch, don't you? "
The regular shootings, drug dealing and addicts that inhabit that intersection are a pretty good indication that the corner boyz that hang there 24/7 aren't just innocent poor people enjoying the surroundings.
@david - you have to be kidding! i WISH i only saw what you saw on that corner.
ReplyDeleteit's pretty obvious when the gang bangers are counting their singles, dealing drugs, and involved in shootings all blatantly on that corner.
Again people fail to understand that there is a drug market here because there is a demand. Where does that come from? The addicts that live next door, the kids that go to a show and the fact that Lawrence is a block of LSD so that makes for a quick buy and go. Still we choose to go after legitimate businesses. What exactly would the closing of JJ or SL would do? If the drug dealers stood infront of the laundrymat would we try and close that down too ? Everyone knows where the drug dealers live. How come noone goes after the landlords? You see a drug deal going down? Snap a picture and post it. Then you see how fast the corner empties.
ReplyDeleteOK, USH is back!
ReplyDeleteVOTE THE DAMN PRECINCT DRY. As long as JJ Peppers is selling liquid 'crack' in 12 oz. singles and 4 oz bottles of nighttrain, that area will always be full of folks that should be in a 12 step program and not buying drugs on that corner...
PEOPLE, you say you want businesses, then blame them for the thugs that hang out in front! The problem is the unregulated shelters! Even James has said this should be the focus!! The people at S&L are people like us who are trying to make a living in an unfortunate area. They sell what sells. When the clientele changes, they will need to change their offerings or go out of business.
ReplyDelete@Uptownism
ReplyDelete"Sheridan and Lawrence seems to have gotten much worse in one year, and it is to the point where my family can no longer walk in that area."
That immediate area really does seem to be shaping up as a turf war battle ground. I think some of the Winthrop/Kenmore action from further north is feeling the squeeze and looking to get in on some of the action, especially since the Somerset market has dried up.
Well said Larry, very well said..
ReplyDelete@Larry - very true. I have spoken to some of the local drinkers, who have reported that they have lived in Rest for literally decades.
ReplyDelete@David - I identify the gang members by the gang signs they flash at each other. The CPD has some info for citizens on how to recognize gang members.
ReplyDelete@All - Suggestion you take a look at the interview with the new head of the CPD on the Tribs web page. He gives a very interesting perspective on the "perception" of increasing crime and how that perception decreases our quality of life. He has some good, common sense ideas to reduce the perception of high crime, which, if successful as they have been in other cities, should increase our quality of life.
Back in the bad old days of Prohibition, if you wanted some illegal mood enhancement you'd go down an alley to a guarded doorway, knock three times, tell the bouncer "Joe Sent Me," and/or a password, and the goodies would be made available for you.
ReplyDeleteAt least that's what I learned from books and movies.
Now this sort of stuff is apparently done "out in the open," no secret passageways/passwords etc., while presumably the cops look the other way. (Maybe for the same reason they were reluctant to arrest Al and the boys?)
When and why did the "protocol" change?
There has been quite a contingent of young men (black/hispanic and a few white) who have been "patrolling" the immediate area around Ainslie and Sheridan (including the elementary school and Buttercup Playlot) since Saturday. Today they seem to have had a very productive day in their chosen profession as there were two older gentlemen with wads of cash adding some from the youngins' and paying out to others. Am I to believe that they are just doing some community policing and positive loitering? Oh well, called the cops the last two days and getting ready to send an email to the aldermen.
ReplyDelete"called the cops the last two days and getting ready to send an email to the aldermen."
ReplyDeletethumbs up
Alek, can you throw in a shout out for a block down the way at Lawrence and Kenmore , across from Lawrence House, too?
ReplyDeleteFWIW, the guys hanging outside of LH tonight are from Rest. This supports Larry's point again.
ReplyDelete