Free Uptown-Based Staged Reading

click to enlarge

You are invited to a Staged Reading of THE LIVING NEWS, a Work-in-Progress, a theater project designed to examine the lives behind the headlines about homelessness in Chicago.

This play is based on interviews with residents at Cornerstone Community Outreach in Uptown, and it is written by a team of theater artists with reporters from the Chicago Tribune.

It will take place Friday night, November 16 at 7pm, at COLUMBIA COLLEGE CHICAGO, STAGE TWO, 618 S. Michigan Ave, 2nd Floor, near Harrison Red Line stop.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: contact Lisa DiFranza at ldifranza@colum.edu

Curbed Chicago: "Two Buildings Proposed For Old Maryville Site"

No renderings yet, but Curbed has a good summary of last night's meeting:

JDL President James Letchinger spoke at length about the proposal, which calls for a total of 776 rental units with high-end finishes. The 625-unit south building, the taller of the pair, will rise to a height of 315 feet and contain 479 parking spaces. The north tower will be around nine stories and house 151 units and 78 parking spots. [...]

Some other tidbits worth passing along: Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture, which also designed 3740 N. Halsted, has been commissioned to design the project. And while no renderings were released, the developer has promised truly distinct architecture for the site. To mitigate traffic impacts, an internal driveway spanning the length of the site has been incorporated into the plans. Twenty-percent of the units will be set aside for affordable housing. Studios will be priced around $1300/month, and one-bedrooms are in the range of $1600/month. The developer will be seeking TIF funds to finance the project. Naturally. As for the timeline, it could take 18-19 months once construction begins.

There's a lot more in the article -- read it here.

Update: To put the height into perspective, Park Place Tower, at 655 W Irving Park, is 531 feet tall.  The taller proposed tower here is 315 feet tall.  We like it!

"This Lady With A Cane, She Tripped Him And He Fell"

Once more, Uptowners to the rescue! A 19-year-old woman was walking on Broadway Tuesday evening when a 56-year-old purse snatcher grabbed her bag, and excitement ensued. We're figuring Erbert Kirkwood, the alleged thief, hadn't counted on being: (1) chased by the victim, (2) tripped by a lady with a cane, (3) tackled by a driver who left his car in the middle of the street to join the pursuit, (4) surrounded by passers-by when he landed on the ground, and (5) held by a former cop until the police arrived.

Oh, yeah, and (6) taped on an iPhone by an off-duty ABC TV producer, who just happened to be in the area.  Tough day and place to do a successful purse grab, I guess.

The story is on ABC7's website.  Mr. Kirkwood is in residence at the Cook County Jail, charged with felony robbery and held on $150,000 bail.

Update:  Interesting to note that Mr. Kirkwood just came off supervision on 10/28/2012 for an attempted Aggravated Robbery committed in 2006.  Among other "marks and tattoos," he has one that reads "C.V.L.," wonder what that's about?  He's also spent at least 22 of the past 33 years in the Pontiac Correctional Center.  His next court date is November 20th.

UU Note:  We assume ABC means the Annoyance Theater, not the Admiral Theater, in its report.

Developers Plan 770 Apartments In Uptown

Chicago Real Estate Daily
by Micah Maidenberg

Two developers are teeing up a $220 million apartment-and-retail project in Uptown, hoping to win over neighbors — and their alderman — who opposed an earlier plan for the property just west of Lake Shore Drive.

A venture between Chicago-based JDL Development Corp. and Norridge-based Harlem Irving Cos. wants to build a 30-story tower with about 620 apartments at the northwest corner of Montrose and Clarendon avenues, said JDL President James Letchinger. The developers have also proposed a nine-story building with about 150 rentals immediately to the north.

The project will face its first test Wednesday night, when the developers unveil their plans for the Maryville property, as the site is called, at a meeting hosted by Ald. James Cappleman (46th). The meeting, scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at the Clarendon Park Fieldhouse, 4501 N. Clarendon Ave., is the first step in a potentially contentious community process that could take several months to complete.

JDL and Harlem-Irving hope to avoid the fate of Sedgwick Properties Inc., a Chicago-based developer that encountered heavy neighborhood opposition after rolling out a plan for a $350 million project on the site that included 850 residences and three towers rising 20 to 45 stories.
Continue Reading (must register)

Extra-Alarm Fire On Buena This Morning

click to enlarge

click to enlarge

Shortly before 9:30am, a multi-unit building at 736 W Buena (between Marine Drive and Clarendon) caught fire.  Firefighters were on the scene en masse within minutes.  The fire was struck at 9:55am.  It looks like the entire top floor was engulfed in flames.  Horrifying.

As this article in the Tribune says, a woman was rescued by firefighters from a top floor unit.  A UU reader and contributor was able to catch a rescue on video, below.  The Tribune says:  "She was taken in fair to serious condition to Weiss Memorial Hospital."  A firefighter was also taken to the hospital as a precaution.

We hope everyone who lives in the building is okay and has family, friends and/or services to help them in this horrible time, and we are glad there was no loss of life. Thank you to everyone who sent us information and photos.

If anyone has any further information, or knows of any fund set up to help the victims, please post in the comments.

Update:  The Sun-Times is saying two residents were hospitalized.  "Two women — one in good-to-fair condition and the other in fair-to-serious condition — were taken to Weiss Memorial Hospital."  (The Sun-Times has a photo gallery along with its article.)

Update:  More dramatic footage from NBC Chicago.  Sammie Redmon, you are a hero!

Early AND Often

No wonder the lines were so long at the polls.  A huge percentage of registered voters in the three wards in which Uptown is located showed up at the polls for last week's election:

• 46th Ward:  23,284 votes were cast, out of 28,064 registered voters (82.96% turnout)
• 47th Ward:  27,283 votes were cast, out of 32,562 registered voters (83.78% turnout)
• 48th Ward:  23,163 votes were cast, out of 28,278 registered voters (81.91% turnout)

To break it down a little:

• In the 46th Ward,  81.83% of the voters went for Obama/Biden, 15.78% for Romney/Ryan, 1.34% for Johnson/Gray (Libertarian), and 1.04% for Stein/Hawkins (Green Party)
• In the 47th Ward, 78.67% of the voters went for Obama/Biden, 18.37% for Romney/Ryan, 1.50% for Johnson/Gray (Libertarian), and 1.46% for Stein/Hawkins (Green Party)
• And in the 48th Ward, 84.61% of the voters went for Obama/Biden, 13.15% for Romney/Ryan, 0.93% for Johnson/Gray (Libertarian), and 1.31% for Stein/Hawkins (Green Party)

For the wonks and wonkettes:  You can see all the races and break it down to the precinct level at www.ChicagoElections.com.  (Well, you can when it comes back up after its big ol' security breach today.)

Dive-ersity

The Tribune has a fun article saluting Chicago's dive bars.  Carol's gets all the publicity, but the Tribune feels Max's (down the street at 4621 N Clark) is better deserving of the title.  An excerpt -- the whole article is here:

To divine whether you are drinking at a true dive bar, forget the neighborhood. Dive bars, thankfully, live everywhere in this city, a testament to tradition and one inescapable fact: Once we are in winter's teeth, few trips warm us like the short walk to a cheap drink. [...]

In Max's on a recent Tuesday afternoon, eight men in baseball caps sat with brown bottles before them. Old Style cost $1 on draft, so I ordered that. The bartender, the only woman in the place, set my mug down. I asked how long the bar had been there.

"I bet one of these guys would know before me," she said.

She turned to a customer and said, "Hey Eli, how long has this place been here?"

"About 37 years," Eli said.

But who's counting?

Old Hull House Location For Sale

It's definitely the end of an era.  With Hull House declaring bankruptcy and going out of business after 122 years, its former building at 4520 N Beacon is up for sale.

It's had a lot of history and has served Uptowners in many ways.  It was the long-time home to the Black Ensemble Theater, and offered Project Head Start preschool, a Small Business Development Center, ESL classes, and counseling and advocacy for domestic abuse victims, among many other services.  It's still home to Uptown's own Pegasus Players!  To see the real estate listing on LoopNet, click here.

Another Chance To Save The 145 Bus?

A reader sent in the following information.  If anyone is able to attend and give reasons to save this bus route from elimination, it would be extremely appreciated:

"The next CTA board meeting is THIS WEDNESDAY at 1pm. (see below). The meetings usually start at 10am but this one has a later start. It would be great if some folks showed up to request that the board reconsider its decision to eliminate the #145 bus. The public can comment at the meeting; well, five people can anyway.

There have been many, many instances that I've been on a packed, standing-room-only #145 that's at a time when there will be no alternate service should this route elimination go through leaving SO many riders without service. This cut makes no sense. With a million riders, the route brings in more money than the CTA pays for the drivers to run it. In other words, it is not only cost-efficient - it is generating a profit. 

Should the CTA argue that it's about allocation of limited resources, then the question remains whether any of the decision-makers have ever sat and watched the nearly empty buses (like the #135, for example) running one after another during rush hour.

Most riders are unaware that the CTA board voted to cut this route. There are no signs on the buses or the bus stops about it. If the CTA is going to be so blatantly apathetic about the multitude it is inconveniencing and literally leaving out in the cold, it could at least give fair warning."

Here's a link to the CTA's webpage on how to make public comments at their board meetings.

As a refresher, the Wilson Avenue express buses will be cut off December 16th, leaving no way to get Downtown from Uptown for those who cannot access the non-ADA-compliant Wilson Red Line station.  A list of some compelling reasons for keeping the route were laid out in an earlier post, here.

If anyone can make the time to argue for the Wilson buses' retention, please go on behalf of many of your neighbors.

What You Need To Know About Panhandlers:Seminar On Thursday

Lake View Patch did a very informative article about the previous panhandling seminar, which explained what your rights are when it comes to be being approached by a panhandler, and also what a panhandler's rights are.  An excerpt:

"The city's ordinance doesn't keep anyone from standing, sitting, performing music, singing or holding a sign asking for a donation without any vocal request.  It does make the following panhandling acts illegal:

• Panhandling in any public transportation vehicle or facility, such as a stop on the L.
• Panhandling in a sidewalk cafe.
• Panhandling within 10 feet in any direction of the entrance to a bank or currency exchange.
• Touching a person without his or her consent.
• Asking for a donation while people are standing in line to enter an establishment.
• Using a gesture or other communication that would cause a reasonable person to be fearful.
• Two or more people panhandling together."

You can read the rest of the article here.  For more information, we urge you to attend the seminar on Thursday, which is free, and lasts exactly one hour.  The RSVP information is on the flyer above

More Details On DUI Hit-And-Run

More information is coming out about the hit-and-run committed last Friday in which an 87-year-old man was hit by a drunk driver.

It sounds like the victim is slightly better, as the Sun-Times describes his condition as "critical but stable."  Turns out the man accused of hitting him, Michael Izeta, had a blood alcohol level nearly three times over the legal limit.  According to the Sun-Times:

Michael Izeta, 26, was ordered held on $350,000 bond Sunday when he appeared in court. His Indiana license had already been suspended for driving under the influence and he has at least two prior DUI cases from Indiana on his record, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office.

The car struck Wayne Davis, of the 900 block of West Wilson, who was thrown four feet into the air, the officer reported. 

 Several readers were familiar with Mr. Davis and had spoken to him often.  One woman, who was the last person to speak to him before the accident, says:

[Mr. Davis] had just gotten done petting my dog who was lying down (which she does a lot because she is old) outside of Starbuck’s before he crossed the street. He said to her – “I like you because you are always tired, just like me. I am old and tired.” He said that and then attempted to cross Broadway to go back to the Pancake House where he always has coffee. He always likes to check out the newspaper headlines and then go back and have his coffee at the Pancake House. That is what he was doing. After what happened, his words really seem so poignant & stuck in my mind….. It was also surprising to me when I found out his age. I would have guessed this man was in his mid-70’s – he seems sharp as a tack!

I was thinking it was good that Lawrence was closed, because typically at that time of morning there would have been a lot more people in the intersection.

We continue to hope for Mr. Davis's recovery.

Fun-draiser For Buttercup Park Programs

Prest-o Change-o

You know the kind of dated Marathon station at Foster and Broadway?

It's been transformed into a brand new BP.

Bummer for those of us who have sworn off BP.

Anyone know if the same 7-days-a-week mechanics are still there?