Richard Gill on Another Food Cooperative Proposal: Really?

-posted by Richard Gill

Has it really been almost five years since the Hyde Park Co-op closed? Yes, it has. Time flies when you're having decent shopping. Hyde Park still has "issues," but at least the long and painful Co-op trauma is gone forever. Or so I thought till I saw the September 19 Hyde Park Herald. Someone wrote to the editors proposing the establishment of a new food co-op in the neighborhood. Arrrghh! I am merely pointing out the letter, not discussing the proposal. Right now I don't have the stomach for it. Just the thought of another Hyde Park co-op gives me the willies.

55th Street Project is Under Way

-posted by richard gill

 

Work is in progress near 55th & Ellis, June 29.

 

Work is moving along on the much-anticipated safety enhancements for 55th Street between Cottage Grove and Lake Park Avenue.  The project primarily involves re-striping and new signage to improve safety and accommodations for pedestrians, bicyclists, and motor vehicle traffic.  This is one of several such projects being implemented by the Chicago Department of Transportation.  See the April 23, 2012 installment of this blog for details.

 

Initial pavement markings show arrangement of westbound traffic lane, parking lane, bike lane and bus stop.  Parking lane is adjacent to traffic lane; bike lane is next to the curb.

 

 

 

Hyde Park Murals Re-Dedicated

-posted by richard gill

On May 16, an enthusiastic crowd gathered at the 57th Street railroad viaduct to celebrate Bernard Williams's restoration of Astrid Fuller's widely acclaimed murals.  Fuller painted the murals on several viaduct retaining walls, beginning in the early 1970s.  The murals are characterized as "confrontational" due to their subject matter which illustrates socioeconomic and political aspects of Chicago history.  The University of Chicago paid for the restoration.  Other supporters include 5th Ward Alderman Leslie Hairston, Metra, and community organizations throughout Hyde Park.

Artist Astrid Fuller (2nd from left) and an attendee discuss the murals.

Hyde Park resident Jay Mulberry (holding mic) was emcee for the ceremony.

2nd Ward Opposition to Hotel: Déjà vu All Over Again

posted by richard gill

As reported January 4 in ChicagoRealEstateDaily.com, the Unite Here hotel union is working to block construction of a hotel in Chicago’s West Loop area.  It’s a 615-room hotel proposed by Toyoko Inn Co. Ltd.  What a jobs generator this would be, and what a boost to the West Loop area. But Unite Here wants to block it because it says the company plans to subcontract housekeeping work to non-union employers.

Second Ward Alderman Bob Fioretti has been delaying the zoning approval process, although local residents are not opposed. Fioretti must be feeling enormous pressure from Unite Here.  In the 2^nd Ward, the union is trying to pull what they pulled and got away with—in Hyde Park—not too long ago.  The union tried to disrupt a public meeting about a proposed Marriott Hotel. The developer wanted to get the hotel up and running, and employing people. Not good enough for Unite Here. They insisted on an up-front guarantee of a union shop.  The guarantee was not forthcoming, so Unite Here sought to block the whole project.

Neighborhood organizations, the unemployed, the University of Chicago, the Museum of Science and Industry, and the vast majority of area residents thought the hotel was a great idea for the site of the abandoned Doctors Hospital.  A few people who lived in the 5^th Ward’s 39^th Precinct, where the hotel would be built, opposed it.  One of them stood up in public and said the hotel would host alcohol-soaked events whose drunken attendees would spill into the streets.  He gave as an example…..Bar Mitzvahs.

Seeing that the neighborhood was strongly in favor of the hotel, someone in the precinct or the union found a hook: vote the precinct dry.  Only the precinct residents needed to vote on it.  A large city hotel can’t make a go of it without sale of alcoholic beverages in its bars and restaurants.  The union did much of the legwork to get the dry proposition on the 2008 ballots. They managed to do it, and it passed narrowly.  No hotel was built.  The hotel union helped kill 200 hotel jobs on Chicago’s high-unemployment South Side.

Fioretti should support the Toyoko hotel.  Let the union convince the workers to organize, once they’re working.

Read about the 2008 hotel fiasco on this blog. Start at November 23, 2008 and work back through several earlier posts.

Hairston Flyers Illegally Stuffed into High-Rise Mailboxes

posted by richard gill

It is a Federal crime to place unauthorized items in anyone’s home mailbox. On January 28, my wife and I found a Leslie Hairston campaign flyer in our mailbox. Looking around our building’s mailroom, we saw the same Leslie Hairston flyer peeking out of most of the building’s 369 mailboxes. Whoever put the stuff there committed a crime with each slotting of the flyer.

We turned the flyer over to our building’s office, and a strongly worded notice was distributed to all residents. At present, I don’t know who the perpetrator was, but I will try to find out. If this offense occurs again, I will report it to the U.S. Postal Service, and there will be no doubt on whose behalf the offense was committed.

So here we see another transgression by the supporters of Leslie Hairston’s effort to be the 5th Ward’s Alderman for Life. These transgressions are all aimed at foiling the candidacy of Anne Marie Miles, who has mounted a credible and well-conceived campaign to be elected 5th Ward Alderman; she wants to furnish the ward with the stimulus, leadership and advocacy it sorely needs.

One may ask, what other transgressions were committed by the Hairston camp? First, there were the countless, groundless and frivolous objections to nearly every signature on Anne Marie Miles’ nominating petitions. This crude effort to simply wear Anne Marie down did not work. She persevered and has the top position on the ballot.

Then, there were the harassing threats to send building inspectors to the landlord of Anne Marie’s campaign office on 71st Street. Nice try, but Anne Marie has a lot of supporters on “Leslie’s turf”, and the campaign office found a new home. Next, a building inspector appeared (just by chance, of course) at a place displaying a sign supporting Anne Marie Miles for 5th Ward Alderman. It would be worth a look, in order to find out how this tactic may run afoul of Federal election laws, and even local laws regarding misappropriation of public monies.

And now, we have the mailbox caper.

A U.S. Postal Service press release dated September 9, 2010 says, “The U.S. Postal Service would like to warn people that only authorized U.S. Postal Service delivery personnel are allowed to place items in a mailbox. By law, a mailbox is intended only for receipt of postage-paid U.S. Mail….. the Postal Service has received complaints of flyers without paid postage being placed in mailboxes. … this type of activity is illegal by federal law.”

The Postal Service's Domestic Mail Manual states, “No part of a mail receptacle may be used to deliver any matter not bearing postage, including items of matter placed upon, supported by, attached to, hung from, or inserted into a mail receptacle….” Even though homeowners purchase and maintain the residential mailboxes, the mailboxes belong to and are controlled by the U.S. Postal Service. That means that any tampering or misuse of the mailbox is a federal offense that comes with substantial penalties.

A person can only wonder what is next. If we find out about it, we’ll write about it.

A Bone-Rattling Tale of Christmas Present: or, How to Get Something Fixed in a Chicago Ward

posted by richard gill

The Rattling Plate on 57th and HP Boulevard

This is a story about wretched municipal response to a serious, yet simple, problem. What should have taken a few hours took a week. It was a genuine City of Chicago Screwup.

In early December 2010, a persistent, frequent banging started coming from 57th Drive at Hyde Park Boulevard, in front of the Museum of Science and Industry. It was loud enough to disturb anyone living on or near 56th Street from Lake Shore Drive to Cornell. A heavy steel plate had been placed in the 57th Drive curb lane to cover a hole. Either the plate was not placed correctly, or it moved, because it rocked and banged whenever a car rolled over it at about 20 mph or more (every few seconds most of the day). People told me it was interfering with their sleep, and some (as far away as Kenwood Avenue) at first thought it was gunfire.

"The Chicago system of placing the Alderman between the resident and the city is abominable."

Ok, so there’s a big hole in the street and the city put a temporary lid on it, to keep the traffic lane open. It’ll get taken care of in a day or so, right? Wrong. It went on through the week, so on Thursday, December 9, I registered a complaint with Alderman Hairston’s 5th Ward service office. In Chicago, the local Alderman’s office is the go-to place for remediating problems and obtaining city services. Even the 311 website, an all-purpose non-emergency reporting venue, suggests contacting the Alderman. As a backup measure, I made the same complaint on the 311 website and received a prompt email acknowledgment. Saturday, I received an email from the Alderman’s office saying the plate was gone. It was still there, hammering away.

So I emailed the Alderman’s office again, to say the information they provided was incorrect. The office checked and then replied that a crew had indeed been dispatched to the site and had returned without fixing it because of weather and furlough days (city budget crisis). I believe this meant that they wanted to fix the underlying problem, but they had insufficient crew and/or equipment. Whatever the case, the thing remained and kept making noise, by then sounding like cymbals. I again informed the Alderman’s office.

On Tuesday the 14th, a solo operator with a front-end loader arrived and repositioned the plate to be square with the curb. The operator even dismounted and inspected how the plate sat. Then he immediately departed. Now the noise was (1) worse and (2) happened even at very slow vehicle speed. Motorists tried to drive around it. I notified the 5th Ward office. I also phoned 311, to again report the problem and I added that the rocking plate might not be safe to drive over. On Wednesday the 15th, between about 6 and 8 pm, a crew arrived and put up temporary barriers to keep traffic out of the curb lane. The quiet was delicious.

Thursday morning, December 16, I went out to take pictures and noticed red spray paint—the color code for “electrical utility”—on top of the snow, leading to an electrical manhole near the curb. I guessed that the hole under the city’s plate might be for Commonwealth Edison work. I called Edison, to find out what they might know. The rep informed me that they could not know what was taking place in the field, and suggested I call 311.

Then, around 11am, an operator and equipment arrived—this time accompanied by a foreman. The plate was shoved off the roadway, to the curb inside the museum driveway. The hole was filled with some hard-pack material, which may be a temporary measure, because as of this writing (11 am, Saturday, December 18) the barriers are still up.

That’s the chronicle. What have we learned from it?

First: the Chicago system of placing the Alderman between the resident and the city is abominable. This system inserts a third party simply to relay a request. It is time-consuming and it invites errors in communication. It also makes a citizen dependent upon (and grateful to?) a politician, and that invites real problems. If 311 really functions as it should, why is the aldermanic intermediary necessary?

I believe the Alderman’s 5th Ward office did relay my initial request to the city in a timely manner, but then the city went back through the Alderman who then got back to me. Since the plate wasn’t gone, something got miscommunicated or the ward office, having called the city, assumed the plate was removed. Then, it took time for me to tell the Alderman’s office that their information was wrong, so they could tell the city. I really don’t know whether it was communication with 311 or the ward office that finally led to results. Also, it’s hard to imagine that other people weren’t calling.

Second: It was the city’s fault that this horrible disturbance happened in the first place. Furthermore, the city’s initial “fix” only exacerbated the problem. They sent out an unsupervised employee, who pushed the plate a bit, then didn’t bother to hang around for a minute to listen to the results. The job was so simple, perhaps a supervisor wasn’t deemed necessary. Finally, when traffic was diverted around the plate, it was nighttime (rhymes with overtime?)

Third: assuming the claimed furloughs were factual, we now have a direct example of the consequences of a bullying mayor, an ineffectual city council, and patronage hiring.

Fourth: The city just blew it. It took three tries over a full week to move a plate and fill a hole. And that was after the problem had gone on for days.

We are about to have what I hope will be a huge change in city government. There will be a brand new Mayor and a lot of fresh faces in the City Council. Assuming they must be better than what we have now, they should unzip the whole governmental fabric and shake it out. A makeover is needed.

Thoughts From East Hyde Park

posted by richard gill

Two community relations officers of the 21st Police District attended the September 15 meeting of the East Hyde Park Committee. The 21st regularly sends officers to these meetings, to answer questions and discuss various issues.

This valuable service may no longer be available, because the district's community relations staff is being reduced from six officers to two. The reason for this is understandable—the officers are being reassigned to patrol duties as part of an effort to have more police presence on the street. But it short-changes community relations work, which is critically important in a big city.

This move illustrates just how tightly stretched the Chicago police are at this point. The root problem, of course, is money, and the city has none. There are places to look for money to hire more police. A good start would be reducing the number of political wards from 50 to 20, which would save the pay of 30 aldermen and perhaps 100 ward staffers. Then, take away, or at least reduce and restrict, aldermanic "menu" money, some of which is put to good use, but much of which is frittered away on stuff that just helps aldermen get reelected. (Can you spell "Free Parking and Positive Loitering?")

Herald Goes Green, Recycles Letters to the Editor

posted by richard gill

Refer to "Letters to the Editor" in the two most recent issues of the Hyde Park Herald (July 28, p. 4 and August 4, p. 4). Each contains (in first position or as the sole entry) virtually the same letter from Graham Romeyn Taylor Jr. and Jean Taylor Kroeber. The two letters take the same position on the same subject, (Chicago Theological Seminary building) with largely the same arguments and a lot of identical phrases. Neither letter is actually written to the Herald’s Editor; each is directed to a different third party and copied to the Herald.

Now, the Taylors have the right to try hammering their position home twice in a row in the same forum. And the Herald, well it’s their silly paper, and they can print what they want, as many times as they want. But printing both letters—in consecutive issues yet—is a bit much, even for the Herald.

An example, from the letter to CTS President Rev. Alice Hunt printed in the Hyde Park Herald:

As the grandchildren of Graham Taylor, we have been disturbed to learn through friends in Hyde Park and articles in the Hyde Park Herald that as a consequence of the sale of the Chicago Theological Seminary campus to the University of Chicago, Graham Taylor Hall may be completely altered and its legacy obliterated. While we understand that the University of Chicago is now in the position of making decisions about the Seminary buildings, we feel that there are strong reasons for you to exert pressure to have Graham Taylor Hall given landmark status and to preserve it intact for both its historical and architectural significance.

In case you didn't get it the first time, compare the above with the letter to University of Chicago President Robert Zimmer printed in the Hyde Park Herald of August 4:

As grandchildren of Graham Taylor, we have been made aware through residents of Hyde Park and articles in the Hyde Park Herald of the University of Chicago’s purchase of the Chicago Theological Seminary campus and the proposed creation there of an expanded Milton Firedman [sic] Economic research Center...While we understand the university’s need for space and the desirability of moving with the times, it is extremely disturbing to us that the legacy of someone who was so closely associated with the founding ideals of the University of Chicago, as well as being instrumental in bringing the theological seminary national standing, should be in danger of being obliterated. We would have hoped that for both historical and architectural reasons the university would have considered this building for landmark status.

Printing one of the letters makes the point. Printing both, so prominently, is a bit of a joke. It implies that readers aren’t smart enough to read an argument once and comprehend it. It also says that nobody will recognize that the Herald is promoting its own views by seizing on someone else’s material. Were there no other letters that might have been printed, on this or other subjects? If indeed nobody thought it was worth the effort to write a letter, that’s indicative of the joke that the Herald has become.

Speaking of jokes, I did get a chuckle out of the spelling “Milton Firedman” in the August 4 letter.

Any more softballs? We’re in the batter’s box, ready to swing.

Metra Towers - Part 3 of 3

posted by richard gill

This post concludes the epic trilogy regarding Metra control towers in and near Hyde Park. The first two installments are in Hyde Park Progress posts dated May 22, 2009 and March 7, 2010.

The refurbishment of the 51st Street Tower has been accomplished, including removal of the top floor and general repair of the structure (photo above). The building now houses electrical and signal equipment. As mentioned in my March 7 post, it might now more properly be called the 51st Street Bungalow.

Ain’t it amazin’. The rehabilitation and re-use of a building actually got done in Hyde Park. Way to go, Metra.

Police Roll Call at Tobacco for Less

posted by richard gill

Just before 5pm on Thursday, April 22, a dozen or so Chicago police patrol cars and vans swooped in at the corner of Hyde Park Boulevard & 55th Street. This wasn’t a raid or a response to a crime in progress. It was for a totally routine activity—roll call for police officers of Beat 32, 21st Police District, prior to the start of their shift. What wasn’t routine was the location, outdoors on a busy street corner.

Why that particular corner? It was to show a strong police presence in front of a retail store called Tobacco for Less. The store has been there about a year, selling tobacco products and snack food. Suspicions have arisen that the store may be selling cigarettes to minors and selling illegal wares. The roll call was conducted there in order to send a message to the store and its customers that the police are paying attention. It was also to reassure local residents that the police are on the case.



Police roll calls in public places are occasionally conducted where gangs hang out or criminal activity is known or suspected.

The showing on April 22 was indeed impressive. The cars arrived with swirling blue lights. The officers, about 20 in number, gathered across the street and then strode, rather like a platoon, to where the roll call was to be held, in front of the tobacco store. They lined up along the sidewalk, and a sergeant took the roll. It was semi-formal, and there was some good-natured bantering among the officers and people (most of them curious) who gathered to watch, and there was applause at the end. Representatives from the 4th and 5th Ward Aldermanic offices voiced appreciation for the officers’ efforts. The whole thing took less than ten minutes. The police departed and went to work.

This was strategy at work and great community outreach. I haven’t been that close to that many guns since the Army.

Spring Fix-Its and Digs: Metra Midway Viaducts and CTO Building Site

posted by richard gill

Midway Viaduct Repairs

It is spring once again, and in Hyde Park there are some welcome sights and sounds of air compressors, diesel excavators, front end loaders, and the backing-up beep, beep, beep of heavy equipment.

Some things are getting done that needed doing.

For instance, Metra is using Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) funds to repair the viaducts across 59th Street, the Midway, and 60th Street. Much work still needs to be done at this station (we called the staircase from the 59th Street Metra platform the "Stairway to Hell" last spring). But still, it's a good project; no controversy there.

New Chicago Theological Seminary Site Preparation

Also, the U of C has begun the construction of new headquarters for the Chicago Theological Seminary at 60th & Dorchester. Good project; controversy there. Remember the “community” garden on what is now the construction staging site abutting the actual construction? The gardeners insisted on remaining on the University-owned property during and after construction. They said the staging could just as well be done a couple of blocks away. Well, yeah, but at what cost, along with neighborhood disruption and safety problems as material and equipment is moved over the street?

That the Seminary is being built is good news. Even better: For once, a strident clique of Hyde Parkers was sent packing, along with their silly claims of entitlement and righteousness. For the greater good, the garden got moved. The carrots and radishes will grow again, perhaps on less sacred ground. But they will grow.

Nice as these two projects are, it’s too bad that they’re public works or U of C-sponsored. Private sector development in Hyde Park remains stymied by … well, just read some of the past entries on this blog.

Church for Sale! (The Sequel)

posted by richard gill & chicago pop

Community Message Board --or--
Most Effective Known Way to Communicate to 5th Ward Alderman Leslie Hairston

Chicago Pop's April 5 post on Hyde Park Progress elicited a number of comments, some of which speculated on re-uses for the St. Stephen's Church property. Based on an April 10 walk-by, I am adding "community message board" and "white elephant dropoff" to the list (see photos). In place of whatever it is the nearby NIMBYs want to stop, maybe they'd prefer these.

Neighbor-Approved Re-Use of St. Stephens Property:
Old Junk Freecycle Station

Also, for those interested in purchasing the property, you can find its listing here, and for your convenience we reproduce it below WITH EDITORIAL REMARKS IN PARENTHESES:

BANK OWNED! Many options and opportunities to revitalize former church building in Hyde Park. Property sits on 100 x 150 sized lot (NEXT TO REALLY WACKY LOCAL FOLKS -- JUST YOU WAIT AND SEE :-> ). Land was rezoned to RM-6 for residential development. No alley access (BUT LOCAL TEENS CAN HELP US GET IN THROUGH THE ROOF), Blackstone is oneway going North. Please daylight showings only (BECAUSE AT NIGHT THE PLACE IS DAMN SCARY AND WE MAY DIE).

Agent Remarks: Bank owned property, agent needs to show...call w/questions (AND BE PREPARED TO KISS ALDERMAN HAIRSTON'S A*S LIKE EVERYONE ELSE EVEN ANTHEUS)

Located on the mid-southside anchored by the University of Chicago, nearby communities Woodlawn and North Kenwood. A stones throw to the southwest shoreline (OR TO THE UPPER WINDOWS OF THE PROPERTY IF ANY GLASS IS LEFT IN THEM) of Lake Michigan and Lake Shore Drive. Easy public transport, Metra 2 blocks away. (SPECTACULAR GREEK-AMERICAN EATERY RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET BUT YOU ALSO GET A GOOD VIEW OF THEIR DUMPSTERS)

• Price:
  $1,700,000
• Building Size:
  13,300 SF
• Price/SF:
  $127.82
• Property Type:
  Special Purpose
• Property Sub-type:
  Religious Facility
• Property Use Type:
  Vacant/Owner-User
• Distressed:
  Yes
• Commission Split:
  2.5%
• Lot Size:
  15,000 SF

St. Stephens Freecycle Station, Detail

Tower's Top Trimmed

posted by richard gill

51st Street Metra control tower before the haircut

This short essay follows up on my earlier post Missing the Towers (May 22, 2009). That post included a photo of the 51st Street control tower, an Illinois Central Railroad facility retired in 1963. Since then, it has housed signal and communications equipment and maintenance items. Metra, the regional commuter rail agency, now owns the building.

The tower is located between Lake Park Avenue and the Metra tracks, north of Hyde Park Boulevard (51st Street).

Recently, it appeared that the 83-year-old structure was being demolished. As it turns out, that’s only partially true. The top floor, which actually was the control room, is coming off; the roof is totally shot. The lower two floors still house signal and electrical equipment; that portion of the building is being renovated. The work is part of a program to repair and upgrade substations on Metra’s Electric District.

51st Street Metra Control tower after the hair cut and recovering from nose job

So, I guess it’s not a tower anymore. Railroads often use the word “bungalow” when referring to minor buildings that contain signal and communications equipment. Usually they’re made of sheet metal, but brick also works. Bungalow is a good Chicago word, as in “Bungalow Belt.” The 51st Street Bungalow–I kind of like it.

The CTA Cuts -- An Alternate View

posted by richard gill

In response to the current iteration of the CTA financial crisis, a deal came out of Springfield that prohibited a fare increase and continued to let seniors ride for free, but paved the way for reducing bus and “L” services in order to preserve operating cash. The service reduction took effect on February 7, 2010.

The CTA says that, overall, the reductions are 18 percent of bus service and 9 percent of ‘L’ service. The way the media have treated this, one would believe the changes could dislocate everyone’s life and bring the city to a halt. True, the service reductions may create some inconvenience and hardship, but it appears that the CTA has implemented the cuts in a way that minimizes negative impacts. While the changes are regrettable, I don’t think they are as awful as they’ve been made out to be.

First, nobody is being left without service. The nine eliminated routes were all prefixed with “X,” such as X55, indicating a so-called express route. Those routes weren’t really “routes;” they were overlays on primary “regular” routes, on the same streets. All of those regular routes remain. Further, the “X” expresses weren’t really expresses. Rather they were limited-stop services that stopped at intervals of about a half-mile. Generally, they ran only during weekday rush periods.

The “X” service was nice, but did not save a whole lot of time. For instance, between the Museum of Science and Industry and Midway Airport, the X55 was nine minutes faster than the 55 local. The “X” routes were subject to the same traffic, speed limits, rates of acceleration/deceleration, and red-light delays as the local routes. They tended to have longer dwell times at bus stops, because their boardings and alightings were more concentrated.

Citywide, CTA’s route-by-route specifics indicate that where intervals between buses were lengthened, they were relatively small and incremental. On some routes where “X” buses were taken off, the local service actually increased somewhat to compensate.

It is also worth noting that the “X” services had initially been regarded as experimental, implemented only in the relatively recent past, and were not part of the historical operating pattern.

As for the “L,” all of the routes are intact, with slightly later morning start times and slightly earlier finish times, and minor headway lengthening. As with the bus routes, lines that had all-night “Owl” service continue to have it.

For the long run, at least, there may be some positive aspects to all of this. I can think of three.



1. Everyone now knows the precipice is not a mirage. Because of all the previous false alarms and last minute reprieves, there was widespread feeling that it was all posturing, and service reduction just wasn’t going to happen. Well, this time it did happen.

As for the CTA’s operating unions, they could have forestalled a good portion of the service and job reductions by making some concessions, including postponement of a wage increase. However, the prospect of an 18 percent reduction in bus service meant the large majority of bus drivers—those with enough seniority—could keep their jobs without making concessions. Union members voted to reject the concessions. Thus the service cuts were made and jobs were lost. It would be interesting to know if the vote went more or less according to seniority.

2. The cuts enabled the CTA to mothball their oldest buses. These were pretty well beaten up, having run on Chicago streets for 15 years. They have less effective emission controls than newer vehicles, and do not have the low floors now required for accessibility.

By reducing the number of buses on the street, CTA can close its 103-year-old Archer Garage. The Archer Garage began life as a streetcar barn, before there even were buses. It never was a very good bus building. One problem has been the garage’s narrow doors. Streetcars could go in and out with very small clearances on each side. The track kept them centered. Buses had a tendency to lose outside mirrors at the doors.

I would imagine the CTA will sell the Archer Garage and property, and let others fight over the building. Look for a battle between preservationists and developers. Maybe Save the Point people & co. will forget the Point and take up the cause of the old streetcar barn. Thus, positive aspect No. 3: Archer Garage is not in Hyde Park.

Harper Court: It Can Be Done (Even Here)

posted by Richard Gill

The February 8 public meeting of the 53rd Street TIF Advisory Council was surprising indeed. The surprise wasn't the proposed Harper Court redevelopment, which has been the subject of large quantities of public input and communication. It was the tone of the meeting that was the big surprise. It was downright pleasant and cordial, far from the angry and disruptive meetings for which Hyde Park has become notorious.

Afterward, a number of us joked that we must have come to the wrong meeting, because Hyde Park meetings "always" have some angst and bile (recall meetings about Promontory Point, Doctors Hospital, 57th Street, the Co-op and so forth). This one did not. It was respectful, it was informative, it was civil, and most of all, there was general approval of the proposed redevelopment. How did this happen?

The TIF council, led by chairman Howard Males, has been diligent in practicing openness and communication, including very productive workshops. The University of Chicago (current owner of the property), the City, and 4th Ward Alderman Toni Preckwinkle have gently but firmly moved the project forward and have left little doubt that there would be a project. The Request for Proposals was made public, and included public input. All along, it has been a local TIF project, not "The University of Chicago's project."

Also, there was no longer a corpse to fight over. The Harper Court of the 1960s has been demolished. It is gone. There had been some unpleasantness over preservation versus replacement, but that was long past. The focus now could only be on the new.

For the meeting itself, Vermilion Development, the selected principal team for the project, had done its homework. As they showed architect's renderings, they explained features that reflected public inputs. They were prepared for almost any question or criticism that might be brought up during questions and answers. As he does at all of his meetings, Howard Males clearly explained the meeting's format and length, the process leading up to this point, and the process moving forward. I think his enthusiasm for the project was contagious.

There were criticisms, but they were about availability of funding, project details, traffic, phasing and the like; there were no suggestions that the process had been closed or unfair or rammed through, or would somehow be "bad" for the neighborhood.

I don't pretend to know all the reasons why the Harper Court redevelopment seems to be largely free of public strife at this point. However, as the Point and other projects revive, as they eventually must, the proponents might do well to study the Harper Court process, in terms of securing initial public buy-in and then solidifying it, by knowing the neighborhood, responding to expressed needs and concerns, communicating and working with the public, and Aldermanic leadership.

It can be done.

Herald's Chicken: Seriously, the Herald is Funny

Posted by Richard Gill

The Herald can’t help itself. There’s this compulsion to preach. Witness the Herald's “editorial” for November 4. It’s a sermon/lecture on self-improvement, aimed (where else) at the University of Chicago. The Herald looks kind of funny, up there on its high horse.

There isn't room here to dissect the entire “editorial,” and it wouldn't be much fun after the first few hours. So, let’s just go to a few choice morsels.

The editorial makes note of “lots of folks bustling to and from institutional buildings [along the Midway],” and then asks, “Where will these people recreate?” The implication is, of course, that the “Community Garden” is the “where.” Well, almost none of “these people” have chosen the garden as a recreational option. People have countless recreational opportunities. We’d all be in one heck of a pickle if that garden counted substantially toward area opportunities for “fun.”

The Herald goes on to say, “The garden connects the university to the community…..” No it doesn't. The garden connects a relative handful of people to the garden, which just happens to be on university property.

Finally, the Herald accuses the university of “imperious, malevolent behavior.” I’ll agree the university has not always shown great judgment, but c'mon, Herald editors, even you don’t believe “imperious and malevolent.” If the U of C is guarded in its approach to “the community,” it is justified, given the purposeful work of certain neighbors to thwart U of C efforts that would benefit the community at large.

Unlike the “editorial,” I won’t go on and on. Suffice it to say the Herald is great comedy, especially when it gets so serious. I guess that makes the Herald a recreational opportunity in competition with the garden.

Report from the Shoreland Meeting, September 30, 2009

posted by Richard Gill

The Shoreland Hotel, built 1926

About a hundred people attended a September 30 public meeting in the Crystal Ballroom of the old Shoreland Hotel, 5454 South Shore Drive, at which developer Antheus Capital presented its proposal to resurrect the empty structure as a luxury rental apartment building. The firm’s principal, Eli Ungar made the presentation and answered questions. Comments and questions from the floor comprised most of the one-hour forty-minute meeting. Overwhelmingly, the discussion dealt with worries about parking, voiced primarily by a relative handful of residents of 5490 South Shore Drive, located immediately south of the Shoreland. Neighbors’ worries about parking and traffic tend to dominate Hyde Park meetings about development proposals.

Fifth Ward Alderman Leslie Hairston was in attendance, as her concurrence with the proposal is required before it can be brought to the City Council for approval. She said that she wanted to hear what people had to say, before she would say yea or nay.

Shoreland Hotel Driveway

When the historic hotel went into decline, the University of Chicago bought it for use as a student dormitory. The dorm was closed this year, with the opening of a new dorm on south campus. Knowing the Shoreland dormitory would be phased out, the University sold the building in 2004 to the Kenard development firm, which later sold it to developer Bob Horner. Both firms had plans for a condominium development. When those plans fell apart, Antheus acquired the property. Antheus will need to obtain City approval for a change in Planned Development (PD) No. 1062 that was approved for the prior condominium proposals.

Under Antheus’ plan, the 450,000 sq. ft. building would have 325 to 350 apartments (primarily one bedroom and two bedroom; with roughly 30 studios; and 30 three-bedrooms). The lobby area and function rooms would be retained, and a restaurant included. Antheus estimated that 450 to 500 people would reside in the building, compared with more than 700 students in the former dormitory.

Rockefeller Chapel and University of Chicago
as Seen From Roof of the Shoreland Hotel

Meeting attendees were generally favorable toward the building plan, which would include a lot of restoration work. That informal consensus left a vacuum of sorts for 5490’s complaints and worries about parking to take up most of the time and dominate the meeting. The people of 5490 said the development would worsen a tight parking situation in the area.

I state here that I like the proposed project and I believe that, at least in this neighborhood, anti-project parking arguments are mostly used in narrow self-interest, despite claims that they are for the general good.

The 5490 building, with about 20 units, has no on-site parking. The building does have a large area in back that could accommodate perhaps 20 cars. This was noted from the floor, and by Eli Ungar. In addition, Ungar repeated what he has said at every similar meeting – that a specific building project cannot solve the neighborhood’s “parking problem” and that adjacent property owners shouldn’t expect someone else’s project to solve their problems. Alderman Hairston has generally agreed with that position, adding that the parking issue should be addressed community wide, not project-by-project. That’s old news, and the tone of the audience seemed to be that they were weary of people trying to stop beneficial projects by using parking as a wedge.

Decorative Corbels on Shoreland Facade

In refutation of 5490’s prediction that parking gridlock would be caused by the Shoreland development, there were two general arguments: (1) by Antheus citing their recent experience, and (2) by people in the audience who essentially said this project is what the neighborhood needs, and parking is not the pivotal issue.

Antheus and its property management company MAC Properties have experience with rehabbed rental buildings in Hyde Park, such as Windermere House and Algonquin Apartments. They said that about one-third of renters use parking facilities on the properties, and that both properties have unused parking spaces in their lots. Ungar said they expect the Shoreland to follow this pattern. He also said that Antheus has more than 100 vacant parking spaces in its “portfolio.”

Ungar said it’s feasible to get 100 “legal” parking spaces into the building without encroaching upon the residential space. A “legal” parking place is one that meets the City code’s criteria for self-parking, in terms of square area, access and maneuvering room. The City figures a building’s “parking ratio” in terms of “legal” spaces. That in itself would meet anticipated demand for about one-third of the Shoreland apartments. However, a valet operation with staff-operated lifts and stackers would enable the garage to handle about 220 cars. In its PD application, Antheus is seeking a variance that will permit this arrangement, which will be important for accommodating function and restaurant parking, as well as residents’ needs. The condominium proposals had included parking on a one-to-one ratio (which 5490 liked), but it required a multi-story garage that would have consumed residential and public space. Antheus says the rental proposal is not economically viable if that residential space is taken up by parking.

Entrance Hall, Shoreland Hotel

Speakers from 5490 took the position that plentiful parking is necessary for property values and quality of life. Others took the opposite position, stating that walkability, density, ability to live without a car, are what make for a desirable neighborhood, and they said that many vibrant places thrive with an extremely tight parking environment, maybe because of it. Hyde Park’s good public transportation was noted. Strong statements were made about the benefits of this project (which has funding commitments despite the present economy). One speaker went so far as to say that if you see a neighborhood with plenty of parking for everyone, you wouldn’t want to live there. An owner of Open Produce on 55th Street said storefront businesses need foot traffic more than they need customer parking.

My overall take of the meeting is that most people want the Alderman to approve the proposal and move it forward. I believe she received that message. She would also like to hear individually from people.

Ungar closed by asking anybody with an alternate proposal for the Shoreland to come forward with it. Further, he said that he understands that the parking issue will continue to be prominent, and that Antheus would be pleased to commit financial support to city public parking projects in the neighborhood.

I hope very much that this project is approved in its present form. The alternative is probably a vast derelict building. Hyde Park is already saddled with two large vacant buildings—Doctors Hospital and St. Stephen’s Church. Narrowly focused opponents stopped redevelopment of these two sites. Both buildings are hulking corpses. Hyde Park cannot have another.

Letter From an Old Goat

posted by Richard Gill

In the September 17 Tribune crossword puzzle, the answer to 42 Down is “Old Goat.” The clue is “Nasty geezer,” which pretty well describes me when I read about Hyde Park residents who regard everything in the neighborhood as community property. It makes me want to take my bent spectacles, my crooked cane, and my jug of hard cider over to Medici and snap at passers by.

Here are some examples of what I’m talking about. Remember the dysfunctional clock on the Hyde Park Bank Building? The Bank removed the clock and refinished the wall's surface where it had been attached. And the people said, how dare the evil bankers decide what to do with their own clock on their own building without consulting “the community?”

Then the University of Chicago demolished a vacant building at Harper Court, which it owns. It was known and agreed upon that the building would be demolished. And the Hyde Park Herald said, how dare the evil University begin demolition of its own building without consulting us first.

Now we hear about unhappiness in some quarters that the University repaved an interior driveway deep within the main quadrangle. And the people said, how dare the evil university work on its own infrastructure in a location that is not visible from outside, without getting our permission?

Community relations, civic engagement, good neighboring, or whatever you call it, is a thankless task for businesses and institutions. In Hyde Park, it must be agonizing. Whoever does this work for the Bank, the University, whatever, can’t get paid enough. Every day, they have to deal with Hyde Park, the busybody capital of America. In my opinion, the University of Chicago in particular has been patient to a fault. No wonder they sometimes just go ahead with stuff, as well they should. Otherwise nothing, absolutely nothing would get done.

The University’s board and administrators have a first class school to operate, fund, nurture and protect. Community involvement is one thing, but not the main thing, not by a long shot. In the big picture, it is not necessary for a university to be loved by its neighbors, nor even liked. But at some point, an institution's strident and unreasonable neighbors create a burden and a distraction. If community relations are good, that’s terrific. If not, that’s too bad.

I’m an old goat and a nasty geezer. If I were king of the University of Chicago, I wouldn’t have the patience for this neighborhood’s nonsense. After all, I'd have a great university to run, and I’d tell the neighbors to go to…..to go and fix their own driveways.

Squirrel Hill vs. Hyde Park

posted by Richard Gill

General street scene at Forbes & Murray
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The June 29, 2009, post in Hyde Park Progress took a look at Ann Arbor, Michigan with regard to the retail/commercial scene that serves the University of Michigan and neighboring area, and compared it with the University of Chicago/Hyde Park situation. Another place to look is the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh. There’s an east-west strip of Forbes Ave. between Murray and Shady Ave., and an abutting strip of Murray Ave., south of Forbes. The area is a few blocks east of the Carnegie-Mellon/University of Pittsburgh complex. In what follows, I look at Forbes/Murray in relation to Hyde Park’s 53rd Street. I base this solely on visits to Pittsburgh over the past few weeks.

There are differences in the two settings. Forbes/Murray is wholly commercial, while 53rd is primarily commercial, with some residential property and a park. Forbes/Murray has several city bus routes, while 53rd has none. Package alcohol sales in Pittsburgh are restricted to “official” wine & spirits stores, while Chicago has no such restriction; and Squirrel Hill appears to be less diverse than Hyde Park.

However, there is enough similarity between Forbes/Murray and 53rd Street to draw some comparisons. Both are roughly the same distance from campus; both commercial strips are about a half mile long; both are in the middle of large old cities; both have wide sidewalks, two driving lanes, two metered parking lanes, and a shortage of parking; buildings are predominantly older two/three story structures.

General street scene on Forbes between Murray and Shady

The most striking difference is the level of store occupancy and activity. Even during the summer school break, Forbes/Murray bursts with life. I noticed no vacant storefronts. During good weather, the wide sidewalks on Forbes are dotted with outdoor café seating and store merchandise. Forbes/Murray is a magnet, drawing people of all ages from other areas, while 53rd is just there. It is almost impossible to imagine the Pittsburgh neighborhood tolerating the kind of interference and obstructionism that has stifled commercial life on 53rd Street. [Yeah, yeah, I know many people will take issue with my use of “interference and obstructionism.” I don’t care; that’s what it has been.]

At this point, there is no alternative but to proceed with the planning efforts regarding 53rd Street, including Harper Court. But look how long they are taking, with years yet to go before any construction will be completed. I don’t disagree with planning, but 53rd Street is wallowing in it. Some of it has been a delaying tactic by locals. While 53rd Street languishes -- to the delight of those who have stifled things in the name of preventing “congestion” or “density” or whatever -- Forbes/Murray thrives and is a true asset to the neighborhood, the universities, and the city of Pittsburgh.

Cars and buses mix comfortably on Forbes Avenue

Speaking of “congestion,” most the arguments bemoaning it on commercial streets are baloney. There can’t be stores and restaurants without people, and there won’t be people without good auto access. That’s just the way it is. Forbes/Murray has some congestion, and it is good. The streets aren’t choked with traffic, but they are full of cars and buses. Traffic doesn’t make the streets any more dangerous than, say, the present 53rd or 57th Streets. Yes, traffic moves a bit more slowly if there’s a lot of it, but that’s safer for pedestrians crossing the street. With signals and stop signs, people readily make the crossings.

On Forbes, there are mid-block pedestrian crossings, marked and signed. Further, traffic signal cycles have three phases: (1) north-south vehicles (no pedestrians), (2) east-west vehicles (no pedestrians), (3) pedestrians only. Phases 1 and 2 eliminate pedestrian-caused delays to turning vehicles. Phase 3 enables pedestrians to cross diagonally, allowing cater-corner crossings in a single move. It really works, and drivers in Pittsburgh are no more polite than those in Chicago. So Forbes/Murray attracts people, while we have 57th Street that you can’t get to, and 53rd that has insufficient reason to get to.

All-directional crosswalk at Forbes & Murray

Sure, the slow economy contributes to 53rd Street’s lethargy, but it’s not the cause. Maybe I’m being a bit simplistic and bombastic in this essay, but dontcha' get tired of other places having nice stuff, while we Hyde Park slog through molasses? When all the planning and fiddling is done, the result won’t be materially better than a more streamlined process founded on good zoning instead of micromanagement would have already produced.