posted by chicago pop
Hyde Park's "Walk of Shame", Winter 2009Now that the season's first major snowfall is upon us, it seems appropriate to recall the heavy dose of public shaming we leveled at the Good Neighbors of the so-called "Golden Rectangle" for not being quite so neighborly when push came to shovel last winter.
At issue then were a few notorious stretches of icy sidewalk, many of them along 56th and adjacent streets, and surrounding the landmark I.M. Pei condo-bunkers (photo above).
On the scale of NIMBY-ness, nothing quite says F-You like an unshoveled sidewalk, aside from a Rottweiler chained to a pipe or perhaps the "Do Not Enter" barricade in the westbound lane at 57th and Stony Island.
However, as we are fond of noting that some progress is possible Hyde Park, we're happy to report that some of the Good Neighbors are doing their best to live up to their name, going so far as to "out" the miscreant losers who fail to shovel before we at HPP can. And that's saying something.
Toward this end, our vast intelligence-gathering services have provided evidence that Hyde Park's great reservoir of activists may actually be assuming some responsibility for correcting the treacherous conditions allowed by some of their neighbors.
We'll see if they can overcome the deeply rooted F-You instinct that is materially conveyed along 56th Street every winter.
A few raw intel intercepts:
At issue then were a few notorious stretches of icy sidewalk, many of them along 56th and adjacent streets, and surrounding the landmark I.M. Pei condo-bunkers (photo above).
On the scale of NIMBY-ness, nothing quite says F-You like an unshoveled sidewalk, aside from a Rottweiler chained to a pipe or perhaps the "Do Not Enter" barricade in the westbound lane at 57th and Stony Island.
courtesy of Hyde Park OWL
However, as we are fond of noting that some progress is possible Hyde Park, we're happy to report that some of the Good Neighbors are doing their best to live up to their name, going so far as to "out" the miscreant losers who fail to shovel before we at HPP can. And that's saying something.
Toward this end, our vast intelligence-gathering services have provided evidence that Hyde Park's great reservoir of activists may actually be assuming some responsibility for correcting the treacherous conditions allowed by some of their neighbors.
We'll see if they can overcome the deeply rooted F-You instinct that is materially conveyed along 56th Street every winter.
A few raw intel intercepts:
From Hyde Park OWL:
The Chamber of Commerce has already advertised the campaign to reward businesses that properly clear their sidewalks. A task force is being formed to deal more forcefully with these issues, and will be meeting on January 7 [censored] Meanwhile, she is asking everyone who notes a site that needs snow and ice removal attention to call 311. There is now a code that will direct all calls of this type to CDOT, Chicago Department of Transportation.It was recommended that we find out who is the proper contact in each Aldermen's office (as well as the Ward Office) for the problem of snow and ice removal.Hyde Park OWL is still hoping to have a program about Snow and Ice Removal at their January 9 meeting. (We meet from 1-3 p.m. on the first Saturday of the month -- except for this January and June--which is the second Saturday) We meet at the First Unitarian Church.
From the Good Neighbors group:
There was quite a bit of good conversation last year about snow removal and I am glad people are getting already preparing for the winter. As you remember we formed a committee on the subject consisting of me, Judith Kritzberg and James Withrow. We are back in action; Judith will soon send out a message that you can use as-is or edit in letting miscreant neighbors know their obligations (Judith will be discrete. "Miscreant" won't be a word she uses.) James is going to make a list of people who will do the work for a price, and I got the following for us from Sue Purrington, assistant to Alderman Hairston.
Miscreants, look out!
