Until I get a maintenance schedule put together with a few Rogers Park Neighbors, I'm going to be watering these plants, for as long as we can get them to last in these planters. And from the looks of things, it may not be long.
Already, after day one, the neighborhood litter bugs are determined to kill what little beauty we have around the Morse Avenue EL.
Two of the four flower boxes, and I use that term loosely, got fly dumped over the evening hours. One box on Morse Avenue had a large, empty Budweiser can of beer, wrapped in a brown bag tossed on the flowers. The one in the photograph above was taken on the west side of the EL tracks, on Lunt this morning. This flower box got hammered with litter. A McDonald's bag full of leftovers. A Icehouse beer can. A almost finished ear of corn. A tissue. And a empty pack of Newport's.
Judging from the neighborhood response, people in this area must not like to see the neighborhood look good. I'm guessing, these must be Joe's supporters.
23 comments:
I'm guessing, these must be Joe's supporters.
That's assuming they even care who the alderman is to begin with.
I thought you did a nice job on the planters and it's a shame that there are people who cannot appreciate and maintain simple beauty, and too lazy to look for a proper trash can.
Are there trash cans there? I can't remember. It looks like people are looking for something like a trash can. Hey, it's not tossed on the ground.
What was the deal with that thing they were doing to cut down on litter at the source? Wasn't there a litter tax on fast food places, I remember something going on over at 63rd and Western one summer. I don't remember exactly, but I remember people talking about limiting the packaging and some kind of tax to fund managing the litter.
Craig: I really appreciate the fact that you have this optimistic willingness to try to make things better. I really do believe that most of us in Rogers Park want to do our part to make things better here - to take the ugliness and work to make it beautiful. And then there are those few people that spoil it all for everyone.....
These are the "little guys" that [the current incumbent alderman] is fighting for. You know how I know? All anyone has to do is walk or drive past his house - what a pit. Pride in your neighborhood starts where you live. [The current incumbent alderman] lets his house and yard look trashy, so why would we think he would support anyone but the people who want to keep Rogers Park a trash can? People like [an unnamed blogger] who can't stand the thought that a little bunny wabbit eating plants and flowers that have been carefully cultivated by a property owner might get killed by a roaming cat and who likes litter on the streets and old plumbing fixtures strewn about. People who use planters for garbage cans. Building owners who provide one or two dumpsters for their 200 tenants and let them overflow for days so the wind blows the trash everywhere.
We need to keep reminding [the current incumbent alderman] that these are his supporters. Since he is fighting for them, they must love him. He should use what is left of his campaign war chest to pay them off so they have an incentive to clean up Rogers Park. I mean, he paid them off to vote for him, why not pay them off to do something positive for the neighborhood and make it less likely that those of us who have a real stake in the neighborhood will continue to complain about him?
Just a thought.
Vanessa- I think you could show a little respect for Craig's efforts.
Your point about going tothe source is not a bad one. I would LOVE if JB Albertos (source of much litter) had a BIG sign in front saying something like "Please respect our neighborhood and do not litter."
Signs like this inside and outside are the least they could do to try and help. It is not their fault that they have so many idiots for customers, but they would at least tell their customers how they would like them to behave even if they don't heed the request.
Jocelyn, are some of the trash-strewers even literate?
Fatoldbroad took the words out of my mouth? What can you do with people who like litter and think the planter is a suitable place to dispose trash and that ratty old plumbing fixtures look good with things planted in them?
Yes, does Joe's house on Fargo ever look like a dump. Worse, when I lived down the street from it, gangs of goons held sway on all four corners at the intersection of Greenview & Fargo.
If a lawyer with 8 years of college, an income of over $100K, and a privileged suburban-white-boy upbringing can't maintain his property better than he does when he should be one of the neighborhood example setters, then what can you do with sub-literate goons who have never had an honest job and probably didn't even learn how to read?
Maybe you're an idiot, you spend how many hours picking up litter in front of your house, why don't you invest in a trash can out there and see if it cuts down on the litter? You know I'm perfectly idiotic myself sometimes and I know one or two people who might be idiots, I'm not really sure what an idiot really is, however YOU get under my skin because you think you are better than other people...
I'm a slob too, slobs are some of the nicest people, not all uptight and angry and bitchy...so what, every body has to have the same tastes as you, maybe you're an idiot.
Vanessab773 said... "I'm a slob too, slobs are some of the nicest people"
Mental note to self: Forget about the references. Never hire Vanessa as a housekeeper.
Vanessa wrote: "Maybe you're an idiot, you spend how many hours picking up litter in front of your house, why don't you invest in a trash can out there and see if it cuts down on the litter?"
First, name-calling does not advance an argument in a constructive way. If you want to make a point about the validity of another person's actions or beliefs, I suggest good old-fashioned logic, supported by a dose of well-crafted rhetoric.
Second, trash cans are only effective if people USE them. I have TWO trash cans on my block, and yet people still can not muster the consideration to hold on to their litter for the couple of extra steps it would take to properly dispose of their refuse.
Whenever I see someone throw their garbage on the sidewalk, I take a risk and ask them to pick it up and dispose of it properly. The reactions vary: some act surprised, as if they hadn't even realized what they had done, or that littering was bad. Some are apologetic and willingly pick up their trash. Some get angry and swear at me, as if I were the one causing the problem.
Either way, I have to pick up after other people's thoughtless actions on a daily basis if I am to have a tidy property.
I'm not sure why you think it's okay to be a public slob, Vanessa. If someone is all that "nice" they are going to think about how their actions impact other people and the environment. That's not uptight and angry and bitchy -- that's being a considerate member of society.
Vanessa- I think YOU are pretty uptight when it comes to anyone questioning the status quo around here. Against my better judgement, I am responding to you because you can't seem to have any kind of reasonable discussion and must insult me for what are reasonable desires to improve the place I live.
You do not even know me, yet you now have decided you know my character and that I look down on everyone? Nothing could be further from the truth.
Re: your suggestion. My personal preference is not to have a garbage can on my parkway. Unlike you, I don't like looking at trash.
Definition of Idiot from Webster's:
ignorant and common person, ignorant person, a mentally retarded person equal or inferior to a child two years old, a very foolish or stupid person.
If the shoe fits...
It's wonderful that craig tried to do something but honestly, you're pissing up the wind here. As long as illiterate, brain-dead sub humans roam Morse (and everywhere else in the hood) stuff is going to look like crap. Vanessa is right though, at least they didn't throw the trash on the ground.
and furthermore, Jocely you really do get under peoples skin. Don't be such a bitch.
Virgina- don't be such a loser.
Hey, Vanessa, there IS a public trash can right across the street. Moreover, my bldg's dumpsters are unlocked and anyone is free to put their stuff in them.
There are public cans aplenty by Pratt & Sheridan, yet my bldg. manager, who is quite elderly, labors daily to keep this property immaculate and pick up after pigs.
Listen, you fool woman, I pick up trash off the parkway at night, and take it to the dumpster behind the building. I have carried a piece of trash nine blocks to get it to a proper receptacle.
Why can't these piggy people do the same?
--As long as illiterate, brain-dead sub humans roam Morse (and everywhere else in the hood)---
*sigh*
Rogers Park. Gotta love it.
Anyway, hats off to you for at least trying to spruce up the neighborhood. I still think you're a bit of a racist, but it IS obvious that you do care about this community. If only more of us felt the same way.
It would be really nice if we never had to read another blog from Vanessa. And definitely don't use her to clean - she obviously has different standards than most.
Maybe Devcorp could put a trash receptacle right next to the planters. In any case.... I guess the flowers make the trash look not so trashy!
trash in the flower planter stays in the planter whereas trash on the ground gets blown around, kicked around, torn up and spread around. it's a shame about the sweat, labor, money and flowers but i'd rather see the trash laying there for someone decent enough to pick up and toss away properly than to see it laying amongst the parkway.
joselcyen,
i'd rather be a happy loser than a miserable _____.
Let's stick to issues here and stop the name calling. What does that accomplish? Zilch. It's childish and not constructive.
When I fell in love with my home, a pal told me to be careful, that Rogers Park will never become the community you want it to be. He said there are too many low rent units and those will always attract a bad element. He said even with massive condo conversions the numbers don't add up in your favor, there will always be low rent units with low rent people.
But I bite anyway, I'm sometimes encouraged, Jarvis Square, more condos, other times it seems hopeless.
According to the Dali Lama, it's only my attitude that changes...something to think about.
Michi did the planters by the Jarvis El, don't know it the ass wipes of Rogers Park have added diapers yet.
She also did the corner of Sheridan and Chase, it looks great.
A few years ago I looked into the idea of getting the fast food industry to help with the clean up. We wanted either funding or a work force provided for by McD's, Burger King and others. They did not close the door in our faces, it might still be possible to get some help from the sources.
If you think picking up trash everyday is stressful, try talking to corp America about the problem.
Mental note to self: Forget about the references. Never hire Vanessa as a housekeeper. Hilarious! Also, you people need to lay off of Jocelyn. She is NOT a bitch.
I want to thank you for settting up the planters. It is a shame that people cannot respect property. I'm betting these are the same people who would throw trash on the street, even if there are several garbage cans within a few feet.
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