According to Joe Moore, the secret to cleaning up Morse Avenue is to clean out the residents!
There's nothing wrong with Morse Avenue that tear-downs, displacement, and luxury condos can't solve!
"Morse Avenue alone, we have a couple of interesting developments where, for example, on the 1400 block of Morse, we have a new building that replaced a bar [Moore campaign contributor the Top Hat lounge] that had on-and-off again caused some problems for Morse Avenue. We have an investment group that purchased perhaps THE worst building in Morse Avenue if not the neighborhood, on the northeast corner of Morse and Glenwood. That building has been emptied out and is going to be totally and maintained as rental housing. But what the previous owners [Moore campaign contributor Harold Rider] were not able to do was to manage the building well. A lot of our crime and social disorder that occurred on and around Morse were generated from that building.
Now that that building has cleared out, the problems on Morse have reduced themselves tremendously."
21 comments:
I miss the Top Hat so much! It was a a great place to hang out, shoot some pool, and the juke box was awesome. So much for progress? I like the Morseland enough but it's a little pricey, and Duke's is just Duke's.
Whenever joey is on one of these shows, if you notice joey doesn't look in the eye of the camera, joey also never looks people in the eye when he talks to them in person. Is it because joey is hiding something? Quilty feelings?
He's right. Guess what? Get rid of the garbage, and an area cleans up.
Sorry that's not PC, but it's time to face reality. RP has been a dumping ground for some of societies most dangerous "citizens" for FAR too long. Now -despite- Joe Moore's pandering to this element- we finally have some of the development the rest of the North Side has had YEARS before us. It's not because of Joe, it's DESPITE him. Market forces trump asshats everytime!
It's the same things with the "new" crime is down report. When your worst buildings go from slumlord, subsidized rental to ,hopefully, owner occupied dwellings the criminal element gets displaced and , hopefully, new non-criminal types move in. THAT'S what makes the crime rate go down. That and lack of reporting of "index" crimes!
Joe has one story to tell the condo owners and another story to tell the subsidized renters. Joe talks out of both sides of his mouth.
Question - Where did all of the "good" citizens who where liveing in the rider buildings on Lunt & Morse move to? I don't think they where sent to the Lincoln Park or Wrigleyville neighborhoods, where they schuffled around RP?
Can anybody really complain about the residents of the Rider bldg and other festering sores, being moved out, and these bldgs being renovated?
I can't complain about fetid Morse Ave being "cleaned out". I don't miss that ratty bar, and I only wish that the ugly Rider sewer was being torn down and replaced with something attractive and multiuse, rather than renovated.
My big gripe against Moore is that, on his watch, the problem elements will just be shunted to another Rogers Park, West Ridge, or Edgewater neighborhoods. NOH is getting more troublesome people, not fewer, dumped on it, and formerly pristine West Ridge is becoming the new dumping ground.
We still have too many services for really bad elements in the population and too many really slummy apt buildings.
But I sure as hell can't complain about the improved condition of Morse, and I hope it keeps improving-just not at the expense of the surrounding area.
MORSE AVENUE BIGGEST PROBLEM IS THE PACKAGE LIQUOR STORES JUST LIKE GRANVILLE USE TO BE-
Joe Moore presents the other side of his life affirmation.
Craig, you really are an idiot.
How can Joe Moore control the rentals of property that is not his. it was run my Mr. Rider, not Joe.
Mr Rider did not properly screen his tenants, or police and provide security for his buildings.
Granted, Joe Should have held him more accountable, and the Chicago Police Department should have done their jobs, by providing more officers to that location, rather than having them sleeping in their cars @ the 7 11 on Pratt and Glenwood or at the parking lot on Touhy and Sheridan. But the police problem belongs to the Police Super., not Joe.
Don't forget that David Orr was the reason for all the bullshit section 8 housing came into Rogers Park...most of you Rogers Park Transplants don't remember him as our alderman do you? He opened the door for a lot of the bullshit in Rogers Park we see today.
"But the police problem belongs to the Police Super., not Joe."
when crime is up, it's the Supt.
when crime is down, that's all Joe
Where did all of the "good" citizens who where liveing in the rider buildings on Lunt & Morse move to?
One was a frail elderly man who was occasionally a crime victim on Morse. He went to live with his daughter and son-in-law out of state.
Anon said...> "Don't forget that David Orr was the reason for all the bullshit section 8 housing came into Rogers Park"
Okay, it's all David Orr's fault. You happy now?
Why don't we just get out the Doo Rags, Hoodies and half pints and go and hang out in front of Mr. Soo's home. We could throw empty liquor bottles and Dope Bags all over his lawn and through-out his community. It angers me that Mr. Soo has so little respect for my home and my community. I am sure he would never allow such a business in his neighborhood. If Joe Moore really wants to clean up Morse Ave, he should realize it is time to say goodby to Mr. Soo.
Duh! David Orr and Joe Moore are the same person! Joe is just fatter and can't grow the porn star mustache. But politically, they're cut from the same cloth.
To be honest, I wish the other David Orr protege, Rahm Emmanuel, had become our alderman. At least he's put the sixties behind him.
Now I'm off to the Filthland Cafe where I'll dedicate a couple of toasts to my compadres, Che and Fidel.
FYI - Hollywood Video is closing for business at Gateway Mall which could use more business. Blockbuster has shutdown on Clark and Lunt a while back and the storefront is still vacant. What does it take to get a major video store or any business for that matter in RP? RP is becoming the land of nothing.
Could it be that video stores are pretty much in sunset mode, what with downloads so readily available, so cheaply? I mean, it has happened with music already now that MP3 sounds at least as good as CDs, and you can download music you would have needed to be a radio station to collect 20 years ago, at less cost than an old LP collection.
Could it also be that this city and this country have so much redundant retail (often tax-subsidized)repeating itself every third mile, that most stores and regional malls could never justify themselfs without TIFs and tax abatements and other gimmes from local governments?
So much for fostering "economic development" via Corporate Welfare like TIFs and tax abatements. When these stores aren't getting the traffic they want, they'll pack up and go no matter how much money your politicians throw at them to get them to come. They don't care about the community, and their net contribution to the tax coffers, after you offset all the tax-funded gifts they got in order to come to begin with, are pretty neglibable, so you really aren't taking that much away from your community by buying online.
Ann Taylor is closing 400 stores nationwide, and many other large retail chains are in retreat, and planning to close dozens to hundreds of locations. 4 Border's Book stores, including the ones in Uptown on Broadway, the one at North & Clyborn, and the one at Clark/Diversey/Broadway, are slated to close as soon as the chain can get the places sublet.
It looks like internet shopping is rendering all these stores even more superflous than they were to begin with, so you sort of have to doubt that we will see more opening up in locations where there are already existing locations within a couple of miles that aren't doing so well.
It looks like the age of the Regional Shopping Mall and big-barn power centers may be ending.
My hope is that the major chains will retreat to the internet, and that the pols will stop throwing money at them, so that small, local, personal businesses of the type you can't easily find on the net will have a chance to compete and prosper again. Places like Armidillo's Pillow and other small,quirky little stores that cater to niche markets and are run by people who live here and are committed to the area.
Anon said.... "Hollywood Video is closing for business at Gateway Mall which could use more business. Blockbuster has shutdown on Clark and Lunt a while back and the storefront is still vacant."
The mayor and city council increased the movie rentals tax a couple months ago. This could also be a reason for closing shop in Chicago.
Those taxes don't help, Craig, especially when you can avoid them by ordering your movies from Netflex.
The sudden closure of numerous Hollywood Video stores just COULD be related to the fact that their parent company, Movie Gallery (privately held),filed for bankruptcy protection in late 2007.
And Blockbuster is trading at slightly more than $3 a share, and is losing money. I remember when this outfit was the one of the most happening companies around. Now they look to be on their way out of business.
I believe that these companies are just plain OVER. I don't give either one more than 5 years, outside. They don't stand a chance against Netflex, where you can rent DVDs much more cheaply and get unlimited online movie viewing at the same time.
I find it interesting that Joe used the word Eskimo - to an Innuit that is the equivalent of tne N word.
I also find it interesting that last week he attended a meeting at Morse and Greenview decrying all the conversions in Rogers Park and now trumpets the conversions. Talk about both sides of your mouth!
Maybe it has finally dawned on Joe whither these conversions lead, which is to a steep reduction in Joe's base of support in this ward.
Personally, I have nothing against condo conversions. For one thing, these buildings are PRIVATE PROPERTY, and if an owner wants to unload his place as individual condos, or a developer wants to buy it and convert it, well, that is their right.
And no one who'd like to see retail develop here could possibly be opposed to building more condos on the sites of decrepit, outdated houses no one wants to support, or on vacant lots, or in the place of ugly, decrepit commercial buildings.
Secondly, the conversions have cleaned up a number of really bad buildings. Does anyone remember what 1622-30 W. Farwell used to look like, 15 years ago? 1200 W Pratt? Sadly, a number of lovely bldgs. were destroyed by bad rehabs, but on balance, the area has benefited greatly as buildings that used to be centers of crime and drug-dealing have been converted to higher uses, such as starter homes for first-time buyers.
Lastly, the developers created a massive glut of condos, many of which are now coming back into the rental market vastly improved. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the developers and their easygoing lenders, we have more reasonably priced, attractive rentals AND reasonably priced condos than we've had since the 90s, the difference being that the units are in good shape, in nice buildings, and might be attractive to the renters we want to attract to the area, instead of drug dealers and other social problems who can't be placed anywhere else.
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