Dear Craig;
I don't know if you or anyone else has noticed the recent change on Lunt Avenue, just east of Sheridan. I've always taken that route to the beach, because it usually has the least scumbags hanging out. This spring when I started taking my daughter to the beach/park again, I started noticing a lot of druggies hanging out in big groups just east of the coffee shop there, smoking, yelling, sometimes even drinking on a public street.
This morning I heard residents outside the courtyard complaining that the landlord had allowed a drug rehabilitation business to lease 3 floors of those apartments -- without ever letting current tenants know about it! Sounds like another slumlord is trying to pay his rents with dirty money.
Signed,
Worried Lunt Resident
47 comments:
I really hope something is done about this. Also, it's a business- the zoning may not permit it. A rehab residence really should be a stand alone facility for many reasons. And not all of these facilities cause problems. The one on Morse has been there for years and they are perfect neighbors. I think everyone in there goes in of their own volition though.
This is a safety issue from what I read in the letter.
Not in my back yard! If this upsets you move to the suburbs.
We realize that this might be construed as a "not in my backyard" type of statement but this is not where we come from at all.
Right.
Somehow saying "this is not a place for this type of facility" has nothing to do with a NIMBY type of statement.
Let me some up this letter:
Those rehabbing from drugs and alcohol are scary men, and we won't want be anywhere near them. We pride ourselves on being tolerant, until it means that we need to face it directly.
Got to love Chicago liberals.
Oh, CRAP, just what this neighborhood needs, yet ANOTHER goddam halfway house for a problem population!
This has to end. There is no way this neighborhood is going to succeed if we keep getting stuff like this dumped on us. We have way more than our share already.
Craig, is the writer speaking of the courtyard on the northeast corner of Lunt and Sheridan?
I've been worried about that building. It's getting shabbier everyday- dry rotted windows, shit-rigged repairs with fugly substitutions that degrade the appearance of the building, and an overall air of malaise about the place.
Time to ride herd on the building ownership for code violations and any crimes taking place in or about the building.
This building, decently maintained with good tenants, would be an asset to the neighborhood, but if this crap keeps up, it will turn into Broadmoor South.
1149-1155 W Lunt
AKA 6971-6981 N SHERIDAN
PIN 11-32-200-001
48-unit, 3-story brick courtyard bldg
SE corner of Sheridan & Lunt
Gassman is the NIMBY
Owner lives in Deerfield, how nice for him!
David L. Gassman
President & agent
6981 N. SHERIDAN, INC.
David L. Gassman
840 HEATHER LN
DEERFIELD, IL 60015
unknown is whether Gassman owns or operates any drug rehab programs in Deerfield
Gassman also owns the SPIN nightclub
Gassman also owns the bldg, choice location on NW corner of Halsted & Belmont
800 W BELMONT INC.
David L. Gassman
President, Secretary & agent
CALAHAN'S TAVERNE & GRILLE, INC.
David L. Gassman
President, Secretary & agent
DBA
Spin
you can call him there:
(773) 327-7711
Gassman is a Vice President of the Central Lakeview Merchants Association
how nice for Lakeview!
Hey, manwithmasterplan, let's start putting this garbage in the SUBURBS, for a change.
Face it, the 'burbs are headed down the tubes anyway, thanks to the terminal decline of energy supplies. Nobody's going to be able to afford to heat their 3000 sq ft crapbox houses anyway,or drive a mile for every small errand, anyway, even if they haven't already been foreclosed on.
Sooooo, let's start helping facilities like this locate in failing subdivisions in the hinterlands, where these people can be given useful work turning empty new subdivisions back into farmland.
We need to stop tearing up beautiful, irreplaceable city neighborhoods by concentrating in them types of people who really ought to be living at a far remove from the rest of us.
Hugh, thank you for digging up the essential info about the ownership.
Gassman is a delegate to Ald. Tom Tunney's Community Directed Development Council
how nice for the 44th ward!
Permits?
We don't need no stinkin permits!
Gassman, David
840 Heather Road
Deerfield, IL 60015
Occupation: developer
Employer: self
to Citizens For Joe Moore
$1,500.00 4/4/2007
$1,500.00 12/19/2007
$1,500.00 11/6/2006
$1,500.00 11/6/2006
$1,500.00 1/12/2006
$1,500.00 12/23/2004
$1,500.00 5/22/2002
$1,000.00 1/16/2001
$500.00 3/6/2000
$500.00 11/9/1999
to Democratic Party of the 49th Ward
$1,000.00 2/27/2004
$13.5K disclosed since 1999
Gassman paid for the fast-track
that's not a typo, folks
Moore disclosed TWO contributions at the Golden Passpot Level on the same day in November, 2006, months before the aldermanic election
Callahan's Taverne Grille Inc
800 W. Belmomt St.
Chicago, IL 60657
$1,500.00 1/23/2003
to Citizens for Joe Moore
Gassman, David
6981 N. Sheridan Rd.
Chicago, IL 60626
Occupation: SPIN
Employer: Owner
$1,000.00 2/27/2004
to Democratic Party of the 49th Ward
OOPS! Sorry, everybody!
$16K disclosed
this is not a nimby issue
that is for the antidevelopment crowd, this is is just hilarious,
a drug rehab area in the nicest part of the neigborhood,
sure everyone will love that,
its concentrations of problems, people that causes problems
Yeah, jeffo, and in building right down from Ennui.
One of the most charming street corners in a charming neighbhorhood, with great sculptures and Ennui and the beach.
I mistook the address, but the bldg across the street on the NE corner is beginning to look decrepit, too, so we have a lot of danger here, and need to move decisevely to keep this area from becoming a true slum, and re-blighting the area to the north and south along Sheridan Road.
Jesus, we get rid of one bad bldg, and another pops up, with the enthusiastic sponsorship of our aldercreature.
I saw Joe handing out doughnuts by the Loyola el the other morning. Joe needs to know that it'll take more than doughnuts to placate residents angry at the assault on their neighborhood by the slumlords who clearly own him.
A good source tells me the provider for these residents are:
TLC
And/or
Heartland Alliance
Here's what they claim to provide:
On-site support services offered to adults with mental illness who can live independently. Ongoing holistic treatment for homeless individuals dually diagnosed with mental illness and substance abuse.
From the best I can see, they offer NO On-site support services - nor do I see any "ongoing holistic treatment" for these tenants.
Jocelyn,
The area around this bldg is zoned RT4, you're right a retail business is not permitted, but a "transitional residence" is allowed as a special use, but requires notification of neighbors and a public hearing before the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Well this is another addition to nomoore's coalition of vested voters. I wonder if these residents need to register to vote as a prerequisute to their admission in the program
Unfortunately these addicts have to go somewhere but how much or how many can our little neighborhood tolerate. I honestly wouldn't care if we didn't already have what I consider our unfair share.
To confirm with the original post, I leave the alley at lunt and sheridan every morning at 6:30. Several of these residents are hanging around smoking and yelling as if I don't have the right to use the alley to get to work.
As a resident of this coutyard buiding, I can't thank all of you posters enough for your support.
It is so common to think we are just alone, with nothing we can do to change what happens to our lives. It is really touching to know that others are out there who will support us.
I, too, struggle long and hard with the NIMBY issue. But I would bet that the manwiththemasterplan and Dave don't live in this building. The change in our day to day living as far as security,exposure to yelling,swearing,raunchy conversations,drug dealing and residents changing from day to day was instantaneous. We are stuck. Do we open our windows to get air or do we close them to avoid the mess. Street noise is one thing, but noise in a coutyard might as well piped right into your room.
As a city resident, I need to emphasize that I am not talking about about ordinary, sporadic street noise. Personally I find a certain charm in that, which one would not find in the burbs. A person is passing by, carrying on in a fit of the moment, fighting with a girlfriend, that's life. No big deal. That's why I live in the city. But on a immediate neighborhood level, we went from mostly knowing each other and having our "stars" such as Andy the artist who is singlehandingly transforming the whole block into a treasure, to a place where some really shady-looking characters live and congregate.
Does anyone want to get down on me for the term "shady-looking"? I have lived a long life. I have been been around. I know what I see and feel. I may be a liberal, but I am not a witless liberal. Who feels it knows it lord.
Wow. I'm so glad we moved out when Gassman bought the building. It was a nice place when the old landlord was still alive. He kept it well maintained.
It went from being a fully occupied building with tenants that knew each other, to what it is today under the succeeding landlord.
It's a crying shame to see what's happened to Dee's legacy. *sigh*
I would bet that Mr. "masterplan" and "dave" don't live in this NEIGHBORHOOD.
I have a little feeling that these guys could represent the people, or even be a couple of the people, who have plenty to gain by trashing this neighborhood.
Many people made much money by trashing the city over the past 50 years. Time to make this manner of livelihood- turning the max profit on a building by grabbing as much money as possible while putting nothing back, and leaving trashed neighborhoods behind- as difficult and unprofitable as possible.
It seems like its time to take Craig's information and make a massive call in to 311. Perhaps, the Mayor's Office, as well, since he tends to have so much affection for Joe these days.
Maybe, if Joe is reading he might think about who his friends are! Maybe he should run for office in Deerfield for that matter. Mikvah ran away and won in Wilmette.
So when will Moore begin to care for the neighborhood and not the Gassman?
Doesn't it matter that these are people trying to improve their lives and move on?
Or do you not care about some one trying to get off substances and return to being a productive member of the community?
Chicago Venue - the problem here is not that there are recovering addicts in the building now...what I see as the first issue is that the status of the building changed overnight and neither existing residents nor the community were informed. I would be *enraged* if a new population was moved into my building without my knowledge.
The fact is that the rehab residents in this building dramatically changed the experience of existing residents and surrounding neighbors in an instant. And it IS a security issue, if folks are hanging out at all hours making noise, hollering at female residents, etc. If this was a supervised rehab facility, I think neighbors may have a different experience of the situation, and a quiet neighborhood might be a good place for recovering addicts to transition back into the community. But an unsupervised tranisitional housing situation in our community - this is a discussion for the WHOLE community, and for the neighbors affected, and we were not given that opportunity.
An en masse 311 sounds like a good idea - or just keep calling everytime the noise is a disturbance. Make enough reports, maybe we'll get some change.
Sorry, but I don't have room to 'care' for every bum and criminal in Rogers Park and beyond.
Do you care about ME? I doubt it and I don't expect it.
Do YOU care about all the decent, upright working people in Rogers Park who work two low-wage jobs and have to come home on the bus or train at 3 AM? Obviously, you don't, or you'd understand why most of us don't want our neighborhood being used as a dumping ground for all the city's worst problems.
You also don't care about the area's property owners who work daily to improve their properties and beautify the neighborhood, and whose investment is being further endangered every time a facility like this moves into the area. Most of these property owners are nowhere near being rich, and most had to struggle and make big lifestyle sacrifices to buy their places. They can't insulate themselves from the problems that wealthy absentee landlords like Glassman create.
Why should I care about a problem population anymore than YOU care about ME?
Most of us here in Rogers Park have enough to do protecting ourselves and children. We mostly are not rich, or anywhere near it as the term is defined these days. Even relatively well-heeled people in this area aren't well-off.
Most of us in this nabe are also progressive and generous, and we enjoy helping deserving people who've had more than their fair share of bad luck. We really wouldn't mind a service that merely helped defenseless homeless people, but we already have too many "problem" facilities serving the kind of people that make a neighborhood disreputable and dangerous.
I appreciate the work that Heartland does, and this is the type of organization I like to give money to. They have helped many homeless older people,including a couple of great old men of my acquaintance, and I'm happy to contribute to their efforts.
But I stand with my neighbors in my opposition to a "stealth" home for a very troublesome population, and I'm not encouraged by the way this facility entered the area by stealth, without public notification or proper permits or zoning.
Uh, Chicago Venue Review, it's fantabulous that these people are trying to shake their mental illness and improve their lives. No one is against this.
What people are against is the landlord did NOT inform the tenants that he was opening up three floors to accomodate these folks. Furthermore, if the landlord chooses to house these people, then the ENTIRE building should be designated as a halfway house, and he should have to facilitate the relocation of his current tenants.
People with mental illnesses are not very stable, and when off their medications, may have a propensity to violence.
Why don't you come move into the building? Maybe a male tenant would not feel threatened. I'd like to know how many men out there would like for their sisters/mothers/daughters/girlfriends to live in this same building with a bunch of former homeless MEN who have mental illnesses?
It doesn't sound to me like this is really a rehab at all. Take a long walk along Damen Avenue between Birchwood and Rogers. I will bet you can't tell which apartments are rehab apts. for those in treatment. They have rules. They have curfews. The property is spotless. The residents are receiving treatment as well as job skills and therapy they need.!
If there is no case manager or clinical staff within the confines of these apartments this is not a rehab. I wonder who thought mm let me see how I can wreck another Rogers Park buildig. I know . I will call it a rehab facility. It really isn't. There is no certified staff on campus. No one watching, supervising, and supporting the withdrawal from substances. But I really wont do what I say. If these residents are in the courtyard and in the alley yelling and screaming and disturbing the peace they are breaking the law. A 911 phone tree will get these residents to shut up and leave or go somewhere else to live and smoke crack.
I too am all for rehab, but rehab residents are not allowed to disturb the peace.
" ... the ENTIRE building should be designated as a halfway house ... "
We strongly suspect this building is being partially operated as a transitional shelter under the radar, without permits.
Neighbors were entitled to a public hearing before the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Neighbors within 250' were entitled to written notice.
If you call it in, you might consider calling it in as a transitional shelter operating without permits, ask for a permit check, ask for a tracking number and a call-back.
Also, we need to pin down the name of the service provider, if any.
It's like a miracle. You throw a pebble in the water and watch all the ripples wave out.
A letter was put under everyone's door and we get, the next day, the owner of the property to respond. He's blaming the whole mess on the neighbors. WHAT A SHOCKER! But I can report that since the letters were put out, the riff raff have not stepped foot outside their section of the complex. We should have done this a month ago.
There was no yelling all day and no late night screaming. The neighborhood returned to its nice a peaceful self. Now we get the honor of meeting with Gassman on Thursday. Make sure everyone shows up for that meeting at 6:00pm in our laundry room next to Ennui.
Oh the irony... a drug rehab residence a mere block from Morse. I wonder if the intention was to really challenge the residents by putting them so close to temptation.
In 2004, the building I'd lived in for 21 years was sold without any notification whatsoever. Three months later, it was sold again, this time to "1600 W. Dempster, LLC" - no identity, no individual or company's name, just an address followed by LLC (Limited Liability Corporation) Everyone's rent increased as much as $250 overnight. Obviously, that's not a rent increase, that's an eviction notice. Again, there was no official notification; we were simply instructed to send our rent payments to a new address on West Washington Street downtown and to make the checks out to the LLC.
After a little investigating, I found out "1600 W. Dempster, LLC" was actually A Safe Haven, a not for profit recovery management organization. Well, let me clarify a little here. You see, the LLC is the private profit arm of this non-profit which purchases real estate and then uses A Safe Haven "clients" as cheap labor to rehab it, if needed, and manage the property. Then they move in their "residents," many of them as Section 8 taxpayer assisted tenants, at government approved, ridiculously inflated prices. Those who aren't Section 8 are often the same clients they have working for them so they get "discounted" rents. In order to avoid the whole dilemma of calling it a rehab facility, which would, as has been pointed out, entail permits and proper neighbor notification, they simply call it an "open building, available for rental to the general public." But don't let that fool you, no one is going to pay what they're charging for those apartments, especially after they find out about the criminal backgrounds of the majority of their next door neighbors. To my knowledge, the only people who live there now are clients of A Safe Haven.
So, my advice to you at the meeting on Thursday, is to look out for the double-speak of the seasoned non-profit professional, the man or woman whose job it is to assure you that they do not mean to change your lifestyle. They will tell you they have no intention of forcing you out of your homes - either through gradual means of daily/nightly disturbances or through the bolder tactics of sudden and inexplicable rent increases. Don't let them placate you with offers to "work together." Believe me, all it will take is for their long range plans to begin to crumble or their current funding to begin to suffer due to your insistence that they keep up their end of the bargain and the gloves will come off. You'll be surprised at just how ruthless they can be. And by the way, they'll have a good reason to too. After all, they're the good guys - the saintly few standing up for the oppressed and disenfranchised. Theirs is a good cause. And you? Why you're just a man, a woman, a single family who "simply doesn't understand," whose selfishness and cold heartedness is shameful and lends testament to the idea of - what was that phrase? Oh, yes, I remember now, the Not In My Back Yard Liberal. You may feel you’ve already gotten a taste of that on this blog but believe me, they’ll have you questioning your own motives before this is over.
Get ready, West Lunt Neighbors, this could be one of the most important battles you'll ever find yourselves in. Before it's all over, you'll realize things about yourself and each other you never thought you'd discover - both good (I was kind of surprised at how strong I can be) and bad (I was saddened to discover how intolerant I am toward people who are unwilling to stand up for themselves).
Last word - I honestly believe everything happens for a purpose, even something as horrendous as losing my home of 21 years (yes, I rented it but it was still my home). For me, the rainbow after the storm was finding my beloved new home here on Fargo. I love this place and my new landlords are a dream compared to the last one. Hopefully, when all is said and done, you too will find your own joy; either through the restoration of your tranquil abode or through the discovery of another, even better place to call home.
- PEACE -
This story is catching some legs.
What other neighborhood bloggers have to say.
We can't bear the loss of another fine moderate-priced rental, and the neighborhood can't survive more deteriorated buildings.
Fargo's excellent post really drives home the core problem with most government housing programs- that they drive rents out of the reach of most working people while creating conditions that they can't tolerate living in, and thus destroy buildings and neighborhoods. In just this fashion have hundreds of beautiful city neighborhoods in every city in the country, been destroyed.
We're not merely fighting a bad landlord here, but the government programs that enable him to wax rich off the slumification of his building, to the detriment of the area as a whole.
We're being forced to subsidize the destruction of our neighborhood with our own money, and we have a few rights in the situation. You have to choose your battles carefully, and there aren't many more worthwhile than this one.
If fighting to preserve our community, our properties, our safety, and our very lives makes us the "bad guys" in this battle, then I guess I'm bad, and I don't apologize. We have a right to be properly selfish and save our generosity for more deserving beneficiaries than people like Glassman and the lowlife types being "helped" in his building.
North Coast and Fargo Woman stated it best. I live in a building where slowly but surely, the crackheads and other malcontents are sneaking back in because all the landlord is interested in is getting their rent payments on time. I worked for a social service agency for nearly six years (in a non-social work capacity) that always talked about helping people, getting money seemed to be more important than giving the "help".
I'm in agreement that the whole community needs to stand up against this nonsense. Why should renters have to put up with such disrespect? Yeah, maybe we don't make the money to buy property (or simply don't want the headaches of ownership), but that doesn't mean we should be stomped on. If that landlord is allowed to get away with it, you can bet some other underhanded building owner will try it.
I can't wait for that meeting in the laundry room.
David Gassman started being a bad landlord at that building about 5 minutes after he purchased it in 2000. I speak from personal experience as a former tenant who had lived their happily for many years before he bought it. He may have cleaned up his act for some period in recent years (if so, I'm glad to hear it for the tenants' sakes), but his actions now as posted here by his tenants - and his dealings with Joe Moore's office - sound like vintage DLG Mgmt/Gassman to me. Do not trust this man to have the tenant's interests in mind at any level in this situation.
Well like I said earlier...if there is a rehab there must be staff on site 24/7. If that is not in action the place should be shut down ASAP!
Many addicts are sent to rehaq rather than prison.
Addiction is a qualified illness by the AMA and if health insurance covered this illness communities wouldnt have to deal with this crisis. If one of these persons were your father, brother, uncke, or nephew and they were diagnosed with a brain tumor they would get the treatment and medication management that they need.
Many addictions begin in early to mid adolesence . The onset is commonly triggered but some form of mental illness. This could be a simple anxiety or school phobia or more serious such as early onset schitzophrenia or mild depression. These events really occur but because it is so difficult to treat - these afflicted with addiction just get moved around, House to house, rule to rule, comrad to comrad. They complete their court mandated detox. They are given a certificate of completion on a flimsy paper.
It looks so fake! The addict is then to go out on one's own, find a job, find shelter, and meeting with in a close distance to their homes. There are people already being paid for Case Management but there is little follow up because the transiceny is unbelievable. Their goal is get in, pass the time, get him out---we need the bed for someone else.What to know what happens.
They can't find a place to live and they cant find a job because there are so many spaces in their employment history!
The issue shouldnt be the legal process of certifying this rehab. The action must be somewhere else.
The rehab on Morse Avnue in the 1600 block has been an operating agency serving many many men has been there for close if not 50 years. Leave it alone. Leave the residents alone.
There are too many group homes, rehab facilities in our neighborhood and we cant provide this service when so many are already here not getting what they need and deserve@
Call your local schools, Armstrong, Field, Gale and the school on Greenview - just South of Pratt! Oh Kilmer!
Do a survey and ask for data on hw many group homes to you provide service to?
Field has a minimum of 7! I support the students but this over burdens schools that are already overburdened with trancient, single parent,
familes that double up because of domestic violence or unemployment.
NO names, no numbers just the # of facilities that are group homes.
Some of these students are considered the higest risk group across the city of Chicago,
Rogers Park is the most diverse wonderful place in the world to live.
I am really grateful!
Now Tom Mannis wont have to go very far to get his drugs, come to think of it, neither will you craig - since you cant go next door to the former rider/block building
I have a feeling, this is the quiet before the Storm!
The tweekers have, more or less, stayed outta sight, but were spotted today. They're clustered at the end of W. Lunt, by the wall of the Lake. The reason we haven't seen them is because they are coming and going thru our back gate, not from in front the public eye.
For myself, and a couple of other residents of this building, we've noticed they disappeared without a sound. One has to ask one's self, why??? And why was the meeting put so far in the future instead of addressing the issue right away? Did the owner, Gassbag or what ever his name is, did he think we'd forget, or we'd grow tired of complaining and just go quietly into the night? This resident says, "NO F'ING WAY!!!
I will not go quietly in the night! I will protest this matter until I get the satisfaction of victory! So I put it to the neighborhood once more, please don't forget us and our plight. Show up to that meeting on Thursday of this week at 6pm, in our laundry room off of Ennui and let your voices ring loud and clear that we don't want a meth rehab center in our neighborhood.
United We Stand. Remember this is America! Exercise your 1`st Ammendment right.
Regarding "Tom Mannish," let this be your reminder that school is out for the summer.
Run along, kid.
Storm, your building is gated. How do we gain access? Also, are you certain you want this meeting to be open to the public? That can make for a very chaotic experience. I'm not saying you shouldn't have the public there, actually I hope we are all welcome. However, I respectfully suggest you set some ground rules ahead of time, if possible. For instance, it might be a good idea to select a tenent representative who will lead the tenent's side of the debate. Come to the meeting prepared with a written list of concerns and, if possible, a proposed solution. If laws are indeed being compromised, try to get a copy of those laws/codes and have them ready to read for the gathering. It would be excellent if you could have a lawyer present, perhaps from the Lawyers Committee for Better Housing. If you can, try to meet with this lawyer ahead of time to get pointers on good strategies. Last but no least, it might be a good idea to meet with your fellow residents ahead of time - again to build strategies and make out that comprehensive list. I know this sounds like a lot of work and planning but I'm sure I don't have to tell you the landlord will come in with all his ducks in a row. If the Alderman shows up, or even a representative from his office, you can guess who's side he'll be on (or did you remember to donate $15,000 already). Also, I guarentee you, if a rep from Heartland is there that person will be well versed in all the legal aspects of this case.
Now that I think about it, perhaps some one from the Park Bench blog would be willing to video this meeting. Have you considered inviting them to do so? I'm sure it will be well viewed.
Whatever the outcome, you and your building will be in my thoughts and prayers. Just because I can't be there in person doesn't mean I don't support you. I've been where you are now and my heart goes out to you.
- PEACE -
While sitting here and reading over the blogs, my roomate and I heard a woman screaming and crying down the street. Then another person yelled that they were going to call the police. I have also noticed that there seems to be a rather strange gathering on the side of the gated building.Now that I have been completely informed I am not only angry but worried for my own saftey. When I chose this building last year with my parent we were led to believe that this is a safe environment for young women. I was ready to live off of campus and felt that Lunt was a rather secure street. I use to have to pass by a halfway house in my old apartment and was relieved to have found some distance from it; which was in its own building WITH on-site workers to take care of them. I don't understand how they can allow this movement without any warning. I really didn't want to move out of this beautiful apartment but simply because of the way in which the situation has evolved I don't think I have any other choice.
We both don't feel safe.
Yes, the Storm has come.
We may have Gassman on a zoning issue. I've talked to a real estate broker in the neighborhood that is furious with this man for allowing this type of business to operate among us. Later today I will be in contact with an attorney that's also pissed about the rehabers living here.
I talked to 2 college girls last night that their lease is up for renewal and they're not signing. They don't feel safe like the rest of us that live here. We're all going to start leaving, one by one. We will be joining them as soon as our lease is up, too. We love the building but we don't want to have to wade through the rehabers that now think they own the place.
Also having the drug rehab facility among us, it has increased the drug activity up and down the street. We're constantly having drug drive-bys. If you don't believe, step out onto the street and watch all the cars slowly drive up and down the street. You'll notice the same cars doing it.
I ask you, as a community for all your imput so that we can better prepare our case against the slum lord.
I also ask of you for your prayers. Prayer is a wonderful thing. I don't care who you pray to, whether is be God, the Goddess, Buddha, or Mohammed, it's all the same.
Also with your prayers and advice, please send us as much positive energy as you can muster up. Believe me, this all works.
And, once again, please don't forget about us.
Oh, and Craig, it was very nice meeting you last when when I was introduced to you by "The Bench" in front of the Dollar Store.
Are you going to have the meeting video taped?
Fargo Woman...I have extended an open invitation to The Bench to video tape our meeting this evening. He is a very good friend of mine.
I open this meeting up to Craig also. This man has been threatened already by Gassman to pull his blog or he's pulling his ads out of a local magazine that Craig publishes. He has stuck by us in telling the man to F-off. As you can see, the blog is still up and going.
So I guess this is my last plee to the communityy of Rogers Park to come out this evening at 6p and tell Gassman we will not tolerate a drug rehab institution in one of our most beloved buildings.
I'm heading out now to cover Loyola College, where some of his tenants go to school and hand out flyers to join us also this evening. If we can't hit him with City Hall, then let's hit him where he'll feel it the most, in his pocket book.
I'll also be standing outside of Ennui doing the same thing. The owners there are friends of mine too.
Thanx for everyone's support. You have made someone very new to the area feel at home!
Peace and Blessed Be!
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