"I normally bristle at any suggestion that "the media" bears much responsibility for the state of the housing market, despite the all-too-frequent negative slants on housing stats. When it comes to Rogers Park, however, I'm inclined to sympathize with the real estate professionals who contend that some of the neighborhood bloggers are an unwarranted drag on property values, sales and rentals." Joe Zekas, a blogger at Yo ChicagoLet's pile it on, shall we? First it was Anne Sullivan at the Alderman's office that tried to place the woes of Rogers Park at the feet of the bloggers.
Now, Mr. Zekas has the freaking nerve to try to place the blame on the Rogers Park housing market in the hands of the bloggers. See, Mr. Zekas is one of those happy-go-lucky bloggers that does puff pieces and never follows up on the wild claims his interviewers give. I've seen some of his work because it pops up in my email new-feeds.
What am I talking about? Things like this. On September 15, 2007, Mr. Zekas took some crazy Realtors video tour at 1440 West Farwell. The realtor made some wild claims about the safety of Rogers Park and a new security gate, wrought iron fencing, blah - blah - blah!
No Gate. No Fence. No Remote Needed
The gullible Mr. Zekas ate it up like cotton candy - then published the dribble on his Yo Chicago blog site.
Well, Mr. Zekas, it's been nearly 10 months since you did that sweet little puff-piece. I challenge you to go back and find that wrought iron fencing and the extra security gate with remote control the realtor so gladly blabbed and blabbed to you they were installing and the owner would be able to enjoy. (If you're too lazy, I published a photo above.)
I challenge you to do a follow up video blog with the current property owners. See how safe they feel around the Morse Avenue CTA EL stop.
While you're at it, see if they ever got a city of Chicago permit to pave the public parkway with concrete. (see photo above)
See if they ever applied for that driveway curb-cut. Which should exist. But doesn't. (see photo above)
As for me doing those fluff-job neighborhood stories. I'll save that type of sugar-coated blogging to the experts - like yourself.
Related 1440 West Farwell issues you won't find on Yo Chicago:
Break-in/burglary at 1440 West Farwell
Teardown at 1440 West Farwell
1440 West Farwell. Where's the Permit?
14 comments:
This is one of my favorites. Connie Abels and Joe Zekas cruise Rogers Park and talk history.
But unfortunately, it didn't have many You-Tube viewers that clicked and watch the video according to the viewed counter. I wonder why?
Can a longer timer count the number of errors Connie presented to Joe?
It is just too funny to hear realtors blame bloggers for the state of the real estate market in Rogers Park and everywhere else.
It's especially funny when you hear them talk out of the other side of their mouths about how the housing market has "turned the corner".
Rogers Park values and sales are languishing because the real estate market is getting hammered EVERYWHERE, because we are in the middle of the most savage housing bear market since the Great Depression, and this is happening because the prices everywhere got too damn high to begin with and too many people got too many snaky loans to buy all the overpriced crap everywhere.
I guess the media's to blame for the tanking of the housing market, too. I guess that if nobody ever said in print that maybe a market predicated on people borrowing 4X or more their income was tricked to collapse, then we just keep borrowing and buying away, and a 1-bed crap rehab on Farwell would be worth $500K by now. Yeah, sure.
I also guess that if nobody ever mentioned in print that we have a crime problem in certain pockets of this ward, then people would be coming up here and clamoring to pay premium rents and would just ignore all the lowlife scum hanging out in front of the building and pissing in the hallways and loitering in the courtyards and falling down drunk on the streets. They would pay no attention to garbage dumpsters left to spill over for days on end, or to the gangs of boys propping up the fence at Pratt & Ashland, to intimidate everyone walking past.
What morons.
Grainy video that rarely focused on ANYTHING, Connie's monotone voice, her constant dropped sentences and "start-stop-restart-umm-start again" style of speaking, and, of course, all the outright LIES she told, I'm glad only about 100 people world wide have seen this travesty. I'm almost sorry you've publicized it on your blog because it will push the numbers up. Then again, it is important for anyone who might even THINK of trusting her at all to see this for themselves.
- PEACE -
I challenge Mr. Zekas to a duel, on the beach at sunrise. His choice of weapons.
Crime is Down!
crime is NOT a problem, geeks listening to police scanners and typing into their computers ABOUT crime is a problem
we'll all be better off if we could just learn to look the other way
ignoring a problem is the first step in the cure
Yo-Chicago is not a blog, it is astroturf, a real estate marketing website masquerading as a blog
DATA BASED ADS, INC.
Agent Name JOSEPH P ZEKAS
I am a good neighbor. A boy who grew up in Buffalo Grove who, quite frankly, misses the security of the outlying suburbs. I wonder how long I will be able to keep my 2 year old in Roger's park due to the crime.
I used to feel that cops have my back and mostly I still do. But on a personal level observing the way a Chicago cop who lives next to my sister in Rogers Park behaves, I'm tempted to believe the stereotypes about the ego maniac cops who like to shout at their neighbors and scream at children while in uniform from their back porch.
Ever since I bought my house and I look at the crumbling streets, slow city services, and fear for my safety, I have felt more and more that I have no voice and can't do a thing about it.
Thank you Craig, for giving me/us a voice.
Connie Abels...what a piece of work. She tried to hire me 13 years ago when her office was in Granada Center. She wanted to charge me desk space so I went elsewhere. My mother had just passed away and I had money as a result. She tried to talk me into investing in hot properties near Howard St. She told me about the new Gateway Center and how she and a bunch of buddies were going to be in a no lose situation over there.
A couple of years later a friend of mine worked for her as a secretary. Connie offered health insurance and took the money from my friend's paycheck to pay for it. My friend had an accident and needed to go to the hospital for her hand. Big surprise...her insurance had never been paid. She got stuck with the bill.
Isn't it true you bloggers turned Tom Westgard's life into a perpetual tantrum?
LOL, Hugh. Astroturf's a good line. Some consider it a superior playing surface.
Data Based Ads is a separate company, under separate ownership, from New Homes Magazine, Inc, which owns YoChicago.
morsehellhole.blogspot.com is what makes Morse a hell-hole!
wow, blogs sure are powerful!
joe said... "Astroturf's a good line. Some consider it a superior playing surface."
Astro-turf, better known as artificial turf.
It is also used to mean"false", a substitute for the real thing.
Yes, Mr. Zekas, you're right. This title fits you and your site like a glove.
Mr. Sunshine isn't sunny with bloggers.
Realty Blogging Receives Negative Review from Joe Zekas of YoChicago
I'm not crying sour grapes by posting this, but I wanted you to see what amounts to the first negative review of our book, Realty Blogging. It's written by Joe Zekas, Everyone has a right to their opinion and here's his...
One juicy comment
Hi Paul,
Joe Zekas left here primarily because he felt there was a lot of Fair Housing issues on this site. His negative comments seem to come natural for him. He seems to find fault with a lot of things. His take on the book is his opinion and it only seems fitting for him to give this type of a review. This did not surprise me.
04/27/2007 09:09 AM
by Jay McGillicuddy~Real Estate Broker (Prudential Verani Realty)
Craig,
Since you're so obviously having difficulty grasping the point, let me spell it out for you.
No one has a problem with reporting on crime or community problems. That info's readily available from a variety of sources.
It isn't about what you or other Rogers Park bloggers report. It's about what you and most of your commenters collectively embody.
Decent people are repelled by people who revel in a community's downside. They're disgusted by anyone who exploits a community's unfortunates for logo photos. They recoil instinctively from anyone who sees endangered children and does nothing for 5 hours but use them for blog fodder. They're frightened by the off-the-wall personal attacks they see you and your commenters engaging in on a daily basis.
It isn't about what you report, Craig. It's about how you report it, and even more it's about you and the people who cluster around you. People don't want to be in a community where people like you take on such a public and strident role.
Regards,
Joe Zekas
Post a Comment