Hi Craig,
Again today my young son cried Please ‘wee’ (his word for slide), swing as we passed Gale School Park. Against my better judgment, since I had errands to run and have had several unpleasant experiences there, I decided it was cruel to walk by without letting him play in his neighborhood park.
Right away I knew I made a mistake. 7 African American men were drinking from brown bags and smoking on the bench right next to the playground equipment.
I quietly made a call to 911 to report the public drinking careful that they couldn’t see or hear me ( I was not quite at the play area yet and walked slowly until my call was completed).
My son climbed and slid, exclaiming “I did it!” each time he made it to the top. He was having a blast, I was keeping a watchful eye on him and the men mentioned earlier. My son decided he wanted to move to the smaller play equipment so I grabbed the stroller and followed him; he quickly climbed the stairs and slid down the slide. I had stopped to remove a broken juice bottle from the ground cover.
When he went for his second attempt I got a closer look at the stairs on the climber, there was the rest of the broken juice bottle! I grabbed him and checked his hands and knees for embedded glass, finding none and no other visible injuries I moved him to the ladder, which I carefully inspected before I allowed him to climb.
Disappointed, again, by the state of my local park I bribed him to go home where I knew we could play safely.
Upon arriving home I left messages for the supervisor of Gale and her superior about my concerns and my willingness to do my part to make this park more useable. I received a call back form the same administrative assistant that I left the message with earlier. She stated that the new director would be expecting my call about how I could help with the situation.
So, here is my suggestion. I will be taking this to her later this week. I posted this on a Rogers park parent message board also.
“This park (Gale School Park) is huge, has 2 climbers for children 2 -9 years of age and right next to the brand new fieldhouse. It is seriously underused for several reasons. I am going to meet with the new supervisor this week to ask if I can help with the problems this park has, garbage, loiterers etc.
My idea is that a group of stay at home parents commit to a once a week playtime for the fall. If we can positively loiter this should deter the undesired element. I will ask her to in return assure us that the park will be free of garbage, especially dangerous materials, and possibly have the police "sweep" the park prior to our weekly visit.
What do you think? Who would be willing to join me for a weekly playdate at the park?
Any thoughts that I should share with the new supervisor before we meet?
What are your thoughts? How can I reach the parents north of Howard? I really want to take back this park for the children and stop the 24 hour party that is making this park an unpleasant place to be.
Signed,
J.P.
Blognotes: Before blogging I used to pepper Morse Avenue with signs like this. The powers-that-be hate this crap. That'll get their attention.
My feeling is; The two police cameras located at Jonquil and Ashland and Howard and Ashland don't seem to be working.
The Chicago Police need to get out of their police cars and start WALKING the area. Full time. 24/7.
Walk the park. Walk Jonquil. Walk Ashland. Walk Paulina.
Walk. Walk. Walk. It'll save gas. It's healthy. And you can see a lot more of the area. And I don't want to hear about "it's not in the budget." We're the highest taxed city in the country. The city takes plenty of our hard earned money in taxes and fees.
Now we want to get what we paid for. A safe neighborhood. Isn't the police motto, "To Serve and Protect?"
Plain and simple. We need to bring back the neighborhood foot patrol units! The police are not effective cruising around, sitting around, reading newspapers or nodding off in their squad cars. Yes, I've seen a couple nodding off in their cars recently. I hate seeing that. That one officer makes the entire department look bad. And no, I won't take anymore pictures of those I see sleeping. It's not worth the hassle I get from a select few police officers that get all bent out of shape seeing one of their own sleeping in a car on the Internet.
Another key ingredient: Full time bike patrols and Chicago Park District security walking around wouldn't hurt either.
Zero tolerance. We need the police to write municipal violation tickets to the violators who bring liquor into the park. If they're not going to enforce the laws written by the lawmakers, take them off the books.
Readers, what do you think?
Gale Park image by 24/7 Howardwatcher Toni
38 comments:
JP, I would be happy to help you any way I can. I walk this area daily and I call 911 repeatedly for the drinking, drug use/sales, dice games and loitering in this park.
I am afraid you won't get much participation from most of the parents NOH. I get the impression they don't care where their children are or what they are doing. They don't appear to care about their safety either. Most of the little trouble makers are out on the streets all hours of the day and night, hanging on the corners with the drug dealers and the gang bangers.
Maybe this issue needs to be brought up at the meetings scheduled this week for future park activities?
Bos - the meetings this week are to chose 2-3 priorities for each park for the upcoming budget hearings for 2009.
Perhaps JP and others might want to join or re-join the PAC and get on the security/safety committee?
Maybe a join fundraising committee? Incentives versus freebies are a good way to teach and reward - and if everyone started routinely picking up aluminum cans or plastic or glass bottles and recycling for the small stipend - that would pay a fee here and there.
Maybe if the young ones started the movement the adults might be guilt tripped into either joining or taking their habits elsewhere.
It's not just up to one person or entity - it should be a community movement.
J.P.
There is a Rogers Park Meetup group for stay at home parents of children with toddlers/preschoolers. I think if you were to join this Meetup group you would get a lot of support from the parents. Just an idea.
http://parents.meetup.com/430/
Good luck and I think your idea and approach is so positive.
Okay I just re-read your post and you mentioned parents north of Howard. Not sure this meetup would cover that group but they are parents in RP non-the-less and would be a good influence on the area I am sure.
I can't agree more with you that the police are largely ineffective sitting in their squad cars. They really need to WALK THE BEAT. I can't tell you how many times I've called the police only to have their car spotted a zillion miles away by the offenders, which have plenty of time to duck into an alley. The cops drive by, and then leave. And every one comes out of their hidey holes.
This beat NEEDS foot and bike patrol much more than car patrol. That could make a huge difference in problem areas like this.
In addition to the public drinking, loitering, and littering, the problems include drug dealing, dice playing, and general gang-banging. It's a nasty climate that pervades Gale Park, and to a lesser extent the nearby Triangle Park and Harold Washington Playlot.
At last week's Gale Park Advisory Council meeting the group resolved to push for a public meeting - soon - with 24th Police District Commander Caluris. The date/time will be announced.
A comprehensive solution must include beefed-up police attention WITH better policing strategies. As others have said here, regular foot and bike patrols in these parks are essential.
We should also support vigilance by parents and other neighbors using these parks, initiation of park district programs that win youth attention, and improved visibility and outreach by the social services agencies that exist. All this gets at creating the comprehensive solution we need to see launched.
What ever happened to the beat cop that used to walk Howard? I work at night and have not been able to attend the C.A.P.S. meetings for years. It figures that the most effective tool against crime fighting, real eyes, would not be a budget item. What do they do with all of the footage of this area? Throw it in a digital pile. What a joke.
I completely agree, I am sick of it too. Also, I was at Circle Park this morning and people have sleeping bags set up there like it's a camp ground! There were Busch cans sitting around and the regular losers just hanging out. I appreciate the police cars driving by but the creeps just pop back out after they know they are gone. People should feel safe using the parks and kids should definitely be able to use a playground!
At the beginning of summer it was announced at a CAPS meeting the regular foot patrol officer was out on medical leave. They were looking for a replacement at that time. I would assume with summer winding down, we are not going to get a foot patrol officer at this stage of the game.
There are also people sleeping in Triangle Park the last few mornings. Sleeping bags on top of the picnic tables. Squad car drove through on the sidewalk past two people with this sleeping arrangement and did nothing.
I completely agree, I am sick of it too. Also, I was at Circle Park this morning and people have sleeping bags set up there like it's a camp ground! There were Busch cans sitting around and the regular losers just hanging out. I appreciate the police cars driving by but the creeps just pop back out after they know they are gone. People should feel safe using the parks and kids should definitely be able to use a playground!
razldazlrr, are these sleeping-bag people, regular losers and creeps African American?
Oh, and walking a beat would be a great solution. After all, doesn't Weis want his cops in better shape?
man on the street - I don't understand why you are asking the question.
I just walked home through Gale Park. There are a number of small children playing on the playground equipment. A few feet away at the north entrance of the park directly in line with one of the security cameras, there were no less than 13 men playing 21 for cash, and openly drinking alcohol. As I walked past them, a youth on a bicycle rode up with a black plastic bag filled with more alcohol. It appears the gamblers are using the kids in the park to ride their bikes to the liquor store at Howard and Ashland to get them additional refreshments. Maybe the police need to make sure the Round the Clock liquor store is not selling liquor to minors? Maybe the neighborhood needs to look into voting this area dry.
Hello, man on the street. I'd like to ask of what particular relevance is race to this discussion?
From what I've seen, people of all races can be counted among the homeless, the gangbangers, the drug users looking to score, and others suspiciously hanging out in our parks.
Whomever they are, of whatever race or background, the need for an adequate police presence is the solution we've been discussing.
i grew up on howard street all my life i use to live over there on bosworth and jonguil.Im not going to lie i use to be on the streets up and down howard st like a dumbass. im 25 yrs old and moved on changed my life and everything (but the damage has been done i have a felony theft on my record which stops me from getting a better job but hey i dont mind paying the price which im working on getting expunged or sealed) for like six years now i been out the streets and when i think about it i feel stupid and emberassed and the sad thing about it is that the people i use to roam the streets with are still out there. i have a daughter that is going to be four years old in nov. i will GLADY help you out to make the park more safer so the parents wont have to worry about getting shot or harrassed in the park. especially the women i seen first hand how they get harassed and i go up to the guys time and time again if he has a problem. i havent been in that park for like five years i moved west of howard street and i havent been on east of howard for years. but i will glady go and help out..
i grew up on howard street all my life i use to live over there on bosworth and jonguil.Im not going to lie i use to be on the streets up and down howard st like a dumbass. im 25 yrs old and moved on changed my life and everything (but the damage has been done i have a felony theft on my record which stops me from getting a better job but hey i dont mind paying the price which im working on getting expunged or sealed) for like six years now i been out the streets and when i think about it i feel stupid and emberassed and the sad thing about it is that the people i use to roam the streets with are still out there. i have a daughter that is going to be four years old in nov. i will GLADY help you out to make the park more safer so the parents wont have to worry about getting shot or harrassed in the park. especially the women i seen first hand how they get harassed and i go up to the guys time and time again if he has a problem. i havent been in that park for like five years i moved west of howard street and i havent been on east of howard for years. but i will glady go and help out. a lot of this gangbangers dont even live on the neighborhood they come from different parts of the city especially the northside. howard st is like "mecca" for the GD's is the biggest and most powarful set in the northside and GD's from other sets go over there to hang out etc...
man on the street - I don't understand why you are asking the question.
Well, since the person who wrote the story that originated this thread felt the need to specify that the people hanging out in drinking in the park were African American, I just thought that the race of ALL people who committ these acts should be noted. As if the sight of guys drinking in the park isn't enough of an identifier.
OK, I gotta confess I had a bit of an ulterior motive when I asked the question. I just wondered why so many people here (and admittedly other blogs on similar subjects) feel the speficy the race of the perpetrators. As if it was important to note that these were AFRICAN AMERICAN guys drinking in the park, not just anybody. Not all people do this but a lot do. If you think it was strange for me to ask, then isn't it equally strange to include it in a story where it basically serves no purpose?
I just think that deliniating things like this runs the risk of turning the battle to regain Rogers Park into an "us vs. them" battle where the "us" and the "them" becomes something other than decent lawabiding residents vs gangbangers. You need EVERYONE to turn this situation around and continually specifying the race of the loiterers, etc. when it serves no real purpose seems to turn this in to a whole 'nother argument. if you're using it to identify a criminal being sought by the police, fine. But to keep dropping race in where it's pretty unnecessary sounds kinds... nah, won't go there.
Anyway, that's why I "asked".
Man on the Street
When a person calls 911 they are asked for a description, if you do not immediately give the race they ask you for it.
Any group of adults hanging out in a park drinking and smoking is breaking the law.
Man on the Street, you make an excellent point. Within the context of providing information on this - or any - blog, race is irrelevant. Otherwise, as you say, we do engender a negative atmosphere of "us vs. them" based on race rather than legal vs. illegal activities. Of course, North of Rogers is correct in saying, "When a person calls 911 they are asked for a description, if you do not immediately give the race they ask you for it," but that is not what you're talking about here. You are pointing out, correctly, that including race in describing a perp.'s behavior on a blog is not necessary. Doing so can lead to divisive, tangential discussions, accusations - perhaps even behavior - that draw the focus away from the real issue, namely the prevalence of illegal behavior in our neighborhood and what we as citizens need to do to unify against it. Thanks for pointing that out.
- PEACE -
Thank you to commenter "man on the street" for your reasonable explanation of why you raised the issue of race. You made an excellent point about the habitual - and totally unnecessary - use of racial identification when we write or talk about people who contribute to a community problem.
Yes, writer JP did refer to "7 African American men" in the initial letter posted by Craig. Unfortunately, that's an everyday example of how we've all been impacted by institutional racism. From our schools to our media, our culture, in both overt and subtle ways, teaches us to be aware of (and even hypersensitive about) someone's race. It has been so from the very beginning of this nation.
There are times when it's appropriate to note race (and other defining features) such as when a witness or concerned neighbor calls 911, or a discussion of social issues and who is impacted by racism.
However, I'm in agreement with man on the street that it's unnecessary to make note of race in a public discussion about people creating a problem in a park.
When a person calls 911 they are asked for a description, if you do not immediately give the race they ask you for it.
Any group of adults hanging out in a park drinking and smoking is breaking the law.
I clearly stated that if it involves a NEED for a description (i.e. racial) that it's fine and necessasry to use it. But if guys are drinking in the park (which, yes, is a crime), then it's pretty easy to spot them since they're sitting there DRINKING IN THE PARK. If they leave the park and the police feel the need to scour the neighborhood to find them, then yes, by all means, give a COMPLETE description. But if I'm just telling a story ("I took my kid to the park and there were some guys drinking there and they were African American!") I don't see the need other than to speficy some sort of difference between the behavior of that group as compared to another. We've got enough problems around here. Trying to label races doesn't have to be one of them.
Bottom line, if the perpetrator of some crime has left the scene and there is a search on for him/her, of course race is needed as a description. But if I'm describing my casual encounter with some a-holes, what does it matter what race they are? They're a-holes. Period.
I clearly stated that if it involves a NEED for a description (i.e. racial) that it's fine and necessasry to use it.
Sorry, forget my "clearly stated" claim. I stated that on another thread and not this one. But again, I'm all for giving racial descriptions when it's entirely necessary.
Why do you draw the conclusion that it was inappropriate for JP to identify the men in her story as African American, and that it had some other connotation other than describing the people that were there? If she had said '7 white men' or '7 Caucasian men' would there be this same discussion about whether or not race should be identified in the context of describing someone's personal experience? Maybe you should give her the benefit of the doubt that if the men were white she would have also said so and not attach such importance to her apparent lack of political correctness.
Dear Wantstoknow,
Well, if JP had observed and reported on witnessing "7 Martian Men" in the park then that fact, just possibly, would have been an item of significant import to note. Please re-read and reconsider my earlier remarks here and those of our other neighbors.
Well that would change the description from race to species, which would be more notable unless seeing Martians drinking in a park happened with some regularity. Maybe in a few decades from now we'll have the same conversation about whether species should be identified in a visual account.
Before man on the street explained the reasoning behind his question, you stated that homeless, gangbangers, etc could be of any race, with which I entirely agree.
What I don't quite understand is why including the race of the people JP saw in her story, somehow automatically equates to a derogatory reference or stereotype against, in this case, African Americans. The men she saw were African American, that's a fact. If the men had been white, I would give her the benefit of the doubt that she would have then said '7 white guys' instead. If she had identified the men as white, would anyone question why she mentioned race in the first place? Or if she said, '3 African American guys, 3 white guys, and a Latino guy'? What's the issue with race there? What about the fact that she said they were men? Maybe gender shouldn't be specified either in case a stereotype is then perpetuated against men. It's not like women couldn't be public drunkards or gamblers.
Or maybe, a visual description is just that and shouldn't necessarily be interpreted as anything more, at least not without having more insight into the person's motivation. From what I read I see JP's motivation as reporting what she saw and how she felt it made the park unsafe for her and other children, and that's it.
If she had said '7 white men' or '7 Caucasian men' would there be this same discussion about whether or not race should be identified in the context of describing someone's personal experience?
Can't say for should if there would be but there should be. It's unimportant. I could ask you why you think the identifer is important, but I won't.
Look, before this gets out of hand (OK, further out of hand), I have no problem with identifying the race of a suspect being sought by the police, etc. It helps the community help the police. But unless these guys were on the lam, I don't see what importance their race is other than to create an image for whatever reason. I dunno, maybe you can explain to me why this is important to note. And if it's important, then let's be fair and do it for everyone, right?
It's a shame you are missing the point, the problems at the park, and not the color of the perpetrators skin.
the tone of the story seems to be a retelling, using the same language as used in the 911 call would be natural.
Did the author of the original post write this as a blog posting?
Instead of wasting time deciding what was meant by a few words,why don't you go to Gale park and "positively loiter" no matter your color, positive people in the park are always welcome.
I'll have a follow-up blog post from JP tomorrow.
When I read the story, I didn't attach any importance to it at all other than she was describing what she saw. It's the later conversation that ensued over the fact that she specified the race that I don't quite understand. It assumes she had a motive for saying it (for instance, to state that all public drunkards are African American), which I personally don't perceive to be the case. Nothing she says conveys an opinion other than the fact the people were a danger - the rest was just decription.
Like I said, I would give her the benefit of the doubt that if the men were white, Latino, Asian, whatever, she would have said the same and it would have no other connotation that describing who she saw. I agree that when describing a dangerous segment of the population that conclusions should not be drawn based on race, but I don't think the fact that she mentioned the race of the people she saw should be an issue since the mention in and of itself had no negative (or positive) connotation.
bright side of life said: "the tone of the story seems to be a retelling, using the same language as used in the 911 call would be natural. "
Exactly.
Someone here cracked what was surely a joke, saying, JP could just as easily have written that a group of "white men" were causing trouble in the park. I smiled and thought "Ha, if only!"
Honestly, has ANYONE here ever seen any writers on Rogers Park's blogs use anything other than "Black" or "African American" or "Latino" (I've also seen the N-word tossed around) to identify someone?
It's amazing. On the eve of our nation moving toward the historic election of an African American as president, it's clear that there are still reasons that RACE still MATTERS.
I'd welcome and join in a public discussion about the larger issues of why race matters in Rogers Park. A real-time, face-to-face forum would be better than using a blog.
Until such an event happens, I'd urge some further reading as follows:
The Language of Race by Keith M. Woods
http://tinyurl.com/6cb3sz
OFF BALANCE: Youth, Race & Crime in the News http://tinyurl.com/5lr59b
I'll have a follow-up blog post from JP tomorrow.
Thanks. I'm sorry for hijacking this thread and getting away from the REAL point, which was a bunch of jackasses drinking in a park around kids. I don't blame anyone for what (I assume) was an innocent mention of race, but little pointless mentions like that seem to reinforce the idea of "see, it's THEM again" (in the minds of some people, more than we'd probably like to believe). Is that being hypersensitive? Don't know. None of us have lived each other's lives but we all bring different perspectives. But like another poster said, if the race of a suspect/offender IS listed her, it's always African American or Latino and that DOES say something. Unless I'm totally wrong and those are the ONLY people who loiter on the corner drunk, shoot guns or drink in the park.
And I'm not suggesting that JP is racist, not by a long shot. But if everyone wants to stop focusing on race like they claim to (unless it's necessary), this would be a good place to start.
Again, sorry for hijacing the blog for this. I'm a regular reader for the past few years and think it serves a great purpose no matter how many times your camera gets swiped at by the cops :)
This thread got highjacked. The story here is why the police don't enforce the rules by writing citations for the violations. Why they don't use foot patrols to cover the area.
That's the story here.
The discussion got off track, so what. It was still a useful discussion to have. I read the first link the Michael provided, I'll read the second later. But having read the first one, I'll say to Michael and man on the street: point taken.
I wasn't joking, actually, suggesting that JP could have made that description. But I'll concede that using race as a descriptor when referring to white people doesn't get as equally treated as it should be, and that using race as a descriptor is vague anyway.
Foot patrols and fulltime bicycle patrols would be nice if you had the Officers to man them which the average watch commander does not. That is because there is a whole cottage industry within the Chicago Police Department that is dealing with things unrelated to Police work. Go into the 024th district or any district for that matter and look at who is doing what and how many Officers are actually available for street assignments. Then go to Police Headquarters on Michigan Ave. and you will see the same thing only magnified by 100. There are so many people hiding out in inside spots like the CAPS office and who knows where else that it's not even funny anymore. Most watch commanders can barely man the cars as it is let alone put up bike or foot units. And until they re-organize this department and get people out of those cush inside spots and back on the street where they belong, things will not be changing very soon. Why do we still have 5-10 Officers assigned to the CAPS office when that program has been drastically cut back and is on it's last leg? And no, Jody has not proven to be the answer. He has proven however to be just another gofer for the little man on the 5th floor.
I'm glad that wantstoknow took time to read the document links I posted above on race. Everyone should.
On the park safety issue, Big Daddy is correct. Of course waste, bloat, and inefficiency in the police department should be tackled. That's the case with every unit of government.
However, I don't accept the notion that improvements in local policing cannot happen until after those system issues are resolved.
Michael, you say that because you don't know anything about policing or how the department is run. The bottom line is that if the manpower is not there, you can't put up bike and foot patrols. And the manpower will not be there until they eliminate all the units that are nothing more than hiding spots for those that do not want to be Police Officers. One more thing, food for thought. We are a mobile society. It's not 1900 were the motor vehicle is rare. So why would we put Officers on foot patrol when all the gangsters have cars. Now having said that, I do agree with the foot Officer at places like parks, shopping strips, schools etc., etc.
Wow, JP, I am SO glad you whispered and walked slowly...GIVE ME A BREAK! Your entire letter reeks of racism. As for wantstoknow, stop attempting to cover-up obvious prejudice.
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