Morse Avenue Streetscape? Huh? Where? When?

People who are close to the wheelings and dealings of Chicago's 49th Ward told me months ago that the long-promised, nearly-mythical Morse Avenue Streetscape would commence "right after the Glenwood Avenue Arts Festival." Uh, huh. Well, that festival came and went two weeks ago. There is less pavement torn up on Morse Avenue today than there was a month ago. The huge puddle at Morse and Greenview, there for nearly a year, was finally cleaned up after The Bench bitched about it. The excuse for letting it go so long: "Why tear it up now when it'll just get torn up again for Streetscape, right after the Glenwood Arts Fest?" Are we being played by Joe Moore - again? Mr. Ribbon Cutter has made no announcements about a looming Streetscape, which would be out of character for him (or any alderman) if indeed it was about to happen. What does Joe Moore's own web site say about this? Here are the only references to a Streetscape project on his site (as of 7:44 p.m., 9/6/08): Morse Avenue has also seen new restaurants and pubs and will soon see a new coffee house and an exciting new restaurant and entertainment venue. $800,000 in improvements were made to the Morse Avenue El Station. And a new streetscape project will get underway on Morse Avenue this summer. From the "ALDERMAN JOE MOORE'S STATEMENT OF CANDIDACY December 10, 2006" See it here... Note: Pigeons still crap on you as you enter the CTA station on Morse Avenue. Duck! The Morse Avenue Streetscape continues to improve. Look for bold changes this summer with $3 million in streetscape improvements. From "The 49 Line," Winter 2006-2007. See it here in PDF or View as HTML... We've looked. Don't see 'em. Oh yes, there's also the "Streetscape" up on Howard Street: Moore has also overseen the opening of a new 14,000-square foot branch of the Chicago Public Library, a new 2.5 acre park which replaced an adult bookstore and dilapidated housing, a soon-to-be-constructed 20,000 square foot community center, the renovation of the old Howard Theater building, the Sheridan Road and Howard Streetscape beautification projects, hundreds of units of affordable rental housing and new condominiums geared toward lower-income working families. From Joe Moore's official biography, date unknown, viewable here... In the words of Barack Obama, "I mean, words mean something. You can’t just make stuff up. I mean, come on, they must think you’re stupid!" Did I mention that Barack Obama endorsed Joe for reelection in 2006, and that Joe is an enthusiastic backer of Obama?

Beggars and Thieves: Moore and CTA

Community Meeting on CTA's Request for TIF Assistance for the Howard El Station Redevelopment Alderman Joe Moore" Friday, August 1, 2008 11:38 AM Hey Neighbor, We all know that the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is a Third World-style transit system. I've said this in the past, you know. I was the one who first realized this fact. Well, now I invite you to attend a community meeting to review a recent request by the CTA for funding from the Howard-Paulina Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District to subsidize unnecessary embellishments to the still-unfinished Howard El Station. The meeting will take place on Thursday, August 7th, 7:00 p.m. at the Gale School Annex, 7650 N. Marshfield (at (Jonquil). Just like a corrupt Third World nation, the CTA has come begging for money - again! Oooo, what're you going to do, CTA, threaten us with a hyperlocal doomsday in Rogers Park if you don't get the money? What kind of game is are you playing where halfway through it you say, "Hey, Chicago, shell out more dough or you'll be stuck with a half finished station?" The CTA wants nearly $4.7 million in TIF assistance to make three unnecessary embellishments to the Howard El Station. Folks, that's YOUR tax dollars! For one freeking station! Frankly, even I don't understand this, which I will explain in a moment. But hey, didn't CTA just tell us a few weeks ago that ridership was up so much that they're thinking about ripping seats out in some cars so they're standing room only? What the hell?!? Use some of the windfall profit you guys are making! Anyway, the three items that CTA wants: "Extend the canopy roof over the el tracks to provide additional protection from the elements for CTA passengers and equipment." I'm wondering if they're all drunk at CTA. I mean, when I had that premature ribbon cutting a while back, I noticed that there is already a wide canopy over the tracks. Somebody's getting a kickback from this, and believe me, I know about kickbacks! "Provide more extensive enclosures for the north stairways and escalators to better protect the stairs and passengers from the elements." What the hell? Why should the folks at the Howard Station have more protection than folks at the Jarvis and Morse stations? I know that Howard is closer to the Arctic Circle, but is this expenditure really justified? "Make additional repairs to the Howard Street and Rogers Avenue viaducts to address further deterioration that was discovered after initial repair work had begun." Why wasn't this discovered before the work began? Good God, CTA, get your shit together! And by the way, have you clowns at CTA noticed that chunks of concrete are falling on cars under the viaduct at your Loyola Station? CTA President Ron Huberman will present the CTA's request and explain the scope of the proposed work. A representative from the City of Chicago Department of Planning also will be present to address any TIF-related questions. Think we'll get straight answers out of these stewards of a Third World-style transit system? Ha! This is not just a pipe dream, I say. This is a meeting about a real thing that will happen. The expected completion date for the building's design is July 2003, with construction beginning that fall and finishing in fall 2006, according to Alaaeldien Waziry, who is a consultant working for the CTA on the $2 billion 5-year project to improve stations around the Chicago area. I urge you to attend this important meeting and offer your input. If you have any questions or comments, or would like to attend my next Howard CTA Station ribbon cutting ceremony, please reply to this e-mail or call my office at 773-338-5796. Sincerely, Alderman Joe Moore Visit the website of the 49th Ward P.S. - You might also find the following articles to be of interest. Alderman's call for CTA hearing 10 years too late Chicago News ... Howard El stop renovation may start by 2005 - CITY Man stabbed outside CTA Red Line station on North Side - Topix Chicago Reader The Works Pedaling While Rome Burns... CTA to North Siders: Drop Dead (from Crowding) or Drive

A Bitter Soup North of Howard

Recently, The Bench reported on an estimated 100 young people rumbling on Howard Street in one of the more troublesome parts of the 49th Ward. Since then, a few blind and deaf apologists for the crowd and their enablers have criticized The Bench for sensationalizing, and for not naming witnesses that spoke to The Bench.

(Listen up, Apologists. I don't name people who agree to speak anonymously. I would even apply that rule to slime like you.)

How about this one, which happened on Friday night, April 25: CPD radio chatter alerted me to another big crowd scene, and once again, Good News Church was implicated as an enabler of mayhem.

Is "CPD" too vague? Should I name all of the officers at the scene? Shut up and get a scanner, Apologists, and when you hear about the next rumble, get of your lazy behind and go witness it as I have done. Hey, no brag pal, but I don't just blog about it, I chase it and observe it. I talk to witnesses. I don't take the alderman's lying word for it.

The action, from scanner chatter and my own on-the-scene observation:

Between 9:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., there was some confusion about whether or not there would be a “parade” on Howard Street.

As approximately 10:00 p.m., a cop said one of the people “with the group” told him there would be no parade, but minutes later it comes over the radio that there will be a parade after all. Permits? Confusion there, too.

11:08 p.m. - Crowd gathers where troublesome Island Groove is located, next to a liquor store. Per car 2430, they are a "public nuisance" and wants non-criminal charges brought against the owner.

Crowd moves over to Howard: "...the next disturbance will be at the Howard L station" and "you'll be getting a lot of calls on this" - "There's about a hundred of them going to that soup kitchen we're all familiar with" - "Are they over capacity?" - "Good call, get fire up here" - At 11:15, fire not there, "on the way" -

I run to Morse L Station, but northbound Red Line CTA trains are being held still. (Coincidence?) I run back home, get my bike, ride up to Howard with handheld scanner in tow. On my way to Howard a cop on scene says he doesn't "want to make this an all night thing" and he's tired of waiting for fire to arrive to inspect for capacity. At approx 11:38, Dispatch says "four [fire] captains are on the way" and should be there soon.

11:40 p.m. - I arrive at Howard Street. The “parade” is over, but as I rode west on Howard from Greenleaf and Rogers, I saw five or six groups of half a dozen to a dozen black juveniles walking east along Howard. All of them were shouting obscenities and pumping their fists into the night air. I took my first photograph 11:45 PM, at Paulina and Howard. No sign of anybody from Fire Dept.

Quiet, cops leave scene at 11:55. I ride east to Sheridan, pass the Marathon. Big group of 16 black juvies hanging around; cop car drives past. Nothing he can do about lousy parents and enablers.

Just another night up 'round Ho-ward Street.

ALSO SEE: BULLSHIT

Window Smashed at Rogers Park Pizzeria

Howard Street, 49th Ward, Chicago - Vandalism struck a pizzeria around 8:20 p.m. on Wednesday, April 2 when a lunatic "slammed his fist through the window for no good reason."

The man was standing in front of a large plate glass window of Rogers Park Pizzeria's dining room at 1632 W. Howard Street (at Marshfield).

An employee of the restaurant told The Bench that the man punched out the window "for no good reason."

The vandal apparently cut himself on the thick, sharp glass - a small amount of blood was on the sidewalk, but left no trail to see.

"This is gonna cost over a thousand dollars to replace," the employee said as he swept up the shards. "Damned shame."

100 RUMBLE ON HOWARD STREET (Bench Exclusive)

The Bench - Exclusive - About 100 teens were fighting each other on Howard Street late Friday night. A huge rumble broke out around 11:50 p.m. A CTA employee, on duty at the time, made the 911 call to report the melee. Today, he blamed a local youth club.

UPDATE: "It should be pointed out that the 'youth' involved in these on- going problems are from activities at 'Noah's Ark', owned and operated by Rev. Bud Ogle and his 'Good News Partners' organization." Update from North Howard Neighbors Association. Also: Much more about Bud Ogle at 24/7 North of Howard Watchers.

Police initially dispatched about a dozen cars to the scene, at Howard and Paulina, which was closed to traffic to facilitate the ongoing CTA station construction. Howard CTA station is the norther end of the Red Line and is in Chicago's 49th Ward, on the border of Evanston.

Early police radio chatter, at 12:05, indicated that about 20 people were fighting. But another officer soon came on the air and said it was "like a riot" and estimated the crowd at "about 40." However, The Bench spent a couple of hours in the neighborhood today, talking to people about the event. We found the CTA employee who called 911. He said that the crowd was "close to a hundred" people and there were "about 30 police cars" on the scene.

Was it gang fighting? we asked. He said it was just a bunch of young people fighting. "It's that youth club right up around the corner," he said. "The one right next to that church where they feed the people."

"The Good News Church?" we asked. Thanks to the North Howard Neighbors Association, we know now that the youth club is "Noah's Ark," owned and operated by Rev. Bud Ogle and his "Good News Partners" organization.

"Yah, that's right. They had a dance there last night. I don't think they have drinking in their, but those kids come out and they want to fight." He said a similar incident happened "about a month ago," and that the neighborhood needs to "get rid of that club."

"The whole block, the street was solid people fighting," the man said. "See those orange and white cones, they was picking them up and throwing them at each other, at the buildings." No damage was visible on the storefronts, but several of the traffic barrels were dented from abuse of some kind.

"We gotta get rid of that club," he repeated.

Good luck. That club is run by people who are apparatchiks and tools of Alderman Joe Moore, and Moore doesn't give a rat's ass about the people on or north of Howard Street. If he did, he would have clamped down on this years ago.

MUST VIEW: Street of Broken Dreams

THREE VIDEOS show what a puke trough Howard Street is, in Alderman Moore's 49th Ward of Chicago. Sixteen years that lox has been the alderman and all we've gotten is lies, lies and election fraud. Oh, and more lies. * Howard Street - One Year Later

VIDEO: Howard Street Still Rotten After All These Years

The Bench presents:

Proposal for Howard/Damen Development

Alderman Joe Moore invites you - yes, YOU! - to attend a meeting to review a proposal for the construction of a five-story, 24-unit condominium building with three commercial storefront spaces at 2001 W. Howard at Damen. The meeting will be on Tuesday, November 27 at 7:00 p.m. at the Pottawattomie Park Fieldhouse. The building's owner Gus Rizakos, his architect, Irene Zemenides and his attorney, Sylvia Michas, will present the plans. Wait, wait, hold on. Before you read the full email blast from 49th Ward Alderguy Joe Moore (below), you might want to do a little background reading: The Demise of Tasty Sub Gus Rizakos - Skokie, Illinois (IL) Company Profile Irene Zemenides Donations -- Huffington Post Whereas, Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago ("Access Living") claims to be an aggrieved person within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. § 3614(d)(1)(B) and allege discrimination by Andrian-Zemenides, Ltd. in connection with the design of River's Edge Condominium - http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/housing/documents/andrianzsettle.htm ZALUC Agenda July 11 7 Jul 2006 - Gus Rizakos and his architect, Irene Zemenides, will present the proposal to build a four-story 25 unit mixed use building containing three storefront spaces Okay, now read Joe's blast: Dear Neighbor, I am writing to invite you to attend a meeting to review a proposal for the construction of a five-story, 24-unit condominium building with three commercial storefront spaces at 2001 W. Howard (southwest corner of Howard and Damen). The meeting will take place on Tuesday, November 27th, 7:00 p.m., at the Pottawattomie Park Fieldhouse, 7340 N. Rogers. Building owner Gus Rizakos, his architect, Irene Zemenides and his attorney, Sylvia Michas, will present the plans. The meeting on this proposed development originally was scheduled last June, but was postponed due to a serious illness in the architect's family. The lot is 13,038 square feet in size and is zoned B1-2. A commercial building, which houses the Tastee Sub fast food restaurant and several storefront churches, currently occupies the site and would be demolished to make way for the new development. The current zoning would permit the construction of 13 dwelling units. The owner is requesting a zoning change to B1-3, which would allow him to construct up to 32 dwelling units. His proposal calls for only 24 dwelling units. A copy of the site plan, floor plans and elevations are provided below: 2001_W_Howard_Proposed_Site_Plan.pdf (71 KB) 2001_W_Howard_Proposed_1st_Floor_Plan.pdf (50 KB) 2001_W_Howard_Proposed_Typical_Floor_Plan.pdf (37 KB) 2001_W_Howard_Proposed_Elevations.pdf (86 KB) I look forward to hearing your comments about this proposed development. Very truly yours, Joe Moore

Howard Street: Savages Among Us

High Drama on Howard "This time he ‘talked trash, crazy talk, got what his hand called for’ and got the daylights beaten out of him with a stop sign." Around 6:30 tonight [Friday, Oct. 12], that familiar recording jolted me back to reality – “This is Howard, as far as this train goes”. Work weary people stepped off the train ready for a 48 hour break. Once on street level though, we couldn’t help but be part of a gapers block to an unfolding drama. I mean real drama. FULL DRAMATIC POST... Good job, Toni!

Video: Driving Down Howard Street, Chicago

It's a crappy street, in spite of the happiest dreams of David Fagus and Joe Moore. YoChicago motors down the sad strip known as Howard Street, once a mecca of jazz clubs and good times. Now it's a long string of crappy cafes, vacant storefronts, dope dealers, drunks, thugs and a great big fat Government building that won't help the employment situation one bit. YoChicago's own description of the scene: "There have been some sizable new developments along Howard Street in the past half-dozen years, but they haven't made much impact on the feel of the street. Retail development still lags, and shows few signs of improvement."