September 1997
…And That’s
My Opinionã
by Sandy Goldman
The couple sat there at the
end of the bar eyeing me curiously, not an unusual occurrence since I
volunteered for this job. They were a good-looking couple. Newly married I observed,
from the shining gold bands, left hands, third fingers. He had that Lincoln
Park buffed stud puppy look; short stylized hair, shirt from Nautica, designer
jeans, sharp crease. I couldn't see his shoes but I would guess that they were
some expensive jogging brand. She had that scrubbed North Shore look, long
straight streaked blond hair down past her shoulders. She wore a Dana Buchanan
blouse, Liz Claiborne skirt with a gold necklace and stud earrings. On her feet
were 9 West casual shoes. Pretty nice looking! A complete package.
Finally the guy comes over
to me (without his drink, I noticed). "Say," he says, "aren’t
you the fellow who writes for that paper of the next century? I can’t remember
the name."
"Yes, I’m Sandy
Goldman, editor of RP 2000."
"We’re new to Rogers
Park", he offered, "I’m from Lincoln Park, where we lived for a
while; my wife is from Winnetka.
Well, I thought, the old
antennae are still pretty good.
This is a great place to
live", he said. "Lotsa beachfront and park space being used by people
and many activities; kids playing in playground areas, couples walking, camp
programs, Park District instructional classes, ball diamonds, basketball hoops,
tennis courts, cozy beaches with a great diversity of people; ages, genders and
races and sexual preferences. Everybody seems to get along - friendly neighbors
and neighborhoods."
Soon his wife came over to
join the conversation, also without her drink. I guess in Lincoln Park they
talk in bars; there are no bars in Winnetka.
"Mail delivery in
Rogers Park " she chimed in, "is simply great compared to Lincoln
Park."
Maybe that’s why they talk
in bars in Lincoln Park. I thought to myself, poor mail delivery.
" And there’s so much
to do," she continued, "Loyola University has live theater and an
exciting basketball team. The are so many restaurants and coffee shops and
hideaway bars. In fact, this very place - (the Pinewood at 2310 West Touhy) was
selected as one of the best-kept secrets on the North Side by Chicago Magazine
- what a great outdoor beer garden! And the Heartland Cafe is known citywide
and there’s that unique little rendezvous on Chase called The Lighthouse. And
there’s Leona’s Daughters on Sheridan Road - and even though it’s trying to
reinvent itself, My Place For? now known as the Gateway Bar and Grill 7545 N
Clark Street, still has good food and really fine live music - jazz, blues and
gospel."
"And," he
interjected, "Sheridan Road is full of the sights and sounds of the city.
It is especially appealing at the berm at the Devon - Sheridan intersection. It
is a front door any neighborhood or town or big city would be proud to call
their own."
"Don’t forget Clark
Street," said the man behind the bar whose bartender ears had pick up the
conversation. "Don’t forget the newly paved wider streets - soon there’ll
be flower pots and street dividers. And look at what they’ve done at the
intersection of Clark, Ashland and Devon. I come to work that way and it sure
is easier now. I don’t think I like the traffic circles though. Most people
don’t know how to use them and turn left from the wrong side - gonna be some
crashes."
"Yes, there is much
positive about Rogers Park. Where do you live?" I asked the young couple.
"We bought one of
those condos on Eastlake Terrace - great place, large comfortable rooms, new
appliances and carpet; completely refurbished throughout including common
areas. We’re both attorneys working downtown and it’s good to be close to
transportation: and what a spectacular view to the east, but sadly not so good
to the west."
"Soon that will
change," I offered, "with the completion of Gateway Plaza and the
Hispanic Housing Project and the redevelopment of the former Howard Theater
into housing".
"Right," he said,
" we went to those meetings at the Vineyard Church and when someone asked
the man from Hispanic Housing about retail occupancy, we didn’t get much
further than a Spin-Cycle type Laundromat. I don’t see how developing more
housing using 15 year tax credits which could turn into 30 year tax credits and
are geared for low income is going to revitalize the street. And furthermore, I
don’t see how an umpteen-sized screen movie theater is going to anchor a
successful shopping center even with a huge Dominicks. I read a paper by Wim
Wiewel, Dean of the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at U. of I.,
that theaters will not automatically generate enough traffic by themselves to
support other businesses. However, he states, if there are other things that
are positive, a multiplex movie house can help put it over the top.
"The problem," I
said to my new friends, is that you are listening to academicians and not
developers, leasing agents, construction company executives, financiers,
Community Development Corporations and politicians.
"Who," he
interrupted, " line up in a feeding frenzy at the trough of Tax Increment
Financing."
"TIFs," I
countered, "are only part of the financing. How else could such a proposal
be developed?"
"What about the new
grocery store at 7343 North Clark Street and the new mall at Clark and Lunt? No
gimmicks formerly known as public meetings, no TIFs, no tax credits, no city
money, no state money. Just successful entrepreneurs and merchants taking a
risk, fulfilling a need. What happens when the schools and infrastructure need
money and the tax increments are frozen?"
"That’s the short
view," I said. "The long view is that schools and others will come
out ahead because TIFs have a 23 year life and the increased taxes available in
23 years would not have occurred without the TIF development. Only time will
tell if Gateway will fulfill its promise."
"What’s a CDC?"
asked the former Winnetkan.
"A CDC is a non-profit
community development corporation whose purpose is to assist, aid, abet,
solicit and sometimes partner economic development. One of these is DevCorp
North which is the successor to the Howard Paulina Development Corporation
which was organized as the political/economic arm of a former alderman."
"Well," she says,
"talk about Balkanization. Rogers Park has more community organizations;
beat teams, neighborhood associations and block clubs than there were agencies
in the first hundred days of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, back before
World War II."
"They are all," I
insisted, "committed to the improvement and well being of the community –
as they see it."
"And," she
continued, "the political alliances are even more intriguing, maybe even
Machiavellian. I don’t even know who is the Alderman of Rogers Park."
"There are
three;" said I, "Berny Stone in the 50th Ward, Joe Moore
in the 49th and Pat O’Conner in the 40th. Each has a
piece of Rogers Park. It gets pretty complicated sometimes and it changes at
each census period.
"Who would be the
alderman at 1404 West Pratt near Glenwood where the 7-11 wants to get a liquor
license?"
"That would be
Alderman Moore. Why do you ask?"
"Our friends live near
there and they are very upset. First, the owner got an O.K. from one community
group and then a turndown at another community meeting. Then the Alderman, in a
‘Solomon-like decision’ says for the owner to petition the voters living within
500’ of the establishment.
"I think you are much
too hard," I replied, "I’m sure he’s just trying to help a
businessman and a voter. After all, it is his duty and responsibility to all
citizens of Rogers Park, if not the whole City. Just look at his support of the
Living Wage Ordinance, raising the minimum wage in Chicago to $7.60 an hour
which will be about $1.50 an hour over the federal minimum wage."
"Good for votes and
campaign contributions," said the cynic on the next bar stool. That’s the
nice thing about friendly bars, everybody joins in the conversation without
introduction or invitation.
"Tell them," he
continued, " about the debate over the issue of a cul-de-sac at Jarvis,
near the Rogers Park Fruit Market or the no-peddling controversy in all three
wards as well as the rest of the city."
"O.K.," I said,
looking at the young couple. "But it’s your turn to buy. This may take a
while."
"And then," they
asked, "can we talk about schools and shopping and street safety and stop
signs and illegal parking?"
"Another time," I
responded, "I’m here every Friday."
...And that's my opinion.
And I'm Sandy Goldman
Send
me your e-mail address or those of others who would be interested and I'll add
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To Email Me: smgoldman@ameritech.net