So, what are you saying? That white people don’t experience crime in RP? That my car wasn’t broken into multiple times? That my husband wasn’t mugged multiple times? That one of our friends coming to visit wasn’t robbed at gunpoint?
No, I wasn’t mugged or raped or held up – but my husband was. That was a major reason we moved out. Crimes were being committed against us, directly.
I’m happy you yourself have never been a victim. However, your assertion that the white community is somehow immune while being fearful is untrue.
And it’s hardly like my husband was some oblivious suburbanite - he grew up in Bridgeport, which is hardly some pristine suburb. For that matter, I grew up in Detroit which was hardly a peaceful haven back in the 1970’s. We’re both street smart, but in the mid-90’s we could no longer tolerate living in the spot we were. We did consider moving west of Western to the much safer and more sedate west RP, but then we found our current place for 1/3 of the monthly rent AND twice the space. It’s not paradise, but my car, person, and property are intact and my husband can go outside without being victimized. Well, except for that one would-be truck thief, but we dealt with him.
Again, I’m happy to hear that RP has apparently changed for the better. But it’s reputation was not entirely undeserved.
The hatebloggers you mention (Tom Mannis doesn’t even live here anymore) relentlessly try to make RP look like, well, a hellhole. It isn’t.
These guys and a few others just hate the alderman, and this is their way to strike at his administration. The thing is they offer no solutions, and never have.
Urban centers have poverty, and that causes problems. Thanks for making the (honest) case that our problems aren’t anything like the cataclysm these fellas claim.
Yes, Rogers Park has its problems; but so do other urban environments. I have lived in the area since 1993 and I have to say that Rogers Park (despite its problems) is relatively safe. Most of the gang and other criminal activities seem to be concentrated closer to the lake and the Howard EL station and bus terminal. But one relies on their ‘street smarts’ to minimize their chances of being crime victims, not just here, but in any city.
On the positive side, Rogers Park has a lot to offer. Especially West Rogers Park where, just a few steps from where I live, I can travel the world without the requirement of a passport. On West Devon, alone, I can visit 'Rosenblum’s, a Jewish gift and book store. Nearby, there is a Georgian bakery and an Israeli eatery. And one cannot talk about Devon without mentioning the myriad Indo-Pak restaurants and grocers. South of me, I can enjoy injera bread at ‘Blue Nile’, an Ethiopian restaurant, and naan at ‘Bismillah’ which offers Pakistani fare.
I consider myself fortunate to be part of this diverse community, despite its many blemishes.
I live near Farwell and Clark. I agree with one of the previous posters - it is noisy a lot, but not dangerous. I at least agree with pearlygirlie in that I have been personally affected by crime in the area.
Last night, however, I did hear gunshots - about 8 - around 3:30 am. They actually woke me. That this kind of thing occurs here, along with all the other stories you hear of violence in this neighborhood, frankly amazes me with a police station being about 1/2 a mile south on Clark.
Be that as it may, I love this neighborhood. It is truly diverse. It never ceases to amaze me how many different languages I hear (usually around 3-4 different languages) on the short walk from my apartment to Morse Market. I wish Morse Market had better quality produce, but what can you expect for those prices?? This neighborhood is really comfortable and there are a lot of cool things here - restaurants, the beach, the movie theater, Armadillo’s Pillow, the accessibility to the Metra and the El.
I feel relatively safe here, even after things like hearing those gunshots happen. I agree with the other poster that the people who vilify the 'hood are probably just attention hounds, or are probably overreacting. Regarding the woman’s husband who was consistently a victim, I’m really sorry that he had to experience that; that must have been hell.