AlejandraS.Reporting’s blog

Chicago Street Vendors By Alejandra Silva

nobody@vox.com(AlejandraS.Reporting) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:21:04 -0600

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Increase in Small Businesses

nobody@vox.com(AlejandraS.Reporting) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:11:56 -0600

By Alejandra Silva

Six months ago, Goran Jankovic opened his business at a busy, three-street intersection. Jankovic owns BB Chair Covers, which elegantly covers the chairs that people use at special occasions, especially weddings. However, the business also provides services for birthday parties, Christenings, anniversaries and other special occasions that require people to sit. A business like this can always be a big help when planning an important occasion.

Jankovic was born in Serbia in 1979. In Serbia, Jankovic’s aunt had a business that offered special services to people planning weddings. After graduating highschool, Jankovic decided to copy the idea and bring it to Shaumburg, Illinois where he was successful for five and a half years. Jankovic said the store was very close from Woodfield Mall but business was slow. So he decided to move it to this busy intersection also known as Six Corners. He also opened a chair covers business in Germany. Jankovic believed that a business like his was not common in Chicago. After doing some research and seeing that there was not a lot of competition, he set forth his idea and hoped to expand his business.

BB Chair Covers is on Milwaukee Avenue in the Portage Park neighborhood on the Northwest side of Chicago. This area has other businesses such as Sears, Bally Total Fitness, City Newsstand, Fantasy Costumes Headquarters, Avon, and Shoes by Andrea. Six Corners is visited by several people every day. Portage Park itself is home to thousands of residents. According to cityofchicago.org, Portage Park placed at number 10 in the top ten most populated neighborhoods in Chicago in 2000.

“This is the busiest intersection in the whole city, 90,000 cars go by every single day here, more than on Michigan Avenue,” Jankovic said. He also said that the area was growing very fast and changing a lot. That is why Jankovic brought his idea to this location. The Six Corners Association’s website provides a demographic snapshot of 2008. It shows that in a one mile radius of six corners, the total population is 45,564 people. Of those people, 27,240 of them are White, African American, Asian, Native American or other race and 18,324 residents are Hispanic or Latino. Most of the population is from the ages of 25 to 44. While 22,831 of the residents are male and 22,733 are female.

Jankovic said people believe that their wedding only happens once so it’s important to make it beautiful. He pointed out that people in Germany value the quality of things more as opposed to people in the U.S. He said that some brides in Chicago tell him they don’t like or need chair covers but he always tries to convince them otherwise. He tells them that chair covers transform the banquet completely; making it look from plain and boring to elegant and spectacular.

Six corners has struggled and improved over the past years. Some businesses have found it difficult to stay open. Ed Bannon, executive director of the Six Corners association, said shopping malls have expanded and a lot of businesses moved out of Six Corners to the shopping malls. “Sometimes small businesses can’t compete on prices with bigger store prices,” Bannon said. However, he does point out that it’s better to shop at an area like six corners because it offers a variety of stores and sometimes available parking is not an issue. Bannon said that Six Corners is better because it’s under individual management and has a “unique, different character.” Bannon mentioned a “litter pick-up” system that has started and is carried out every day. He said they also plan on doing more landscaping. A better looking environment lures consumers. “Six corners is starting to catch up,” Bannon said.

On Irving Park Road, manager Sara Oliveri at Rico Music & Dance Studio said that many of her new customers tell her that they always drive by and want to come in. She said that she tries to keep her prices low so that her services are more affordable to people. “We try to focus on family as well,” Oliveri said. Her business has managed to stay in Six Corners because she says she was able to buy the whole property and not pay so much rent.

This business has been here since 2002, and after 2005, she said it really took off and more people were finding out about it through friends and family. Also, most people are long time customers. Oliveri said parents especially, continue to use her services because it helps children’s self-esteem and learn new things. “As long as people care about their family and cherish it, they’ll want to keep it,” Oliveri said, referring to the business’s future.

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Living in the 38th Ward

nobody@vox.com(AlejandraS.Reporting) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:09:30 -0600

By Alejandra Silva

Sitting in a 13-by-11 feet office, behind a long, dark, wooden desk, Alderman Thomas R. Allen has been head of the 38^th Ward since March 8, 1993 when he was nominated by Mayor Richard M. Daley. The 38^th Ward, surrounded by Belmont Avenue, Addison Street, Keeler Avenue, Eastwood Avenue, and Forest Preserve Avenue on the northwest side of Chicago, has brought many obstacles as well as achievements. Allen has seen the district grow and in other aspects, worsen. However, Allen has never been any happier to be in control and be able to make changes for the people in the ward. Allen expressed his esteem towards the neighborhood by saying he admired the “working class people and families. It’s safe, good parks, good recreation area, and transportation is excellent.”

Allen was born in St. Anne’s Hospital on the west side of Chicago. Afterwards, he and his family moved to the Harlem and Foster Avenue area. Allen’s father was a bricklayer and his mother stayed at home with 8 children. He attended Holy Cross High School and graduated from Kent College of Law in 1977 and from Illinois Benedictine College. “Growing up in the 60s was a fun time to grow up. There was a lot of turmoil in the government, and change in society," Allen said, while rocking back-and-forth in his chair. "I was proud of the generation I came from and we stood up to our government when they were running wild and would not listen to the people,” Allen said. Before becoming alderman, Allen worked as a trial attorney in the criminal justice system for 17 years.

Allen said his best accomplishment was to marry his wife, Janis Groya and have four children, all now in their 20s. In regards to his political career, Allen said his greatest accomplishment was being able to preserve the "residential character." The ward has added new condominiums and has changed its appearance in the past 15 years, according to Allen. So it was important for him that these transformations not change the historical image of the neighborhood.

Still, the alderman has encountered many obstacles over the past years. A major obstacle he persistently reinforces is having many people living in single family homes. “That’s a very important housing stock in our neighborhood and its being abused, where people are living in basements, attics, garages," Allen said. He pointed out that this leads to more cars thus the lack of available parking. For the past 15 years, Allen has been fighting this and always tries to pass on a message to all the people he can reach. “It creates very serious public health issues; it also creates life safety issues for people sleeping in basements with no exits,” he said.

So how does he go about in making changes in his ward? "We communicate with the city agencies and try and help solve their problems the best we can," he said. Allen said people are not always satisfied but he always tries "to make sure the response was given 110%." "We’ll take it to the wall as far as we can for our residents. That’s our job,” said Allen.

Reverend Christopher Doering from Our Lady of Victory Parish and School, also on the northwest side of Chicago, said he is very satisfied with the alderman’s work in the ward as well as in the church. “As for the church, he is an active member, gives a lot of his time, helps us out a lot financially, and helps out organizations when they need donations for raffles and things like that,” said Doering. Doering said Allen started a lot of the safety patrol in the area and was the one that really started campaigning for the requirement for sex offenders to have to register themselves in the area. “Schools and parishes play a big role in neighborhoods,” said Allen.

Allen tries his best to be active and plays handball three to four days a week. Not until he stands up do you notice his tall stature. Allen said that if his family could describe him in one word they would say “crazy.” Allen said they believe he is very intense, competitive and athletic. Allen sponsors all the parks’ programs.

One major project in the ward is the renovation of Portage Park. The president of the Friends of Portage Park, Edna Navarro-Viduarre, said the alderman has to approve the TIF or tax increment financing, money in order to use it towards the project. “He supports the project verbally, he told us he wouldn’t give us any discretionary money because that is the Chicago Park District’s duty,” Navarro-Vidaurre said. According to her, the organization has met with Allen three times and all he has to do is drop the letter to request money from the TIF. “If an alderman gets into it then that really gets things going,” she said.

Allen has been in authority for the 38^th Ward for 15 years. He has supported his community and helped establish a stable environment. Even before he was an alderman, he served as an administrative and legislative assistant for the ward. He is affiliated with several clubs including the Irving Park YMCA and is member of groups such as Our Lady of Victory Parish Holy Name Society. Today he is working with the Friends of Portage Park to help with the renovation plans. He is also pushing residents to better their community including the problem of overpopulated single family homes. He has been fighting this for 15 years and will stick around for as many more to come.

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Six Corners and its parking problem in Chicago

nobody@vox.com(AlejandraS.Reporting) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:58:37 -0600

By Alejandra Silva

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Parking Shortage at Six Corners?

nobody@vox.com(AlejandraS.Reporting) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:17:06 -0600

By Alejandra Silva

The bustling sounds are heard throughout the day at Six Corners. People rush up and down the streets. Cars honk their horns and stop at the red lights. Buses make their usual stops. Six Corners is at a walking distance for the residents of the neighborhood, also known as Portage Park. It’s also easily accessible by its three main streets; Irving Park Road, Milwaukee and Cicero Avenues. Minutes away from the Kennedy Expressway, Six Corners offers a variety of stores.

However, there is one concern that revolves around this quick method of transportation. What if you were to drive here and there was no parking available? What if you were a business owner and sales were being affected because customers couldn’t find parking? Indeed, this creates a problem and this concern may also be an issue in other busy intersections in the city, for example, the intersection of Damen, North, and Milwaukee Avenues or Milwaukee, Diversey, and Kimball Avenues. A solution is important because it can help the businesses and customers at Six Corners and other intersections with a similar problem.

This urban shopping district started in the 1840s with a grocery store, bakery, and restaurant. In 1914 a local paper carried neighborhood news and advertisements driving Six Corners into a successful retail center. By the 1980s, Six Corners had 150 stores. By the 1990s, there was a mixture of National chains and family businesses. Six Corners holds the well-known Art Deco Sears shopping center which according to portagepark.org had the “highest per square foot sales of any Sears in Chicago region.” There’s also the Klee Buildings, the Classical Revival Portage Theater constructed in the 1920s, and the Peoples Gas Irving Park Neighborhood Store which is a city landmark. Today, groups such as Portage Park Neighborhood Association and Six Corners Association have been formed to keep the success at Six Corners. It has been their job to address the concerns of shoppers and business owners and better accommodate the needs of the increasing population.

According to portagepark.org Six Corners “serves a primary trade area of 31,248 persons and an extended trade area of 76, 409 persons.” It is important that businesses stay and help Six Corners thrive because annually, Six Corners makes over $315 million from sales. An organization called the Six Corners Main Street called for a transportation consultant to deal with the parking availability issue. A survey was conducted in 1997, by John Edwards and it stated that there are “279 metered on-street spaces and 1,805 off-street spaces (128 public and the rest private.)” leaving 407 public parking spaces. According to the survey conducted, on a Thursday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., block occupancy exceeded 90% and some blocks exceeded 114% which means many people were parked in the no parking zones and bus zones.

Alex Gato, owner of Gato & Sons Jewelers on Irving Park Rd. said that over the years his business has been affected and he gets complaints from customers. “They say they drive around the block and can’t find parking,” he said. His busiest hours are early mornings and late afternoons. Gato also said he refuses to move his business because it has been at Six Corners since 1984. His solution was to enforce the law saying people can park for only two hours at the meters. He believes people abuse this law and stay in a parking space for more than two hours. According to Edward’s survey the average duration for on-street parking was 1.8 hours.

Ed Bannon, executive director of the Six Corners Association said the reason for this was because employees and some business owners go outside every two hours and pay the meters so they don’t get a ticket. Also in Edward’s survey, he recorded 94 parkers who were at the same parking space for four hours or more. If these spaces were available there would be almost 300 more spaces available. Edward’s survey also said that there were 25 tickets issued every day for overtime parking plus 70 parkers who illegally park and are not ticketed. According to the survey, this results in a revenue loss of $1,050.00 per day or $310,000 per year for the businesses at Six Corners.

Anthony Walker is the store manager at the Bedding Experts on Irving Park Rd. and he said his store was not really affected by unavailable parking. “It probably does to a certain level, but we try not to worry about things out of our control,” he said. Walker said the busiest days are Saturday and Sunday, which probably explains why his business doesn’t find parking an inconvenience. Less people go to work on Saturday and Sunday leaving more parking spaces available.

Vince Mule, president at the Midwest –Academy of Taekwondo on Irving Park Rd., said his customers are late to class because they spend a lot of time driving around looking for parking. “People get tickets and others have to run in and out,” said Mule. As for his solution he said, “Knock down some of the buildings and make them into parking lots.” Luckily for him, a new plan was proposed by Inland Commercial Property at a meeting on Monday, Dec. 1. This company would demolish the Bank of America on the corner of Milwaukee Avenue and Irving Park Road. In its place, a smaller Bank of America would be made along with parking, a grocery store, health center, and two community gathering spaces. Also there would be extra parking on the roof top of the grocery store and health center. This would make 377 extra parking spaces. Bannon said, “the people at the meeting were generally supportive and others were concerned about the historical preservation of this area."

Steve Rusky regularly visits Sears and City Newsstand on Cicero Avenue. He doesn’t think parking is a problem because according to him, he parks in the Sears parking lot and walks over to the intersection. “That’s usually the smartest thing,” he said. On the other hand, the city can tow his car but this is unlikely to happen because this law is not fully enforced. Rusky also said he avoids coming to Six Corners during rush hour. The busiest hours at Six Corners, according to Edward’s survey, are from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Employee Cathy Bunger at Fantasy Costumes Headquarters on Milwaukee Avenue has to deal with long lines outside the store when it’s time for Halloween. She has to tell customers not to park at nearby stores or their cars will be towed. Bunger directs customers to the city parking lot on Cuyler Avenue that is a block west of Milwaukee Avenue. It now offers monthly parking permits for $55. When Edward conducted his survey in 1997, this lot was only a proposal but after the Six Corners Association was formed this idea was reviewed and executed.

Also, Fantasy Costumes Headquarters relies on help during their busy season. “Burger King being our neighbor is pretty courteous to us, it’s their busiest month also because of our store and all the traffic we bring here, so they’ll let people park there every now and then,” said Bunger. She also mentioned that the owner of the building has considered knocking down the other businesses he owns next to his business and build his own parking lot.

Ed Bannon said this parking problem has been an issue at Six Corners for many years. He agreed that there was a lack of parking at times but at others available parking is not an issue. According to Bannon, the Portage Theater, located on Milwaukee Avenue, gets filled with 1,300 people and the tickets are sold out. “People will figure out a way to get there,” Bannon said. He said he wasn’t sure how they got there or where they parked if they drove there but it didn’t seem to be a problem then.

There’s actually two Bank of America’s at Six Corners and both have large parking lots that are mostly vacant by the evening. Bannon agreed that the Bank of America on the corner of Irving Park Rd. and Lamon Avenue has a big parking lot and if necessary in the future, they could negotiate a deal that would allow them to rent it. He also said that years ago there was more pedestrian traffic but over the years the people gradually preferred going to shopping malls where there was plenty of parking. It’s important for this organization to try to do anything possible to offer better services to its visitors before there are fewer people shopping at Six Corners. Keeping it a successful shopping center is key to making the neighborhood prosper.

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Alejandra-Portage Park Video

nobody@vox.com(AlejandraS.Reporting) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:36:33 -0600

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11/04/08 Election Day...

nobody@vox.com(AlejandraS.Reporting) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 23:07:18 -0600

11/04/08 Election Day in Pilsen. Chicago IL

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