What's Going On With Pratt?

Crime scene tape is still stuck in the bark from a shooting January 26th on Pratt. The more public a street the less neighbors look out for each other and after the parkway. Well that's the theory at least. Scene-of-crime cordon doesn't take itself down. The authorities are busy.

When a shooting or murder investigation is finished they pull down the plastic and rush back to the station to do the paperwork or answer some other emergency. Neighbors, owners, management et cetera have to take pride in their neighborhood and finish the clean up.

Please continue reading for more pictures and words

SGDK claim Lake Shore School as territory?
Would you feel safe dropping your kid off here?

Looking again at that Atlantic cities article from October 2013 Pratt Avenue is a linear through street.

[Hochschild] ... asked people to respond to this statement: "The friendships and associations I have with my immediate neighbors mean a lot to me." 31.4 percent of "bulb" residents strongly agreed, 28.9 percent of dead-end residents did as well. Only 5.4 percent of through-street residents felt the same.

Neighbors who so soundly objected to Pritzker's garage live on a dead end cul de sac right off Lake Michigan. They have closer ties to each other because of geography. 

Another example;  Farwell is a one way eastbound street, Wayne is a very short two block north-south street. Consequently the intersection of Wayne and Farwell has a cloistered, intimate feel compared to most in Chicago (and why the gangs loved hanging there before).

Pratt Avenue is a larger east west boulevard that sees much traffic and is largely multifamily buildings. People are less likely to feel close to their neighbors and will act or not act accordingly.

The old B'nai Zion Synagogue looks like the movie set of Children Of The Corn "The Day After Tomorrow". Are old churches or temples appropriate places for children to doodle with chalk? Its not that big of a leap from chalk to spray paint. Is this what we want to teach our children?