Dear Logan Square Uni-Cyclist And Parent of Twins Who Will Be Pelted By Rocks Riding Down Lake Street In 2015 While Riding To The Conservatory (And Why I Moved Out of Logan And To Garfield Park)
Dear Logan Square Uni-Cyclist And Parent of Twins Who Will Be Pelted By Rocks Riding Down Lake Street In 2015 While Riding To The Conservatory (And Why I Moved Out of Logan And To Garfield Park)
Logan Square is a fascinating neighborhood and hasn't really gone down a traditional gentrification cycle, mainly, I believe, because a large amount of people in the neighborhood were home owners. I used the word cycle back there to make you feel more comfortable and I used it in the singular to make you smile. Anyway, Logan Square wasn't like Wicker Park or Old Town, which was occupied by mostly renters and the change over was much "simpler". Some of the people, some of which I knew, should not have been home owners, and were tricked or "co-conspired" with banks to take out terrible mortgages, but a lot of the people were hard working, middle class people, many of which are still in Logan. I am not oblivious to the cycles of the city, and while I think we sometimes look at cycles as being inevitable or natural, I do think the way this city improves neighborhoods is deeply flawed and while the progress is real, it is often the other side of it that we never see, like where did everybody go? It is more whack-a-mole than it is actual progress.
When I first moved to Logan in 2001, I lived near Palmer Square, which was filled with cardboard houses and now it is filled with people doing yoga. Armitage and California was a don't drive by zone and now it is a beer and food mecca and Armitage and Central Park had real life actual street walkers and now...that is still kind of happening. A lot has changed and almost all of it is good but the problem, and it is not really a problem for anyone but myself, but I did not own property and I don't have a family to worry about, I ride bikes with two wheels, my stroller is both empty and imaginary in my hands as I walk down the street (and not double-wide), and as a city dweller, I came to terms with where I lived and learned how to live there. I moved around the neighborhood and found myself in a really comfortable block where I lived for 7 years and it was safe, friendly and 3 years ago, everyone started moving out, by force and by choice, and new people started moving in, renters, flippers, families.
The neighborhood, which was already safe and friendly, was now super safe and a different kind of friendly. Rents on my block went up 300 dollars on average in less than a year and if people were willing to pay it, God bless everyone, but I couldn't justify paying more for something that was already OK for me. I didn't need to pay more for a neighborhood so I could feel like I could safely ride my unicycle down the street without being pelted by rocks or worried that the thug guys with pit bulls at their side were going to growl at my twins (the dogs and the thugs). If I was a serious uni-cyclist like you or the parent of twins, like you, maybe I would. So instead, I moved to Garfield Park where I have gardens and room to breathe and the Conservatory and the El close by and sometimes, I have to deal with city stuff, people throwing trash on my lawn, having parties in their cars in front of my house, sounds that I can never tell our gunshots, and least of my worries, little boys on our block, smashing our pumpkins for fun. And if you ride your unicycle down Lake Street, you might be hit by rocks, and while I won't throw one myself, I might not feel sorry for you, if you do get pelted. Just consider where you are, where you are going, and stop expecting everyone and everything to find your delights delightful. Also, I hope you have insurance and are from Canada so you can go back home and recover without going bankrupt. Do they make uni-wheelchairs? Now that would be something to see!
