Western and Haddon (Chicago, Berwyn, Oak Park: apartment, lease, violent crime)
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I'm very strongly looking at moving into a place at 2335 W Haddon Ave. I know this is pretty close to Division St nightlife, but its just a block away from Western as well. Any idea on safety around here?
I would consider it to be safe. There is the standard seediness you get from Western at night, but the neighborhood south of Clemente/E of Western is pretty solid. An ex of mine lived on Oakley a couple blocks south and did get her place busted into when she was out with me for 2 hrs on a random Saturday. Most of the crime in that area is fairly petty stuff: burglary, vehicle theft, people busted selling weed, the nutter walking down Western at 2am doing something strange. There have been vehicles stolen around there though.
The biggest concern I would have is being right across the street from Clemente HS and down the road from the hospital there. A lot of noise potential.
I like to rely on the maps and lists from everyblock.com
While I agree that the given address does not have a multitude of violent crimes it has far more property crimes than would be acceptable in other neighborhoods. In some instances these property crimes are the "canary in the coal mine " to more violent crimes, or at least a sign that there is not adequate police / community cooperation in snuffing out crime.
In my mind if you work hard to pay for your car, or stuff in your apartment you would not consider theft of those items to be "petty". Further if the folks "busted for selling weed" are operating openly that is invitation for more violent criminals to target those buyers and selllers (who generally have large amounts of cash) for strong arm robbery and eventual gang affiliated escalated crimes.
Only by intolerance of such crimes could any are be considered safe...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chicago76
I would consider it to be safe. There is the standard seediness you get from Western at night, but the neighborhood south of Clemente/E of Western is pretty solid. An ex of mine lived on Oakley a couple blocks south and did get her place busted into when she was out with me for 2 hrs on a random Saturday. Most of the crime in that area is fairly petty stuff: burglary, vehicle theft, people busted selling weed, the nutter walking down Western at 2am doing something strange. There have been vehicles stolen around there though.
The biggest concern I would have is being right across the street from Clemente HS and down the road from the hospital there. A lot of noise potential.
I take it you haven't lived in that area, so let me explain it to you. Ukrainian Village has a long history of neighborhood involvement. When murders were plaguing most of the near northwest side (Wicker Park, Buckstown, Logan Square, Humboldt Park, East Village, Noble Square), Ukrainian Village was probably the safest area in the region.
Gangs have been driven from many of the aforementioned neighborhoods, and the violent crime safety of the area bears that out: zero murders since at least 2008 in Ukrainian Village proper (Chicago-Division, Western-Damen). A guy was killed a few years ago when he tried to rob the home of the wrong elderly man. The intruder who met his end was from Berwyn by the way.
If you want to understand crime in that area, you need to understand the parties on the giving and receiving end. Humboldt park lies just west of the area across Western. HP still has a patchwork of rival gangs, often in close proximity to one another who like to fight over criminal territory, women, money, etc. Fights and crimes happen in Ukrainian Village that spill over from HP in two big ways: at Clemente HS and at St Mary's Hospital...baby mamma drama, scraps, assaults, theft of school property, sexual assaults, etc inside the school and hospital. These are probably half the crimes in the area. The residents of Ukrainian Village are not subject to these issues. The parties could care less about someone living in an apartment in the neighborhood.
The biggest concern people in the neighborhood have is related to theft. This is generally perpetuated by teens looking across Western at their relatively more affluent neighbors and deciding to supplement their drug income with items they can pawn. This includes: items left in a car of value in plain sight, bicycles left on the back decks of residents, and the like. Kids will cruise the alleys looking for easy to take things (away from prying eyes), and take them during the day when people are working. Armed robberies against residents are few and far between. Full break-ins do happen, but a bit of commone sense goes a long way: bring your bikes upstairs to your unit, don't leave stuff in your car, live on the 2nd or 3rd floor of a building if possible. Car thefts do happen, but they happen in areas like Lincoln Park and Oak Park on a daily basis. There were three cars stolen in LP in a single day this months. The actual frequency of such things in UV is reasonably similar to those two "safe" areas.
The "canary in a coal mine" theory doesn't apply to this neighborhood. To illustrate: the last murder that happened there (to my knowledge) occurred in 2004. Someone in my extended circle of friends was killed while crossing the street with his girlfriend at Division/Western. An underage (and drunk) Latin King by the name of William Giraldo blew a light, hit a car, then hit this guy. The victim was dragged two blocks. William Giraldo was caught and sentenced to 7 years in prison. Giraldo was from the Irving Park neighborhood, less than half a mile from affluent Ravenswood Manor (home of a certain ex-Gov), which has its share of breakins. He was let out a couple years ago. Last year, Giraldo was busted for being a leader of a marijuana distribution ring that was responsible for moving 600 pounds of cannabis a month. He was busted in DuPage County. A lot of this stuff is moving out of the city and heading for your beloved suburbs. And its not because people in the 'burbs let it happen or are willing to turn a blind eye toward crime. It's because suburban law enforcement is ill-equipped and trained on these issues and because many residents there are uneducated and are dilusional in the belief that gang issues are "urban" problems. They don't have the tools to deal with them, work with neighbors, etc because they haven't had to learn along the way.
I take it you haven't lived in that area, so let me explain it to you. Ukrainian Village has a long history of neighborhood involvement. When murders were plaguing most of the near northwest side (Wicker Park, Buckstown, Logan Square, Humboldt Park, East Village, Noble Square), Ukrainian Village was probably the safest area in the region.
Gangs have been driven from many of the aforementioned neighborhoods, and the violent crime safety of the area bears that out: zero murders since at least 2008 in Ukrainian Village proper (Chicago-Division, Western-Damen). A guy was killed a few years ago when he tried to rob the home of the wrong elderly man. The intruder who met his end was from Berwyn by the way.
If you want to understand crime in that area, you need to understand the parties on the giving and receiving end. Humboldt park lies just west of the area across Western. HP still has a patchwork of rival gangs, often in close proximity to one another who like to fight over criminal territory, women, money, etc. Fights and crimes happen in Ukrainian Village that spill over from HP in two big ways: at Clemente HS and at St Mary's Hospital...baby mamma drama, scraps, assaults, theft of school property, sexual assaults, etc inside the school and hospital. These are probably half the crimes in the area. The residents of Ukrainian Village are not subject to these issues. The parties could care less about someone living in an apartment in the neighborhood.
The biggest concern people in the neighborhood have is related to theft. This is generally perpetuated by teens looking across Western at their relatively more affluent neighbors and deciding to supplement their drug income with items they can pawn. This includes: items left in a car of value in plain sight, bicycles left on the back decks of residents, and the like. Kids will cruise the alleys looking for easy to take things (away from prying eyes), and take them during the day when people are working. Armed robberies against residents are few and far between. Full break-ins do happen, but a bit of commone sense goes a long way: bring your bikes upstairs to your unit, don't leave stuff in your car, live on the 2nd or 3rd floor of a building if possible. Car thefts do happen, but they happen in areas like Lincoln Park and Oak Park on a daily basis. There were three cars stolen in LP in a single day this months. The actual frequency of such things in UV is reasonably similar to those two "safe" areas.
The "canary in a coal mine" theory doesn't apply to this neighborhood. To illustrate: the last murder that happened there (to my knowledge) occurred in 2004. Someone in my extended circle of friends was killed while crossing the street with his girlfriend at Division/Western. An underage (and drunk) Latin King by the name of William Giraldo blew a light, hit a car, then hit this guy. The victim was dragged two blocks. William Giraldo was caught and sentenced to 7 years in prison. Giraldo was from the Irving Park neighborhood, less than half a mile from affluent Ravenswood Manor (home of a certain ex-Gov), which has its share of breakins. He was let out a couple years ago. Last year, Giraldo was busted for being a leader of a marijuana distribution ring that was responsible for moving 600 pounds of cannabis a month. He was busted in DuPage County. A lot of this stuff is moving out of the city and heading for your beloved suburbs. And its not because people in the 'burbs let it happen or are willing to turn a blind eye toward crime. It's because suburban law enforcement is ill-equipped and trained on these issues and because many residents there are uneducated and are dilusional in the belief that gang issues are "urban" problems. They don't have the tools to deal with them, work with neighbors, etc because they haven't had to learn along the way.
Great post from someone actually in the neighborhood!
I've lived there 10 years ago as well as just a year or so back as a single woman. I really enjoy that neighborhood! Congrats and enjoy!
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Great post from someone actually in the neighborhood!
