Is East Garfield Park between Sacramento and Kedzie a bad area? (Chicago: high crime, how much)

[Avengerfire]

Hey smart one "crap your pants" or whatever your name is. This map tracks the murders in the city this year. At a quick glance at least 5 were in EGP this year.


Tracking murders in Chicago | RedEye | Home (http://redeye.chicagotribune.com/red-chicagomurders-map,0,2276.story - broken link)

[Chicagoland60426]

Every neighborhood and city have good/quiet blocks. I live on a fairly quiet/good block of Harvey, but the overall quality of the town sucks, below average. With EGP, I'm sure there are good hardworking people with some quiet blocks, but it still a ghetto.

Luckly it will somewhat gentrify, since its close to downtown. Once Wicker Park, Bucktown, and a few others become price out, EGP might get it fair share of middle class, y(b)uppies, and hipsters moving in the neighborhood. Now that might be a long time from now, but its a possiblity.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Chicagoland60426

Luckly it will somewhat gentrify, since its close to downtown. Once Wicker Park, Bucktown, and a few others become price out, EGP might get it fair share of middle class, y(b)uppies, and hipsters moving in the neighborhood. Now that might be a long time from now, but its a possiblity.

I do think that EGP has some assets that could help it in the long run, but it has a long way to go before most hipsters will consider it. There's a big difference between gritty and dangerous. While Wicker Park and Bucktown were rough gang-infested neighborhoods in the not-so-distant past, they were NEVER as bad as East Garfield Park is right now. Never in their history. The same with Logan Square and Pilsen.

[JoeyPants]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Hey smart one "crap your pants" or whatever your name is. This map tracks the murders in the city this year. At a quick glance at least 5 were in EGP this year.


Tracking murders in Chicago | RedEye | Home (http://redeye.chicagotribune.com/red-chicagomurders-map,0,2276.story - broken link)

My mistake, I said 2 and it is 3. A thousand pardons.

As I stated, only a yuppie would describe Bucktown as "sketchy" Not every neighborhood can be quasi suburbia like LP or Lakeview.

Hey tough guy, didn't you read my post, while you are brave enough to venture into Homan Square during the day time, I live in the area. Try again.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by JoeyPants

My mistake, I said 2 and it is 3. A thousand pardons.

As I stated, only a yuppie would describe Bucktown as "sketchy" Not every neighborhood can be quasi suburbia like LP or Lakeview.

Hey tough guy, didn't you read my post, while you are brave enough to venture into Homan Square during the day time, I live in the area. Try again.

No it is 5 murders in EGP so far this year. Smart one.

I never said all of Bucktown is sketchy I said certain edges of it are.

So what if you live in the Homan Square area? You are a fool if you do.

Quasi suburbia? Lake View or Lincoln Park? You are clueless.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by JoeyPants

...while you are brave enough to venture into Homan Square during the day time, I live in the area.

That's your problem. Living somehwere shouldn't have to be a test of your bravery. Have fun raising kids there if you choose to stay.

[JoeyPants]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

That's your problem. Living somehwere shouldn't have to be a test of bravery. Have fun raising kids there if you choose to stay.

Ad hominem attacks are usually not the best way to get your point across. So be it. Uptown isn't the ideal location to raise a baby either.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by JoeyPants

Ad hominem attacks are usually not the best way to get your point across. So be it. Uptown isn't the ideal location to raise a baby either.

You're the one using ad hominem attacks with all of your "suburban yuppie" talk. You seem to think that living in North Lawndale makes you a brave soul who has a better perspective on things, and I'm pointing out that this is a ridiculous premise. If anything, I think that living in North Lawndale would make you a bad candidate for dispensing neighborhood advice to strangers, assuming you actually made a choice to live there yourself. It's kind of like getting car advice from someone who bought a Ford Pinto.

Good night to you.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by JoeyPants

...Uptown isn't the ideal location to raise a baby either.

No it is not. But any part of Uptown is 1000 times preferable to raise a child than in any part of Garfield Park,East Garfield Park, Homan Square, Lawndale,Austin or any other cesspool on the south or west side.

[JoeyPants]

Originally Posted by Chicagoland60426

Every neighborhood and city have good/quiet blocks. I live on a fairly quiet/good block of Harvey, but the overall quality of the town sucks, below average. With EGP, I'm sure there are good hardworking people with some quiet blocks, but it still a ghetto.

Luckly it will somewhat gentrify, since its close to downtown. Once Wicker Park, Bucktown, and a few others become price out, EGP might get it fair share of middle class, y(b)uppies, and hipsters moving in the neighborhood. Now that might be a long time from now, but its a possiblity.

Chicagoland, I don't think anyone was denying that it is ghetto. The argument was what degree. As stated, most of the crime is drugs and quality of life issues, not so much violence. I ask them for stats and they simply cannot produce them. Their opinion is based on just that, their opinion. If I am mistaken, I'd like to see some hard evidence.

I think it's unfair when people make broad generalizations that the whole area is comprised of violent ghetto people. Many people in the area are working class, not the most educated people, but working class nevertheless. As bad as the area is, it's better than it was when I stumbled across it 5 years ago. I myself came here because I was priced out of Logan Square. I'm paying almost the same for a 3,600 sf brick building as I was for a 800 sf box in Logan Square.

There is an effort by many of my neighbors to revitalize the area. It just seems like some people are rooting for it to never change, and take delight when crime occurs. To be fair, EGP is not the only area scorned on here, there are dozens of posts sensationalizing violence in poor minority areas "See I told you so, those people are animals, hahahahaha" - paraphrasing, or maybe not. I sometimes wonder whether these people have issues with class and race. The previous poster began to bring up "cesspools" on the Southside. I don't see what the SS has to do with EGP. I suspect that the thread will take on a racial component, like many other threads. If that's the case, I don't want any part of it. I stated my case.