Thoughts on Brighton Park (Chicago, Berwyn: 2015, to rent, high crime)

[Frenchbroad1726]

Hello all, we have officially been priced out of the north side of Chicago. After all these years in Logan square we have officially been priced out. We have decided to purchase a home instead of continuing to rent. We found a lovely home in Brighton park off of archer. The neighborhood seemed quiet, not to much going on, which is okay. I know they used to have an issue with crime, but do you feel this has changed as years have gone by? I am just thinking about what is happening to Pilsen and McKinley park. The housing stock seems to be in better condition in Brighton than Pilsen. Any and all thoughts are appreciated!

[NealIRC]

I lived in Brighton Park for a year. The area around Kelly High School is pretty peaceful, which is next to a famous pizza place Falco's.

I would say all of Brighton Park is safe except for Pershing and Kedzie, 38th and Kedzie. Not because of the gangs there. But because of their rival gangs from Little Village. If Latin Kings from Little Village ever choose Brighton Park to do drive-by shootings, they choose 38th and Kedzie.

Further down Archer by Pulaski y ou got a Polish area. Archer west of Midway is an entirely White neighborhoods.

[jonnynonos]

It's pretty rough. And no I don't think it will go the way of Logan Square anytime soon. There are some serious gang problems over there. Then again if your idea of a gentrifying neighborhood is McKinley Park, it might be just what you're looking for.

[jsk1983]

Why not look into one of the more affordable suburbs like Berwyn or Brookfield?

[Frenchbroad1726]

The taxes are ridiculous in Berwyn and Brookfield

[Antonio Montana]

Originally Posted by NealIRC

I lived in Brighton Park for a year. The area around Kelly High School is pretty peaceful, which is next to a famous pizza place Falco's.

I would say all of Brighton Park is safe except for Pershing and Kedzie, 38th and Kedzie. Not because of the gangs there. But because of their rival gangs from Little Village. If Latin Kings from Little Village ever choose Brighton Park to do drive-by shootings, they choose 38th and Kedzie.

Further down Archer by Pulaski y ou got a Polish area. Archer west of Midway is an entirely White neighborhoods.

It would be really stupid to buy a house in Brighton Park. It's just a really stupid investment. That area is gang infested....and it's getting worse. I spent a lot of time there when I lived in Chicago. Trust me. I know it. At best, buying a house there is too risky of an investment. At worse, you're buying a house in an area that is bordering on becoming a warzone between gangs (mostly Latino, I think).

[NealIRC]

So Archer avenue in Brighton Park is Artesian (2432 W.) to Central Park (3600 W.).

I was at the Cinqo de Mayo parade which was Archer from Kedzie to Western. It was mostly monolingual families, didn't see any gang bangers (though Saturday morning is kind of early).

Compare this to the Cinqo de Mayo parade on Cermak. I walked from Damen to Fairfield, same thing, all Mexican families that don't speak English, looking at the parade. As soon as I cross Fairfield and into the Latin King territory of Little Village, I see a bunch of gang bangers, and as I walk they turn to glance at me. So... they're not paying attention to the parade, they're paying attention to their surroundings.

[NealIRC]

Originally Posted by Antonio Montana

It would be really stupid to buy a house in Brighton Park. It's just a really stupid investment. That area is gang infested....and it's getting worse. I spent a lot of time there when I lived in Chicago. Trust me. I know it. At best, buying a house there is too risky of an investment. At worse, you're buying house in an area that is bordering on becoming a warzone between gangs (mostly Latino, I think).

Well I don't think if this is a gentrifying thread, so that's another topic. But no, I don't see any gentrification either.

I think the only issue is Kedzie between 38th and 39th and the block west of it. Which is a 2 6 hood. The gangs there are the problem.

I know a Puerto Rican girl who moved down there to Brighton Park from Humboldt Park to escape the gang violence including from her family. I think by 42nd east of California.

But I've personally heard multiple stories about 38-39th and Kedzie.

In fact here's a thread from a Chicago gang forum about the safety of Kedzie between 38th and 39th:

View topic - 38th-39th and Kedzie Gangs?

It gets off topic but the 1st 2 respondents tell you about it.

[Antonio Montana]

Originally Posted by NealIRC

Well I don't think if this is a gentrifying thread, so that's another topic. But no, I don't see any gentrification either.

I think the only issue is Kedzie between 38th and 39th and the block west of it. Which is a 2 6 hood. The gangs there are the problem.

I know a Puerto Rican girl who moved down there to Brighton Park from Humboldt Park to escape the gang violence including from her family. I think by 42nd east of California.

But I've personally heard multiple stories about 38-39th and Kedzie.

In fact here's a thread from a Chicago gang forum about the safety of Kedzie between 38th and 39th:

View topic - 38th-39th and Kedzie Gangs?

It gets off topic but the 1st 2 respondents tell you about it.

Well, of course, if it's obvious beyond question that the area is gentrifying rapidly, than it is a good investment. But we both agree that it's not....so it appears to me that we are on the same page....or at least pretty close to it.

From what I can tell, your description of the neighborhood is accurate. Here's my question: Why bother living anywhere near that garbage?

[marothisu]

It's not gentrifying currently, but it's also seeing some spill over of the Asian migration from Bridgeport and McKinley Park. There are some pretty nice new developments on the border of Brighton Park and McKinley Park that's being heavily marketed to Chinese people (For example -- 3507 S Maplewood Ave Unit 9, Chicago, IL 60632 - Recently Sold Homes & Sold Properties - realtor.com®).

It's funny hearing people talk about a neighborhood they once lived in and therefore it's still like that today. There are no doubt gangs in some of the areas, but from my experience there are also safe, "normal" areas of Brighton Park. Crime wise, we can compare say 2005 versus 2015.

Assault
2005: 237
2015: 150 | 330.6 per 100K people (Logan Square = 313.8 per 100K people for 2015)

Homicide
2005: 5
2015: 5 | 11 per 100K people (Logan Square = 10.9 per 100K people for 2015)

Battery
2005: 760
2015: 549 | 1210.1 per 100K people (Logan Square = 930.8 per 100K people for 2015)

Burglary
2005: 318
2015: 140 | 308.6 per 100K people (Logan Square = 395.4 per 100K people for 2015)

Robbery
2005: 156
2015: 106 | 223.6 per 100K people (Logan Square = 216 per 100K people for 2015)

Theft
2005: 757
2015: 417 | 919.2 per 100K people (Logan Square = 2202.6 per 100K people for 2015)

Motor Vehicle Theft
2005: 246
2015: 171 | 376.9 per 100K people (Logan Square = 361.4 per 100K people)

Strictly statistically speaking, every single crime category above for Brighton Park was lower in 2015 than 2005 (except Homicides which stayed the same). Comparing against Logan Square for the per 100K rate, almost every crime category between the two community areas were very similar in crime rate. The only major differences were that Logan Square has a MUCH higher theft rate than Brighton Park and Brighton Park has a higher Battery rate.

Yeah the area is not going to gentrify anytime soon like Logan Square, and there are some gangs there, but it's also getting safer and not as unsafe as people think at the same time. Definitely some areas to stay away from as NealIIRC says, but also some perfectly normal areas. Again though that's just my experience. I think the area gets lumped in overall, currently, with some other high crime areas and I've never understood it for the entire area - again based off my personal experience in the neighborhood.