Security & Operations Manager Scott Turton And General Manager Tim Patricio Met With Staff At The 48th Ward Office and Representatives From CPD And The Park District

The meeting held on Wednesday November 6th was a follow up to the meeting held on August 29th. This time we were again joined by ASCO President Sandy Chaet and the managers from 5445 and 5455, as well as representatives from several other buildings along Sheridan Road to the North of Park Tower. It was immediately obvious concern is skyrocketing, and interest in participating in our efforts to put pressure on the authorities is growing.

The Alderwoman herself was unable to attend, due to ongoing City Hall budget meetings downtown. However, her chief of staff and other reps were present. Before I get into more detail about the security issues discussed, one thing that was repeatedly emphasized was the limits of funding to deal with problems associated with the tent dwellers. They said residents of the ward can help set budget priorities – follow this link: City of Chicago 2025 Budget — The 48th Ward, and toward the bottom you will see a link to a survey regarding budgeting, and it asks for input to help set areas you would like prioritized.

As the discussion progressed, perhaps the most challenging issue that everyone danced around, was homelessness and an apparent right for individuals to set up residences and live in the park. While at the last meeting they told us “City Hall” and “Springfield” were tying hands to deal more quickly with the tent dwellings, we since contacted our State Representative Kelly Cassidy whose office said this is not at all a matter being directed by the State. So, at this meeting they were asked to explain and we were told the direction comes directly from the Mayor’s office, and the Mayor. From there, policy with how to deal with tent dwellings is managed by DFSS (the Department of Family and Support Services).

Right now, as funding is available, DFSS and the Park District coordinate “Accelerated Moving Events”, to identify housing and relocate individuals who are willing. Not all of them are willing. For those that apparently are permanently entrenched, they schedule “clean up” events as frequently as funding and resources will allow. We saw one of those this week, where approximately 50 bikes (and other debris) were removed from the vicinity of one of the dwellings to the East of Park Tower. Asked about the bikes and the possibility some were stolen bikes, CPD said there is nothing they can do if the bikes were not reported stolen. As such they are assumed to be the rightful property of the tent dwellers.

They emphasized that funding for this, particularly the Moving Events, is very low and in fact there are no more funds available for such efforts until possibly the Spring. They did say clean-up events will continue as problem conditions and locations are identified. They suggested that when new tent dwellings pop up, or if anyone observes problematic conditions, to call 311 and report them immediately. Such calls are documented and they claimed the City sends teams out to take pictures and assess new dwellings and any possible problems.

Many of us (the management teams) emphasized the ongoing violence, threatening behavior, trespassing, property damage, fires, dumpster diving and other sanitation concerns. CPD urged managers to sign “Trespass Affidavits” which allows for non management employees to direct that trespassers be taken into custody. Typically officers will want real time in person authority from a manager to have charges pressed. The affidavit – which we have submitted – gives our 24/7 staff the power to do this as well. They also urged buildings to participate in the “Private Sector Camera Initiative”, which would network some of our exterior cameras into the City’s network, for access in the event of ONLY emergency situations. We are currently evaluating this possibility.

Beyond that, they said residents and pedestrians in the neighborhood should always be vigilant and contact 911 at any sign or suspicion of illegal activity such as threats or trespassing. If you see a fire in the park, call 911. If you see a tent dweller at the dumpsters, call 911. If you observe some sort of altercation of threatening behavior, call 911.

Finally, the 48th Ward team asked that we be aware the Alderwoman is pushing for more funding for the Accelerated Move Events, and to battle homelessness in general. We did push a bit further, suggesting that it was confusing that individuals appear to have the right to set up residences on taxpayer owned and funded parkland. Homelessness is a challenge, and affordable housing is becoming more out of reach, and just bulldozing tents and locking individuals up is not something they will do. But the violence and other problems we are seeing more frequently is very much connected to this presence in the park, so finding a path to clear them out in an acceptable way and to ultimately return parkland to its intended condition needs to be a goal as well.

FOR OUR PART –

WATCH OUT FOR TAILGATERS – That is, people following you into the building, who are not supposed to be here. We addressed this in more detail in a recent post: https://www.ptcondo.com/be-alert-fake-utility-workers/

Building wide, new security measures are quickly taking shape. New cameras have been installed and we will be discussing more locations with the Board. Our security team has coordinated new fob and intercom locations, and we have been ironing out policy details with the staff and Board of Directors. We expect to have more specific details published and distributed to everyone next week. But, here are a few things coming:

1. The front entry revolving doors will be locked overnight and everyone will need to enter via the north lobby automatic doors by fob or intercom admittance after 11pm.
2. The mall doors will be locked much earlier – right now what is being considered is the north lobby door by 7pm and the south lobby door by 6pm. This has been discussed with all present mall occupants and they are supportive of these additional security measures.
3. The rear dock entrance will require a fob 24/7, otherwise admittance via an intercom. Visitors must clearly be visible and identify who they are and why they are here. They will be admitted just like guests at the front desk with a permission to enter on file or a phone call to the owner and/or resident.

We are also holding a final staff meeting next week to review policies and procedures with the team. This will be followed by a formal announcement with final details to residents and Owners probably mid-week.

So more is to come.

If you have any questions or concerns you would like to share, please contact us anytime in the office at 773-769-3250 or feel free to e-mail us at parktowercondo-mgmt@habitat.com.