By Alexis Maislen
Special to Inside
Neighbors and community activists in Edgewater have taken dramatic steps to clean up portion of Winthrop Ave. by gathering signatures to vote the 32nd precinct dry.
The Edgewater Community Council (ECC), a neighborhood organization dedicated to improving quality of life issues in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood, sent a petition with 199 signatures of registered voters in the 32nd precinct to the Board of Election Commission on Nov. 26. They only need 107 signatures, 25 percent of the registered voters in the precinct, to make this a referendum on the ballot this Feb. 25 election year.
The ECC’s focus is on the 6000-6300 block of Winthrop Ave., specifically on the cross streets of Winthrop and Granville avenues where two liquor and grocery stores sit on opposite sides of Granville Ave. If the precinct were voted dry, it would mean that the only two liquor-selling establishments in the 32nd precinct, Sun Liquors and Granville Liquors, would lose their liquor licenses. Both stores could continue to operate as grocery stores.
Historically, this intersection at Winthrop and Granville avenues has been the concern of many residents about drug, gang, prostitution and loitering problems. These concerns have been aired by many area block clubs, at monthly Community Alternate Policing Strategy (CAPS) meetings and repeatedly at the ECC.
“I have lived in my home for 14 years. I remember way back to the first time my block club was meeting — people were concerned about those stores,” said Barbara Stanley, former president of the ECC and chair of the Granville Task Force, producers of the Granville Plan. The ECC formed the Taskforce two years ago to clean up the crime, trash and panhandling on Granville Ave. to the Lake. “We had both owners come to the block club many times. They’ve had all these years and all these opportunities to change. Enough is enough.”
The owners of both Sun Liquors and Granville Liquors have witnessed and been the victim of the street crimes on the 6100 block outside their stores. Both stores were robbed at gunpoint. The owner of Granville Liquors was even shot in the hold-up. Both owners have worked with the ECC to take down liquor advertisements from the window. The Sun even lowered their shelves in front of the window to allow for a better view of the street outside.
“I was shot in February of 1991 and I still decided to stay in this community. I have been in this community for 20 years,” said Sam Mashni, owner of Granville Liquors.
“We are out there every day cleaning up our corner. We call the police when we see drug deals and we go outside and chase the drug dealers and panhandlers away. We lit up our side [north side] of Winthrop at night. We worked with the ECC for two years to address their concerns. We got rid of the 40 oz. malt liquor bottles, single serving beers and low-end wine. We took down the window signs and beer advertising. We cooperated for two years and the next thing I know they are trying to shut us down. I’m a member of the ECC and this is unfair. We sell groceries too. We run a good service,” said Mashni.
According to ECC records, Mashni joined the ECC a week ago as an individual member for $25. The ECC offers individual, student/senior, family, senior family and business memberships. Business memberships cost $60. “Mashni resides in Northbrook,” said Clare Tobin, executive director of the ECC.
Mike Han, son of the owner of Sun Liquors, said, “The ECC is targeting us. They want us out of here. We cooperated with them. We don’t sell to minors. We card aggressively. We discourage loitering and we don’t tolerate panhandlers.” He added, “This is a big city and you have the el station nearby and you see people from all walks of life. There used to be a loitering problem and gang activity by the Howard St. el. Since the city added more police presence over there, it has been reduced. If they did it for Howard St., why can’t they do it for Granville Ave?”
When asked about selling liquor to nursing home residents from Wincrest Nursing Home on 6326 N. Winthrop Ave., who may be on medications that have negative interactions with alcohol, Han thought that the patients’ care should be left up to Wincrest.
“If they don’t want the people from the nursing home to drink, then they should lock them inside,” Han said.
Tobin said that the ECC has approached the Wincrest many times regarding initiating a well-monitored sign-up sheet for their residents to leave the home. But on any given day, if one walks by the Wincrest one will see an unlocked door swing open and several patients go outside to smoke or wander down Winthrop Ave. toward Granville Ave.
Ald. Mary Ann Smith (48th) thought revoking both stores’ liquor licenses was a great idea and might clean up Granville Ave.
“I think it is an excellent idea. As long as I have been alderman, it has been one problem after another with those two liquor stores,” said Smith.
Smith mentioned that one time Granville Liquors had to be asked to stop selling soft porn and both had to be asked to discontinue selling small airline bottles of liquor.
Two years ago, both liquor stores were shut down by the city for two weeks for selling alcohol to minors.
“After all these years of being nickeled and dimed with problems it is time to confront them straight on and say enough. We have given them enough time to clean up their business practices and they are not going to do it. We have a community that we have worked hard to clean up,” said Smith.
Before the ward map change, Ald. Joe Moore (49th) and the ECC had met with Mashni in 2001 to address the repeated issues of criminal activity outside their storefront. Moore even took Mashni to a liquor store near his office in the 49th ward to show him how to run a safe establishment, said Tobin.
Some say that if it were not for the city redrawing the ward maps in May 2002 Granville Liquors might not have been involved in the attempt to withdraw their license. Ald. Moore had been patient, giving them lots of time to clean up their act and providing tips on how to run a successful business.
“After the city redrew the ward maps and Granville Liquors was moved from the 49th to the 48th ward, it sealed their fate. Ald. Mary Ann Smith (48th) is a big supporter of withdrawing their liquor licenses,” said Anne Sullivan, housing director for the ECC.
The ECC met with the owner of Sun Liquors, Alderman Mary Ann Smith, 48th ward, at the liquor commission downtown approximately five years ago. The meetings went on every month for two years. Winston Mardis, liquor commissioner, warned Sun Liquors that if they didn’t clean up the street outside their proprieties their liquor license would be revoked, according to Stanley.
When the ECC went door to door to gather signatures, they called building owners directly to ask permission to ask their residents to sign the vote-dry petitions, Stanley confirmed. The law gives the liquor store owners a chance to respond to the petition filed with the Board of Elections within 20 days of the date the ECC petition was filed. Both owners responded by going door to door getting revocations of the signatures. Both owners said they sent their children to get the revocations.
Tobin and Stanley were extremely concerned about what they heard after Dec. 9, one of the days the owners were actively getting revocations.
“We got phone calls from residents of the Artist in Residence [6165 N. Winthrop Ave., directly across from Sun Liquors] reporting that the owners harassed them, banging on their doors when they refused to open up. Some said they were told teary-eyed stories. Others said they intimidated them into signing a revocation. One resident said that she was followed to the el and harassed the next day after she refused to sign a revocation. She filed a police report to report the harassment,” said Tobin.
Stanley heard from a woman who said that the owners’ children used teary-eyed stories to convince residents why they should sign a revocation. One daughter went around telling people that if her father lost his liquor license it would close the family business and he wouldn’t be able to continue sending her to college.
Both liquor store owners thought that the residents who signed the petition were not told enough about the issue to understand what they were signing.
Han said in response, “People should take responsibility for their actions and understand what is involved. This is a very serious matter. We have been working hard, following laws, putting out lives into our businesses. People are treating us like criminals because we have a liquor license.”
Tobin said that anyone who would like to sign an affidavit saying how they were intimidated into signing a revocation should stop by the ECC office at 6044 N. Broadway or call (773) 334-5609. All signed affidavits will be presented to the Board of Elections.
“We may have to go to court over this and even if this doesn’t make it on the ballot this time we intend to try for next time,” said Stanley.
There will be a community meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m. at the Broadway Armory in Edgewater to make residents aware of the issue involving the liquor stores and the benefits of voting the precinct dry. |
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