Signs Aimed At Curbing Huge Gang Parties Near United Center Vandalized – DNAinfo

Parking bansigns installed on the Near West Sideaimed at curbing gang parties have been vandalized before the ban was set to begin. View Full Caption

DNAinfo/Stephanie Lulay

NEAR WEST SIDE Parking bansigns installed on the Near West Sideaimed at curbing gang parties have been vandalized before the ban was scheduled to begin.

Part of a larger plan to keep partiers from parking near Touhy-HerbertPark, the residential parking restrictions are set to go into effect July 24. But just days after the signs were installed, at least one sign nearWestAdams Street and SouthHamilton Avenue nearthe defunct Jelly Bean Garden was pushed to the ground, and at least one other parking sign was removed, neighbors reported.

The signs were installed June 27 and were torn down by Friday night, said one neighbor,who has asked not to be named for fear of retribution. Neighbors have reported the damaged signs to the city's 311 non-emergencycall center, he said.

"It seems like it was done in protest," said the man, who has lived in the area for six years. "I think the people who may have removed the signs are really just looking at any changes that are being made over as a sign that they are not wanted ... and they are trying to protest that in any way that they can."

A sign at Adams and Hamilton was pushed to the ground next to the neighborhood's defunct Jelly Bean Garden, an 8-year-old community lot across the street from Touhy-Herbertpark ruined by litter. [DNAinfo/Stephanie Lulay]

Some other residential parking ban signs recently installed onthe block were not vandalized or removed.

In the spring,Burnett pitched a plan toconvert a fewstreets near Touhy-HerbertPark to a residential permit parking zone, aiming to block partiers from parking near the park.

RELATED:Raucous, 200-Person Gang Parties Ruining Park Can Parking Ban Stop Them?

Near West Side police saidthe new parking rules could be a valuable tool, as the overnight restrictions would allow police to ticket and tow cars that don't have resident parkingstickers.

Burnett could not be reached for comment.

The parking bansigns were installed after araucous gang partybrought 1,000 people to the residential streets around Touhy-HerbertPark last month, a party that Burnett said was too large for police officers in 25 Chicago Police Department squadcars to break up. The police were outnumbered, he said.

"It's not just an inconvenience, it's very dangerous," Burnett said at the time."When you have that many people drinking, getting high, anything can happen."

RELATED:1,000-Person Gang Party Too Big For Police In 25 Squads To Stop, Ald. Says

At 8:40 p.m. June 20, days after the party,26-year-oldAntwon High was shot dead at Adams and Hoyne, just steps from the park. Two other men, ages 21 and 23, were wounded in the shooting.

RELATED:Antwon High, 26, Killed In Near West Side Shooting; 2 Others Wounded

Neighbors also had previously lobbied for a residential parking zone to be set up south of the park, saidKaterina Klopas, treasurer of theTouhy-Herbert Park Advisory Council.

The zone includes permit parking on the south end of Adams Street;LeavittStreetfrom Adams Street to Jackson Boulevard;Hamilton Avenuefrom Adams to Jackson; and Hoyne Avenue from Adams to Jackson, Burnettsaid. Parkingalso is prohibited onthe north of end of Adams overnight.

A residential parking ban sign was pushed to the ground at Adams and Hamilton, and another sign on the block was removed, neighbors report. [DNAinfo/Stephanie Lulay]

Before the signs were installed, the six-year neighbor said he was skeptical that a residential parking ban could help stop parties at Touhy-Herbertpark. Now that some signs have been defaced or removed, he said he's now even more skeptical the ban canmake a difference.

"I'm pretty skeptical,"the neighborsaid. "It's only going to make a difference if it's strictly enforced, and I don't have the confidence that it will be strictly enforced. I think a lot of people in the neighborhood are looking for a quick fix, and I don't think this was going to beit."

Another neighbor who has lived in the area for three years called the vandalism "disheartening."

"It's hard because the alderman and the neighborhood are putting up an effort," she said.

Here's parking sign at Hamilton Avenue and Jackson Boulevard that was not vandalized.[DNAinfo/Stephanie Lulay]

In a statement, Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Near West Police District Cmdr. Edward Kulbida has increased patrols in the area in and around Touhy-Herbert Park.

"Iknow Cmdr. Kulbida has increased patrols overall in the park, and officers are going to be very strict on enforcing city park rules," Guglielmi wrote.

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Signs Aimed At Curbing Huge Gang Parties Near United Center Vandalized - DNAinfo