Earl Banks and Pricilla Duff decided Wednesday that they would be in control of the streets in their Austin neighborhood. The drug dealers and gangbangers who normally keep the West Side residents looking over their shoulders would have to take a night off.
Banks and Duff joined about 40 other Austin residents on a bus tour to two apartment buildings reputed to be hangouts for drug dealers. The crusaders, who hoped to let dealers know they weren`t in friendly territory if they wanted to sell their wares, boarded a yellow school bus chanting slogans and swapping ideas about how to reclaim their neighborhood.
”I was concerned about the community and the actions of guys on the streets selling drugs,” said Banks, who joined the tour led by the Northwest Austin Council. Banks said he lives a couple of blocks away from a building in the 1600 block of North Mason Avenue that the council had targeted.
”People are scared to go the store,” Banks said. Although he said he had not witnessed drug activity in the targeted building, Banks said it is not uncommon to see drug sales in the neighborhood.
”A guy will ride by, jump out of his car, and run into a building to buy drugs,” he said.
Duff said the 1500 block of Latrobe Avenue has managed to keep its head above water, but she marched Wednesday because she wants to keep the pressure on drug dealers and prevent her block from going under.
”I participate because I never know when it will get as bad on my block,” she said.
Banks, who has owned his home for 17 years, said he worries that buildings used for drug sales will eventually become abandoned and sap economic energy from the community.
”You get a couple of abandoned buildings, you figure property values are going to go down,” he said.
Banks, a dock worker for a trucking company, said he also is worried about the values learned by his 13-year-old son and other young people in the neighborhood, who often watch drug sales take place.
”Basically, I`m concerned about kids getting the wrong ideas about making fast, easy money,” he said.
As the group marched in front of the building on Mason Avenue, some tenants came out along with the manager, who said he plans to assume ownership of the building soon. He said improvements have recently been made to the building.
”In the last two months, we have done a ton of work,” said Tim Martin, who is in the process of purchasing the multi-unit building. ”We don`t allow anyone to hang out here, and we have 24-hour security.”
A couple of women who came downstairs to see what the chanting was about agreed that although the building had once been a haven for drug activity, it had been cleaned up and was on the upswing.
The protesters were skeptical but will give the new owner a chance. They weren`t as confident, however, about another building on their tour. The building in the 4800 block of Cortez Street has been the site of 14 drug arrests between September 1991 and last April, according to Elce Redmond, an organizer for the council.
Redmond said that the owner of the building has not been cooperative and that council representives plan to go to Housing Court on Thursday to force the landlord to take action to stop the drug activity.
”We have invited him to several meetings,” Redmond said. ”He never shows up or returns calls.”
As the group marched in front of the building chanting, ”Hey, hey, ho, ho, drug dealers have got to go” and other anti-drug slogans, a few tenants peeked out of their windows. A few people left the building without speaking to the protesters.
The building, which has about 40 units, was dotted with broken and boarded-up windows. Marchers feared that the neglect would spread throughout the block, which includes manicured lawns and well-kept homes.
Neighbors on the block also came out. Although they did not join the protesters, some applauded their efforts.
”It`s a nice movement,” said one man. ”It`s always helpful. It`s a good attitude, and it will affect a lot of people.”
Before taking to the streets, the marchers heard from representatives from the Police Department, Cook County State`s Attorney`s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration, who vowed to help them crack down on drug-infested buildings.
Sgt. Nate Johnson of the Austin District said increased neighborhood involvement does make a difference.
![Residents and taxpayers of Barrington School District 220 rated safety and security, and a new auditorium at Barrington High School, as priorities for the school district, officials learned as community input was collected in preparation for a potential multi-million-dollar referendum that would be placed on the ballot in the November election. The data was shared with school board members April 2 by EO Sullivan Consulting, which was hired by the district to collect community feedback through phone and online surveys, four public engagement sessions and referendum advisory committee meetings. Information had been collected in three phases and began earlier this […]](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/PPN-L-bcr-district-220-feferend-002.jpg?w=390 "Residents and taxpayers of Barrington School District 220 rated safety and security, and a new auditorium at Barrington High School, as priorities for the school district, officials learned as community input was collected in preparation for a potential multi-million-dollar referendum that would be placed on the ballot in the November election. The data was shared with school board members April 2 by EO Sullivan Consulting, which was hired by the district to collect community feedback through phone and online surveys, four public engagement sessions and referendum advisory committee meetings. Information had been collected in three phases and began earlier this […]")