EDGEWATER TRIANGLE NEIGHBORS ASSOCIATION MONTHLY MINUTES October 8, 2008

The meeting was called to order around 7:10 with 16 people in attendance.

No meeting minutes were approved.

Guest Speaker: Harry Osterman, the state representative for the 14th district was an unannounced guest speaker. Rosa Hamilton, a block club member, asked him to address the block club regarding recent crimes in our area that she felt stemmed from the Hookah Lounge and the Bong Café which lead to gunfire on Hollywood Ave. on three different occasions during the Labor Day weekend. Harry met with area residents and later with the 20th District Commander to ascertain what information the police had on the incidents. The Commander explained that the three incidents were all related but were not connected with the Hookah or Bong. The recent arrests of the Latin King leadership have caused chaos and power struggles within the ranks. A confrontation occurred during the Labor Day weekend and what followed days later were two incidents of retaliation. Harry reminded residents that not long ago the area was crime ridden and through the vigilance of the neighbors the area was cleaned up. He explained that this is the opportune time to get the gangs out of the neighborhood, and the best way to do that is by calling 911 and reporting suspicious activity no matter how small. He suggested we invite the district commander to our meeting as a follow up and also offered to meet with the Hookah and Bong owners to encourage them to work with the community. He thought the owners might welcome the police into their establishments if a bad element is affecting their business.

911: There was discussion regarding the reaction of the 911 operators when calls are placed for what is considered "little things" and the privacy of the caller. He recommended residents use a new anonymous website called CLEARpath. The goal of CLEARpath is to serve as an information bridge between neighborhood residents and the police. CLEAR stands for Citizen and Law Enforcement Analysis and Reporting System and contains crime reports, maps, pictures and other information that residents can access to help make their neighborhoods safer. A CLEARpath flyer was available as a handout.

Brenda Barr reported that the zoning change from R3 to R5 for 5732 N. Ridge was approved the October ECC Planning and Development Committee meeting.

Brenda encouraged everyone to attend the ECC Gala at Misericordia on Saturday, November 8th and planned to buy a table for ETNA. Attendees can make $50 p/p checks payable to Brenda Barr.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Sue Morales
President and fill-in secretary