The Uptown Chicago Commission, a community organization that strives to improve the quality of life in Uptown, has been sponsoring positive loitering at the corner of Leland Avenue and Sheridan Road since mid-August. About 20 residents—and their dogs—have gathered for about an hour for the past eleven Fridays as a counter attack to the behavior of those suspected of criminal activity such as drug sales and gang-related meetings.

Richard Thale, the public safety chairman of the Uptown Chicago Commission and event organizer, said it was disheartening that the shooting occurred, but he has kept a good attitude towards the group’s cause. He said the group is still working hard to create a positive influence in the area.

“It gets very frustrating, but at least I know we have made some effort,” he said. “I know when we’re out there, things are calm. I’m not telling anyone that we are stopping crime, but we are having an impact.”

Denice Davis, chief of staff to Ald. Helen Shiller (46th), said the group’s efforts are being noticed, but positive loitering alone won’t cause crime and violence in the neighborhood to leave for good.

“I think we should do whatever we need to do to make it a better place,” Davis said. “But in the ’hood, all they’re doing is watching those people out there, sit and stand there. Then an hour later, they’re going to show back up there.”

Kathleen Boehmer, the 23rd District police commander, said the police have apprehended the four men who fired the shots, with no one getting injured during the incident. The commander, however, could provide no further details.

Yet she said that positive loitering is great for the community, and police are fully supporting the community cause.

“It’s picking up steam and people are coming out and still showing interest in the community,” said Boehmer who also supports other loitering events in Edgewater and Lakeview. “But we don’t expect the positive loitering to solve all the problems at once.”

Uptown, the commander said, is a Level 2 zoning district. Because of that, she said more police will be patrolling the area because of higher crime rates and heightened gang activity.

Emmett L. Bradbury III, chairman of the Criminal Justice Department at Chicago State University, said to improve a neighborhood, you must be visible for all to see.

“People who commit crimes and loiter in a negative way typically don’t want to be seen,” Bradbury said. “So you turn the light on them. One way of doing it is through positive loitering, you’re out about and you’re looking, you’re seeing, and consequently those who would do criminal things or simply things that are disgusting or unacceptable won’t do it.”

Uptown resident Amy Levin said the shootings are not going to stop overnight, but neighbors need to work together to stop the violence over a longer period of time.

“This is a long process,” Levin said. “It took a long time for this stuff to get embedded into the neighborhood. And I’m under no delusion that it’s going to be a quick fix to try and change it.”

Boehmer said the community has improved because of the efforts like the commission’s loitering cause.

“The community has come a long way over the years,” she said. “Positive loitering is not the final solution to all the problems but a new beginning to help the community solve problems.”

The focus of last week’s meeting at Harry S. Truman College was the ongoing problems of safety and appearance around the two-block avenue between Broadway and Wilson Avenue. Clifton is a one-way street with a sign at the Wilson crossing that says, “Do Not Enter.”

On Clifton, or “Blood Alley,” several small groups of people sit in chairs or on the curb. Other groups of people with change-cups or their beverage of choice are always hanging around. On the sidewalks, the dumpsters are frequently used as bathrooms for the homeless and other occupants of “Blood Alley.” In the alley itself, empty beer cans and bottles and an abundance of trash are everywhere.

No one is sure where the “Blood Alley” nickname came from, but everyone seems to have their own theory.

State Rep. Gregory Harris (D-Chicago) said it received the long-standing nickname from the heroin epidemic that hit the streets in the late ’60s. He said people used to go down the avenue and shoot up drugs.

To date, Clifton Avenue is more of a social gathering point for homeless and loiterers in the community. Harris said two types of loiterers occupy the alley.

“There are people who are doing illegal activities,” he said. “And then there are people who are doing what you consider your public nuisances, like peeing in the alley.”

Ald. Helen Shiller (46th) said loiterers used to roam more freely, but now seem to have centralized on Clifton Avenue. She said it is a problem, but it is better than it was in the past.

“It’s an ongoing process,” she said. “People go out there all the time. I think the fact is, that it is so much more localized, it used to be everywhere.”

Simon Malek, a commercial property manager for Zifkin Reality & Development, off the corner of Wilson and Clifton Avenues, said the people on the street are homeless, and they are members of the community. He said he there is no fear of violence, and they have always left his store front when asked.

“There is only so much that can be done,” he said. “We have added lights, we have added signs that said no hanging out there, but there is only so much as a property owner we can do. The city and the police department have to step up, which they have.”

Joyce Dugan, president of Uptown United, a business development community organization, said no one is sure if the loiterers are even from the Uptown area.

“I don’t know if the loiterers are exactly homeless,” she said. “We don’t know who the real troublemakers are; we don’t know where they live. That’s part of the confusion, because some of the folks who make trouble are not necessarily from the area, but come in and spend their time there.”

Kathleen Boehmer, the 23rd district police commander, said the police have made Clifton one of their main concerns, but can’t arrest people for hanging out.

“We don’t get rid of loiterers or homeless people,” she said. “We arrest people who are doing illegal activity, people who are causing problems on the street. So what we have done—we have increased our foot patrol enforcement there, and we’ve done some surveillance. We have arrested some people dealing narcotics there.”

Sandy Ramsey, director of Cornerstone Community Outreach off Clifton, said she instituted a plan that if you were part of her shelter, you could not hang out in the avenue if you wanted a place to sleep or eat.

The next meeting concerning Clifton Avenue will be on Jan. 17. The scheduled time and location has yet to be determined.