Originally Posted by
Derek
There is crime and apparently four people got robbed last year, but this is really way out of proportion. Tens of thousands of people have a lovely time and go home safe. Belmont is not a war zone, and it is not unsafe. Just don't be stumbly wumbly drunk and you'll be fine.
You're absolutely right -- most people will have a great time and get home safely. But if you think Belmont & Sheffield isn't unsafe after dark, then you either have your head in the sand, or you work for Rahm, Tunney or a local real estate company. Either way, I'm sure the local neighborhood watch would be thrilled if you want to take the overnight shift next Friday or Saturday night.
Chicago Magazine, "The Truth About Chicago's Crime Rates: Part 2"
In the first half of 2013, as the thermometer began to rise, so did the anxiety of those living in the Chicago Police Department’s 19th District. The district’s neighborhoods—Lake View, Boystown, Wrigleyville, and North Center, plus portions of Uptown and Lincoln Square and the north part of Lincoln Park—are among the most desirable in the city. But residents were increasingly sharing horror stories about robberies, beatings, drug deals, and bloodstains on previously safe sidewalks. “I moved here in 1981, and I have never felt as unsafe as I do now,” Lake View resident Michael Smith, 56, an art director at a marketing firm, told Chicago last fall.
In fact, in the months of May, June, and July, one of the police beats within the 19th District—a small area bordered by Belmont Avenue, Addison Street, Halsted Street, and Southport Avenue—notched more robberies than any other beat in Chicago, according to the police’s own statistics. The beat also ranked among the 10 worst, citywide, for violent crime. “Does it compare to what’s happening on the South and West Sides of the city? No,” says Craig Nolden, a 45-year-old marketing manager who lives with his wife and two children in the beat. “But it was out of control.”
Edited to add: Just saw this list of
robberies along that stretch of Belmont in the past three weeks (including two that occurred overnight):
Egor's Dungeon robbed at gunpoint, 3:45PM June 8th.
Man is strong arm robbed at Subway restaurant, 3:48AM June 14
Victim strong arm robbed with a "dangerous weapon" on the sidewalk outside of Chicago Apartment Finders, 11PM June 15
Man chased down, beaten, and robbed in the street by three offenders under the Belmont L tracks, 4:20AM June 17th.
Victim robbed at gunpoint on the street near 3144 N. Sheffield, 2AM on June 21.
Attempted robbery at knifepoint fails on the sidewalk at 3AM on June 21.
Man knocked unconscious and robbed in front of multiple witnesses, 12:45AM June 22.
A man is strong arm robbed at Belmont and Halsted, 1:20AM June 22.
Man is beaten and robbed along the L tracks, 2AM June 29.
Man beaten and robbed outside of Big & Littles, 1034 Belmont, 4:45AM June 29.