New Park Forest web site
park_...@netzero.net
homeowners I have started a new web site wherein I am posting
pictures of eyesores with the intent of shaming those responsible
into correcting the problems (not all of which are legally
addressable under building codes etc.). The URL is:
http://www.angelfire.com/il2/parkforest
Check it out and tell me what you think.
Then, join the discussion on the bulletin board that is part
of one of the official Village web sites:
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Intergalactic Denizen of Mystery
>http://www.angelfire.com/il2/parkforest
>
>Check it out and tell me what you think.
Long time no see, Rohacs. I am sure everyone will join me in
congratulating you on carrying out your tireless crusade against
bad taste in general and the uglification of a world-class community
in particular. Your "shame, don't ban" policy amply demonstrates
that you care--and as a matter of fact shaming new and unwelcome
residents into eliminating the ugly aspects of their residences
may well be a tactic invented in Park Forest. For such a subtle
strategy to succeed, however, the site needs to be made much more
persuasive, to which end I make the following suggestions:
1. Get an ISP which serves pages reliably. Nothing says "tacky"
more loudly than a free site.
2. Animated banners are tackier than iron doors. This will
be pointed out by tacky homeowners when you engage them in
aesthetic discussion, and then what will you have to say?
3. There is simply no excuse for access counters; so much so
that they seem to be a willful attempt to tackify a site.
4. The time in which Park Forest rose to its imposing stature
was, generally speaking, an all-round tacky era. Alluding
to it seriously tackifies your page.
5. A netzero address is tackier than a chassis rusting in the
backyard--indeed, tackier than a bus farecard in the wallet.
6. All this tackiness seriously brings down the value of better
more responsible web pages, through no fault of their own.
If you have succeeded in busting in on the web due to the
alarming proliferation of free/cheap-ass providers, the
least you could do is show a modicum of good taste.
I hasten to add that harsh criticism of your horrendously designed
web page is in no way actuated by elitism.
Glenn Whiteside
>5. A netzero address is tackier than a chassis rusting in the
> backyard--indeed, tackier than a bus farecard in the wallet.
but a truck in the front yard with a tree growing up through where
the engine used to be--that's rustic
park_...@netzero.net
> Long time no see, Rohacs.
I don't know who that is but it's not me.
I'm sorry you don't have anything more constructive to offer
than criticizing ISP's, web hosts, and, heaven forbid, a page
counter.
idunno
It would seem less judgemental and more considerate means could be
undertaken to address your concerns. For example:
- Homeowners' covenants and restrictions.
- Homeowners' association (if one doesn't exist, form one and
become president).
- Send complimentary reprints of Martha Stewart articles to
those whose homes annoy you.
- Invest in your neighborhood: Buy a storm door you approve of
and have it installed. Buy those chumps with a sheet
some curtains. Provide a burglar alarm system to those
homes with the barred windows...or establish a neighborhood
patrol to enhance homeowners' security. But then again,
maybe the bars are not intended to keep others out, so they
could be beneficial to other residents.
Seriously, I understand your frustration...even one of those pickup
trucks with the tree growing through the engine compartment can
adversely affect home values and, as Randy Newman sang, "It's money that
matters." But isn't your approach a bit, er, confrontational? Perhaps
a more tacttful approach might be possible?
John Rappe
>park_...@netzero.net writes:
>>http://www.angelfire.com/il2/parkforest
>>
>>Check it out and tell me what you think.
>
>congratulating you on carrying out your tireless crusade against
>bad taste in general and the uglification of a world-class community
>in particular. Your "shame, don't ban" policy amply demonstrates
>that you care--and as a matter of fact shaming new and unwelcome
>residents into eliminating the ugly aspects of their residences
>may well be a tactic invented in Park Forest.
I was in the burbs last week, and a friend who lives out there was
relating some of the shenanigans of their neighbor across the
street. This guy is on the village board or something, and he took
umbrage that another neighbor parked his car on the street during
the day, his garage being inconvieniently located around the corner.
So village board guy tries to get the front of the other guy's
house declared a no parking zone. The other people on the block
caught wind of the situation and came to the board meeting to raise
hell, so this travesty of tastelessness has been allowed to continue
unabated.
-- john
Hanse Coloursmay
> park_...@netzero.net writes:
>>http://www.angelfire.com/il2/parkforest
>>
>>Check it out and tell me what you think.
i'm sure it sucks, but tush's flaming rhetoric has offended a few of us.
> 2. Animated banners are tackier than iron doors. This will
i like iron doors. especially wrought iron. with gargoyles and pikes.
> 5. A netzero address is tackier than a chassis rusting in the
> backyard--indeed, tackier than a bus farecard in the wallet.
as you are obviously unaware, the height of backyard status is
a satellite dish (bigger the better), a rustic 1950s Ford on concrete
blocks, a large propane tank, and a pack of hound dogs.
and there is nothing wrong with bus farecards, bunghole.
> I hasten to add that harsh criticism of your horrendously designed
> web page is in no way actuated by elitism.
elitist pig.
-hc
a man of the people
--
fear the destructor, love your mother. eat pork fried rice.
song of the body thetan choral society
-- making constant things variable for n+3 years
neil klopfenstein
>Intergalactic Denizen of Mystery might have said:
>> park_...@netzero.net writes:
>>>http://www.angelfire.com/il2/parkforest
>>>
>>>Check it out and tell me what you think.
>
>i'm sure it sucks, but tush's flaming rhetoric has offended a few of us.
>
>> 2. Animated banners are tackier than iron doors. This will
>
>i like iron doors. especially wrought iron. with gargoyles and pikes.
>
>> 5. A netzero address is tackier than a chassis rusting in the
>> backyard--indeed, tackier than a bus farecard in the wallet.
>
>as you are obviously unaware, the height of backyard status is
>a satellite dish (bigger the better), a rustic 1950s Ford on concrete
>blocks, a large propane tank, and a pack of hound dogs.
>
>and there is nothing wrong with bus farecards, bunghole.
>
>> I hasten to add that harsh criticism of your horrendously designed
>> web page is in no way actuated by elitism.
>
>elitist pig.
Or in other words, "I don't get it."
Intergalactic Denizen of Mystery
>>[yack yack yackitty yackitty yack]
somebody kick this moron
Intergalactic Denizen of Mystery
Apologies. Who are you, then?
>I'm sorry you don't have anything more constructive to offer
>than criticizing ISP's, web hosts, and, heaven forbid, a page
>counter.
I feel blessed by the tone, rhythm, and pattern of this sentence.
It's a miracle.
Brent Peterson
>
> Having gotten tired of seeing the decline in upkeep by some
> homeowners I have started a new web site wherein I am posting
> pictures of eyesores with the intent of shaming those responsible
> into correcting the problems (not all of which are legally
> addressable under building codes etc.). The URL is:
These cosmetic issues are a mere symptom of the greater
problems faced in the south suburbs.
Near south suburbs have already become the dumping ground
so to speak for chicago's displaced poor, and will continue
to be by the looks of things. (Have you seen Harvey lately?)
The sources of real jobs have closed shop, moved up north,
or out of the USA all together. New businesses open up in
the west, north and northwest burbs, not the south suburbs. This
gives the south suburbs a geographically challeged location.
These things that are leading to the overall delcine of the
south suburbs IMO are far more important than not having the
correct type of front door.
Geoffrey Gass
>The sources of real jobs have closed shop, moved up north,
>or out of the USA all together. New businesses open up in
>the west, north and northwest burbs, not the south suburbs. This
>gives the south suburbs a geographically challeged location.
>
>These things that are leading to the overall delcine of the
>south suburbs IMO are far more important than not having the
>correct type of front door.
Which is, of course, why the village board would spend their time working
on attracting business to the area...
That and the tax revenue.
Geoff Gass
g...@tanzenmb.com
Hanse Coloursmay
> somebody kick this moron
*dodge*
can't touch me, tushiewushie. i'm simply out of your league. shall we
move this to somewhere more uncomfortable? uf, perhaps?
oh, and try to stay sober this time....you lose that special magic after
G number 3.
-hc
a man for the springtime
--
fear the destructor, love your mother. eat broiled leg of samant.
Dan J. Smeski
them up too. I have a two story home, and I don't lite them at night, but if
I were to go on my roof while it's this cold, I would crack the roof! Thats
why some people have those lights hanging. No one lights them...
Dan
<park_...@netzero.net> wrote in message
news:8dde6g$r75$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
> Having gotten tired of seeing the decline in upkeep by some
> homeowners I have started a new web site wherein I am posting
> pictures of eyesores with the intent of shaming those responsible
> into correcting the problems (not all of which are legally
> addressable under building codes etc.). The URL is:
>
> http://www.angelfire.com/il2/parkforest
>
> Check it out and tell me what you think.
>
> Then, join the discussion on the bulletin board that is part
> of one of the official Village web sites:
>
> http://www.parkforest.org
>
>
>
Intergalactic Denizen of Mystery
Mike Stucka
:>this travesty of tastelessness
: I just experienced a kernel panic. Later...
It just needs a little support, a little love, and a lot of
listening. Kernels are people too!
Mike
park_...@my-deja.com
> These cosmetic issues are a mere symptom of the greater
> problems faced in the south suburbs.
>
> Near south suburbs have already become the dumping ground
> so to speak for chicago's displaced poor, and will continue
> to be by the looks of things. (Have you seen Harvey lately?)
Oh I quite agree and I do not mean to minimize the big problems
it's just that those are not ones we can do much about, certainly
not with a web site. But we also think that the little problems
do add up and in recent years there has been recognition of this
in the way large cities have cracked down on pan handlers and
"squeegee men" and are quick to eradicate grafitti because lots
of these little things can often take a major toll on overall
quality of life and how people feel about their town. In PF we
don't have those kinds of problems (nor trees growing through
cars up on blocks--some of you really need to get out more) but
we do have an influx of people who either don't know or don't
care about keeping their property tidy.
John Rappe
: jmr...@excite.com writes:
: >this travesty of tastelessness
: I just experienced a kernel panic. Later...
Sorry, I was just trying to remain on topic...
--
-john
Jude Crouch
I almost thought you knew what you were talking about. Except for
the shopping center and a tiny strip of land by the RR Tracks,
Park Forest is *all* residential. There is no land for expansion.
It was designed as a residential community and there is no easy
remedy for that. Virtually all the tax revenue comes from the
residents because there is no one else to collect from (two exceptions
noted).
Jude
Class of `67, Rich East HS, Park Forest
--
Jude Crouch (jcr...@pobox.com) - Computing since 1967!
- Coming Soon - BestOrgs.NET
Oak Park, IL 708-848-0134 URL: http://www.pobox.com/~jcrouch
Steve Kraus
>Virtually all the tax revenue comes from the
>residents because there is no one else to collect from (two exceptions
>noted).
The old Park Forest Plaza drew customers from the entire
region in its heyday. I understand at one time there was
talk of razing some of the townhomes to expand it but that
was never done, Lincoln Mall came into being alongside the
new interstate and the tax base decline began. Plus does
the state mental facility pay anything in lieu of taxes?
That's a big chunk of land that was originally intended as
commercial / light industrial. Not that we are exactly
busting at the seams in the remaining commerical area.
Jude Crouch
Government buildings do not pay property taxes. I can't
speak about this particular situation, but generally a
municipality would seek out such a facility to provide jobs
for the residents.
What's the state of the Plaza these days? Does it still exist?
It's been many years since I was in PF.
Jude
Steve Kraus
>What's the state of the Plaza these days? Does it still exist?
>It's been many years since I was in PF.
Jude, it would be well worth the drive down because you would no longer
recognize it. Some years back after most of the small stores had left a
shopping center re-developer took a stab at it, putting money into new
walkways, overhangs, and new windows & doors, generally sprucing up the place
in-kind and renaming it "The Centre." A few stores came in but it was
generally a flop. Sears closed (moved to Lincoln Mall) and that huge structure
capping the east end was quickly razed. Marshall Fields at the SW corner hung
on for a while but eventually gave up as well. (The old Goldblatts at the NW
corner, very briefly a Mays store, stayed vacant the whole time.) The only
really going concern was the movie theatre, over time divided into 4 screens,
now 5 with the addition of some adjacent store space. It's a sub-run (bargain)
house.
The Village eventually acquired the entire plaza and embarked on an ambitious
plan which at the heart is an attempt to create a traditional style downtown.
A new main street with side parking was run down the middle of the old plaza.
Forest Blvd., for decades interrupted by Sears, was rebuilt as a NS through
street across the Sears site at the east end from the old Village Hall area
towards the bank (now Firstar). ("Old village hall" because the village
offices have relocated into newly remodeled facilities in what was years ago
the Bramsons store next to Fields.) The old bowling alley and the Goldblatts
building were razed as was the Sears auto facility more recently. A home
developer is building in the NW quadrant in what used to be Goldblatts parking
area. The Fields building still stands and they are trying to find a buyer.
Classic Cinemas, operators of the movie house, have purchased their building.
Jewel Co. has constructed a freestanding Osco store roughly where the Sears
auto center used to be. The E/W road just to the south of the old auto center
was removed and the segment of Lakewood just to the north of the Sears parking
area closed, both in favor of the new Main St. which extends from Western Ave.
through the middle of the plaza to Orchard Drive.
The new name is "Downtown Park Forest."
In an unrelated but adjacent project to the north, the old Lakewood School has
been razed and that area, across from the Library, is being developed with
homes.
If you grew up here you will enjoy seeing how much has changed. You will see a
subdivision being built in adjacent Matteson in the land E of the IC RR, N of
the EJ&E tracks, W of the Ludeman Center. Also, a townhome development E of
the IC on Front St. N of the MC right of way (the old Skyline Lumber property).
The old Michigan Central (New York Central, later Penn Central) railroad line
was pulled up in the late 70's and after 20 years of debate, a couple years ago
became a paved bike trail from Western Ave. to New Lenox, with plans to
continue to Joliet.