By Ben Joravsky
Besides, the work crew was a pain in the neck. Yes, she knows how hard it is for anyone to feel sorry about anyone else’s construction woes. Hasn’t everyone on the north side had to suffer the noise and dirt of construction?
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Moreover, the front of the building remains cluttered with discarded wood, nails, bottles, and other debris. “I’m still waiting for them to replace the gangway,” says Antonio Lopez, who owns the building east of the work site. “As you can see, they also took away the lower foundation of my house. “About half a foot of stone was gouged out of Lopez’s west basement wall.” I talked to the contractor and he said it’s not their fault. He gave me a number and said, ‘Call this guy, he’s in charge.’ I called him and he said it’s the contractor’s fault.”
Lopez says that without the gangway his rear apartment is all but unrentable. Now there’s a steep drop from the sidewalk and a narrow, muddy walkway going back. “My tenants left because it was too hard to get in,” he says. “I can’t sell if I wanted. I can’t rent. I’m stuck.”
Then why not finish the project?
“They said they’d repair that.”
“Did they tell you about the flooding?”
