In the wake of resident concerns that an MB Financial Bank parking lot in Lakeview was attracting crime, the company has released its plans to make the property safer.
The statement is the latest in what became a heated discussion about the lot and the Night Ministry, an organization that administers services the homeless.
On July 22, some residents began posting concerns on the "Take Back Boystown" Facebook page, a page dedicated to discussions about crime in Lakeview. Some posted that the lot (located near Belmont and Halsted) was a "hot spot" for illegal activity and stated that they intended to call the bank about their safety concerns.
MB responded the week of July 25 by dispatching a security team to inspect lighting, video surveillance and activities taking place in the lot.
One of those activities was the Tuesday and Thursday distributions of food and other services by the Night Ministry, which parks its mobile health bus next to the lot. Youth waiting for services line up in the lot itself.
"MB has been asked by the group to 'help deter the bad guys' who they have said tend to hang out in the parking lot particularly on Tuesdays and Thursdays after the Night Ministry truck leaves the neighborhood," the bank said in a statement, which it posted to the "Take Back Boystown" page July 29.
In its July 27 issue, Windy City Times reported that some Lakeview residents were advocating for closing off the parking lot at night because they argued that "the young people who line up for services outside the bank are making the neighborhood unsafe."
Some residents expressed anger over the article, which, they said, misrepresented their concerns. However, while the discussion on the Facebook page became very heated, few would discuss the situation on the record.
Joe Hickey, a Lakeview resident of four years, said he felt that very few residents were advocating for the removal of the Night Ministry bus, but that many had other safety concerns about the MB Financial parking lot.
"I feel that the Night Ministry provides a valuable service to people who need it," Hickey said. "I look at the Night Ministry and the MB parking lot as two separate things."
Hickey lists the MB Financial lot along with other "hot spots" for crime, which he said included the 7-Eleven Parking lot near Halsted and Roscoe and the lot in front of the Dunkin' Donuts at Clark and Belmont.
Both of those lots have been sites of incidents in the past, including a June 18 stabbing in the 7-Eleven parking lot that reinvigorated the community's discussion about violent crime.
Hickey said that he is concerned with the MB lot for the same reasons he is concerned about other "hot spots" in the neighborhood.
"I have seen drug deals happen in that parking lot," Hickey said of the MB lot. "It seems to be a meeting place or gathering place to some people who might be involved in prostitution."
Hickey said that some of his neighbors had also witnessed illegal activity in the lot.
In response to resident concerns, MB Financial announced the installation of three new surveillance cameras and additional lighting in the lot. The bank also stated that its security team observed the Night Ministry at work next to the lot on two different nights, and that it has been in contact with the organization about use of the property after hours.
"MB is committed to taking steps necessary to understand and assess the situation and, most importantly, remain a good community partner and neighbor," the bank said in its statement, adding that the company would be "closely monitoring the situation to determine if these steps alleviate the community's issues."
Rev. Barbara Bolsen, the vice president of programs for the Night Ministry, called her conversations with the bank "very constructive."
"I think the conversations that I had [with MB Financial] I think were educational on both sides," said Bolsen.
Bolsen said that the Night Ministry planned to continue to administer services next to the lot and that her organization and the bank had agreed to stay in contact about their work.