BRIDGEPORT — The Bridgeport Citizens Group gathered for its quarterly meeting Friday, sharing crime numbers, court dates for troubled buildings and tips on getting involved in the neighborhood.
If you missed the Friday night meeting, here’s a roundup of what happened:
Crime Numbers
Preston Breunig, the Bridgeport Citizens Group’s director, shared year-to-date crime numbers compiled from CAPS meetings in the Bridgeport area. Here’s a look at the totals:
Shootings: 3
Murder: 1
Robberies: 24
Burglaries: 15
Auto thefts: 32
Felony Thefts: 23
Arrests: 226
Contact Cards: 871
Calls for service: About 12,000
Incidents reported: 565.
Red Line Strong-Arm Robberies
Breunig shared a warning about a recent spate of strong-arm robberies from 31st-39th streets, between Wentworth to Racine, near the Red Line stop. He urged the public to call in suspicious-looking characters near the train line.
“If you’re concerned enough,” he said, “make the call.”
Bad Buildings Initiative
The Bridgeport Citizens Group has been focusing much time on its “Bad Buildings” initiative, a campaign to address buildings troubled by decay or problem tenants.
Breunig rattled off several court dates residents can attend between 8 a.m.-noon to prompt the City of Chicago to do something about such buildings.
“It doesn’t take a ton of your time,” Breunig said, “but it really does make an impact.”
Here’s a look at upcoming court dates and the addresses on the agenda:
Oct. 12: 2900 S. Poplar Ave.
Dec. 3: 3723 S. Union St.
Nov. 5: 942 W. 32nd Pl.
Nov. 12: 3536 S. Emerald St.
Neighborhood Watch
Bridgeport’s Neighborhood Watch is looking for volunteers to walk through the neighborhood and report blighted areas.
If you volunteer, you’ll be looking for bad buildings, parking lots and picking up garbage littering the neighborhood.
To volunteer your time, call Neighborhood Watch at 312-508-8852.
Bike Registration
Mary Welter, a Bridgeport Citizens Group member, urged citizens to register their bicycles with the city.
If you register your bicycle, its serial number goes into a database. If your bike is lost or stolen and later recovered by police, the database will help the cops get the bike back to you.
Register your bike here.
Blue Mass
At 6 p.m. Oct. 28, St. Mary of Perpetual Help Parish, 1039 W. 32nd St., will host a "Blue Mass" to honor past and current police officers.
CAPS
The neighborhood’s next CAPS meeting is 6:30-7:30 p.m. Oct. 13 at the Deering District headquarters, 3120 S. Halsted St.
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