The sky is falling
Funny thing happened to me on the way home from the gym the other day...
There's a large new development going up in Pilsen--Centro 18, a rather hotly-debated public-private collaboration that promises to sell 21 per cent of its nearly 400 condominiums at "affordable" prices. Whether or not they're truly affordable is questionable. They may provide an opportunity for some middle-class residents of Pilsen to stay in the gentrifying neighborhood, but given that the average income of Pilsen is $29,000, few current residents will actually be able to afford even the "affordable" $190,000 condos.
I have more to say about Centro 18 from a sociological perspective, but I'll leave that for another day.
A demolition contracter is currently knocking down the factory buildings that covered two city blocks at Peoria and 18th Street, where the condos will eventually go up. They've got a wrecking ball out there and are clearing huge piles of debris. The funny thing that happened was that, as I was passing by on my way home Saturday, a six-foot-long piece of steel came off one of the buildings and HIT me. More accurately, it hit the front wheel of my bike, breaking the rim. I of course hit the ground.
I'm pretty much fine...I have a lot of bruising since I crashed without any warning and thus didn't get a chance to slow down, and I've been pretty exhausted from the aftermath of all the adrenaline and a mild concussion, but I'm pretty sure nothing's broken. I'm a little freaked out by the fact that a big piece of steel falling from four stories up missed hitting my head by about a foot. It sliced through the aluminum rim of my wheel, so I'm trying not to think too much about what it could have done to my neck!
Now I am shopping for a new bike...
There's a large new development going up in Pilsen--Centro 18, a rather hotly-debated public-private collaboration that promises to sell 21 per cent of its nearly 400 condominiums at "affordable" prices. Whether or not they're truly affordable is questionable. They may provide an opportunity for some middle-class residents of Pilsen to stay in the gentrifying neighborhood, but given that the average income of Pilsen is $29,000, few current residents will actually be able to afford even the "affordable" $190,000 condos.
I have more to say about Centro 18 from a sociological perspective, but I'll leave that for another day.
A demolition contracter is currently knocking down the factory buildings that covered two city blocks at Peoria and 18th Street, where the condos will eventually go up. They've got a wrecking ball out there and are clearing huge piles of debris. The funny thing that happened was that, as I was passing by on my way home Saturday, a six-foot-long piece of steel came off one of the buildings and HIT me. More accurately, it hit the front wheel of my bike, breaking the rim. I of course hit the ground.
I'm pretty much fine...I have a lot of bruising since I crashed without any warning and thus didn't get a chance to slow down, and I've been pretty exhausted from the aftermath of all the adrenaline and a mild concussion, but I'm pretty sure nothing's broken. I'm a little freaked out by the fact that a big piece of steel falling from four stories up missed hitting my head by about a foot. It sliced through the aluminum rim of my wheel, so I'm trying not to think too much about what it could have done to my neck!
Now I am shopping for a new bike...
posted by ellen at 4:30 PM
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