The Trib reports that the "Spider-Man" robber, who wears a Spider-Man mask, robbed two convenience stores on the 3700 block of North Harlem Avenue. The report states that he brandished a pistol. The weird thing about this troubling story, besides the Spider-Man angle, is that as far as I can tell, there's only one convenience store on that block, named Convenient. The story says there's a 7-Eleven on that block, but there isn't one there. They might be thinking of the 7-Eleven on the 2700 block of Harlem in Elmwood Park.
I've written about the north end of Harlem before. That area is in definite need of renovation. The strip mall where this robbery took place is a basin for trash and litter. I suspect that much of the litter might come from patrons of the Convenient store itself since that's where most of it accumulates. The owner and businesses of that mall should make a better effort to clean up the trash on its parkway along Harlem and particularly the area at the north end of the parking lot.
Further, the area is in governmental limbo, since it's designated to become part of the 38th Ward (Cullerton) from the 36th Ward (Sposato). Whichever way it goes, it desperately needs capital improvement. It's been a bit neglected. Decorative street lights, neighborhood identifying banners and entrance signs would go a long way to making the area more hospitable to shoppers and secure from crooks.
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