The majority of the shootings in Albany Park are due to an escalating war between rival street organizations (“gangs”). Most of these groups have been in Albany Park for over thirty years. The recent war comes at a time of worsening economic conditions due to the pandemic on top of a prolonged effort to gentrify the neighborhood.

In the wake of the 2008 market crash, there has been a systematic effort to “redevelop” Albany Park with the driving force coming from wealthy neighborhoods to the East, namely Ravenswood Manor and Lincoln Square. The host of street organizations, however, make this job difficult for those who wish to change the neighborhood’s class character.

Many discussions have occurred online and in the community about how to resolve the “gang” issue, including a recent peace march and vigil. The gentrification of the neighborhood has cut the contending ideological lines of liberals in two.

The reactionary trend, represented by the gentrifiers, developers, and wealthy residents in and around Albany Park, calls for the age-old settler demand of more pig occupation of the neighborhood and stricter punishment for crime. They insist the precinct has been understaffed. This is a lie. Anyone who walks around the neighborhood at night can clearly see the pigs patrol every corner. Even though the 17th Precinct is currently a fully-staffed department and federal operatives are active in the neighborhood under Operation Legend, the reactionaries continue to rally their forces — particularly through the placing of blame for the violence on the ward’s alderperson, DSA member Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez, and her phony “socialist” policies in the neighborhood.

https://peoples-voice.org/…/unity-and-struggle-reportback-…/