LOGAN SQUARE — Got a problem with the ice cream man? Maybe keep it to yourself.
That’s what one Logan Square mom learned after from neighbors on the Logan Square Community Group Facebook page this week after inquiring about a noisy ice cream truck cruising down her street at 9 p.m.
On Monday evening, Kara McCaffrey Gorisch asked fellow neighbors on the page whether there was a noise ordinance or curfews that existed for ice cream trucks in the city.
“We get the same truck [at] 9 [or] 9:30 p.m. just about every night and the music is so loud,” she wrote.
Gorisch, who has lived in the city for more than 20 years and in Logan Square for the last four, said she decided to see if the truck was allowed to be out so late. On Sunday, she said she was surprised she could hear the truck’s loud music over the rain — and the fact that she was in the shower.
“I have a newborn and I was just wondering what the noise ordinance was,” she said Tuesday. Block Club reached out to Gorisch after the Facebook thread became so widespread that it was being shared outside of the closed neighborhood group.
Gorisch’s question drew more 100 comments ranging from rage to understanding to sarcasm — with some calling for her move to the suburbs. It’s the latest example of how what someone sees as a simple question can lead to a toxic online backlash.
“I figured if anyone would know about … rules and ordinances, that was the group to ask,” the 41-year-old said. “I was a little surprised that it [triggered] an ‘I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream’ kind of response … People are dedicated to their ice cream.”
Gorisch was dubbed a ruiner of summer by some, while others empathized with a mom trying to keep her baby asleep.
“For the love of god are you really contemplating calling the cops on an ice cream truck,” one commenter said.
Another chimed in: “This is gonna be seen as violent but that sweet man ain’t done shit but bring cheap ice cream to our doors. I’ll kick your bike over if you call the cops on him smh.”
If the ice cream man is an issue, “What’s next..the elote man’s Bell is too loud? Jeez…” another commenter said.
For the record, there is a city ordinance that states “between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m., no person shall generate any noise on the public way that is louder than average conversational level at a distance of 100 feet or more, vertically or horizontally, from the source.”
Gorisch said she was “quite shocked and humored at how passionate people were and to what extent they would jump the shark and make accusations of [me trying to shut] things down when I was really just trying to gather information.”
“There are a lot of paper tigers when it comes to the internet,” she said. “We should be embracing the community and helping each other find solutions rather than be so divisive.”
Gorisch said she too has purchased soft serve with Oreo chunks from the very ice cream man that parks across from her home, but does have concerns about the noise level from the truck which has gotten “progressively louder.”
“We like to enjoy our windows open, but it becomes a pervasive sound,” she said.
Gorisch, who lives near Kimball and Cortland, said this was her first time really interacting with the Facebook group aside chiming in on posts from people seeking recommendations on veterinarians, caterers or baby showers.
“I don’t tend to engage unless it’s something I have to contribute positively, I’m not going to chime in for the sake of my opinion. I don’t think that’s necessary or helpful,” she said.
Gorisch said she hoped to get some information from her fellow neighbors, but instead, it spiraled into a negative space.
“This is a forum for your community and your neighbors…Don’t jump to conclusions just because someone is asking a question to garner information,” she said. “Don’t assume the worst. We live in such a divisive time politically. Sometimes within our city, and sometime within our community…we should go on the side of compassion, a side of understanding.”
In the meantime, Gorisch said she plans on talking to the ice cream man about the music when she’s not rocking a sleeping baby.
And as for the ice cream man, at least a dozen people vowed to find him and support him this summer — by buying as much ice cream as possible.
Do stories like this matter to you? Subscribe to Block Club Chicago. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods.
Comments are closed.