Advocates say the owners of a building across from a Pilsen migrant shelter have installed a loud noisemaker to deter shelter residents from gathering outside.
The high-pitched ringing noise emanates day and night from a small box on the roof of 2380 S. Halsted St., a building that once housed a construction business across from the shelter.
Ryan Hurley, a former volunteer who helped migrants when they were housed at the Near West District Police Station, said he believes the device is new because he didn’t hear the noise when he was outside the shelter about two months ago.
“I think that it was probably put there to [mess] with the migrants,” Hurley said. “It’s terrible that people have to hear that all day long.”
The device resembles and sounds like a Mosquito alarm, which is sold as a tool “to reduce anti-social behavior such as loitering, vandalism, graffiti and violence,” according to its website. The devices can get as loud as 108 decibels, or similar to the noise at a rock concert.
The devices are marketed as deterrents for groups of teenagers, but they can also be effective against gatherings of older individuals, the site states. “The Mosquito is safe, legal and harmless.”
The building is owned by Truong Enterprises Inc., an ethnic food wholesaler whose warehouse is next door. The taxpayer listed for the property is 2380 S. Halsted LLC, according to Cook County records. Hieu Truong, president of Truong Enterprises, and Tu Luu, executive director of operations, are listed as managers of the company in state filings.
The building was issued a citation during an inspection May 31 for not registering as vacant within 30 days of it becoming vacant, according to city records.
Migrants, including children, often gather in groups outside the shelter near the empty building. Some sell drinks and snacks from coolers and tables on the sidewalk. On sunny days migrants sit on folding chairs in the shade of trees along Halsted and Lumber streets.
That’s what migrants were doing Monday evening, seeking refuge from the blistering heat. The din of traffic barely drowned out the blaring alarm.
“We’re used to it by now,” one migrant told the Sun-Times in Spanish, adding that it feels like it has been there for months. Another said the alarm appeared on the roof one day and hasn’t stopped.
Businesses are known to use sound deterrents to discourage people from lingering around their property. Certain Walgreens stores in Chicago blast classical music to keep loiterers and panhandlers away.
But the building is only being used for storage and is otherwise empty, according to Alejandro Munoz, director of operations at Truong, who didn’t know when the alarm was installed or why. Other company representatives couldn’t immediately be reached.
“It’s really high pitched and constant. It’s pretty awful.” said Veronica Roman Saldana, another volunteer who works for the Pilsen Food Pantry. She added that she’s worried the alarm may be affecting the children’s hearing.
“Folks do spend a lot of time outside the shelter, so I imagine they can hear it, and kids especially,” she said. “It can’t be good for your ears to constantly hear that.”
