The pandemic brought a Chicago man closer to his neighbors — and inspired his album of songs about each of them

CHICAGO -- When the world was isolating in pandemic bubbles, Alex Hardaway was channeling his inner Bob McGrath — the late “Sesame Street” character who sang the “People in Your Neighborhood” song. Hardaway began a marathon music project — his first solo album, called “Be My Neighborhood,” where he wrote a song for each of his neighbors in his 15-unit Andersonville apartment building. The album debuted Thursday. During the height of the pandemic, Hardaway, a longtime employee at Oiistar Japanese restaurant, had started doing maintenance work around the building to chip some money off his rent....