CHICAGO (CBS) — Less than two weeks before the Democratic National ConventionThose living within the security perimeter around the United Center and McCormick Place still have questions and concerns about to get to and from their homes.

The city of Chicago and the US secret service tried on Wednesday to alleviate some of the fears ahead of the party convention.

The Secret Service said it will begin building some fencing in and around the United Center and McCormick Place a week from Wednesday. Construction of the security fence will begin Friday evening next week and will continue through next weekend, before Congress.

Once that happens – and the DNC comes to town – playing basketball at the Henry Horner Homes at 1815 W. Monroe St. will no longer be so peaceful. The Chicago Housing Authority building – all that remains of the once massive public housing complex in the area – is just steps from the United Center and within a Restricted area marked red on a boundary map.

“I’m just not prepared for the inconvenience of them telling me I have to have my ID with me to enter and exit the apartment I pay rent for,” one woman said.

“I don’t know what I expect,” said Martrice Allen. “I don’t want this to cause me any inconvenience.”

Allen and other residents of Henry Horner said they were given a special pass that allowed them to enter and exit security checkpoints.

“Only residents are allowed in here, and you have to show a photo ID with the address you are going to,” Allen said.

At a virtual meeting open to the public Wednesday evening, residents discussed the issue with law enforcement.

“We have spent some time at the Henry Horners’ homes,” said Glen Brooks, Chicago Police Department director of community policing. “We are aware of the concerns there and are trying to address them.”

Joel Heffernan, deputy special agent for the U.S. Secret Service in Chicago, said at the meeting that cars will be allowed to pass on the Stevenson Expressway (I-55) near McCormick Place, but trucks will be diverted. The Stevenson marks the southern end of the red exclusion zone in this area.

Back at the United Center, people entering the vehicle screening zone – marked yellow on the perimeter map – are only checked for one thing.

“One of the things we saw in Milwaukee was that people would show up at a checkpoint, see a sniffer dog and a handler, and be concerned that they were looking for other things,” Heffernan said. “We’re just looking for explosives.”

In recent weeks, the city of Chicago has been busy beautifying certain areas – and even cleared out a homeless encampment on Desplaines Street near Roosevelt Road, in advance of the 50,000 expected attendees of the DNC.

Residents near the United Center said the recent improvements to their complex were no coincidence.

“They painted the outside, built us a new basketball court, repaired the playground and just renovated the lobby,” Regina Freemon said.

Freemon said she was sure the meeting was the reason.

“They wouldn’t have done it if that hadn’t happened,” she said.

Meanwhile, just days before the National Convention, the FBI has appointed a new special agent in charge of the Chicago office. Douglas S. DePodesta was appointed to the position after most recently serving as interim special agent in charge of the Memphis field office.

DePodesta was first assigned to the Chicago field office when he joined the FBI as a special agent in 2002. Initially, he was assigned to drug investigations. He later worked on a number of investigations as part of the Chicago FBI Technical Program and was named the program’s director in 2013.