what say you on gentrification?

So, you know the building under construction at 3300 W Lawrence? The one that had a gas leak and exploded in September of 2007, with the explosion destroying half of the building? And then they had to level the rest of the building and start all over again? The one right across the street from the best thrift store in the neighborhood, Village Discount?

According to Liz Griffiths, the Executive Director of the Lawrence Avenue Development Corporation (LADCOR) and the Albany Park Chamber of Commerce, the building at 3300 W Lawrence will be a mixed- use condominium building, offering 24 condo units with 6 units of 5,000 square feet for retail use. The condo units will cost more than 300 K, with the lay-out being 3 bedrooms/2 baths. Each condo unit will include hardwood floors, granite countertops, 10' ceilings, fireplaces, and terraces. The building is being constructed in three parts, and the outside façade will "mimic the former buildings architectural elements".

So far, an estimated 10 million dollars (!!!) has been invested in that building, and there are 34 other developments/projects in Albany Park and Mayfair for 2008- 2009. Over 200 million dollars has been pumped into Albany Park (and Mayfair) in the last 2 years.

When I asked Rebecca Rico, the Project Coordinator of the North River Commission about gentrification, she said they view it more as a "positive", and that they do substantial work with local landlords to keep the rent affordable.

more from those interviews to come.....

-soluble

Chicago Public Library, off Kimball and Foster

via alexstjohn

more info on Hefner, the new artist at the SPPS

The Swimming Pool Project Space will be screening the short films of Chris Hefner on Saturday, September 12th. The screening will start at 8pm and will continue on a loop until late in the evening.

"Chris Hefner was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan and has been living and working in Chicago for the past 7 years. His work with film, sculpture, print, installation and sound has been shown in such venues as Chicago Underground Film Festival, And/Or Gallery Dallas, Lausanne Underground Film Festival, Flicker Film Fest, Underground filmmaker Fest San Francisco, and the Center for Book & Paper. His two multimedia solo exhibitions, “Birdcatcher” (2006) & “Expo” (2008) were held at Heaven and Finch Galleries, respectively. Hefner is currently in production of his first feature-length film called “The Pink Hotel”, slated for completion in early 2010."

neighborhood events this weekend

Saturday:

-The Chicago Park District is hosting a "Party in the Park" at Gross Park. The "Party" starts at 2pm and lasts until 8pm. At 6pm, there will be a concert. (TBA)

-The Swimming Pool Project Space is having a closing/opening exhibition party from 8pm- 11pm. The closing artist is Lisa Majer (oil), the opening artist is Chris Hefner (video). Grolsch beer sponsors all events, so if you don't like the art you'll at least get a free beer.

Sunday:

-Modelo Club House Restaurant is celebrating the Mexican holiday of the "Child Heroes", 6 teenagers that refused to retreat while defending the castle of Chapultepec against the American forces during the Mexican-American war. You can read more about them here. The party kicks off with some karaoke at 7pm, and from what I can gather off the flyer, there will be 3 different mariachi bands during the night? (The website they list on the flyer does not exist and I was too lazy to call.) See the sexed out flyer below.

Notice the Gil Elvgren illustration in the upper righthand corner!

close up of the façade on the Interstate Blood Bank

Photo by TheeErin

Food News

Check Please TV thinks the restaurant Juliana is in Albany Park, even though it's off Peterson. You can watch their video reviewing Juliana here.

As for real Albany Park news, the highest ranked middle-eastern restaurant according to Check Please TV is Noon O Kabab.

You can't deny it, Albany Park has the best ethnic food in the city!

and in other food news...

Blue Sky Inn needs our help in getting cash and marketing assistance through NBC Universal and American Express' Shine A Light program. The deadline to nominate Blue Sky Inn is September 13th. Go here to nominate them!

...and Tammy Green wrote a nice piece on Tannourine Bakery  at chicagobites.com

North Park Auto Service

5033 N Kedzie Ave, Chicago, IL‎ - (773) 279-0700‎

This auto shop, located on Kedzie between Foster and Lawrence, is a catch. Not only is it clean, but as a woman, I did not feel intimidated-no cat calls, no remarks. Even in this down-turned economy, this shop has seen an increase in business, because of the shop's high quality work and good prices. People are leaving their normal Jiffy Lubes and Pep Boys to come here. The only form of advertisement for this place is word of mouth.
My friend Danny switched to North Park Auto Service from the garage that he personally used to manage. He has had his car serviced there multiple times and the one instance that something went wrong, it was fixed immediately. His car died a short while away from the garage and a mechanic came personally to his car and fixed it on the side of the road.
-J

Albany Park Neighborhood Council Action Alert (Newsletter)

The APNC and Justice committee wants you to e-mail your county commissioners to "ensure that our community wins better access to care".

The Hospital Access Protection Initiative (HAPI) would ensure that anyone without insurance who enters a hospital in Cook County would be informed and assisted through the hospitals' financial assistance options.

Go here to read a short page about the HAPI Ordinance.

Go here to go to the Fair Care Coalition Website to show your support for the HAPI Ordinance. When filling out the form, the APNC asks that you include them in the "organization name" box.

The newsletter also asks you to call your senators.

Message for Durbin:

"My name is _____. I live at_____ (address), and I am a leader with the Albany Park Neighborhood Council. I am calling to let the Senator know that we need him to be a strong assistant majority leader and ensure that the Senate's health care bill includes a strong and affordable public option."

Phone: (202)224-2152

Message for Burris:

"My name is _____. I live at _____ (address), and I am a leader with the Albany Park Neighborhood Council. I am calling to let the Senator know that we need him to ensure that the Senate's health care bill includes a strong and affordable public option."

Phone: (202)224-2854

The APNC asks that you e-mail them at demain@apncorganizing.org if you decide to call.

ChicagoDogPads.com did a nice piece on the dog park in River Park. Includes video.

Albany Park Crime Blotter

I acquired a police scanner today, and started a crime blotter for Albany Park here.

-soluble

more images from Sundays CA parade

the Central American Parade

Immigrants from Guatamala, El Salvadore, Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua gathered at noon today on Lawrence for the Central American Parade. Families milled on the street with their camping chairs, children and chihuahaus, swaying flags in time to the music. My attempts at a conversation in English were met with quizzical smiles and polite nods.

The parade itself had a couple floats, with each country having their own beauty queen waving to the crowd of 300. The first float had a little girl showering the crowd with sweets, but after the first handful a police officer put a stop to the free candy (t-shirts, pens, and candy were tossed later in the parade without the cops knowledge) . Each country had women in traditional garb carrying banners and dancing with maracas to their respective music. The amount of floats was limited, so motorcycles and cars decked out in flags, dolls and embroidered cloth and stuffed with proud patriots provided adequate filler. The newspaper La Raza had 2 trucks, so did various travel agencies, automotive care companies, the moving company Medrano, and a local soccer team. Alderman of the 4th Ward Toni Preckwinkle walked the street with her campaign staff, handing out flyers (with no spanish translation) highlighting her run for the Cook County Board President. Pollo Campero, Mr. Pollo, and the Mission Independent Baptist Church also handed out flyers (with spanish translations).

My favorite sights from the parade included parade participants dressed as bird women, monkeys, cats and comical old folk, who danced with hand-held instruments. At one point during the parade people wore petite mannequins on their heads, which made eerie 10 foot tall figures with real feet and small plastic heads. From a distance I thought they were people on stilts, but the reality was still more unsettling. Men and women rode skittish horses and I held my breath each time one of the animals jerked to the side. The constant loud music, honking cars, fake sirens and intentionally set off car alarms was a visible stress on the horses and each rider was attentive and careful. There were some DIY costumes: one group of people wore cardboard box-tents decorated with streamers, with the breathing hole covered with an ornate (wooden?) bull head. The Pollo Campero mascot (a yellow chicken with an orange hat) made an appearance on top of a jeep wrangler and I saw an over-sized hood ornament in the shape of a donkey on a turquoise jeep.

The parade began on California, traveled west 12 blocks to Kimball and lasted an hour.

Photos courtesy of fauxtank. You can see more photos here.

-soluble

Events in the neighborhood this weekend-

Taste of Polonia (all weekend including Monday), by the Copernicus Foundation. At 5216 W Lawrence. Polish music and food galore! $6 for adults, free for children under 12.

Central American Parade on Sunday, starting at noon. The parade begins at Montrose and California. Free.

Lisa Majer exhibit at the Swimming Pool Project Space, Sunday, from 1-5pm. Free

W Montrose

Photo by DJ Plaid Princess

Bird Watching....

There are at least 3 yellow finches with black wings flying around the empty lot next to Ronan Park. They look like American Goldfinches, but I couldn't get close enough to be sure. I'm positive they are not free parakeets, as I see blue and green ones occasionally.