"ghost sign"

flickr via katherine of chicago

check the picture out "large"... and the rest of katherine of chicago's recently uploaded albany park photostream

The Staples Dream Park challenge closed its online "polls" yesterday,  with Eugene Field Park having the most votes (34%, with the next park at 26%).  Besides $25,000 to be spent in park improvements, the winner of the promotion also gets to "party in the park" with Bears running back Matt Forte.

photo via flickr's planetshwoop

Friends of Eugene Field Park Playlot and Alderman Laurino were unavailable for comment. 

If you live between Wilson and Montrose, and west of the Chicago river up until Kimball, your CAPS meeting is tonight.  Go meet the cops that patrol around your home! They'd be happy to see you. Really.

The meeting takes place in the Horner Park Field House (2741 W. Montrose Ave), starting at 7pm. Click here to view the flyer (which has a map of your beat). Be sure to check out SpotCrime and EveryBlock for concerns and recent illegal activity. 

(beat 1724 also covers Irving Park)

Three teenagers were shot in Albany Park in the last 10 days. While the state slashes funding for various programs, including youth services, the local community is left to pick up the pieces.  Our Lady of Mercy Church, The Albany Park Neighborhood Council and a life-long resident Eric Criniere are leading the pack.

Eric Criniere used to own the local skateboard shop Armory Chicago with his friend Rico Sepaden, and his store quickly became the default hang-out for the local youth. As the crowd of children grew, Criniere and Sepaden began teaching the local youth the art of DJing, skateboarding, graffiti art and breakdancing- the essential skills of a “b- boy”. Merchandise was pushed to the side, and classes spilled out onto the street and even to outside of Criniere’s home. As the throng of children grew larger,  it hit Criniere that his neighborhood was missing a functioning community center. As time went on, Criniere found himself disenchanted with “the mission of selling things” and he began to hate that he was “chasing a profit margin”. When Rico Sepaden decided to move back to California, Criniere closed down his shop in order to concentrate full time on creating his own non-profit community center “A Champion’s Mind”.  Criniere says “champions aren’t born, champions are built”, and it’s his mission to provide discipline through the arts.

So far, the going has been tough.Criniere tried volunteering at the local community centers but was rejected flat out. He suspects it may have something to do with his appearance (b-boy style), and relates a similar story when he tried going there as a kid:

When I was a little kid, they also denied us like that. Maybe the type of kids we were, the way we looked, not really clean, the way we talk and act, it probably didn’t come out right. I totally understand from their viewpoint why they denied us-

Not to be deterred, Criniere applied for state funding, only to find out that since he’s not affiliated with an organization he can’t get any financial support. He’s had a couple of fund-raisers selling graffiti-inspired artwork, but has only raised a couple thousand dollars. Criniere’s “A Champion’s Mind” crew includes “Lalo”, “the best mural artist in the city” as well as 5 other local artists. A Champion’s Mind’s first goal was to have a mural painted in Albany Park, and last month, through the efforts of Our Lady of Mercy and the Albany Park Neighborhood Council, the mural (by “Lalo”) was unveiled in front of the press. Criniere is satisfied with the mural, even if he wasn’t directly involved.

(Flickr via drkfiber)

Father Tito, of Our Lady of Mercy is also dismayed by the limited funding for youth programs in the neighborhood. The idea for the mural came from staring at the brick wall by the church: “there’s this big wall out there, let’s paint on it, let’s get them [local youth] to do something positive” says Father Tito. Part of the mural-making process was to get the kids to “think about their lives in the neighborhood, and how we get along together, live together” explains Father Tito. All in all, “it was good experience and the children enjoyed it” adds Father Tito.

With the mural complete, the Albany Park Neighborhood Council has no other projects or programs to offer youth. Juan Cruz, the Youth Development Coordinator explained that the APNH is focusing on raising awareness and funding. Yesterday, the APNC attended the Illinois Youth Town Hall Forumin a push for more investment in order to open more youth centers in the city, and for the creation of 20,000 jobs for youth by 2010. The question on everyone’s lips at the forum was “where is the investment in Chicago’s future?” Approximately 400 students attended the Town Hall meeting, but Cruz was disappointed by the lack of attendance from political figures, despite their assurances to attend.

I didn’t believe Criniere’s treatment at the Albany Park Community Center, so I spent months trying to get someone on the phone. My calls went unanswered and the one time I was able to talk to someone and set up an interview, I was told to go away when I arrived at the office. It wasn’t until last Friday, when I walked into the Albany Park Community Center on a whim and talked with Michelle Fleming, the volunteer coordinator, that I was able to get some answers. The APCC on Foster and Kimball is nothing like the other centers (Criniere jokes they are “ghost centers”), and the time I was there, I witnessed children in school, food for the homeless being loaded into a van, and adults in ESL and GED classes. I was blown away by how bustling this center was compared to the other two, and Michelle Fleming was more than helpful, a complete 180 from my prior treatment. (For the life of me, I can’t understand why someone would refer anyone to the executive offices instead of this Kimball and Foster center).  Flemming explained that because of budget issues, one of the centers was closed down temporarily and some staff members had to be laid off. Flemming’s center is especially worried about funding for next year.

Criniere is going to try volunteering again at the Albany Park Community Center, at the Kimball and Foster location.   Chicago currently ranks first in youth homicide, and with funding for after school programs plummeting at a time when youth violence is rising, it’s now more important than ever to establish a connection with these teens.

(originally posted for TrueSlant)

The Albany Park Public Library laid off 3 employees in July, and the workers are fearful that another round of lay-offs is coming soon. "It really depends on what the union decides" says an anonymous source. He was too nervous to elaborate.

Besides the layoffs, the APPL's hours will be reduced, effective January 2nd, 2010. The new hours will be as follows: 

Monday, Wednesday: 10am- 6pm

Tuesday, Thursday: 12pm- 8pm

Friday, Saturday: 9am- 5pm (remaining same)

Another employee explained that the hours open are staggered with neighboring libraries, ensuring that at least one library will be open until 8pm. The cutback in library hours is citywide. The Sun-Times has the story here.  

This weekend is a slow weekend for events in the neighborhood....

 Saturday

If you didn't see Wrens at NPU last weekend, go see it before the show closes on Sunday! Tickets are $8, follow the above link for showtimes and location.

The Annual Gospel Choir Concert at North Park University is tonight. The show is highly anticipated and goes from 7:30 pm to 10pm. General admission is $5. Go here to read about NPU's new choir director. The concert will take place in the Anderson Chapel. 

Sunday

The Swimming Pool Project Space is only open on Sunday, from 1pm - 5pm. Their current exhibition features the photographic works of John Chiara and Sean McFarland. 

Two male teenagers were shot last night near Eugene Field Park. This marks the second shooting in this district in the last 4 days.  Last Thursday, a teenage boy was shot just a couple blocks south of last nights location. As for the commentors on Chicago Breaking News, this time they really defended Albany Park's honor. Take special note of "HAP Coordinator's" comment near the bottom,  s/he even mentions the blue sky Bakery & Cafe.

The CAPS meeting for the Eugene Field Park District (beat 1712) is next Wednesday.

In case you haven't heard, Ronan Park will be enlargening in the next couple of years, due to a failed condo unit that was supposed to go up on the 3000 block of Lawrence Ave. The empty lot the condo  was to be built on was acquired by Openspaces last winter, and they sold it to the city 3 months ago. 

The lot has been largely untouched. The only work I've seen on the lot was in August (I am guessing right after the sale), when the chain-link fences around the property  were removed.  I recently sat down with Rebecca Rico of the North River Commission (part of the Albany Park Chamber of Commerce) and she shared with me what she knew. 

The lot was purchased with TIF funds and hasn't been transfered over to the Chicago Park's District yet, mostly for budget issues. She speculates that because a factory used to reside on the land, the soil may need additional clean-up, but she cannot confirm this rumor, and because of the constricting city budget, she believes the land will stay untouched for years.

A number of non-profits in the area are interested in the land, including the Cambodian Association, Lawrence Hall Youth Services, Northeastern University and the Women Infants and Children Program (WIC).  The two main ideas floating around are a sculpture park and "healing" garden or a community garden (WIC is pushing for the later).  I'm all for compromise, as the lot is 1.6 acres and could easily accomodate both ideas.

On second thought, even though I think a community garden would be great in this recession, having a food garden on dubious soil and right off a busy street would make for some questionable fruits and vegatables.

Albany Park was mentioned by 3 other media outlets over the weekend and for all the typical reasons: crime, ignorance of the neighborhoods boundaries and food. 

1. First, on Thursday night a teenager was shot and killed just five blocks from the Albany Park Community Center.  The comments on the link provided mention crime is getting worse, and shootings are going up, but if anyone looks at the neighborhood 15- 20 years ago, Albany Park is a significantly better place. Eric Criniere, a once local skateboard shop owner, community advocate, and life-long resident can atest to the fact that not "every street corner is owned by gangs" any more.
2. Friday's crime story is misattributed to Albany Park (local media outlets ALWAYS have a hard time remembering the boundaries of this neighborhood. Very common and annoying mistake).  CBS2 and the Chicago Sun-Times believe 3300 N Harding is before the Montrose boundary, or don't know about the Montrose boundary,  or have never heard of "Irving Park". The incident linked above involves a man found beaten to death in a building that was on fire. 
3. And on a more positive note, ABC 7 kowtows to Albany Park's superiority in Middle -Eastern cuisine. If you've never had Afghan cuisine, I suggest the quaint and small Afghan Kabob, right on the border of Albany and Irving Park. Here's a link to the yelp reviews, and  If you go, be sure to check out the sweet prayer rug hanging on the wall.