Covid-19 Numbers Increasing - Wear a Mask
Dickens Shared Street
Street Sweeping Enforcement Begins Today
July 4th Events
Give Your Input to Improve our Schools
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Dear Neighbors,
As we continue to reopen our neighborhood and city,
please vigilant, continue to practice social distancing, and continue to wear face masks.
Dr. Arwady of the Chicago Department of Public Health says, "we want everyone definitely maintaining that 6 foot distancing, wearing that face covering, hand washing, and protecting the vulnerable. Those everyday decisions are the ones that mean the most to keeping us on track." Watch more
here.
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Dr. Arwady demonstrates how to measure social distancing from a friend.
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We have come a long way in the last several weeks. More people are making an effort to keep themselves and their neighbors safe in our community. We also have masks available at the ward office, please
contact us if need one.
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Dickens Shared Street to Debut Soon
As we discussed in an
earlier newsletter,
the City has been expanding a concept called Shared Streets during this pandemic. We all know that it is hard to maintain social distancing while walking down sidewalks. The City has been interested in assigning a few streets throughout the neighborhoods to allow freer and easier movement of walkers, families, cyclists, runners and the like in our neighborhoods.
As a result of its research thus far, CDOT has decided to install a shared street on Dickens Avenue in our ward, from Racine to Stockton.
A shared street means
car traffic is restricted to local traffic only. Residents can still park on their street and get deliveries, but cars passing through are not allowed. Residential vehicles must travel slowly and always stop for anyone in the roadway. Emergency vehicles are permitted. P
edestrians will be allowed to walk in the street.
Shared Streets are meant for movement and are NOT places for people to congregate, crowd, or socialize. More FAQs
here
.
The City has opened five shared streets since the beginning of June. Closest to our ward is
Leland Avenue in Ravenswood, which has been successful and has been extended. Shared streets have been successfully implemented on
Argyle Avenue, a commercial street, as well as
Wabansia Avenue in Bucktown. To learn more about the program, click
here.
Each Shared Street will
initially be installed for 30 days.
During that time CDOT will gather community feedback, collect data, conduct observations to evaluate how each street is working, and determine whether a Shared Street should be extended an additional 30 days or not. No permanent infrastructure is installed, but signs and barricades will direct pedestrians and traffic, as demonstrated in the pictures above.
While we expect that some are nervous about this experiment, we encourage residents to participate and after the street is launched to please give feedback to us and the city.
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Streets Sweeping Enforcement
Begins Today
Ticket enforcement activities will resume citywide, including street sweeping violations, beginning July 1.
Ticket agents will issue citations for parking or blocking the street during scheduled street cleanings.
You can view the July schedule
here
.
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Holiday Garbage Collection Schedule
Please note these important changes to the refuse and recycling schedule due to the
Friday, July 3rd
(4th of July Observed) holiday.
There will be no refuse collection on
Friday, July 3rd
. All city-collected refuse will be serviced now and Thursday
.
Residents should ensure all black refuse carts are accessible throughout the week of collection, not solely on their regular day of collection.
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Neighborhood Arsons
Be Vigilant
We have received reports of four alley arsons in our neighborhood early Monday morning. Affected neighbors contacted our office, in addition to calling 911. The arsons occurred in the 2600 block of Burling, 500 block of Arlington, 2400 block of Lincoln and 2800 block of Broadway. The fires on Lincoln and Broadway were in dumpsters, but the fires near Burling and Arlington appear to have been started in mattresses left in the alley.
As you know, our neighborhood has a large number of renters who move out at the end of the month who sometimes leave discarded belongings in the alleys. Usually, this is merely a nuisance - but this last weekend, these items provided fuel for arsons.
In light of these incidents, our ward superintendent is going to increase his patrol of the alleys to remove mattresses and other flammables throughout the week. While the police investigate to catch this criminal, we as neighbors can take charge of our community by checking the alleys, and wetting down mattresses or other discarded items, especially over the weekends.
If you live on any of the affected blocks and have security cameras, please check your video for the time period 1 a.m. until 5:00 a.m. on Monday morning. If you have video of suspicious activity, please send it to
[email protected] and identify the precise location. Working together, we can defend our neighborhood.
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Fourth of July
We the People: Chicago Responds
Saturday, July 4
10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
The Independence Day celebration at the
Chicago History Museum has been a Chicago favorite for decades. This year, the Museum will host a special virtual celebration featuring Mayor Lightfoot, Ebo Patel, Jamal Cole, Laura Washington, and selection of performances and
reflections on our country's history and its undeniable impact on the continued struggles for equality and inclusion. Watch the livestream
here
.
In 2018,
I read the Declaration of Independence at the History Museum to honor the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment in Illinois. Hope you listen to it to hear how much more we have to overcome and achieve.
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Fourth of July Events
Chicago's new and reimagined Fourth of July events include:
- Virtual Chosen Few Picnic & House Music Festival (July 4, 12-9 p.m.), featuring live-streamed performances and DJ sets For details, visit chosenfewdjs.com.
- Salsa SummerDance in Place (July 4, 5-6:30 p.m.) A 30-minute Salsa dance lesson by Latin Street followed by 60 minutes of music by Afinca'o. For details, visit chicagosummerdance.org.
- Festival Remixed: Independence Day Salute (July 4, 6:30-7:30 p.m,), a virtual expression of the Grant Park Music Festival's popular annual holiday tradition, featuring the Grant Park Orchestra favorites the American Flute Salute, God Bless America, Fanfare for the Common Man, Armed Forces Salute, America the Beautiful, 1812 Overture, Stars and Stripes Forever, and more. For details, visit gpmf.org or watch the concert on YouTube on the 4th.
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Architectural Firms:
Request for Proposals
Due By July 10
The
Neighborhood Opportunity Fund (NOF)
, seeks to create a list of qualified architects that Neighborhood Opportunity Fund grant winners can use to achieve design excellence for their commercial and cultural projects located on the South, West and Southwest sides of Chicago.
NOF grantees can receive up to $250,000 to invest in businesses in these underserved areas. Architects who would like to learn more and apply can
visit the website
and submit their application by 5 p.m. on Friday, July 10.
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Virtual Summer School-
Check with Your Local School
At last week's Board of Education meeting, CPS leadership presented a presentation of
this summer's offerings for summer school.
While we cannot locate a central portal for this activity on the CPS website, CPS encourages interested parents to contact their school for registration. Read the presentation
here.
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CPS Virtual Community Workshop to Strengthen Neighborhood Schools
CPS is hosting virtual community workshops to explore enrollment patterns and program offerings for schools in every region of our city. You can access the most up-to-date Annual Regional Analysis for our area and others at
ara.cps.edu
.
The North "Lincoln Park" Regional Area is one of the few areas of the city where enrollment has been expanding. We hope you will take part and lend your voice to this important conversation.
North ARA Community Meeting: Thursday, July 9 from 5–6:30 p.m. Register
here
.
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Become a Community Representative at
Oscar Mayer Magnet School Local School Council
The Mayer Local School Council (LSC) is looking for a Community Representative. The LSC is composed of the principal, six parents, two community representatives, two teacher representatives, and one non-teacher representative. To be eligible, a community member must reside in the attendance area or voting district of the school, not have a child currently enrolled at the school, and not be an employee of the Board of Education.
The LSC is having an organizational meeting on July 13. Please contact the Mayer LSC at
[email protected]
for more information. You can also check out Mayer and its LSC
here.
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Open for Business
With a slow and steady return to business, we wanted to highlight businesses that are up and running. Please send us an email at
[email protected]
and let us know you're open for business!
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Support our Neighborhood Restaurants
Please patronize our neighborhood businesses as much as possible and try to order directly from the restaurant.
Thanks to all you who are writing to us to include your favorite restaurants. Keep it coming!
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Holiday Ward Office Hours
Our Virtual Ward Office will be close at 2:00 p.m. on July 2nd for the Independence Day Holiday. Our phones and email will reopen Monday, July 6th at 9:00 a.m.
At our request, the City Clerk's Office has made some changes to make it a bit easier to purchase City Stickers and guest permit parking stickers on-line. Please go to the
EZ-Buy website to learn more and purchase what you need. City sticker enforcement begins July 15, so purchase now.
This July 4th, it's more important than ever to reflect on the importance of the promise of and true meaning of America's freedoms. Our freedoms carry with them the responsibility to ensure every American enjoys the equal benefit of the laws - a goal many of our Founders shared, even if it could not be realized in their lifetimes. May we join together as a nation to continue the work they could not complete.
Have a safe and patriotic Fourth,
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