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Showing posts from April, 2011

EVA News: Tree inventory, tax appeals, Wells plans

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East Village's neighborhood tree inventory begins at 9 a.m. Saturday at Commercial Club Park, 1845 W. Rice St. Even if you can’t tell the difference between and oak and an apple tree, you can still help. East Village is now open for tax appeals through May 17. Join us at our Monday meeting at 7 p.m. to learn about the process and make an appeal that could lower your property taxes. The meeting is at the Happy Village, 1059 N. Wolcott. The tree survey and community gardens are also on the agenda. The proposed Field of Hope at Wells Community High School would include a baseball field that would double as a soccer field, small children's park, dog park and climbing wall with an outdoor movie screen on the opposite side. Principal Ernesto Matias gave a presentation at our April 4 meeting. Details on these events and more are found in the May issue of the East Village Association newsletter. Members can download it at ohsowe.com

Tax appeal window opens in West Town

By Neal McKnight West Chicago Township is now open for tax appeals with the Cook County Board of Review through May 17. Neighborhoods that are included in West Chicago Township would be East Village, Bucktown, Wicker Park and Ukrainian Village. You can challenge your tax assessment every year, not just after a reassessment, but there is only a 30-day annual window for appeals through the Board of Review. Join us at our May 2 meeting at 7 p.m. to learn about the appeal process. Aaron Bilton, Board of Appeals Commissioner Michael Cabonargi's chief of staff, will assist with assessment appeals. The meeting is at the Happy Village, 1059 N. Wolcott. On May 4, Cabonargi's outreach staffers present a property tax seminar at 6 p.m. at Holstein Park, 2200 N. Oakley Ave. They'll explain the process and help homeowners complete appeal forms. Attendees are asked to bring their tax bills to help file appeals. Property owners who cannot attend the meeting can download the form from th

Census consensus: Time for ward remap

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East Village has about 12,000 residents, and three aldermen. Will yours change in this year's ward remap? The City Council redraws boundaries every decade, after the U.S. Census Bureau publishes block-by-block population and racial profiles. The 2010 data released Feb. 15 counted about 2.7 million people to divide among 50 city wards. In theory, wards are equal in population, which would work out to 54,000 residents each. Wards also should be compact, not sprawling, and should encourage minority voices in City Hall. But these two goals can work at cross purposes, particularly as aldermen try to strengthen their own voices in City Council chambers. Voting trends shape the ward alignments as surely as census trends. So every redistricting brings new zigzag boundaries. The 2001 map puts East Village in the 1st, 27th and 32nd wards. A spoon-shaped stretch of the 32nd Ward dips south from Bucktown between Hoyne and Leavitt, surrounded by 1st Ward turf in Ukrainian Village and East Villa

Count trees April 30, because trees count

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By Neal McKnight   East Village's neighborhood tree inventory begins at 9 a.m. April 30 at Commercial Club Park , 1845 W. Rice St. Even if you can’t tell the difference between and oak and an apple tree, you can still help. The East Village Association in partnership with Natural Path Urban Forestry Consultants will be conducting Chicago’s most complete tree inventory. Mark Duntemann, the principal of Natural Path Urban Forestry Consultants and a world-renowned arborist, will train volunteers to conduct our tree inventory. We encourage volunteers to join us in completing our neighborhood-wide tree inventory. Dress appropriately as will obviously be outside and we will be walking the entire neighborhood. What is a tree inventory? We will be collecting species, diameter, condition and maintenance needs for each tree. Additionally, we will be identifying all vacant planting spaces. Why a tree inventory? The inventory will provide the Chicago Department of Forestry

Gardens, trees, taxes at May 2 meeting

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Jeanne Felknor tends a parkway on Winchester Avenue at Thomas Street.   Board meeting minutes for April 11, 2011 submitted by Dana Palmer Attendance Board Members: Greg Nagel, Neal McKnight, KK Goh, Dana Palmer, Tom Tomek, Aaron Bilton, Scott Rappe and Stephen Rynkiewicz; Non-Board Members: Rich Anselmo and Paula Tomek. Meeting commenced: 6:34 p.m. East Village signs Paula and Tom Tomek presented their draft designs for signs to indicate the East Village neighborhood. Those present expressed opinions on designs and what the signs should include. Roots Handmade Pizza Scott Rappe reported on his meeting with Ald. Proco Joe Moreno regarding the Roots project at 1924 W. Chicago Ave. The concessions put in writing are to close the pickup window by 8 p.m. or dusk. Rappe said he put in a suggestion to just say 8 p.m. Another concession was that delivery cars will be marked and will not use the pickup window, and that valet will be on Chicago not Winchester. Rappe will try to get the alde

Wells brings neighbors into school improvement plans

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Wells principal Ernesto Matias talks with Carol Mrowka before the meeting at Happy Village, 1059 N. Wolcott. Minutes for April 4, 2011 membership meeting submitted by Dana Palmer Meeting commenced at 7:06 p.m. Business Minute Rob Levitt, owner of The Butcher & Larder, spoke about his store, opened at 1026 N. Milwaukee two months ago. It is open every day of the week except Tuesdays. Levitt's focus is on working with small, local farms to obtain meat and use the whole animal with no waste. Guest Speaker Ernesto Matias has been principal of Wells Community Academy High School for three years now. He told some of the history of Wells and stated that there are now 582 students with a 60% graduation rate. Matias described the three academies at Wells for logistics, law and teaching, and how he and his staff plan improvements. If awarded, a grant would give $2 million a year for three years to coach teachers. A swimming pool to open in June 2012 possibly would be open to the p

Make trees count in East Village

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EVA will seek teenage and adult volunteers to canvass trees throughout East Village on April 30. Vice president Neal McKnight said the Arbor Day weekend census will help city forestry staff find ideal locations and varieties for new parkway plantings. Find out more from McKnight at neal@mkmplaw.com or attend Monday’s 7 p.m. EVA meeting at the Happy Village, 1059 N. Wolcott.

EVA News: School merger, ward talk, tree trackers

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Paid members of EVA can download the East Village Association newsletter for April at OhSoWe.com . There's news of Andersen school's merger into LaSalle II, a meeting with the 1st Ward alderman, and a call for volunteers to size up the trees of East Village. Don't forget to attend Monday's meeting at Happy Village, 1059 N. Wolcott. The principal at Wells High will speak starting at 7 p.m.
Anselmo @properties business card,
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