East Village Association board minutes for Dec. 12, 2016, by Daniel Navarro January meeting Date moving to 9th from the 2nd; board meeting to move to the subsequent Monday. Red Apple Ald. Hopkins to deny liquor license but will not stop applicant from going forward with for applying or putting up a business. PP&D update 1038 N. Ashland: Owner is selling to a management company. Will develop upper 2 floors to residential, will need a zoning change. 18 units over 2.5 floors. Type 1 zoning change. Looking to add residential to first floor. Will make a formal presentation to EVA on Jan 9. 920 N. Paulina: Residential building midblock, all area is R2-4. Would like to add a garden rental in basement, is requesting upzone for that one parcel. They will come on the 16th to the next board meeting.

East Village Association minutes for Dec. 5, 2016, by Daniel Navarro 1701 W. Division presentation and vote Brian: Have met with owners and wanted to bring it to the general meeting. Proposed development to add on to rear of building . Seeking a zone change and asking for us to approve. Developers: Existing building currently zoned B3-2 seeking to up zone to a B3-3. Fully renovate existing apartment units and add a 1-story-taller building behind it and a parking base. Respecting the neighborhood by using existing structure and materials. This will be high end. Existing is a mix of 3 the new will be 2, elevator access to all floors. Parking will have bike storage and trash alcove.

Red Apple Convenience, 2000 W. Chicago Ave, was denied a liquor license in 2012. East Village Association minutes for Nov. 7, 2016, by Daniel Navarro Red Apple The Red Apple convenience store at Damen and Chicago avenues fought for a liquor license three years ago. Owner was denied in appellate court, reapplied 2 months ago with new liquor commissioner under new alderman in 2nd Ward. Owner came to Ukrainian Village Neighborhood Association with new business idea named Olive Branch, an upscale store with gourmet sandwiches and paninis. No plan on reopening settled issue but if the proposal changes will bring it to general membership. Suzi Wahl has a packet with testimony and business violations of the owners, dropped off all 177 letters in protest from previous attempt to Ald. Brian Hopkins: "Every single person at community meeting was against it but Hopkins still has not came out against." If you want more information contact Suzi Wahl. She's unsure how vacant store ...

"It's pretty rare to be in a community meeting where it's just a unanimous consensus," said Ald, Brian Hopkins. "Let's just pause and savor that moment." East Village Association minutes for April 4, 2016, by Daniel Navarro President's Welcome Business Minute: Sean Murty and Lisa Muscato from Paperish Mess Opened 3 years ago improvements in Chicago developments has helped their business 100 or so different artists, local/emerging artists, gallery openings once a month (to restart) Custom framing Woodshop in basement for custom furniture (commercial projects) i.e., Steel petal press Goal is to as makers give other makers space to showcase work Operates as a consignment shop for other artists

Architect John Hanna presents the Ace on Ashland condominium plan. East Village Association minutes for Feb. 1, 2016, by Michael VanDam Ace Hardware Building Brian Foote introduced the team behind the proposed new transit-oriented development replacing the Ace Hardware at 1013 N. Ashland Ave. The group had previously met with the EVA board and has integrated most suggestions into the revised plans. The building will include 2,500 square feet of commercial space and 33 units on three floors above: six 1-bedroom units, 21 2-bedroom units and six 3-bedroom units. Parking will be limited to 25 cars, and the building will include storage for at least 25 bikes. Parking will be accessed off the alley behind the development. EVA members voted to approve the upzoning to B1-3, which will ensure that the ground floor retains commercial use.

The construction fence shows a building design for the former Ace Hardware site. Developers of a condominium building will ask East Village Association members Monday to support a zoning change at the former Ace Hardware site, 1023 N. Ashland Ave. Owner Ross Babel plans a new four-story building with first-floor commercial-retail tenants and 33 condo units. The floor plan requires B2-3 zoning; the lot's now B1-2. Attorney Sara K. Barnes calls the upzone "more compatible" with buildings to the east and west. After reviewing early plans, members of EVA's development committee suggested adding 3-bedroom units for a more diverse mix. Here's how the units now stack up in size: 6 – 1 bedroom, 1.5 bath (720 square feet). 9 – 2 bedroom, 1 bath (850 square feet). 6 – 2 bedroom, 2 bath (920 square feet). 6 – 2 bedroom, 2 bath (950 square feet). 6 – 3 bedroom, 2 bath (1,280 square feet). The plan earmarks two 2-bedrooms units as affordable to median-income...

Proposed site of Forbidden Root, 1746 W. Chicago Ave. President's Message By Neal McKnight It's again a critical time for East Village and the other neighborhoods near the Loop. There's a strong attraction to neighborhoods near the core of the city. East Village already benefits from this demographic trend, and is challenged by it. The East Village Association recognized this and consulted other groups – and most importantly Ald. Proco Joe Moreno and his staff – to develop a plan that would address the challenges of Chicago’s changing demographics. As part of this plan, in April 2013 Ald. Moreno agreed to maintain the liquor moratoria in the East Village Association territory until May 2015. It is important to note that not all liquor licenses are banned by the moratoria, and new East Village restaurants continue to obtain incidental liquor licenses. The purpose of the plan was to allow our past planning experience with liquor sales guide the continued development of ...

East Village Association board meeting minutes for October 14, 2013 Submitted by Meghan Quinn Upcoming speakers Vito Greco from the Center for Neighborhood Technology will give a short talk about its energy programs. For a future meeting, Neal McKnight and Gladys Anselmo will approach someone from zoning to speak about possibilities for East Village, with an aim toward developing a plan to encourage the preservation and construction of single-family homes. Ronda Locke will ask Dietch Pharmacy if it's interested in doing a business minute to discuss current renovations and additions. Red Apple liquor license Red Apple filed suit in circuit court against the city for denying a license. The judge ruled in favor of Red Apple, and the city will appeal. The process likely will take awhile. Miller Lumber LaSalle II school was promised $10,000 a year from the developers. McKnight will write to developers reminding them of the commitment. 1800 W. Chicago Ave. Fifield has contact...

Bernard Williams artwork in a Wicker Park-Bucktown SSA art project at 2001 W. Division St. East Village Association membership meeting minutes for April 2, 2012 Submitted by Meghan Quinn Ald. Robert Fioretti began the meeting with a presentation described here on the 2nd Ward and its redistricting to include East Village. West Town Street Lab Meghan Quinn, the new secretary of EVA, presented an arts initiative called West Town Street Lab, which proposes using vacant storefronts along West Chicago Avenue to hold popup art galleries and community workshops. The project seeks to bring art and culture to our everyday experience and show the creativity of West Town residents. This initiative could also generate economic development in the neighborhood. EVA president Neal McKnight mentioned that Ken Kosinski might be interested in doing something on his vacant lot between Wood and Wolcott. Quinn said Katharine Wakem, program manager for the city's Special Service Area 29, has ex...

The East Village Association board filed written objections Monday to a liquor license request for Red Apple Convenience, 2000 W. Damen Ave. Discussion with the owners failed to allay community concerns on crime, traffic and other concerns. Owner Move N Pick Convenience had rebuffed a proposal to put its application on hold while trying to resolve community concerns. EVA in the past has been cautious in consenting to liquor licenses, which are rarely revoked. Before the Chicago Avenue store opened in November, president Irar Sweiss indicated the store would open with or without a liquor license. The same family owns the Citgo gas station at 1949 W. Augusta Blvd. Board members had concerns about liquor sales because of persistent crime and vagrancy linked to Chicago Avenue liquor stores. It was unclear whether an East Village liquor moratorium or the proximity to Dominick's Finer Foods would allow package sales at Chicago and Damen. Red Apple applied for the license Feb. 15, and S...

East Village Association Board Meeting Minutes March 12, 2012 Submitted by Meghan Quinn Red Apple Convenience, 2000 W. Chicago Ave., made a presentation to EVA members March 5 on its liquor license application . At the board's request, Chicago Police Lt. Roy Whitmore outlined the liquor license review process. Whitmore had a previous conference call on the issue with Local Liquor Control Commissioner Gregory Steadman and Police Cmdr. Frank Gross. There are 2 main reasons to deny a liquor license application: a law-enforcement objection or negative quality-of-life concerns from the community. In a law enforcement objection, police looks at data related to crime occurring in the past year at the address and within a quarter-mile radius. It is unclear which data Cmdr. Gross will share, or if EVA must file a Freedom of Information request to obtain data.

Neighbors of Red Apple Convenience planned to meet Tuesday with 32nd Ward staffers about the store at 2000 W. Chicago Ave. seeking a liquor license. Move N Pick Convenience Inc. applied for a package-goods license Feb. 15, according to the city Business Affairs & Consumer Protection department, which starts the clock on 40 days to file objections. Ward outreach director Elizabeth Gomez is facilitating the meeting, set for 6 pm at 2657 N. Clybourn Ave. It is unclear if owner Irar Sweiss will be invited. Successful license protests indicate a potentially "deleterious impact" on the neighborhood. That would mean problems with parking, loitering, littering, noise, crime or property values. Earlier, neighbor Suzanne Wahl had complained to Gomez that curb service at the convenience store was interfering with corner bus stops. Wahl is circulating a flier on the ward meeting.

Chuck Templeton, OhSoWe.com President's welcome President Greg Nagel opened the East Village Association's Monday meeting with a discussion of the just concluded 1st Ward hearing on Chicago Avenue pedestrian street zoning. EVA has been seeking a consistent public process to solicit neighborhood input before proposing ordinances. OhSoWe.com Guest speaker Chuck Templeton described the site he co-founded to connect neighbors and encourage conservation. Neighborhood groups have joined the site in Chicago, San Francisco and Providence, R.I. Members are identified by first name, last initial and proximity. They can request confidentially to borrow tools or use skills of nearby members. A system will be added to rate satisfaction with borrowers or service providers, Templeton said. Nagel noted that the site allows EVA members to circulate fliers within the group.

Red Apple Convenience Store, 2000 W. Chicago Ave.   Board meeting minutes for November 14, 2011 Submitted by Dana Palmer Meeting commenced: 6:38 p.m. Planning, Preservation and Development 1. 1601 N. Division: Scott Rappe and Neal McKnight met with potential developers of the site. Their revised plans would add 3-4 more floors. Rappe and McKnight will continue to meet with the developers about their plans.