The work of this year’s EVA board is almost done. EVA bylaws require a new slate to take office April 1. The president appoints a nominating committee of at least three members at the February general meeting. An election follows at the March meeting. The president is EVA's principal spokesperson, runs its meetings and appoints its board. The vice president assists the president. A secretary takes minutes of the general meetings, and the treasurer is in charge of receipts, disbursements and an annual report on EVA’s finances. All are charged with accomplishing the good works outlined at left. Resolve to play a role this year: Contact one of the current officers from the email links on the lower-left corner of the page.

Chicago residents can recycle their Christmas trees by turning them into mulch. Humboldt Park Boathouse, 1400 N. Sacramento, is the closest dropoff point, according to the office of Ald. Manny Flores (1st Ward). From Jan. 3 through 16, trees can be dropped off at any time. Mulch can be picked up Monday through Saturday starting January 9, from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. For other locations, call (312) 744-7606. Trees also can be left with the trash and will be picked up on the regularly scheduled day. Daily permit cost rises Beginning Jan. 1, 2009 the price for daily permits in restricted parking areas will increase to $8 per booklet. Annual and daily permits for Restricted Parking Permit Zones are available on the City Clerk's Web site: www.chicityclerk.com . Online purchases are processed in two to three days. There is no service fee. The city is also taking applications for sidewalk repair. The city and applicant split the cost. Apply by calling 311. When the budget is exhausted, th...

Think your property taxes are too high? It's time to do something about it: City properties get reassessed in 2009. Guests from county government explain property assessments and how to lower them at the Tuesday, Jan. 6 meeting of the East Village Association. The meeting is at 7 p.m. meeting in the Happy Village tavern , 1059 N. Wolcott. Dana Marberry, community relations manager for the Cook County Assessor's office , will describe the process, outline the tax exemptions available for residential properties, and suggest how to make a successful tax appeal. If the county raises your tax assessment, you may file an appeal with the assessor's office if you believe it's too high. The assessor's office says you should think about an appeal if the new assessment is higher than similar properties in your neighborhood or there is an error in the assessor's data — although not all changes end up lowering tax bills. The assessor's office is not the only route to low...

A building that a developer wanted to raze in 2007 is the proposed site of a dry-cleaning plant. A proposal to allow onsite cleaning is one of two zoning requests that East Village Association members will consider at the Jan. 6 meeting. Cleaners Depot, which operates the CD One Price Cleaners discount cleaning chain, has signed a lease at 1916 W. Chicago, said attorney Thomas S. Moore. The business is asking the East Village Association to support a zoning change to commercial zoning to allow a dry-cleaning plant on the premises. EVA expended great effort to rid the area of such zoning years ago, said Scott Rappe, EVA's planning and zoning chair. Moore contends the Cleaners Depot process is more environmentally friendly than typical commercial methods. In October 2007, EVA turned down a proposal from Ranquist Development to demolish the building for condominium construction. In another zoning request, Jim Boatman requests support for a zoning change at 1744 W. Augusta . Boatma...

Closed for nearly two decades, St. Boniface Church again is in danger of demolition. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago rejected a purchase offer from Egyptian Coptic Christians and in December put the site at Chestnut and Noble on a three-month track toward demolition. A representative of the Coptic Assembly of America told neighbors that her congregation is still willing and able to restore St. Boniface as a house of worship. Support for reuse of the building across from Eckhart Park is on the agenda of the East Village Association's Jan. 6 membership meeting at Happy Village tavern, 1059 N. Wolcott. ( Update: Concerned residents were asked to contact Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. ) When the Roman Catholic archdiocese attempted to tear down the church and school nearly a decade ago, EVA fought for its preservation. Its research traced the parish to German immigrants who first developed West Town. Its buildings were the design of Henry J. Schlacks, a noted church architect and ...

The website saintbonifaceinfo.com makes the case for preservation with text from the East Village Association newsletter of December 1998. An excerpt: Rising majestically from its corner location, St. Boniface stands guard over Eckhart Park as it has for almost 100 years. It was constructed in 1902-04 and designed by architect Henry J. Schlacks. The park itself acts as the church’s forecourt and thereby creates its northern wall. Viewed across the park from the south, the full dimension of this important structure becomes apparent. Rendered in a solid Romanesque style, the church and its adjacent school building dominate the block on which they sit. The church is defined by its three soaring bell towers; their steeply pitched clay tile roofs provide an instantly recognizable symbol for the surrounding neighborhood and are visible for miles around. The base is made of rusticated ashlar block intersected by canted buttresses that extend down to the sidewalk. Its brick exterior is ...