The proposed Roots Handmade Pizza and Bleeding Heart Bakery & Cafe restaurants at 1916-24 W. Chicago Ave. get a close look in the latest East Village News, including comments from news.eastvillage.org and facebook.com/eastvillagechicago . The newsletter also invites members to the annual East Village Association holiday party Dec. 6 at Wooden Gallery, 1007 N. Wolcott, looks at vintage window restoration, and provides updates on the Chicago Bowl concert space at 1850 W. Chicago and the former St. Boniface Church at 1358 W. Chestnut St. The December 2010 issue can be downloaded here . The newest EVA News advertiser is Panon Service of Chicago . Holiday happenings Dec. 4 Wicker Park Choral Singers look to the sky with the concert “Star of Wonder” at 3 p.m. in Wicker Park Lutheran Church, 1502 N Hoyne. Dec. 4-5 Do Division Holiday will offer sales from stores along Division Street from Milwaukee to Leavitt and trolley rides to Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Sale at Pulaski Pa...

President's Message | By Greg Nagel    Many of us in this neighborhood nest in our nest egg. By nest I mean that our home is our castle, our sanctuary, and the place where our families eat and sleep. Our home and the associated lifestyle in our neighborhood are important, and are worth protecting and shaping. By nest egg I mean that for most of us our home is our single biggest investment, and our financial security is largely tied to our property value. Right now in America, 1 in every 5 homes is upside down: We owe more money to the bank than what the home is worth. It has been a very hard and scary market, and I'm sure many of us our do not have the sense of financial security we did five years ago when our homes were worth more. Financial security can be as important to everyday happiness as a clean, comfortable neighborhood environment. A high-end grocery store can improve our lifestyle. A low-end liquor store can detract from our lifestyle. Developments can improv...

Scott Weiner, co-owner of The Fifty/50 Restaurant at 2047 W. Division St., describes the restaurants he and partner Greg Mohr are developing at 1916-24 W. Chicago Ave. In a Jan. 3 vote, East Village Association members will advise Ald. Joe Moreno on support of the plan. By Scott Weiner   Roots Handmade Pizza   Roots Handmade Pizza is a concept based on food from restaurants that have become institutions or icons in Greg Mohr’s hometown area, the Quad Cities. The main focus of the food concept will be hand-tossed pizza. In addition to being made from fresh, high-quality ingredients, what sets this pizza apart from others is a unique spice blend and dough texture. Everything from the pizza sauce to the sausage will be made in house. We will make homemade mozzarella, fresh pastas and numerous specialty sausages, as well as feature great salads. From the dessert spectrum, we will be serving homemade organic ice cream and a plethora of organic desserts, which will all be made next...

Jerzy Kenar's sculpture "To Communicate" at Andersen Community Academy   Blend your artistic and culinary tastes on Monday, Dec. 6 at the East Village Association holiday party. The annual neighborhood get-together this year is a potluck dinner at the Wooden Gallery, 1007-15 N. Wolcott. The event is BYOB and starts at 7 p.m. E-mail the name of the dish you will bring and the number of people attending to holiday@eastvillagechicago.org . Sculptor Jerzy S. Kenar has operated the Wooden Gallery as his studio for the past 30 years, and EVA members can view a retrospective of his work there. The 62-year-old Polish-born artist produced the familiar mound sculpture facing Division Street at the Andersen-LaSalle II school campus, 1148 W. Honore. Monumental Kenar installations in Chicago include wooden sculptures in international-arrivals Terminal 5 of O'Hare Airport and the Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State St., and the granite Black History fountain at ...

Neal McKnight is not voting as an East Village Association board member on a restaurant proposed at the end of his block. But he has been participating in the discussion, and here he offers a personal view about why it's an important debate.   By Neal McKnight   My wife and I have two daughters and we live on Winchester Avenue in East Village. Mom lives across the street and some of my best friends in the world are my neighbors. We have lived here since 1995, longer than some and much shorter than others. Over the years we have seen waves of development roll through the neighborhood, some of it good and some of it bad. The recession has slowed development in the neighborhood in the last couple of years, but recently new developments have been proposed along Chicago Avenue. The latest proposal is for a 250-seat bar-restaurant at the northeast corner of Chicago and Winchester avenues. I think the hours and size of this business will alter the character of my street and ...

Minutes for Nov. 1, 2010 membership meeting submitted by Dana Palmer Bend Yoga & Movement Studio Meeting commenced 7:05 p.m. Mary Clemmons with Bend Yoga did a brief presentation of her business. Bend Yoga is located at 906 N. Damen Ave. and was started last September. It is a drop-in studio and offers classes everyday of the week. Chicago Green Windows Dan Nehm was a guest speaker on window repair and energy efficiency. Nehm supported old-growth wood and repairing old windows versus replacing them with new ones. He argued that old windows can be fixed for a reasonable cost and can be as energy efficient as new windows if storm windows or weather stripping is installed. Holiday party The December Holiday party is approaching and the board will discuss time and location at next board meeting. Chicago Bowl Pete Shapiro with Chicago Bowl presented his proposal for a bowling alley, restaurant and music venue at 1850 W. Chicago. Shapiro and his group are in need of ...