Warming Up For Retro August 7 and 8

May 2010
www.RoscoeVillage.org
Warming Up For Retro August 7 and 8
Spring Welcoming
Reception May 17th
Have you moved into Roscoe
Village in the last 12 months? All
new neighbors are invited to a
complementary reception hosted
by RVN at John’s Place, at 2132
West Roscoe, on Monday,
May 17th from 6:30 p.m.—
8:30 p.m.
Summer is just around the corner
and that means Retro on Roscoe is
coming! This year, the city’s
ultimate neighborhood festival will
be in full swing from noon to
10 p.m. on August 7 and 8. The
festival will be held on Roscoe
Street from Damen to Oakley.
Please save the dates and plan to
volunteer for this annual fundraising event. To run successfully,
Retro needs 400+ volunteers. Funds
raised from Retro on Roscoe allow
RVN to support our local schools
(see Page 2 for the latest on school
support news), sponsor popular
events like Spring Brunch, the
Garden Walk, Community Garage
Sale, Halloween Parade, Winterfest,
Welcoming Receptions and more.
It’s easy and fun to volunteer.
Watch for volunteer information on
the RVN website at
www.roscoevillage.org and sign up
for a 2-hour block … or more. It’s
easy and lots of fun.
Enjoy drinks, delicious hors
d’oeuvres and mingle with other
new neighbors, members of the
RVN Welcoming Committee and
our friends at John’s Place.
Guests will receive a Welcome
Kit/Gift Bag brimming with
information about RVN, local
schools and businesses plus
coupons and goodies from local
merchants. A raffle will feature
prizes from local businesses, too.
RSVP by clicking on the EVENTS
tab at www.roscoevillage.org.
We look forward to meeting you
at John’s Place.
What’s News ... in the Community
2010 Street Sweeping Schedule
Announced
Streets and Sanitation have
announced the 2010 street sweeping
schedule. The schedule for Roscoe
Village is as follows:
l West of Damen—May 19 & 20,
July 12 & 13, August 31 &
September 1, October 22 & 25.
l East of Damen—May 17 & 18,
July 8 & 9, August 27 & 30,
October 20 & 21.
A complete City Schedule and Area
Street Cleaning Map can be
downloaded from Alderman Scott
Waguespack’s website at
www.ward32.org or at
Alderman Eugene Schulter’s
website at www.ward47.org.
Please be aware of the street
cleaning dates in your area and
make every effort to move vehicles
so that the street may be cleaned of
leaves and debris.
RVN encourages all Roscoe Village
residents to be vigilant about storm
drains on our streets and at street
corners. During spring and summer
storms, debris moves toward the
drains and can clog them. Please use
a rake or shovel to clear your storm
drains of debris so that streets do
not become flooded.
RVN Donates $40,000
to Audubon School
At the April 14 Roscoe Village
Board meeting, Board members
voted to donate $40,000 to support
Audubon’s Reading Support
Program. The Reading Support
Program (ARS) was started in the
2009/10 school year to increase
student achievement in reading.
Audubon School Principal John
Price presented the request to the
Board, citing assessments that show
positive ARS results school-wide.
Of the 90 autonomous schools in
the Chicago Public School system,
Audubon ranks #5 in “fastest
improving schools.” The goal is to
discontinue the program as students
graduate from it.
The funding cost breakdown for
ARS is $5000 per grade. After
discussions, the Board voted to
fund the program at the full $40,000,
with the caveat that any additional
funds that Audubon receives for
ARS be used for the reading
program and the remainder of
RVN’s donation be diverted to
funding the continuing Redmoon
Theater Program. RVN has
supported Audubon’s Redmoon
program for several years.
Roscoe Village Kiosks
Get a Facelift
You may have noticed the freshly
repaired and painted kiosks along
Roscoe Street. The RVN Board
unanimously approved hiring a
professional painter to do the work,
which was completed around
April 23.
What’s News in Roscoe Village is published
by Roscoe Village Neighbors, a 501(c)(3)
non-profit community organization, as
a service to our members. It contains
information, news, and other items of
general interest to those who live and
work in Roscoe Village. Please direct
submissions and comments to Editor,
What’s News, at the address below.
ROSCOE VILLAGE NEIGHBORS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS — 2009-2010
OFFICERS
Don Tomei ................................ President
Lisa Wilkins ...................... Vice President
Amy Antoniolli ........................ Secretary
Steve Miller ............................... Treasurer
AT-LARGE DIRECTORS
Colleen Flood
Andrea Helms
Jonathan Perman
Sarah Warren
Nancy Fullerton
Brian O’Connell
Matthew Ruder
Chris Woods
ROSCOE VILLAGE NEIGHBORS
2248 WEST BELMONT, SUITE 117
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60618
(773) 329-5036
[email protected]
WWW.ROSCOEVILLAGE.ORG
Since 1977.
Celebrating 30 years of
representing Roscoe Village:
Addison to Belmont—
Ravenswood to the Chicago River.
2
RVN Board Elections in June
One of the most important
elements in the success and
popularity of Roscoe Village is the
involvement and contribution of its
residents. Many people have had a
part in making this community one
of the best in the City of Chicago.
From the Welcoming committee
that makes new residents feel
comfortable in their new
community, to Retro on Roscoe, the
festival that enables RVN to
support all the wonderful activities
year round, to the various charity
pub crawls to benefit our neighbors
in need, one thing is needed above
all, people. The volunteers that
make up the Board of directors and
committees are the ones that help
make Roscoe Village a great place
to live.
Roscoe Village Neighbors is
looking for enthusiastic people to
join the RVN board of Directors as
an At-large Director. Every year, 4
of the board’s 12 positions are up
for re-election, This year, we are
looking for people who have a
commitment to this community,
schools, and have a desire to help
continue to make Roscoe Village
the best neighborhood in the City
of Chicago.
Download the RVN Candidate
Questionnaire and return by
May 4th.
New RVN
Director-At-Large Appointed
The RVN Board appointed Nancy
Fullerton to complete the term of
Director-At-Large Sara Fisher, who
stepped down recently.
Congratulations and welcome
aboard, Nancy!
RVN Budgets $1400 for
Roscoe Street Garbage Pickup
At the April 14 membership
meeting, the RVN Board voted to
hire someone at $50 per week to
pick up garbage along Roscoe
Street. As you know, the Streets
Parks and Environment Committee
of RVN has been working with the
City for years to try and get
Continued on page 6
What’s News ... in Member Programs
Charity Pub Crawl Yields
Donations and Fun
The April 17th Pub Crawl was
another success. The weather was
beautiful and 66 people enjoyed the
crawl. Following a delicious lunch
at Black Rock, crawlers enjoyed
special drinks at each pub. Crawlers
donated four large boxes of canned
goods and over $1000 to the
Common Pantry.
Thanks to Black Rock Tavern,
Mulligan’s Public House, Village
Tap, Riverview Tavern, Four Moons
Tavern and Four Treys for hosting.
Thanks to volunteers Ryan Van
Voohis, Mike Headd, Chris Woods
and Brian O’Connell for their hard
work. And a special thanks to RVN
Board members Colleen Flood and
Chris Woods for their continuing
leadership in planning and
organizing these bi-annual crawls.
Community-wide Garage Sale May 15
RVN’s 6th Annual Community-wide Garage Sale will take place on
Saturday, May 15, from 9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. On this date, dozens of RVN
households will host garage sales at their own homes on the same date
making it possible for bargain hunters to make one trip to Roscoe
Village and visit many sales within walking distance of each other. In
order to participate, members are asked to mail a check for $25 payable
to Roscoe Village Neighbors to 2248 W. Belmont Street, Suite 117,
Chicago, IL 60618. In exchange for the $25 fee, RVN will post signs,
place advertisements in the Tribune and Reader and print maps
showing the locations of the participating households. The maps will be
distributed to paying members in advance of the sale. Any fees
collected in excess of the expenses incurred will be donated to the
Roscoe Village Education Coalition. In order to make sure all locations
are included on the map, we are setting a registration deadline of
Saturday, May 7. For more information, email [email protected] or
call (773) 329-5036. You can also register and pay online at our Garage
Sale page.
Important reminder: Since those hosting the sales will be collecting
their own proceeds from the sales, all participating households are
required to secure their own permits from their Alderman’s office. The
permits are free of charge, but the fine should you host a sale without
one is $100!
Roscoe Village Burger Fest
Save the date: July 10 and 11th
12noon–10 p.m. Belmont between
Damen and Leavitt
Pub Crawl volunteers Ryan Van Voorhis,
Mike Headd, Colleen Flood and Chris
Woods enjoy the fun.
Belmont Avenue is guaranteed to
be rockin' July 10th and July 11th as
Roscoe Village hosts the first
Chicago food and music festival
that celebrates the burger! Join us
as we present the Roscoe Village
Burger Fest (formally BAM,
Belmont Arts and Music fest) in our
very own hip neighborhood of
Roscoe Village. In addition to live
music on two stages, kids area, a
NEW element in 2010 will be a
focus on the region’s best burger establishments in Chicago.
Hope you can join us.
3
High fivin’ with the Bunny
I got an egg!
SCAMPINI
PHOTO COURTESY OF REBECCA SCAMPINI
Villagers Pitch in
for Clean and Green
Members of the RVN Board,
Audubon families, staffers
from Representative
Fritchey’s office and others
turned out on April 17 at
Felger Park for
neighborhood clean and
green efforts. Though small
in size, the group was able to
accomplish greening efforts
at the park. All members of
the community are urged to
set aside time to participate
in next year’s Clean and
Green Day. Our
neighborhood is only as
beautiful as we make it!
PHOTO COURTESY OF REBECCA
Spring Brunch
Another Sold Out Success
The Annual Spring Brunch was held
on March 27 at Riverview Tavern.
As always, both seatings sold out
completely. Families enjoyed a
fantastic brunch and the annual
visit of the Easter Bunny to Roscoe
Village. Becca Scampini of Rebecca
Scampini Photography generously
donated her time and talent and
took many festive (and
heartwarming) photos at the event.
To view or purchase photos, please
visit the RVN website, Spring
Brunch page to find the link.
The Easter Bunny makes her rounds
PHOTO COURTESY OF REBECCA SCAMPINI
4
What’s News ... in Education
RVN Donates $40,000
to Audubon School
At the April meeting of the Roscoe
Village Neighbors Board, RVN
board members agreed to donate
$40,000 to Audubon to support our
successful after school reading
program. RVN’s extraordinarily
generous gift to the children at
Audubon fills a huge budget gap
for next school year. The $40,000
grant will completely fund the after
school reading program for the
entire 2010–2011 school year.
The Audubon Reading Support
program, or ARS, provides extra
instructional time to support
students who have not yet achieved
grade level standards. For one hour
after school, four days a week,
students in grades K–8 stay with
their classroom teachers to receive
focused reading instruction. The
ARS program has shown
tremendous success this year.
Students participating in the
program are catching up to grade
level standards. This rapid progress
increases student confidence and
student motivation. Furthermore,
decreasing the range of reading
levels in the classroom assists
teachers in meeting the needs of all
students during the school day.
Audubon School and RVN have a
long-standing partnership serving
the Roscoe Village Community.
RVN’s commitment to our school is
obvious with this gift. We are
extremely lucky to have such
generous support from our
community.
On behalf of Audubon’s students,
parents, and teacher, I would like to
publicly thank RVN for their
support of student learning at
Audubon School.
John P. Price
Principal, Audubon School
A Commitment to Learning
Audubon Spring Gala
Saturday April 24th was the 4th
annual Audubon School Spring
Gala, “FEATHERS and FEDORAS.”
The event was held in downtown
Chicago at the beautiful Pazzo’s
Restaurant on South Wacker Drive
and was the largest fundraiser to
date in the history of the school
with more than 220 attendees!
Parents, teachers and staff, friends,
family, neighbors and associates of
the school gathered together in
celebration to support the
wonderfully unique neighborhood
school that is Audubon.
Kathy Argentar, President, Friends of Audubon and 2010
Volunteer of the Year award recipient, Sarah Levens, FEATHERS
and FEDORAS Event Chair, and Susan Gust, Gala Committee
member.
As a Gala event, FEATHERS and
FEDORAS was a resounding
success! Attendees gathered for a
fun 1920’s themed party featuring
era inspired cocktails, buffet style
dinner, amusements, a surprise
performance element entitled
Audubon Momentary Opera
performed by middle school
students directed by Redmoon
Theatre. Two of many highlights of
the evening were the exciting Live
Audubon Giving Tree and Live
Auction led by Ms. Roseanne Tellez
of CBS midday news. Guests
enjoyed a festive evening and fully
participated in raising funds that are
critical for the school.
Ms. Kathy Argentar, President of
Friends of Audubon was recognized
for her service to the school and
named 2010 Volunteer of the Year
by Mr. John Price, Principal.
For more information about
Audubon School, Friends of
Audubon, the Audubon Giving Tree
or ways you can be involved go to
our website!
www.friendsofaudubonschool.org
Audubon parent Sherri Tonozzi and Audubon parent and
Chicago fire fighter, Meg Ahlheim with her fellow fire fighters
stopping by to say hello at the Gala!
5
What’s News ... in Zoning
SD-10 Special District Overlay
Zoning on Roscoe Street
Alderman Waguespack, at RVN
urging, was successful in amending
the City of Chicago Zoning
Ordinance to clarify the current
boundaries of the SD-10 Special
District Overlay Zoning on Roscoe
Street between Damen and
Western. One key provision of the
overlay zoning limits building
heights on Roscoe Street to 36' and
another requires primary entrances
to orient to Roscoe Street to help
protect the existing scale and
character of the pedestrian friendly
street. Without the overlay zoning,
many of the older vintage buildings
on Roscoe Street could be at greater
risk for tear down and
redevelopment with taller
buildings. The clarification will
greatly eliminate any confusion by
property owners and developers
about the current extent of the
overlay boundaries. In the past,
confusion over the language of the
ordinance led to
unnecessary disputes.
Alderman Waguespack has also
taken the opportunity to work with
individual property owners along
the Ravenswood rail lines to revise
the zoning from an odd assortment
of manufacturing and higher
density residential to RS3 single
family residential. Most of the
former manufacturing buildings
being rezoned are already
residential use and the changes will
bring the area into further
compliance with the long-term
master plan goals of Roscoe Village
Neighbors for single family
residential on the side streets. We
applaud the success of Alderman
Waguespack and the work of
his staff.
Lathrop Homes Redevelopment
Plans are underway for the
redevelopment of the Lathrop
Homes parcel at Diversey and
Roscoe Village Social Club—For Neighbors Over 40:
Upcoming Events
The Roscoe Village Social Club has two fun events scheduled for June.
They are:
l Odyssey Brunch Cruise on Sunday, June 6
l Outdoor BBQ at the home of Nancy Babiarz on Saturday, June 26
To join the group and receive event info, please contact co-chairs:
Patty Jones, [email protected] or 773-687-9921 or Joyce
Schaumann, [email protected] or 773/348-6221
4th Annual Summer Sidewalk Sale
Saturday, July 10 and Sunday, July 11
12 Noon–6pm
Roscoe Village (Damen and Roscoe)
Shop local and support your favorite Roscoe Village Retailers
Fabulous summer sales and promotions
Savor the great food and drinks at neighborhood bars,
coffee shops and restaurants.
Roscoe Village: a perfect neighborhood for the summer!
6
Damen. Although not within the
boundaries of Roscoe Village, the
area significantly affects our
community.
A development team will be
selected under the supervision of
the Chicago Housing Authority and
Habitat. Qualification Proposals
were submitted to the CHA/Habitat
working group on March 8th by
approximately 6 development
teams. CHA/Habitat representatives
attended the March RVN Board
meeting and presented an overview
of the selection process and
development parameters.
RVN will participate along with
Logan Square Neighbors and others
in the development review
meetings with the development
team selected by CHA/Habitat. At
this time, we have not been notified
of the selection of the
winning team.
Community Continued from page 2
permanent garbage cans installed
on Roscoe Street. RVN hopes that
hiring private garbage pickup will
help keep Roscoe Village clean.
Cubs Night Game Parking Ban in
Effect on 1800 Block of Eddy
For the second year, an LV-2 Cubs
night game parking restriction
continues on the 1800 block of Eddy
Street. So please be aware that you
may not park without a permit on
the 1800 block of Eddy during Cubs
night games for this baseball
season. To obtain a permit, for more
information or to express any
concerns, please contact Alderman
Schulter’s office at 773-348-8400.
RVN has expressed its opposition
to this parking restriction and to
any other permit parking in Roscoe
Village. We will keep you informed
of further developments on this
issue, and encourage you to email
RVN at [email protected] or
call us (773) 329-5036 to share your
opinion on this important issue.
What’s News ... at the Lincoln-Belmont Library
Here are some of the Summer
Programming Highlights at the
Lincoln Belmont Branch Library
(check the website for dates and
times). We will see you all at the
library this summer!
l Summer Reading Program/SRP:
Artrageous! June 14–August 7:
For children ages 3–14. FREE TShirt for completing Book
Reports! Our community partner
this year is the Art Institute of
Chicago. Special programs:
Saturday, June 12: Sat-Art-Day
SRP Kick-Off Program, with
special guest Steve Musgrave.
l More children’s programming
this Summer: children’s story
times, book discussion groups for
boys and for girls, arts ’n’ crafts,
musicians, artists, authors, special
guests, and more!
l Summer Reads for Adults/SRFA
June 1–August 31: For adults
ages 14 and up. FREE PRIZE for
completing book reports! Special
programs: Tuesday, July 20: The
Potential of Froebel’s Gifts—a
90-minute workshop that
includes a discussion of the
history and importance of the
Froebel Gifts and a hands-on
workshop using the
geometric blocks.
l More adult programming this
Summer: adult book discussion
groups, CyberNavigator Services
(computer workshops and oneon-one’s), Master Gardener
Classes, Money Smart, Armchair
Chair Travel Lecture Series,
CAP’s Meetings, bicycle safety,
and more!
7
Please come on in, or check us out
online, to visit and browse our
collections, services and our
programs.
For more detailed and updated
information on what’s happening at
the Lincoln Belmont Branch Library
this Summer, please view the
Lincoln Belmont Branch Event
Calendar, on our Chicago Public
Library website:
chicagopubliclibrary.org by
searching for: “Lincoln Belmont”
under Library Locator and then
once on the branch library site click:
“View This Library’s Events” or just
go directly to our branch library
Event Calendar site:
www.chipublib.org/branch/details/
library/lincoln-belmont.
Upcoming Events
May 12
May 15
May 17
June 6
June 9
June 16
July 11
July 14
August 7/8
Membership Meeting
Community-wide Garage Sale
Spring Welcoming Reception
Social Club Odyssey Brunch
Annual Membership Meeting with
Board Elections
Social Club BBQ
Annual Garden Walk
Membership Meeting
Retro on Roscoe
Roscoe Village Annual Garden Walk Sunday July 11th
Join us for our 10th annual Garden
Walk on Sunday, July 12, from noon
until 6 p.m. This self-guided walk is
sponsored by Roscoe Village
Neighbors and
is free!
The walk is a friendly opportunity
to meet neighbors and fellow
gardening enthusiasts and obtain
ideas and inspiration from one
another. You won’t find all “perfect
gardens, but many “works in
progress,” as exhibitors adapt to the
often fortuitous, if sometimes
challenging, constraints of
gardening in our urban
environment. More broadly, we
hope the Garden Walk, by example,
highlights how vital it is to
maintain green space in our “Village
Within the City.”
Pick up guides
to participating
gardens in front
of Victory’s
Banner
restaurant at
2100 W. Roscoe
(at Hoyne), at
participating
gardens or
online at the RVN website. The
map on the back of this guide offers
a suggested route. Along the streets
of Roscoe Village, the entrance to
each garden is indicated with a
numbered sign and balloons.
Plans for the Garden Walk this year
include a possible “Green Center”
for distribution of rain barrels,
gardening demonstrations and
more. Watch for information on the
RVN website.
8