Category: Events & Announcements

We are celebrating 40 years this year, so come enjoy the afternoon with us! Sunday, Sept 8 from 1:30 – 6:30 pm in the 4100 block of Greenview.

We could use a few volunteers for each shift: (Set-up 11-1) (1-3) (3-5) (5-7) and our bake sale can always use donations. Drop baked goods off any time after 1 on Sunday.

Even if you can’t bake or can’t volunteer, do come, bring friends and enjoy the afternoon.

Come & celebrate with us from 1:30 – 6:30 pm:
– Food for sale(By Chef Mark Riehle)
– Bake Sale
– Beverages (Adult Beverages too)
– Music by LISA B
– Bounce House
– Children’s Games
& More!

2:00 Chili contest winners announced (40 years ago there was a chili cook-off, anyone who drops off a pot of chili by 1 pm can participate in this year’s homage to that 1st event)

2:30 Bags tournament (show up & compete!)

3:00 Silly String Battle #1 (controlled chaos for ages 2 – 102)

3 – 4 Sheriff’s on duty, watch out! (Old favorite from the past: pay for sheriff to arrest person of your choice & it costs them to get out of jail! Come on, it’s for GWCA!)

3 – 5 Pony Rides

3 – 5 FREE Petting Zoo

4:00 Silly String Battle #2

5:00 GWCA meeting

5:30 Magic by Randy

Come for the music & stay for the fun. Celebrate with us!

Can’t make it on Sunday? We could use donations to help offset costs & fund the scholarship for LakeView High School Seniors. Mail your donation or drop at my house any time, 4117 N Greenview Ave, Chicago, IL 60613. (Make checks payable to GWCA). THANKS!

Barbara Sullivan
For Graceland West Community Association
GWCAfest 40

GWCA and BSOA Troop 865 completed an extensive survey of Graceland West neighborhood interior streets, alleys, sidewalks and parkway trees on Saturday, August 17th.

Scout Sam Cooper did a superb job of organizing, leading and managing this project and the volunteers from BSOA Troop 865 and GWCA for his Eagle Scout Project.

The project included using cell phones to photograph and describe infrastructure hazards and needs. It involved using the same vocabulary and Acronyms as the city 311 and CDOT departments to communicate hazards. Goals were to provide an inventory that could be used by 311, city departments, the Alderman’s office and GWCA and possibly be a model for similar surveys in the 47th Ward or beyond. Preparation included communication with CDOT and meetings with Alderman Martin’s office. Cooper obtained approvals from GWCA, BSOA and 19th District Police.

Participants included Troop 865 Scouts, Scout Leaders, GWCA Leaders and GWCA members. Project space was donated by the Rizal Center. This project was an excellent example of community building.

All interior Graceland West streets, alleys, sidewalks and trees were surveyed between 9 am and 2 pm, Data and photos were downloaded as they were compiled. And on Sunday all was downloaded to 311.
Results: 304 entries were made into the database and included: 5 clogged sewer records. 22 cracked curb records. 24 cracked sidewalk records. 9 dead tree removal records (our goal is to have dead trees removed before they fall on vehicles and have the trees replaced). 6 faded crosswalk records. 13 graffiti removal records. 24 pothole alley records. 43 potholes in street records. 2 sewer cave in records. 71 sidewalk tripping hazard records (including damaged red traction plates on crosswalks). 3 speed hump repair records. 30 standing water records. 21 hazards not on list. Volunteers commented on how clean neighborhood alleys are. And they found a missing GWCA parkway sign under some construction debris.

Downloaded data will be maintained by GWCA and shared with Alderman Martin’s office in addition to 311.

We encourage all to join and support GWCA, your Neighborhood Association. Please check the website blog, gracelandwest.org. and our GWCA face book page for information on meetings, events and volunteer opportunities.

Just bring your charged cell phone on August 17th to help with this neighborhood survey for two hours. (Rain Day is August 24th). Call or text 773.414.3859 to help for 2 hours between 9 am and 3 pm or come to Rizal, 1332 West Irving Park at 9 am to help on August 17th.

This is a GWCA and Troop 865 Project and infrastructure needs will be reported to the 47th Ward, 311, CDOT and more

Visit gardens throughout the neighborhood. Begin at 4334 North Greenview with a Master Gardener, gardening information and maps. 1460 Belle Plaine will also have maps. Over 30 Gardens and neighborhood green spaces are on the Garden Walk. It’s a great day to bring your family or friends, meet gardeners, make new friends and enjoy summer.

• Website: https://www.aldermanmartin.com/
• Email: info@aldermanmartin.com
• Phone: 773-868-4747
• Address: 4243 N. Lincoln Ave.

The GWCA Council participated in the 47th Ward “Ward Council” on July 2nd. Alderman Martin has asked us to sign up through his website to receive the new 47th Ward Newsletter. Because of privacy rules, you need to sign up to receive the newsletter, you can’t be rolled over from your prior sign-up.

Thanks,
GWCA Council

GWCA’s 37th Annual Garden Walk is Sunday, August 4th from 1-5.
Please call 773.348.1469 or email Donna donnaforsberg@sbcglobal.net to show your front and / or back yard.

Neighbors and visitors rave that ours is the most welcoming and beautiful Garden Walk of Chicago’s summer. Please invite your family and friends that day, enjoy our neighborhood gardens and meet your neighbors. A Master Gardener and Insect Petting Zoo, Gardening Literature and Maps will be available at 4334 Greenview, the starting point. Maps will also be available at 1460 Belle Plaine, at exhibiting gardens and in our GWCA news kiosks. Please see the stormwater absorption and pollinator habitat parkway corner – s/w corner of Belle Plaine and Greenview.

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Donna, many thanks for chairing this event! We also all owe you more than thanks for keeping the traffic circle, Berteau Greenway and many Graceland West parkway corners green. Our beautiful neighborhood happens because of immense and tireless community effort by you.

All, please support Donna and GWCA by showing your garden. And please always post neighborhood photos and videos on our Face book page.

Hi GWCA neighbors,

GWCA Council Members will participate on Alderman Martin’s Ward Council and Green Committee. Launch meetings are in July. Available GWCA Council Members also met with then Alderman Elect Matt Martin, his Chief of Staff Laura Reimers and Director, Constituent Services & Community Outreach, Michael Seawall on May 1 regarding neighborhood needs and goals.

-Council Members Janice Horwich and Joanne Yonan were elected to additional 18-month terms. One seat is open.

Please contact Donna Forsberg to show your garden on August 4 from 1-5. donnaforsberg@sbcglobal.net
All, please take both Surveys:
• Berteau Greenway input: https://forms.gle/PtjorsKPyJS5jhZZ6
• GWCA – Your ideas for the neighborhood and business: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfO27x2YGf1-Guc3imm_toqFE9knTzbxeVp2xtaNN1q4QzFKA/viewform

Attendees rated speaker, Botanist Kelsay Shaw, a 10 of 10. Here’s a link to his website: https://www.possibilityplace.com/. Most profound were the documented biodiversity differences from using native shrubs vs. using cultivars. Attendees received a Joe Pye Weed or Swamp Milkweed pollinator plant as we continue our efforts to increase pollinator pathways and stormwater absorption from the Chicago River to Lake Michigan. Wish I’d thought to ask someone to video and live stream via our GWCA face book. 75 minutes in total with questions. We need someone to bring their power cord and a tripod each time. Attendees also commented that our 40th Anniversary Celebration cake was excellent. Rizal invited us all to Tango at 8 pm, fees waived, but by the time we finished the native shrub discussion, a dramatic storm and intermittent heavy rain had us racing for home. Reminder, please let Brad Pierce pick up all the parkway signs.

Calendar additions:
1. Graceland cemetery Tour. Barb, thanks for offering to put this together again. Attendees wanted Sunday, October 6, the first Sunday in October for the tour and suggested 1-3 pm. Don’t know if everyone aware, but as of 2015, GC is now Graceland Cemetery and Arboretum. From a historic perspective, is Pat Butler still giving tours? He was on the panel I did for Lake View History in 2018. Or is there a docent who has expertise in both the cemetery and arboretum features?
2. I’m working with Scout Troop 865 on a second Eagle Scout Project and presume it will receive final BSOA approval in the next few days. It will be a Graceland West Infrastructure Inventory and submitted via the Chicago 311 app. Volunteers from scouts and the Graceland West neighborhood are needed. Sam Cooper is the scout. GWCA, the Alderman’s office and CDOT are working together with Troop 865 on this project. One of the project volunteer days will be Saturday, August 17 and Rizal will have basically a luau with vegetarian dishes and roast pig to come back to. Time TBD. This is similar to the food at our Women’s History Month Event. Below are DCDOT terms we will use. An update with volunteers and the community to discuss status / results to date will be planned, possibly for October or November. .

Pothole in street
PHF
Note where located (bike lane, center lane, curb lane, traffic lane, bus stop, crosswalk, intersection).

Pothole in alley
PHB
This can include potholes in the alley and on the alley apron, because a question when submitting to 311 is where the pothole is located: alley apron, by garage, center of alley, or other. Also note how the alley is paved (in most cases, asphalt).

Sewer cave-in
AAD
These are certainly more severe issues that we want to report to 311 ASAP. If it’s in an alley, it’s technically submitted as an Alley Sewer Inspection Request, and our office can help escalating it. In the typical sewer cave-in request, there is an option to put Alley down, but I’ve been told it should still be input as an Alley Sewer to ensure its inspected appropriately. Other locations for cave-ins include: center of street, curbline, front yard, parkway, sidewalk. Often, a sewer cave-in will look like a pothole or sinkhole within about 5 feet of a sewer structure.

Grafitti removal
GRAF
Include a description of the graffiti and where it’s located (alley, bench, bridge, pillar, door, dumpster, fence, front, garage, garbage cart, hydrant, mail box, pole, sidewalk, etc.). Also note what kind of surface it’s on (siding, asphalt, brick painted/unpainted, cement, garage door, glass, limestone, metal, tree, wood, etc.).

Also very important to note: is the graffiti over 6 feet from the ground? If so, additional equipment may be needed. And is the graffiti hateful, profane, etc.? If so, it may expediate removal.

Dead tree removal
SEE
If they know, they can indicate what’s wrong with the tree and if it’s in relation to a specific insect/pest.

Speed hump repair or paint
SPHU
Document issues in a similar manner to potholes.

Hazard/other
H
I would recommend the scout just document any issues outside of these in detail so we can determine the best way to input it.
Standing water, flooding, crosswalk needs painting, handicap non-slip surface is defective, bad sidewalk, rat area, etc.

Important links
Aldermanic menu fund page: https://www.aldermanmartin.com/menu-money.
ChiStreetwork: https://chistreetwork.chicago.gov/map

Happy 4th to all!

6:45 PM at the Rizal Center!