Montrose Open to Traffic Once Again, CTA Says "Thanks For Your Patience"

From the CTA:

"We are pleased to announce that we have completed our work to improve Red and Purple Line tracks near Montrose Avenue. 

As part of the most recent stage of work in the CTA’s Red and Purple Modernization (RPM) Phase One Project, we built a new rail interlocking over a three-week period at that location, which allows trains to safely switch tracks.

This work was critical to allow us to provide Red and Purple Line service during the construction of new Red Line stations and tracks between Lawrence and Bryn Mawr starting by early next year. In July, we will move forward with similar track improvements near Thorndale Avenue.

We will also continue to have less impact-heavy work in the area over the summer with track foundation rehab at Montrose Avenue and installing a signal house just north of Montrose Avenue.

We know this project created inconveniences for the local community and for our customers. Thank you so much for your tolerance and patience during this period and going forward on to future stages of construction as we modernize the Red and Purple lines.

For more information about RPM, visit transitchicago.com/RPM/whatsnew or email us at RPM@transitchicago.com."

Coming Soon: Good Vets Pet Care

Good Vets pet care will be opening at 4407 North Clarendon in about three weeks. This will be its second Chicago presence (the first is in the West Loop).

According to its website, it will offer your pet boarding, daycare and grooming; wellness and prevention; routine & advanced surgery; urgent care & emergency care; and diagnostics.

Be prepared to say hi on July 20th.

Beat The Heat and Drink Happy Thoughts

co-owners (and Uptown residents) Craig Alexander and Yamel Salazar

It's gonna be a scorcher of a week. Luckily, one way to beat it is to grab a refreshing cup from Uptown's newest coffee shop, Drink Happy Thoughts by Happy Monday. It's located in the former Satellite Cafe spot, between Jake's and Ross Dress For Less (942 West Montrose). And happily for us, there's a slew of unique drinks, both hot and cold.

You can grab a CBD-infused Pineapple Express, a Campfire S’mores mocha drink (complete with toasted marshmallow), horchata latte, barrel-aged cold brew, and other fun and unusual caffeinated and non-caffeinated drinks. Some are on the regular menu, and some are new and rotate in and out monthly.

There's also some light snacks, including various panini toast and smoothies. We reluctantly passed up a maple bacon donut and instead chose a six-layer slice of Pride Cake when we were there on Sunday.

Drink Happy Thoughts is open 7am-6pm on weekdays and 8am-2pm on weekends.

You can learn more on its Facebook page or via a Block Club Chicago article.

Independence Day Closures (Get Your City Trash Bins Out Early!)

The federal holiday observing Independence Day this year falls on Friday, July 3rd.

Don't expect any regular government offices to be open (federal, state, county, city).

Most banks will be open on the 3rd, but will be closed on Saturday, July 4th.

If you have city trash pickup, and your usual pickup day is Friday, you'll want to be prepared. Garbage Day will be on Thursday this week, so get your carts out a day early.

Navy Pier has cancelled its fireworks until further notice, and the Saddle & Cycle Club has as well.

Buena Park Neighbors Host Summer Community Meeting Monday Evening

Buena Park Neighbors will host its Summer Community Meeting on Monday, June 29 at 7pm via Facebook Live here. 

Tune in to hear from Alderman James Cappleman, Buena Park Neighbor historian Alex Wolking and the CEO of Pride Arts, David Zak.

Mavrek Plans 4 Story Residential Development On Sheridan

Signs have been posted on the ABC & Me Daycare Center at 4714 N. Sheridan announcing plans to replace the one story building with front surface parking lot with a 4 story residential development.

You might recall this site was once home to a recycling center that was closed in 2014 when ABC & Me Daycare built their new home after leaving a retail space in the Aragon. Now, the owner of the daycare building has sold it to a developer. No word on where ABC & Me Daycare plans to relocate.

Mavrek Development, who recently completed a residential development on Agatite, plans a 4 story development with 30 units and 19 garage parking spaces. No zoning change is requested. A variance is being requested to add residential units to the first floor and to reduce the rear setback from the alley. No rendering is available at this time, but we will share as soon as its available.

The Quest Realty development immediately to the north of the site is nearing completion. The Sarah's Circle Women's Shelter at Sheridan & Leland is topped out and exterior cladding and restored terra cotta should be installed soon. 

The next big development site on Sheridan is the parking lot at Lakeside and Sheridan, owned by the ICA. The owners of the ICA are adamant about only selling the parking lot to affordable housing providers. Rumors of a third supportive housing development from Sarah's Circle as well as an affordable family housing component are circulating. Once plans are announced, we will let you know.

4714 N. Sheridan (Mavrek)

Drifting Back Towards Normalcy

As Chicago comes out of COVID closures, the folks at Driftwood Bar (1021 West Montrose) would like it to be known that they are open for business.

"Windows will be wide open! For now it’s cash or quick play only." Opening hour is 4pm.

Beginning next Friday, June 26th, indoor dining and drinking will be allowed citywide, with restrictions. Tables must be at least six feet apart. Establishments must not operate at more than 25% capacity, with no more than 50 people allowed at a time. Servers must wear masks at all times.

You can read more about the requirements for moving into Stage 4, and what it means for you as a consumer, here.

We still recommend social distancing -- but if you've been wanting to go where everybody knows your name, next Friday will be a red-letter day.

You Can Apply Now To Vote By Mail In November

If you're interested in voting by mail in the November election (something that's been available in Chicago for a long time), the Chicago Board of Elections is already taking applications:

"You may apply online now to Vote By Mail for the Nov. 3, 2020 Election.

When you apply online to Vote By Mail, the Election Board will send you emails:

• When your ballot is mailed to you,
• When the Election Board receives your Ballot Return Envelope, and
• When your ballot has been processed and counted.

The Board will start mailing ballots in late September / early October 2020.  All Vote By Mail ballots come with postage-paid Ballot Return Envelopes.

New this fall: You may submit the Ballot Return Envelope in a secured drop box at any Chicago Early Voting location! 

You may also use standard US mail.  If you use standard US mail to send your Ballot Return envelope, you must get a postmark before or on Election Day, Nov. 3.

Questions? Learn more here or call 312-269-7967 or email VoteByMail@chicagoelections.gov

Video: “How to Vote By Mail.

Sincerely,

Chicago Board of Election Commissioners"

Uplift and McCutcheon Schools: Full STEAM Ahead!

from Uplift's Twitter account

There's some wonderful news for the future of elementary and high school students in Uptown.

From Dr. Tyrese Graham, the principal at Uplift:

"Today has been an incredible day for our school and its future! Not only did we begin the celebration of our Class of 2020 by having a socially distanced diploma ceremony, but we were also named one of the first two Early College STEAM High Schools by CPS!

This wonderful news means that our students will have an opportunity to earn significant college credit or an associates degree while still in high school! Our academic focus will be on arts integration in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) disciplines.

I am so excited about what this means for the future of our school and students that I can't contain myself. Over the next weeks and months, we will be ramping up during our incubation year. Your voice will be critical as we flesh out this new school model. We will communicate with you about what is in store for our school community and opportunities to be a part of the conversation as we do something that has never been done before in CPS.

We also want to recognize McCutcheon Elementary, our Uptown partner, that was awarded an elementary STEAM program. Congratulations to Principal Theodosopoulos and the entire McCutcheon community on this accomplishment! Today all of Uptown has reason to celebrate!

On a related note, if you know of any students and families that would like to be a part of this cutting edge school model, let them know we are still accepting applications for enrollment for school year 2020-2021 for all grade levels.

They can contact the school at (773) 534-2875 or email me directly at tlgraham@cps.edu and I will connect them with our Enrollment Team."

Affordable Senior Housing Proposed For 835 W. Wilson

Brinshore Development's proposal for 835 W. Wilson (Landon Bone Baker Architects)

Current vacant lot at 835 W. Wilson (Google)

This morning, we woke to good news regarding a long vacant Uptown lot.  

Ald. Cappleman shared a proposal last night on his development page that hopes to fill the empty lot at 835 W. Wilson with affordable housing for seniors.

Brinshore Development, the developer working with Sarah's Circle and Ald. Cappleman on the $17,500,000 affordable housing/women's shelter now under construction at Sheridan & Leland, plans a 6 story building with a total of 73 rental units designated for seniors over 62. The building is being designed by Landon Bone Baker Architects, a firm that specializes in affordable developments.

Brinshore is seeking a zoning change for the project and proposes no ground-level retail along Wilson.  The building has a total of 44 parking spaces, with a new curb cut off of Wilson Avenue.

Clarendon Park Neighbors Association will review the proposal and share their feedback with Ald. Cappleman and the developer.

Total cost of the project is $26,000,000.

According to the developer application, Brinshore is hoping to receive funding from the Illinois Housing and Development Authority in the form of tax credits and Housing Trust Fund funds.

UU Note: This site was once home to "The Clarendon Beach Apartments." 

Congratulations, Graduates!

click to enlarge

Here's the Class of 2020, Uplift Community High School. They succeeded during an academic year like no other, with remote learning, no face-to-face contact, and no senior perks.

Their class photos appear on a large poster on the east side of Uplift's campus, as seen above. According to the school's Twitter account, there will be a "open air drive-through celebration of our graduating class on Thursday and Friday."

We wish you the best of luck and much future success, graduates. Well done, you!

CTA Track Work Going On Throughout June: Closures In Montrose/Broadway Area

"Temporary Service Impacts to CTA Red and Purple Line Service

In case you missed it: We will start Red and Purple Modernization (RPM) Phase One project track improvement work on Friday, June 5.

This work is necessary to proceed with the RPM project but will have impacts on the local community and on CTA service.

Here is information about what to expect.

CTA Red/Purple Line Track Interlocking Construction at Montrose June 5-29

We are getting closer to starting construction of four new stations and tracks between Lawrence and Bryn Mawr, expected to begin by early 2021.

Ahead of that work, we need to build new track interlockings at Montrose and at Thorndale on the Red and Purple lines this summer that will allow us to provide Red and Purple Line service during new station and track construction (2021-2024) – and some of this work will have temporary impacts to CTA Red and Purple Line service in 2020.

This work was originally planned to be performed over many weekends this year, but will instead be performed over two three-week periods to lessen the overall impacts of the work and to complete this initial trackwork before Labor Day.

June 5-29:

• Starting June 5, We will reroute trains to combine Red and Purple services onto two tracks to build the new interlocking – which allows trains to safely switch tracks at Montrose.
• During this period, there will be no southbound service at Lawrence and Argyle on nine non-contiguous days.
• There will be additional skipped station stops on the weekends.
• During these periods, weekday Purple Line Express trains will run on the same tracks as the Red Line.
• All reroute information by day is available here. 

Community Impacts

• Condensing the work into a three-week period reduces some impacts on the community, rather than stretching the work out over dozens of weekends throughout the year.
• There will be fewer days of large equipment being moved in and out of the neighborhood
• This approach increases our flexibility to perform noisiest work during daytime hours and not in overnight hours
• There will be street and alley closures, noise, nighttime lights at street and track level, parking lane and sidewalk closures, dust, and truck traffic.
• There will be crane lifts on June 7, June 19 and June 28 that will require closure of Ardmore Ave between N Broadway and N Winthrop. More information can be found here. 
• More construction information can be found here:

• Montrose closure 

• Kenmore alley -- partial closure 

• Alley west of 4400-4466 N Broadway – partial closure 

• We will provide alternative parking for affected residents."

Pancake House Begins Takeout Starting Tuesday

If you have been missing your "2-2-2-2" breakfast at Uptown's famous Pancake House (4744 N. Broadway), you are in luck.

Starting Tuesday from 7AM-3PM you can place orders for takeout at 773-334-0406. 

We could all use some good old-fashioned comfort food about now.

After Successful Peaceful Protest, New City Sports Looted

After an evening of peaceful protesting at Broadway and Sunnyside, another group chose to loot the soon-to-be opened City Sports at 4520 N Broadway. A reader sends us these photos from the REAR of the store showing looters clearing out shoes from a metal security door that was pried from its frame. If you recognize any of these individuals, we ask that you contact the 19th District at 312-744-0064 or email CAPS019District@chicagopolice.org

Urban Grill To The Rescue (Again!)

Urban Grill, which opened on Wilson Avenue across from Truman College just this past winter, stepped up today when CPS announced it would stop serving lunches to those involved in its free grab-and-go school lunch program. CPS said that it could not ensure the safety of its patrons during these crazy days.

They made free food available to those who would go without between noon and 3pm at their restaurant at 1132 West Wilson.

We thank the owners, Marcus and Brittany Ward, for their extreme generosity and compassion.

And now they're doing it again, all week long.

If you would like to help their efforts, or just say thanks, you can send money to Urban Grill using Zelle: Urbangrillchicago@gmail.com.

48th Ward Update From Ald. Osterman

From Ald. Osterman:

"It was another difficult night for our city last night. Today I renew my message of peace and calm, and I thank all of you who stayed in the neighborhood and stayed home last night.

Thank you to the neighbors who came out to peacefully demonstrate on Broadway and other streets in our community. While some neighborhoods in our city saw devastating vandalism and damage to businesses, there were a handful of broken windows in our community. There was a fire in a residential building on the 1000 block of Foster Ave. last night due to an electrical issue. No one was hurt in the fire and I've been in contact with residents and our office is assisting them.

Our local Chicago Police officers will be patrolling our community tonight to ensure safety for all residents. There have been reports on social media about violence targeted at communities on the north side. This is being investigated by law enforcement. It is critical during this difficult time that if anyone sees criminal activity or violence that they call 911.

Thank you to the many neighbors who have reached out to inquire about support Chicago Public Schools families in our community who were not able to pickup food from the closed meal sites today. My office has been in contact with our local principals and can assist any families in need of food. I expect that CPS will have meals available at schools tomorrow, but if not, families can sign up for meal delivery by calling 773-553-5437. Please call our office at 773-784-5277 or email me if you or a neighbor are in need of groceries.

Many of you have reached out with feedback about proposed plans for a "shared street" on Glenwood Ave. For the time being, I am postponing any consideration of this option. As I have written before, I was not planning to remove any parking without first securing alternate parking options. Now with the City's priorities and attention focused on safety, I am not going to consider the "shared street" at this time. If I do open this up for consideration again in the future, I will notify all Glenwood residents of an opportunity to meet virtually to discuss ideas and concerns.

Additionally, the Outdoor Office Hours I had planned for tomorrow evening in the St. Ita's parking lot has been postponed. Please continue to call and email my office with questions, service requests, and concerns and my team and I will get back to you. I will plan a new date for Outdoor Office Hours next week and will share this in an upcoming newsletter.

I understand very clearly the raw emotion that people are feeling during this very difficult time in our city and our country. As a community that is made stronger by its diversity, we will get through this together by standing with one another. I ask you all to encourage peace and safety over the next few days, and remain unified for a peaceful, more equitable city."

Monday Public Safety Update from Ald. Martin

"Several constituents have contacted my office today about certain social media posts advocating for looting on the northside of our city.

I have been in constant communication with the commanders of the 19th and 20th police districts, as well as with many of my aldermanic colleagues. We are aware of these posts and are monitoring the situation closely.

While the district commanders do not believe there is currently a risk of immediate harm to our ward, it remains possible that property damage to businesses could occur.

If you work at a business in the area, please consider doing the following:

• Remove all cash from the premises
• Bring in any outdoor objects like planters and chairs that are not bolted down
• Move valuable objects (e.g., jewelry, electronics) away from your storefront windows, either to the interior of your business or off premises
• Close early if you can
• If you reside in the area, please stay at home tonight if you are able. (Note that Mayor Lightfoot's 9pm-6am curfew remains in effect.) 
• And if you are aware of any construction sites that need to be secured -- due, for example, to freestanding loose bricks -- please fill out this form.

I hope you and your loved ones are as healthy as possible. As always, please don't hesitate to contact my office with any questions."

46th Ward Public Safety Update - June 1, 2020

From Ald. Cappleman:

"I hope that you and your loved ones are safe right now. I am writing to provide some information and guidance based on my recent communications with the Mayor and Chicago Police Department.

A City of Chicago curfew remains in effect from 9pm to 6am until further notice. Chicago Transit Authority has suspended service to the downtown area, including bypassing stops between Belmont and 47th, and further service updates can be found here as they arise.  

I have been in constant communication with the Commanders from the 19th and 20th Police Districts. The police are aware of and prepared for the planned protests.

As a matter of protocol, not all preparation will be made available to the public. 19th District Commander Papaioannou has assured me that there are increased patrols in our area. Other measures being deployed may not be visible or recognizable.

As Mayor Lightfoot announced during today's press conference, CPD is investigating incendiary posts inciting violence and destruction on the Northside. If you are witnessing anything on social media or hear of any other concerns, please email the CAPS office to alert them to this information at CAPS019District@chicagopolice.org (for the area of south of Lawrence) or CAPS020District@chicagopolice.org (for the area north of Lawrence).

Please stay home and stay inside if you choose to not attend the protest.

Restaurants and businesses can take steps to further protect their storefronts if they are interested and able:

• remove all cash onsite 
• remove all valuables when possible 
• remove all items within reach of windows 
• ensure security cameras and lights are turned on 
• bring in any outdoor furniture that isn't bolted
• board windows

Chicago Public Schools grab and go meal distribution sites were closed today but all previously scheduled CPS meal deliveries continue. Families experiencing a food emergency can call 773-553-KIDS to sign up for delivery.

CPS is working to resume meal distribution tomorrow. If you are interested in supporting families who could not pick up meals today, please consider a monetary donation to Lakeview Pantry. The pantry is continuing their meal distribution, and will be operating at their Sheridan location (3945 N. Sheridan Rd., (773) 525-1777) from 11am to 4pm today.

Please reach out to our office for food assistance and other support.

During these trying times please stay safe and let us know how else we can support you."

Peaceful Protest Monday Evening To Come Through Uptown

screen grab from WGN's live feed of the protesters gathering at Sunnyside/Broadway

The march has begun and is heading down Halsted. Obviously there is helicopter coverage by the media. That's why you will hear helicopters.

From Ald. Cappleman today:

"A peaceful protest has been planned on Chicago's Northside tonight, starting at the Belmont Red/Brown/Purple Line station at 5 pm and ending at the Stewart School Lofts (4525 N Kenmore Ave).

They are there to peacefully protest in unity to honor George Floyd and other black lives lost to police brutality. The individuals planning tonight's event have condemned all violence in no uncertain terms.

I support all those who are exercising their First Amendment Rights. The demonstration held in our neighborhood last night remained peaceful.

I want to make it clear that I condemn the actions of those who used the spirit of these protests to their own advantage and engaged in violence. If protesting, please continue to wear a mask and distance yourself when possible to keep you and fellow protesters safe."