JADE LOMELI
Student Reporter
The personalities and cultures of certain boutiques and restaurants flood into the sidewalks. Music thumps along the streets, and spices and seasonings of varying ethnic cuisines lure the senses. The Lakeview Chicago neighborhood is what 44th Ward Alderman Tom Tunney, likes to call “a little more live and let live neighborhood.” This neighborhood’s eclectic style, and community does not go unnoticed. Tony King, 46, resident of Lakeview since 1994 states, “There is a more vibrant life here. Everybody is friendly, it is so diverse and accepting.”
Lakeview is a neighborhood of Chicago that is located on the North Side where it’s borders lay south at West Diversey Parkway, north at West Irving Park Road, and west at North Ravenswood Avenue. Although technically, Lakeview has borders, Max Bever, Director of Communications and Community Outreach for 44th Ward Alderman Tom Tunney states, “The Alderman likes to say that Lakeview goes beyond the 44th ward.”
Bever continues his explanation by stating, “We have all of these colloquial names like “Wrigleyville,” “Boystown,” and “Lakeview East.” And these things don’t really have general boundaries.” Although there are names for specific areas in Lakeview, the overall neighborhood is its own community.
Arpad Lep, 25, an employee at Reckless Records, and a resident of Lakeview for over five years, explains how Lakeview’s boarders really do extend past the 44th ward. “[the neighborhood] also draws in people from all sides of the city. I find that you find a lot of people from the South Side come up to Lakeview also; more then other neighborhoods. Wicker Park also is where they get people from all over the city.”
Though Lakeview is commonly known as a place for younger adults to begin their careers and families, Bever points out that there is more diversity to the neighborhood. “We have a lot of turn over, but we do have a lot of people who have lived in this community for thirty plus years.”
Bever also explains that the Alderman is currently working on a project for the first affordable senior LGBT living center in the Midwest. The building would be adjacent to the Center on Halsted, a LGBT friendly community center, between North Halsted Street and West Waveland Avenue.
Bever states, “It would be LGBT friendly specifically because the Center on Halsted would be offering programs through its ‘SAGE’ program, as well as just being in the heart of the Boystown district.” The SAGEWorks program is a program designed for senior citizens who desire to find work. The program provides workshops for resume building, interviewing techniques, and provides information for job opportunities.
Bever also made it clear that this endeavor was meant to be a gesture to the community. “This is a project that the Alderman always wanted to provide for seniors that helped build this community and Halsted in general, to age with grace and dignity.”
Not only is 44th Ward Alderman Tom Tunney giving back to the community through the affordable senior living center. However, every Saturday, Sunday, and during the holidays, the Alderman is literally serving the community by cooking the food at Ann Sather restaurant at the 909 W. Belmont Ave. location.
When meeting the Alderman, his hands were wet with lemon-pepper juice. The first question he asked was, “Did you already eat?”
When discussing how he manages to be an Alderman and own the chain of Ann Sather restaurants, he explains, “I have learned to be a chef, but I have really liked the service end which works very well in the political.” He emphasized that he enjoyed knowing how to make the community happy.
He described Lakeview as “the envy of any other ward in the city.” He explained that in the 1970s Lakeview was predominantly vacant and the neighborhood was declining. “ A lot of people believe that it was the gay community that brought it back. They were first to rejuvenate Chicago,” 44th Ward Alderman Tom Tunney states.
He also emphasized how the Lakeview community is devoted to service. “The small business community here revolves around serving the community. You know, like we do, serve the community get our hands dirty, work with our neighborhood, and try to make it a better place,” states 44th Ward Alderman Tom Tunney.
The goal of making the neighborhood a better place was also present at the Belmont Harbor meeting hosted at Nettelhorst Elementary School, located on North Broadway Street between West Aldine and West Melrose avenues
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At the community meeting it was discussed that the Nettelhorst community had some security issues. Jennifer Bernardi, Nettelhorst Community Group Co-President explained that a white conversion van was circling the school. Once in a while it would pull up to the school and drive away. “Parent’s did not feel comfortable,” Bernardi states. “Precautions were taken immediately. Our principal sent out an email to parents, and let everybody know to look out for it.”
Bernardi also mentioned that a white van was reported to have been travelling north, pestering children. “Two days later there was the same thing reported in Rogers Park. There was a link that the principal sent to us. A white van, two men, we didn’t know that there were two people in the van. It stated that the white van circled and made a point to badger the kids to get in.”
Bernardi stated that the incident was scary but that good precautions were set forth in order for the community to be protected. “The principal made a very good point that the kids understood they were safe at school. She was also very confident and encouraged the kids to tell people, and as a community to be on the look out.”
When asking Bever about how the Lakeville community usually handles cases of crime he explains, “we’re always on call with our police commander and our neighbors are usually good at giving descriptions. The community programs and neighborhood watches know when things are going on, and it is a way to know where crime is at and take care of it,” Bever states.
Resident Tony King believes that crime is very minimal in Lakeview, “What little crime does happen, get’s taken care of really quickly.” King also went on to say that crime is minimized because of heavy foot traffic in Lakeview.
When asking Bernardi how she felt about Lakeview after being aware of the incident with the white van, she stated that because of the neighbors she felt safe. “It is a little more condensed and pretty populated for the area that we are in. It is a nice feel a small little town, I know my storeowners. And I think the most part storeowners know each other. It is the city and you still have the edge, but it is livable.”
For many residents, Lakeview is a neighborhood that is comfortable and an easily livable area. “ I work here, I live here, I have my bank here, I shop here. The restaurants, the people, everybody is just really friendly around here. And it is a safe neighborhood.” states King. And for others, like Bever, change is constant; Bever states, “nobody sees it in the same way. Lakeview means something different to everybody who visits works and lives here.”
Photos taken by Jade Lomeli
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