To the community:
Being one of the organizers to initiate the idea of a Community Recreational Center to North of Howard and to work for 12 years with hundreds of community members to make it a reality, I think you know my perspective of keeping the Field House for all the Community.
However, a new idea has surfaced and almost is to a decision point without the input of the total community. I propose that we place this question of a Boys and Girls Club in perspective, and listen to all of the community so that the will of the community will be honored.
First of all, I want to thank all the community members and organizations who put their blood, sweat and tears into making the present Gale Community Center a physical reality.
Secondly, I want to thank the youth programs run by Howard Area Community Center, Family Matters, Starfish, and Good News Partners Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts, and Northpoint Advancement Center at one point of their history, and Triangle Park Corporation which ran summer events for youth, including co-sponsoring with the Howard Area's seniors club a softball program every Sat afternoon with snacks for 2 years. Your efforts have been persistent and long standing, going back 20 years. You need to be applauded, recognized and included, and not squeezed out in this effort to bring additional youth outreach to the area.
I would like to break down the debate about the Boys and Girls Club into four questions:
:
Should we have a Boys and Girls Club in the Howard Area in addition to the existing youth programs?
Should it take over the space in the field house whose original intent was to be used by the entire community and not just 6 - 18 year old youth?
Should it be located in other location, e.g. Gale School, which has available space, including gyms, assembly space, classrooms, already dedicated to educating youth, and utilize space in the field house when necessary?
Should this be debated in a full community meeting or behind closed doors with only a few community players sitting around the table?
Thank you.
Sr. Cecilia Fandel
14 comments:
Thank you Sister Cecilia for cutting to the central questions so well. I hope the Alderman's office is reading this. This whole thing has upset me quite a bit and I'm sure I'm not alone in that.
Should we have a Boys and Girls Club in the Howard Area in addition to the existing youth programs? YES
Should it take over the space in the field house whose original intent was to be used by the entire community and not just 6 - 18 year old youth? NO
Should it be located in other location, e.g. Gale School, which has available space, including gyms, assembly space, classrooms, already dedicated to educating youth, and utilize space in the field house when necessary? MAYBE
Should this be debated in a full community meeting or behind closed doors with only a few community players sitting around the table?
YES!!!
I echo Jocelyn's post. Yes to club, No to space in field house, maybe to other space, and Yes to full community meeting.
We all know what could be and should be the routine. Question is - will it be?
Go to nhna.blogspot.com and voice your opinion in the NHNA poll regarding the Gale Community Center.
Well said, Sister Cecilia. I agree with Jocelyn.
After all the hard work that has gone into the creation of this new field house, anything less than full community input at a well-publicized meeting would be a grave insult to the community.
Once the meeting is held, the opinions and needs of the community must be considered before a final decision is made, preferably by a committee that includes delegates from the group who worked for so many years to get the field house.
Sr. C. is my hero
Please correct me if I am wrong but isn't the Gale Park Field House a plae where the community is allowed to meet, greet, and have fun. Shouldn't anyone whao wants to use the facility be able to do so by working with the Park Supervisor ( whoever that may be) and inform, negotiate about times, use, age and populations served? I may have missed something here but are we arguing over who can and cannot use this park facility?
This is a disgrace if nomoore is trying to keep one group out over another group in! Is this part of his position as Alderman?
I swear in any other community you never even hear of this nonsense! Who voted for this fellow anywho? Gratefully not me, however his acts continue to degrade this community. Is there an impeachment process for removing alderman?
As a resident of Uptown, I don't know much about this issue. However, I say "Godspeed" to people who ask that all community members be considered in community decisions.
I'm not against the Boys & Girls Club organization, but come on! That building was to be designated as a Park District fieldhouse. The fieldhouses in the area--Loyola Park, Leone Park, Pottawattome Park, Paschen Park--already offer numerous youth programs. Leone and Paschen appear to only offer programs for kids under 12, and for no other age groups.
I agree with Jocelyn that perhaps the Boys & Girls Club should look into operating out of nearby Gale School (or even one of the other grade schools for that matter) if they want to have a presence in the area.
Once again, Moore and his minions expected people not to notice their treachery. Why he thinks people are just going to lay down and allow him to practice his particularly brand of treachery is beyond me.
Hi Craig,
I'm a reporter with the Medill News Service in Chicago. I'm doing a video piece for next Wednesday on the new Boys and Girls Club being placed in the Gale Park Community Center. Can I interview you for the piece? I'm also trying to contact Sister Cecilia on the issue, and any other community members who have opinions. Please e-mail me if you're amenable to it. Thanks.
Also, many youth North of Howard have other issues to deal with that have needed to be addressed for years and years.
Many kids are afraid to travel out of their neighborhood because of gang turfs. Many parents are afraid to send their children out. As I recall, the park district could not offer bus shuttles. If one is aware of the geography here, it's a small area Howard to Juneway or two blocks and the Lake to Clark or some consider it Sheridan to Clark. 6-8 blocks.
And many do not have money for bus or train fare. Census Tract 101 is a high concentration of poverty. Again, I will write: I am not disrespecting the B&G club because they offer many great programs.
The original purpose and intent of the building was to be for everyone with the programming for youth to be the main focus. Integrating the club into the annex would provide nearly the same amenities - a basketball court, the green house, classrooms, etc. And co-exist with the schools activities.
Sister Christian oh the time has come........
For you to realize that there is no god!!
Get it though your thick skull. face the facts, if there was a god, there would not be homeless people sleeping on MY beach, crackheads in MY alley, feces on CRAIGS blog, And Joe Moore would not be aldercan't, he'd be the peep show movie booth mopper!
Craig, I don't want to tell you how to operate your blog but Westgard (or whoever that is) has crossed a line and I respectfully as you to remove his tasteless, insulting and boorish remark about Sister Cecilia. It is not only uncalled for it is a disgrace. Please, remove it.
- PEACE -
Thanks.
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