Back on Sept. 16 Evanston officials met with neighbors at the Albany Care nursing home to consider possible upgrade plans for Grey Park at Ridge Avenue and Main Street.
The park is heavily used by the mentally handicapped residents of the nursing home, and that’s caused some concerns among neighbors about whether it’s also an appropriate place for children to play.
Back on Sept. 16 Evanston officials met with neighbors at the Albany Care nursing home to consider possible upgrade plans for Grey Park at Ridge Avenue and Main Street.
The park is heavily used by the mentally handicapped residents of the nursing home, and that’s caused some concerns among neighbors about whether it’s also an appropriate place for children to play.
No firm conclusions were reached at the meeting, but city officials say they’ll keep working on plans for improvements, which probably won’t be funded for a couple more years.
Today the park drew the attention of the Chicago Tribune, with a big story and a headline that described the matter as a “turf war” between residents of the neighborhood and the nursing home.
Original story
Uncomfortable encounters
Once again, in the liberal epicenter of Cook County, Evanstonians are showing their true colors. So often you can see them proudly displaying their “Coexist” and “Social Justice for all” bumper stickers. Residents and city officials proudly inform all of the “inclusive” and “diverse” qualities found here in the hamlet called Evanston. However, if the “diversity” lands in their neighborhood it’s a horse of another color!
What is it about these residents that is found to be so offensive to the neighbors of Grey Park? Is it because they smoke? Is it because they have a mental illness? Is it because they don’t look and act like the rest of us?
Suppose there was a park located in town in which only gay and lesbian couples spent their days smoking, talking, cuddling, kissing, holding hands, talking, etc. Now let’s say a handful of citizens complained, saying they were ‘uncomfortable’ bringing their children there and wanted the group removed. I don’t even think I need to take the time to invent the scenario of outrage that would follow. You could insert any minority group into this equation and the end result would be the same.
As one resident stated in the Tribune article “There are some real realities to living in this neighborhood. My impression is that there is virtually no use of this park by families with young children.” This resident has lived in the neighborhood for 35 years. I would have to think they have a secure grasp of reality when it deals with this situation. It seems as though complaints of this sort have not been aired until recently. My guess is that they are coming from new residents of the “condo boom” in the immediate area. Apparently, the deal they received overshadowed the need appraise the entire neighborhood before they purchased their dream home. Not only would they have learned more about the long-term residents of the ward, but undoubtedly they would have discovered the 3 other parks within several blocks. These parks are at Lee/Elmwood, Washington/Sherman and Ridge/Monroe. All are beautiful ‘green spaces’ and I am certain they would find them entirely ‘comfortable’