The next East Village Association membership meeting is 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 4, in the Happy Village at Wolcott & Thomas. Nicole Aquino of LaSalle II school is the featured speaker. The latest East Village News can be downloaded here . There are details on a bowling alley seeking a live-music license for Chicago & Wolcott, plus the new West Town branch library, renovation plans at the Division Street CTA station, and even the ecological impact of dog waste. See you on Monday. Till then, here are weekend events compiled by Eleanor Mayer of Wicker Park-Bucktown Special Service Area #33: Art Evening in Wicker Park: Make Believe Tour + First Fridays Join us for a special guided walking tour of the Make Believe art in vacant storefronts installations TONIGHT Friday October 1. The group will meet at 1266 N Milwaukee at 7pm and take a guided tour of the Make Believe art installations. During the tour, participants will meet the artists and learn about their work. The tour ends at the F...

EcoTip | By M. Isaacson Depositing dog waste in garbage cans like other trash is better than leaving it lay. But it’s not a benign solution. The number of dogs and the volume of waste they produce is a recognized environmental problem. So how does one dispose of dog waste responsibly? Research cited at the Stormwater Manager's Resource Center finds that "non-human waste represents a significant source of bacterial contamination in urban watersheds." Specifically, these bacteria include escherichia coli (E.Coli) and salmonella, as well as parasites such as hookworm and roundworm. These pathogens can lead to human infection. This contamination shows up in stormwater runoff when dog waste is left in place to degrade. Wrapping waste in plastic and sending it to today’s modern sanitary landfill is no better: It concentrates the disease-breeding process. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency concludes in a 1993 report: “This evidence points to a need for enforcement and...

The Drug Enforcement Agency will have a drug disposal box in every Chicago Police District on Saturday, according to 13th District Sgt. Juan Clas. Bring your expired, unwanted or unused pharmaceuticals to the station at 937 N. Wood for free disposal from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

By M. Isaacson An overflow crowd of dignitaries and library supporters attended a Sept. 11 ribbon-cutting ceremony for the newest Chicago Public Library facility. The West Town branch opened on Sept. 7, and the following Saturday marked the dedication of this long-anticipated community resource. The 13,300-square-foot facility is located on the first floor of the historic Goldblatt’s Building at 1625 W. Chicago. It replaces two smaller storefront branches to the east and west on Chicago Avenue. The Goldblatt’s building was scheduled for demolition in 1997, when the chamber of commerce and some Chicago Avenue businesses were supporting a plan to sell the land to Delray Farms , a produce market that has since closed its Chicago stores. East Village Association and other community members fought the demolition, and convinced Mayor Daley to purchase the building to house satellite city service offices . The library collection, valued at $300,000, includes materials in Spanish, Polish and ...

Archideas design for Chicago Bowl, 1834-50 W. Chicago. Brooklyn Bowl founder Peter Shapiro provided this description of a bowling alley under development on the northeast corner of Chicago and Wolcott. Links have been added to provide context. The developers will ask the East Village Association for a vote Nov. 1 on its application for a Chicago live-performance license. Read a previous report and comments on the plan. Located in a 23,000-square-foot warehouse at 1850 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago Bowl will be a state-of-the-art bowling alley / restaurant / performance space. The heart of the Chicago Bowl project is the restoration and refurbishment of a dilapidated former auto parts warehouse, that has 200 feet of frontage on Chicago Avenue. The building’s construction and design will seek to achieve LEED green certification and will highlight the building’s natural history, rehabilitating the beautiful aesthetic of this 80-year-old industrial warehouses. Led by architect Scott Hinds...

Board meeting minutes for Sept. 14, 2010 submitted by Dana Palmer Attendance: Board Members Greg Nagel, Neal McKnight, Dana Palmer, Scott Rappe, Stephen Rynkiewicz, Aaron Bilton and Tom Tomek; Non-Board Members: Rich Anselmo, Carol Mrowka, Kenan Obaid, Jason Maras and Pete Shapiro (with his two business partners). Meeting commenced: 6:29 p.m. Chicago Bowl Pete Shapiro presented plans to open a bowling alley at 1850 W. Chicago Ave. Shapiro currently has a successful bowling alley in Brooklyn , New York, that offers food from Blue Ribbon Restaurants and live performances. The current property is 23,000 square feet, the same size as the Brooklyn bowling alley. His plans are to mimic the Brooklyn space with 16 lanes of bowling and a restaurant with an area for live performances. Shapiro plans to tear down the red brick building to the side of the main property for on-site parking, and is working with Alcala's for additional parking at night. Shapiro is planning LEED certificatio...

Eleanor Mayer, WPB Program Assistant, discusses the "Placemaking at the Polish Triangle" report with East Village Association member Christopher Long. Mayer said planning on the Blue Line renovations at Division is slated to start next year. Membership meeting minutes for Sept. 7, 2010 submitted by Dana Palmer Meeting commenced at 7:10 p.m. with Business Minute presented by Wayne Janik of Janik's Cafe. The cafe at 2011 W. Division is open 7 days a week from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. serving breakfast and lunch. Breakfast is served all day. Alcohol is available as well as delivery options, catering and online ordering. Eleanor Mayer, program assistant for Wicker Park Bucktown (WPB) Special Service Area 33, presented a report, "Placemaking at the Polish Triangle,” that outlines micro, mezzo and macro plans to improve the Polish Triangle at Division, Ashland and Milwaukee. Several micro-level plans already are taking place: volunteer cleaning crews, lights on the trees for the ho...

The new West Town branch library opened Tuesday, Sept. 7 at 1625 W. Chicago. A ribbon-cutting ceremony and reception is scheduled for 12:15 p.m. Sept. 11. Mayor Daley, Illinois Commerce Commission Chairman Manny Flores and Joe Moreno, Flores' successor as 1st Ward alderman, are scheduled to attend. Activities include folk tales at 2 p.m. and children's music at 3 p.m. The branch is in the former Goldblatt's building, designated a city landmark in 1998 with the encouragement of the East Village Association and other civic groups. Ald. Joe Moreno called EVA and other local community and business groups "instrumental" in relocating the library after closing five years ago at 1271 N. Milwaukee. The new branch combines two smaller storefront libraries, Midwest and Eckhart Park. "This is great news for our community," the 1st Ward alderman said in a statement. "This library will be a resource for decades." The branch includes movies and music, accor...

A Sept. 16 wine tasting raises funds for Commercial Park. There's more: Details on the Halloween party, Election Day bake sale Christmas Party planned by the Commercial Park Advisory Council are at commercialpark.org .

A mini-golf course will visit Commercial Park on Sept. 18, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Commercial Park is block north of Chicago Avenue at 1845 W. Rice St.