If you need an alderman in East Village, who would you call? The neighborhood covers only about a half square-mile but falls within three Chicago wards . The East Village Association would like to change that. The City Council is now redrawing its ward boundaries, as required after each U.S. Census. The council's Committee on Committees, Rules and Ethics sets the process. EVA this month asked Ald. Richard Mell (33rd), the committee chair, to keep East Village within a single ward. "As a result of being represented by 3 different Alderman we find it very difficult to develop plans and processes to fulfill the goals of EVA to improve our neighborhood," wrote Greg Nagel, EVA's president, in a letter to Mell .

Red Apple Convenience Store, 2000 W. Chicago Ave.   Board meeting minutes for November 14, 2011 Submitted by Dana Palmer Meeting commenced: 6:38 p.m. Planning, Preservation and Development 1. 1601 N. Division: Scott Rappe and Neal McKnight met with potential developers of the site. Their revised plans would add 3-4 more floors. Rappe and McKnight will continue to meet with the developers about their plans.

Ruxbin's Vicki Kim and Nate Chung serve Neal McKnight a sample of celery soda.   Membership meeting minutes for November 7, 2011 Submitted by Dana Palmer   Business Minute Vicki Kim and Nate Chung of Ruxbin, at 851 N. Ashland, gave a presentation. Ruxbin has been a part of the East Village neighborhood for about a year and a half. The restaurant offer a seasonal menu and makes its own sodas. Ruxbin is BYOB, has 32 seats and does not take reservations; open 5:30-10 pm Tuesday through Saturday and 5:30-9 pm Sunday.

Under the city's handbill ordinance, fliers can be distributed house to house if they include the business license number. In setting the record straight at tonight's East Village Association meeting, 1st Ward aide Ronda Locke acknowledged that most fliers don't include that information. Also, ads should not block the locks on doors and gates. Typically, fliers hung on doorknobs do exactly that. Nonetheless, Locke says the 2007 city ordinance is not as sweeping as the draft that 1st Ward Ald. Manny Flores introduced at the urging of the East Village Garden Club's Jeanne Felknor. And in practice, the fines of $200 to $1,000 are not imposed. "Streets & Sanitation will only go after non-compliance if it is very blatantly excessive," Locke said. "If. however, you post something that says 'No Soliciting' at the entrance, the handbills cannot be distributed."

Wood Avenue trees (click for more East Village trees )   Will tree planting get more trims in next year's Chicago budget? Will city cost cutting ax East Village's drive to make Augusta more than a boulevard in name only? Members of the East Village Association can discuss their concerns Monday with Mark Duntemann, who led the East Village tree inventory in April. A representative of the city's forestry bureau also is invited to the meeting at Happy Village, 1059 N. Wolcott. EVA members again are encouraged to bring unwanted leaflets hung on doorknobs or gates, slipped underneath doors, tucked under windshield wipers or taped to lampposts – all violations of Chicago's handbill distribution ordinance.