East Village Association members will vote Monday on whether to support zoning and licensing changes for the Forbidden Root brewery to operate at 1742-50 W. Chicago Ave. Rootmaster Robert Finkel and brewer Robert (BJ) Pichman describe their proposal. Forbidden Root will be the first botanical brewery in the country, crafting its brew around all natural herbs, roots and spices. It would like to open its headquarters, brewery and tap room in the long vacant former Hub Theater at 1746 W. Chicago Ave. As a “Benefit” corporation, it intends to donate all of its profits from non-consumable merchandise to worthy not-for-profit causes, initially the Green City Market. Forbidden Root proposes locating its brewery and R&D operations in the rear of the building. The capacity of the on-site brewery will be limited and larger-scale brewing and bottling will occur at a remote location. The front portion of the building will be refurbished to provide an inviting tap room where customer...

East Village Association board meeting minutes, April 14, 2014 Submitted by Catherine Garypie Fifield project, 1822-50 W. Chicago Ave. Ald. Proco Joe Moreno stated that the Fifield Cos. can build 39 units as of right, but the new plan is to upzone for 59 units. The Fifield position is: We can do more bedrooms at the higher zoning but we’re not, and we can do a higher floor-area ratio but we’re not. Fifield does not feel it can build a connection to Commercial Park as requested at the last EVA board meeting. Fifield wants to build a larger building than allowed, so the law requires on-site affordable units on-site or a donation to the Chicago Low-Income Housing Affordable Trust Fund. Fifield wants to make a donation to the fund. The city has determined that legally this donation cannot be a space donation to a nonprofit, as EVA has discussed . Moreno expressed a general concern with developers donating to the fund instead of providing affordable housing, absence extreme circumsta...

Please see the attached Community Alert for our area and be extra cautious when walking alone or in small groups. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. — Molly Murray About the crime: This alert gives notice to citizens in the 012th District (Near West) of robbery incidents which have occurred during the month of April. In these incidents, offenders approach victims from behind, strike them in the back of the head with a hard object and take their personal belongings. Incident times and locations are listed below: 2200 Block of W. Superior St. on April 13, 2014 at approximately 12:01 a.m. 1400 Block of W. Chicago Ave. on April 13, 2014 at approximately 4:30 p.m. About the offenders: Offender descriptions vary, but are generally described as: Two to four male/black offenders, 18-20 years of age, 5'8" - 6'0" One female/white offender, 18-19 years of age, 5'4" What you can do: Always be aware of your surroundings. Report suspici...

Membership meeting minutes, April 7, 2014 Submitted by Catherine Garypie Ashland BRT The CTA's Ashland Bus Rapid Transit proposal would cut Ashland Avenue traffic lanes from four to two, to dedicate the interior two lanes to express buses. The plan keeps two parking lanes, and eliminate left turns from Ashland except at highway access points. Details are at transitchicago.com/ashlandbrt . Primary benefits of Ashland BRT are: Decreasing travel time (decrease of about 8 minutes from 35th to Irving Park) and increasing reliability for the large number of public transit users on Ashland. Supporting businesses along Ashland Avenue. Connecting rail and other bus lines. EVA has not taken a position to date, although it has provided information regarding process in prior meetings. EVA has heard presentations from the CTA, the Active Transportation Alliance and the Ashland-Western Coalition. Nearby neighborhood groups have taken positions. The Environmental Assessment for the A...

Bus lanes along Ashland Avenue will be up for a vote at Monday's East Village Association meeting. Members will vote on the CTA's Ashland Bus Rapid Transit as currently proposed: "Based on information EVA now has, is EVA for or against the Ashland BRT?" Reflecting concerns about the design, the EVA board last month left open the possibility of revisiting the issue if the plan changes. And changes are likely. The $160 million Ashland BRT proposal would restrict inner lanes to buses and emergency vehicles. Medians would stay in place. Bus stops would replace the left-turn lanes. The city's new transportation commissioner, Rebekah Scheinfeld, now wants to keep left turns on some intersections. As the CTA's planning officer, Scheinfeld was responsible for the original design.