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Uptown residents demand housing at Wilson Yard

On Saturday May 11th, residents of Uptown marched from the Goldblatt's Building to the Wilson Yard to demand affordable and low-cost family housing for Uptown.
On Saturday May 11th, Uptown residents and supporters from Rogers Park, Edgewater, and elsewhere convened and marched to demand low-cost and affordable housing for Uptown. Despite the rain, well over a hundred people were involved.

The march started at the Goldblatt's building on Broadway at Lawrence, the center of the on-going controversy about the Broadway/Lawrence TIF and the Freed plan for a Border's chain bookstore. The large group consisted primarily of members of COURAJ, the Community of Uptown Residents for Affordability and Justice. COURAJ brought to the march a huge number of signs with the names of their neighbors who had been priced out of Uptown due to increasing gentrification.

COURAJ is organizing to see that low-cost and affordable housing is built at the Wilson Yard, as part of the Wilson Yard TIF. The Wilson Yard is the vacant five-acre location of the CTA yard which burnt down a few years ago. Because of the lack of affordable housing in Uptown, and the fact that the Wilson Yard is a large vacant space, COURAJ sees the Wilson Yard as an opportunity for building 200-300 units.

The march moved down Broadway from Goldblatt's to the Wilson Yard, where the group stopped (still in the rain) to listen to speakers and to see the vacant CTA yard.

Other supporters and speakers included long-time Uptown residents, Queer to the Left, local Greens, Rogers Park CAN, Jesus People, Chicago Anti-Bashing Network, and many others.

For more information, check out the radio interview with COURAJ's Mark Kaplan which should be available soon on the archives of the This Is Hell radio prorgram, at www.thisishell.net/
 
 

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