gage park

Since 2015 the Englewood Veterans Garden has relied on referrals from the recreational therapy program at the VA to provide the help that garden leader Cordia Pugh needed to keep things shipshape. According to gardener Ron Stacy, from 2015 to 2019 the garden could reliably count on ten to fifteen veterans to get involved each year, helping plant and weed the raised vegetable beds and tend to maintenance of the space, a former vacant lot on 56th and Hermitage. Then, said Stacy, “2020 happened, and you had COVID. So everybody disappeared.”

Stacy, himself a U.S. Navy veteran, has been volunteering at the garden since its inception, and wanted to stay engaged. It was left to him, Pugh, and her son Leonard to keep both the Veterans Garden and the Hermitage Street Community Garden across the street from falling into weedy disrepair. “It was so hard,” he said. “When I joined the garden, we always had these huge volunteer groups”—first-year college students and church groups—”throughout the spring, the summer, and the fall to make our gardens possible. When COVID hit, we lost those volunteer groups.”

They did “alright” in 2020, Stacy said, but this year was all about changing the way they garden. It was a transitional year, in which—anticipating future years with few volunteers—the trio transformed both gardens to make them lower maintenance. In the persistently weedy ground between all the raised beds, they laid in an underlayer of cardboard or plastic, and then covered that up with wood chips. Voila, no more weeds. “It was a lot of work. It just consumed us, the entire year.” Now, he added, they’re gearing up to completely overhaul their composting setup.

“A lot of what we're doing now is just to prepare for next year, right? Even if COVID is, is still affecting people's lives, people are getting more comfortable with doing things and being active again. And being that this is a garden. I think that's going to be one of the biggest things going to be able to promote is that you're going to be able to be in a safe environment ‘cause you're outside.”

He may not have grown much this year—mostly cayenne peppers and kale—but the garden has been key to his mental health, Stacy said. Being able to come to the garden and read or meditate or listen to music was invaluable—which was the whole point of the garden in the first place. And, finally, he might get a little break: the first group of college student volunteers returned this month. (Martha Bayne)

Englewood Veterans Garden, 5641 S. Hermitage Ave. (773) 245-3017.

VETERAN GARDEN, COURTESY OF ENGLEWOOD VETERANS GARDEN

Compiled By Jocelyn Vega Neighborhood Captain

It’s an honor to introduce three young Gage Park visioners at Gage Park Latinx Council, a queer, DACA, Latinx grassroots organization dedicated to strengthening identity and community in Gage Park. We joked about the summer heat before jumping into their “Best of Gage Park” locations. For them, these addresses mirror their childhoods, identities, and hopes to protect their neighborhood with honor. Gage Park has seen Jesus, Karen, and Fabian develop into their current form. Together, these three young people share what they hope for others to “see” what’s in their eyes about Gage Park.

“If you could feel kindness [when reading this], I would like for that to be shown,” said Karen J. Dorado, a sixteen-year-old, Aries Sun rising, Mexican-American with she and her pronouns. “I want people from Gage Park to see how beautiful we really are. To see all this community, joy, kindness... [To see] how really close we could all be [by] working together. If we work together, we could help others see that as well because that's what community is all about—working together, trusting each other, and helping each other out.”

Gage Park does not deserve its disappointing media representation of being “dangerous” as a Black, Indigenous, and people-of-color working-class community. Gage Park deserves community representation of struggle and strength. Fabian

Cornejo, Taurus with he and him pronouns, introduced Gage Park as home and safety for immigrant communities, cultural belonging, and an extension of México’s lands. “Literally, everybody's hard-working for the future, and for the community,” said Fabian. “You want to see more hope, more love, and more appreciation, because there's a lot of negative views on Gage Park. It's not always about that.” He recognizes that people go through a lot in the community but emphasized the strength of love within families and neighborhoods that make him proud to represent Gage Park as a college freshman this fall. He encourages young people “to embrace it.”

The rhythm of walking down the same 51st Street businesses captures Gage Park’s spirit for Jesus Hidalgo, who identifies as first generation with he and they pronouns. As it is for Karen and Fabian, Gage Park is home for Jesus. However, Jesus is concerned about gentrification and balancing people visiting the neighborhood but not moving in, especially people who are not Black, Indigenous, or people of color. For Jesus, Gage Park is knowing people who know you when you’re walking around or recognize one another.

“I went to high school a couple blocks from here too, so it does feel a lot like home. I feel not only welcomed, but also I know a lot of people that live here and I have a lot of memories here. Those memories helped shape me into who I am today, and what I've experienced and what I've seen other people experience too,” said Jesus.

Neighborhood captain Jocelyn Vega is a first generation Latina and hija de Enrique y Obdulia Vega. She dedicates her life to intergenerational healing and ancestral justice for past and future generations.

Karen’s heart remembers moving into Gage Park at three years old. Her eyes caught a bright orange building on a sunny day but she couldn’t read what it was. She would grow to love this bright orange place with no name. Others in the group agreed that this orange building remains a childhood classic. To this day, Jesus jokes that many neighbors and friends make the evening walk, as it is one of the only late-night spots. Without saying the official name, everyone knew we were talking about Taquería Jamay Jal.

“I don’t remember the first time I ate there, but I have memories, that late at night, talking to my father and say ‘Oh, I’m hungry. Let’s get tacos.’ We would walk there with our dog Oreo,” Karen said. At Taquería Jamay Jal, options range from breakfast tortas to legendary tacos—classics that customers can enjoy at this all day and latenight spot. “Every time I bite into los (the) taco, it’s like flashbacks to when I was little. It's so good and the meat has stayed the same flavor and the same texture. I don't think I've ever gone wrong with ordering it.”

Jesus agreed and recommended tacos of asada (skirt steak in Spanish) or pastor. They added it is also a business that is “rooted in the community” by allowing community groups to promote their events and post their flyers without question.

Across community and memories, the group collectively titled Taquería Jamay Jal as “one of the many bellies of Gage Park” that is shared in friend groups, families, and hungry students at affordable prices. Karen said, “I still feel like a little kid walking… [with] all of those memories,” whenever she visits Taquería Jamay Jal.

This connection to Jamay runs in the family. After a recent family trip, Karen said, “We just come back from the happiest place on earth, Disney, and the first thing we agreed on is Taquería Jamay Jal.” (Jocelyn Vega).

Taquería Jamay Jal, 2500 W 51st St. Sunday-Thursday, 9am-11pm; Friday and Saturday, 9am-1am. (773) 776-0254. Highly recommended to bring cash.

EMPTY K MART ON 51ST AND KEDZIE, PHOTO BY ANTONIO SANTOS

At the intersection of 51st and Kedzie, a 275,000-square-foot building with a large, corporate Coldwell Banker banner stares into a blocked off parking lot. Before the Kmart shut down, there was a thrift store, a buffet, and street vendors selling outside on this buzzing corner. That’s all gone. Now, even cars can’t get through the old Kmart parking lot, and the corner remains completely isolated. Kmart’s bankruptcy and the subsequent corporate real estate hogging of empty space reflects Jesus’s concerns for Gage Park as an overlooked and oversold neighborhood.

“It'd be better to renovate that space and make it a library or even a community center,” said Jesus. “It's something that would benefit the community because it's so big. It's literally an empty lot, and it's been like that for a while. I'd rather see it be something that gives back to the community instead of being another big corporation or another big factory... I think adding a library there will help people see that we deserve better.”

In addition to economic exploitation, Gage Park faces academic and social inequities with its current library and lack of youth spaces. Gage Park youth represented 33.5 percent of the neighborhood’s total residents from 2015-2019, yet their social and emotional development is left to them to build with minimal resources. Gage Park has been historically denied community centers and public gathering spaces, such as adequate parks, community-wide youth programming, and cultural centers.

“We deserve better things than just things [that] are damaging our neighborhood,” said Jesus. He emphasized that Gage Park residents do not deserve to be exploited in heavy labor or warehouses, like Amazon’s recent neighborhood warehouse opening, just to have access to jobs. He encourages more local businesses and supporting community members to expand their own opportunities instead.

They advocate for a community center to exist at the heart of a major intersection and commercial district. Gage Park youth are currently surrounded by several, gigantic processing centers, but not much for them to process their personal development on that scale. The under-resourced Gage Park library and corporate ownership of Kmart’s ghost hold promise for Gage Park’s youth. Until it is truly owned by the community, this corner will symbolize the community’s own intersection between disenfranchisement

and the potential for its young people to belong in their own community.

Jesus said, “Whoever has been living in Gage Park for a while just know[s] that Kmart used to be [a] spot [where] everyone would link up… When the Kmart was empty, I would go in there with my friend sometimes to just go explore too…[and] it also goes to show that we went there because there was nowhere else to go in the neighborhood.” (Jocelyn Vega)

W. 51st St. and S. Kedzie Ave.

“I remember, when I was young, I would always go [to Rosa’s Tamales]. I would wake up for Christmas and then my dad will be like ‘oh let’s buy tamales,’” Fabian said. He would then put on his “little puffy coat” before walking with his father to Rosa’s. They often found a long line early in the morning.

“We would always wait, but I mean it was worth it.” Carrying back warm tamales, Fabian and his father woke up their family to eat tamales on Christmas morning and other holidays. “We had a big family. I’m the youngest out of four brothers, so I feel like we would always get two [dozen], and then we had my mom and dad and would have our dog,” who would eat tamales. Fabian loves to pair his tamales with champurrado, a classic chocolate drink made with masa, often confused as atole, which is an ancient, Nahuatl-based word. Champurrado is distinct and a must try.

“Because my parents back then didn’t have a lot, we won't be able to buy a lot. We would always buy two cups [of champurrado] to split it. Always, I would want more. It was really good except that I always wished that I could get my own cup when I was little, but that never happened,” added Fabian.

Rosa’s is a go-to for any celebration. Fabian said, “My family is really busy, so we don't really get to eat together. We don't really have family meals. So, I feel like the only time [that] we would was Christmas, Thanksgiving, or something like that. That's why it was always special to me, because of the memory I have. Because that's the only time that we have family meals.”

Rosa’s Tamales have grown into four locations in Gage Park. At Rosa’s Tamales #4, at 4617 S. Kedzie, they expanded their menu beyond tamales, ranging from the classics to Huaraches estilo DF. At Rosa’s Tamales #1, #2, and #3, they strictly offer tamales but sell menudo, carnitas estilo Michoacán, and even pozole on the weekend. However, tamales and tamales oaxaqueños remain a delicious classic that requires trying more than once. (Jocelyn Vega)

Rosa’s Tamales #1, 5632 S. Kedzie Ave. Monday-Sunday, 4am-5pm. (773) 863-0646. Highly recommended to bring cash. There are three other locations in the Chicago area.

COLONY THEATRE, PHOTO BY ANTONIO SANTOS

“Ever since COVID hit, the community got separated. It really hasn't been the same ever since. I feel like if they opened a theater, it would bring everybody together again,” Fabian said. He described COVID’s impact in distancing relationships and amplifying losses across households and neighbors. According to Fabian, many people don’t greet or acknowledge each other anymore. He finds people walking past each other in a daze.

“Nothing has been the same,” he added. He urged community members to advocate for positive change to recover from COVID as a collective by opening this theater for various communities.

However, Gage Park was vulnerable to this social separation before COVID. Many young people lack programming opportunities. Local organizations don’t have capacity or space for physical activities or social gatherings. “There's not much around here, and there's not any theaters,” Fabian said. “You have to drive, and you have to drive [a] pretty decent distance to go watch a movie, or just to go enjoy stuff with your friends and family. If they opened [Colony Theater], it's right in the middle [of several communities and across age groups] … It'd be a good idea to bring the kids together and bring the community together.”

He envisions talent shows, dance practices, and accessible after-school activities for kids and families, not just “exclusive to performers” who can afford to rent. Fabian has never seen Colony Theater’s doors open (it’s been closed since the early 90s) but already sees its transformative potential for current and future generations.

Fabian also imagines the theater economically linking families to continue socializing at nearby small businesses after programming or movies. “Once you're done watching the movie, you could just walk right there and go to Betty's Ice Cream or you could go get tacos, burgers, or Rosas Tamales because everything's around. If they renovate that theater, it would open a lot of joy and happiness within the community, and bring us closer again,” Fabian said. (Jocelyn Vega)

“My dad and I bond over baseball … We connect over that, but we can’t go to Gage Park because the field is messed up. It’s more dirt than field–more grass than field. It’s nothing, to be honest. Nobody looks after it,” said Karen. Her father, who has professional baseball experience in México, finds the field unsafe.

The field has lacked quality care from the Chicago Park District, despite their recent plan to build their headquarters 0.8 miles north in Brighton Park. Karen, Jesus, and Fabian were disappointed by the Park District’s decision to move into the area after years of neglect and racially inequitable funding of services and programming across Gage Park sites. The field remains inaccessible and quite dangerous due to uneven ground and minimal attention, as is the case for other parks and play areas in Gage Park.

Karen described her frustration attempting to practice grounders at the only park nearby her home. “Our schools always promote ‘Oh, go outside, sixty minutes of physical activity every day,’ but I don't think what they realize is that a lot of kids don't have access to that, because we don’t have fields to go to,” Karen added. The current situation forces her family to drive far for a decent field.

Unfortunately, many nearby schools, children and families similarly struggle to fully enjoy the parks due to other issues including an under-resourced field house and lack of seating, hydration stations, protective shading, or proper sanitation options. Like Karen, they depend on the parks to gather and engage in physical activities in a free and public space. People of all ages and potential baseball leagues are all undermined by the institutional racism that leads to inequitable parks.

Karen hopes the field will be improved soon and calls on the Chicago Park District to improve existing parks before stomping their new footprint–their plan to build their headquarters is already raising gentrification concerns. She believes innovating the parks would be an improvement for all Gage Park residents and nearby neighbors.

The issue expands beyond baseball for Karen. “I want to see people who don't even know the game, and they just go and watch. It's free, it's public, and you're outdoors. You just get to be there with your community, and watching this, it's more than a game,” Karen added.

Fabian said, “it’s a social vibe” where individuals can build relationships and new connections. Karen, Jesus, and Fabian encourage the Chicago Park District, the Cubs, and the White Sox to invest in the South Side to foster young people’s ability to play in teams and become teammates in their communities. (Jocelyn Vega)

Gage Park baseball fields, 2411 W. 55th St.