For my first milestone for my Policy class our goal was to request a change in our neighborhood. This was a difficult, yet rewarding milestone because we got to do something that matters. I did something which I find very important: adding a basketball court to my neighborhood. If you live in bucktown, or are interested in change, see what I sent to my alderman below!
Scott Waguespack
32nd Ward Alderman
2657 N Clybourn Ave Chicago, IL 60614
Dear Mr. Waguespack:
As you may or may not know, Holstein park is in disrepair: specifically the corner of the park along Shakespeare & Oakley. I suggest that a basketball court be installed in that area. This is because there is not a single basketball court in the Bucktown area. The closest basketball court is at Le Moyne & Damen (Wicker Park). This court is five blocks away from the outskirts of Bucktown, and is (roughly) twelve blocks away from my house. I suggest the court be put in Holstein Park because it is near the middle of Bucktown, and is only four blocks from Pulaski International School of Chicago. Having a basketball court in this area would be an excellent idea because: It would raise land value of nearby buildings, would allow nearby children to be active and promote a healthy lifestyle to the people of Bucktown, and would allow my friends and I to have a safe area to play basketball over summer. Unlike other proposals you get, I am not only submitting an idea, but I would also like to donate my time (and money) to helping raise money to fund the basketball court. If you agree that this is a good idea and would like to follow through I would be more than happy to meet with you so we can plan how much money I would need to raise. This way we wouldn’t have to use the city’s money, and would have a great basketball court in our great neighborhood. I hope you find this to be as great of an ideas as I do.
Sincerely,
JH