On Wednesday, May 23, eight representatives from the Grove Parc Tenants Association (GPTA) and the Southside Solidarity Network (SSN) met with Vice President of the Office of Community and Government Affairs, Hank Webber, and Associate Dean of Students and Director of the University Community Service Center, Wallace Goode. During the meeting GPTA and SSN went through four proposed agreements they hoped to get from Vice President Webber.
1. That Hank Webber issue a written public statement on behalf of the University of Chicago saying that the University will not support displacement of current Grove Parc residents and will not support any redevelopment plan unless it is endorsed by the GPTA.
2. That Hank Webber, as a board member of the Woodlawn Preservation Investment Corporation (WPIC), state that he wants to make GPTA's development vision happen, including preserving as project based section 8: 300 units on the property and 200 in Woodlawn.
3. That Hank Webber, as a board member of WPIC not support any redevelopment plan unless it is endorsed by the GPTA.
4. That Hank Webber meet with the GPTA and SSN at Grove Parc to discuss the progress of the GPTA vision within one month.
Hank Webber responded that he did not feel comfortable agreeing to give the GPTA veto power over any WPIC plan. However, he will meet with tenants and SSN members at the Bessie Coleman Library the week of June 11th to discuss the viability of the GPTA plan.
Furthermore, Hank Webber specified that he could not make any statement on behalf of the University. Such a statement, he said, would have to come from President Robert Zimmer and from the Head of the Board of Trustees of the University, James Crown.
After the meeting, tenants and students held a press conference outside of the Administration building. Following the conference, the tenants struggle was covered by The Chicago Defender, NPR, and The Chicago Maroon.
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4 comments:
is it possible at this time to provide more detailed information about what these proposals are to "the public"? i heard about the grove parc crisis on NPR recently, and also moved to woodlawn (61st and woodlawn) recently and would like to know all i can about what is going on and what is being proposed. thanks.
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I am a teacher at The University Charter High School in Woodlawn and am wondering if we could organize a tour of the housing situation in Woodlawn for the students. Thanks!
Can some one contact No games Chicago? We are working to stop the 2016 Olympics from coming here.
Tom Tresser
tom@tresser.com
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