Flannery Homes/Orchard Park Update

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“Age is a question of mind over matter! If you don’t mind it really doesn’t matter” – Legendary baseball pitcher Satchel Paige.

Changes at Orchard Park, the for-sale, market-rate town homes built around the Flannery Homes Senior Towers continued at an accelerated pace over the summer.

Cement foundations for new town houses are all completed and building is now in progress. The cement foundations are water barrier-sealed, under the guidance of a new town-house contractor/ developer Tropic Construction. Superintendents David Graf and Mark Hawkins as well as foreman Carey Overstreet are showing they definitely know what building is all about.

Anita Scheer, sales manager for Garrison Partners, is handling the marketing of the new town homes.

New Sidewalks Needed

Flannery and Orchard Park are indeed one community with the same needs and desires for decent living conditions.

Town house resident Rafael Ramirez began a petition drive for a new sidewalk recently. He asked the residents of Flannery for signatures directed to Mayor Richard M. Daley and Ald. Walter Burnett (27) for new sidewalks along the East Side of Clybourn Avenue between Larabee and Halsted streets.

The sidewalks have been in terrible condition for the past 3 years, according to long-time Flannery residents. Many Flannery residents are forced to walk off the walkway and into Clybourn Avenue itself, which, due to parking along the east side of Clybourn from Ogden to Halsted, is very, very hazardous.

There are many residents with disabilities who negotiate the journey to the North/Halsted subway stop and the various bus lines at the six-way intersection in wheelchairs and with walking canes.

Ramirez asked the Local Advisory Council for support in getting signatures on petitions to the city for a new sidewalk.

Susie Jones, the building president of 1531 Clybourn Ave., wholeheartedly supported the petition drive and obtained 50 signatures from 1531 residents over-night. Thirty residents from 1507 N. Clybourn signed the petition as well and the whole package was submitted to the mayor and the alderman.

Ramirez is a high school teacher and many of his students have been invited to some of the Flannery’s social functions given by Mary Anne Longstreet-Madison, the senior services coordinator for Flannery.

A few of Ramirez’s college-bound honor students were invited to view the Chicago Air and Water Show Aug. 22 and 23 from the 9th floor gallery.

Tenant Meeting

On Monday, June 1, at 10:30 a.m. a tenant meeting of the 1507 residents was held in the recreational area of the ground floor. We discussed the just-past Memorial Day dinner. Everyone was happy with the menu and the quantity.

At the same meeting, plans were made for an outdoor July 4th bar-b-cue to be held outside the adjoining yard. The menu of hotdogs and potato chips was well planned and agreed upon by all residents in attendance.

The 1507 community room has a new VCR and is at the disposal of all tenants to use to show their movies. A floor model large screen TV is to be purchased for 1507 building tenants to use.

LAC President Ethel Henderson said fresh flowers will be constantly replanted.

Landscape changes

Trees on the east side of the town house residences were chopped down during the twilight and evening hours.

The town house lot is being extended to give the first occupants of the town houses bigger backyard spaces. Christine Oliver, president of the Chicago Dwellings Association, the primary developer of Orchard Park, promised this expansion of backyard space to the six townhouse residents a year ago.

Activities

Flannery Residents were treated by management to a play presented by Magmation Theatre on Tuesday June 9, at 11:30 a.m. on the 16th floor recreational room in 1507 N. Clybourn. On that day, both building elevators in the 1507 building were out of service until 8 a.m., when elevator maintenance restored operations. Management supplied dinners, sodas and cup cakes.

On Wednesday, June 17, in the early, early hours, a number of tenants went fishing in Lake Michigan. We all wished them good luck.

Mary Ann Longstreet-Madison offered a number of interesting activities during June. Residents were treated to a gospel play, “Perilous Times,” at the Arie Crown Theatre on Friday, June 19.

Fathers Day came early for Flannery seniors at 1507. Longstreet-Madison and her 78-year-old father gave all the seniors a big dinner with turkey, potato salad, cake and pop.

On June 26, interested tenants of Flannery Towers went by charter bus to the Ravinia Festival to hear jazz by Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. It was free to us all and it was indeed a deeply enjoyable evening under the stars and trees with people of all walks of life. All attentively listened to Marsalis’ musical compositions, which are largely based upon the roots of jazz and the old masters, Duke Ellington and Count Basie,.

This presentation was simulcast on WGN-TV (Channel 9).

Manager’s update

On Tuesday, June 23, at 10 a.m., a management meeting was announced for all leaseholders and building representatives. Donna Jones, manager of Flannery, announced that all outside balconies are to be cleared of chairs, bicycles, barbecue grills and the storage rooms must be used for tenant-owned items. Jones said sitting on the buildings’ front stoops, sides, rear and garden areas is prohibited.

Jones said that cigarette butts, urine, spit and litter accumulate overnight and when the cleaning crews begin work at 8 a.m., the elevators are very dirty. Jones said tenants must be aware of this problem and try to improve this mess.

On Sunday July 5, there was a heavy flood at 1507 N Clybourn. Water leaked from the upper floors and poured into the ground lobby floor and the water affected both elevators at 1507.

A local news station sent a mobile TV truck and obtained pictures for the evening news report. Manager Jones was immediately on the scene to correct the problem. The elevators remained out of service for 3 hours.

On July 6, LAC President Henderson served the residents barbecue pork ribs and cold pop at noon.

“It was finger-licking good,” said one senior who observed the event.

On Thursday, July 9, CHA’s Gladys L. Reed Senior Programs Division provided residents and guests of both Senior Flannery buildings with free bus transportation to the splendid musical dance sensation, “Bring in da Noise Bring in da Funk” at the Schubert Theater. The presentation was spectacular and loads of fun for all of us seniors.

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