Greetings all,

Yoko Ono’s sculpture “unveiled”

As JPW Update readers most certainly know, the Project 120/Yoko Ono “Sky Landing” sculpture was officially dedicated at a lavish invitation-only event on Wooded Island Monday Oct. 17; interested community members were actually turned away at the check-in point. JPW had been invited and Margaret attended (Brenda was away).  She reports that about 300 other people were there, the vast majority not local.  There was a long list of speakers, including Alderman Leslie Hairston, and of course Park District CEO Mike Kelly, the Mayor, Project 120 Bob Karr, and Yoko Ono herself, who gave brief comments.  No one from either the University or the Obama Foundation spoke or was acknowledged.  The program included an elaborate modern dance performance, live original music, and song.  It was quite a show.  But it is quite remarkable that this has occurred:  a private entity has been able to have a major permanent piece of art installed in a prominent location in a major historical Chicago public park without any notice to the public, without any public participation, and without leaving a trace in the public record.  Stealth privatization?

Wooded Island reopened

Wooded Island was reopened to the public the following Saturday Oct. 22, and there were quite a number of visitors both Saturday and Sunday.  The fencing remains up around the lagoon and the planting are very clearly both immature and incomplete. Apparently the Island itself will remain open even as the rest of the US Army Corps “GLFER” environmental restoration project continues.  At the moment, the Island south of Osaka Garden has been weed-whacked and tidied up, perhaps for the Yoko Ono event and subsequent opening to the public, and has lots of open space. Brenda and Margaret encourage everyone to go and check it all out, and to share any comments with the Park District’s “contact us” mailbox http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/contact or by writing Park District Superintendent and CEO Mike Kelly at the Chicago Park District, 541 N. Fairbanks Ct., Chicago 60611.

Mike Kelly responds – at last, but only partially

For several months, JPW has spoken during the “People in the Parks” forum that is part of the monthly meetings of the Park District Board, raising questions about Sky Landing, focusing on the seemingly mysterious process by which the Sky Landing sculpture installation was authorized, who paid for it, who owned it, and the like.  JPW presentations (two minutes only, as per Park District protocol) have been greeted with total silence until this past Wednesday (10/18), not even a “thank you for your interest.” But this past Wednesday Mike Kelly actually responded, at least in part, saying that the Sky Landing sculpture was donated by Yoko Ono and Project 120 and that while the Park District owns it, it will not pay for maintenance.  So at last we have confirmation of the actual source of the sculpture, information that all of our prior questions and FOIA requests had not to date been able to uncover.

We continue to look for the secret “paper” (or now digital) trail of the decisions that documented the donation and authorized the installation of the statue. It is inconceivable that there were no agreements, no matter how shielded from public view, and we need to uncover them.  Most significantly, at this point the precedent that appears to have been established is that a private entity – Project 120 in this instance – with sufficient funds can be given control of a part of a Chicago park and can install a project of its choosing in its own private part of that park.  This smells much like a back door form of privatization, and we fear the consequences: will we wake up one day to find that construction of Project 120’s proposed pavilion has begun?

Brenda Nelms and Margaret Schmid

Jackson Park Watch

http://jacksonparkwatch.org

Like us on our Facebook page.

Greetings all,

Yoko Ono sculpture update

Unanswered questions remain concerning how a private entity (Project 120) could have erected a permanent sculpture on Wooded Island immediately adjacent to the Paul Douglas Nature Sanctuary. Nonetheless, the sculpture is there, and you can see a preview on www.facebook.com/jacksonparkwatch. The official “unveiling” is scheduled for Oct. 17, and will include an event on Wooded Island itself as well as an evening gathering at the Stony Island Arts Bank. We’ll share information as we know more.

Keeping in Touch

As previously noted, JPW coordinators are staying in touch with many individuals and groups that are focusing on planning for Jackson Park in the wake of the Obama Library siting.

Brenda and Margaret recently participated in several FOTP-convened discussions considering the increasingly frequent usage of Chicago’s public parks for private, for-profit activities. The many examples from parks across the city paint a distressing pattern of privatization and appropriation of public space to the exclusion of local residents and regular park users.

We also attended meetings organized by the coalition working to secure a Community Benefits Agreement with the Obama Presidential Foundation , the City and the University. The initiative has embraced as one of its Development Principles a commitment that directly aligns with JPW’s priorities:   to sustain, increase, upgrade and maximize green open space for local uses and local users.

Both the FOTP discussions and the CBA initiative highlight concerns that are central to JPW’s participants and indicate that these concerns are widely shared. The challenge is to move from discussion to actual solutions. In this effort, JPW will continue to push for Park District transparency and inclusive community engagement as essential elements in planning for Jackson Park.

Dog park comparison amazingly revealing

You may have noted the “Dogged determination” article on the front page of the 10/4/16 Tribune chronicling the major obstacles that the Park District has erected in the way of South Siders wanting to have dog parks south of 18^th Street. (Here is the link to the article as it appeared online — http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-chicago-dog-parks-south-side-met-20161003-story.html). This is yet another example of disparities between park facilities on the north and south sides. It also offers a fascinating comparison between the obstacles facing regular Chicagoans wanting amenities in their parks and the special treatment afforded Project 120 as it installed the permanent Yoko Ono sculpture on Wooded Island in Jackson Park. Take a look below!

A comparison that speaks volumes:

CPD requirements for (regular) Chicagoans to establish a dog park in a Chicago park

vs.

CPD requirements for the private, not-for-profit Project 120 to erect a permanent sculpture by Yoko Ono on Wooded Island in historic Jackson Park adjacent to a nature sanctuary

Brenda Nelms and Margaret Schmid
Jackson Park Watch
http://jacksonparkwatch.org
Like us on our Facebook page. www.facebook.com/jacksonparkwatch.

Greetings all,

Change of date for FOTP presentation on the Obama Libraryzz

Friends of the Parks’ Fall Netsch Lecture, to focus on the Obama Presidential Library, has been rescheduled to Thursday, September 29, at 12 noon at the Chicago Cultural Center.   This is a free event, and we encourage you to attend if possible. Pre-registration is encouraged and will be available soon on the FOTP website ( https://fotp.org/ ), but is not required.

Yoko Ono sculpture going up soon; the outside fence may soon come down

We know that not everyone is a Facebook fan, but nonetheless we encourage you to take a look at our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/jacksonparkwatch, where you will find a picture of preparations for installation of the Yoko Ono Sky Landing sculpture. The old asphalt path along the west edge of the Osaka Japanese Garden has been taken out and will be replaced with sod. As the picture on Facebook shows, the area between the earthen mounds has been dug up and twelve concrete bases have been put in, one for each of the twelve tall, polished-metal “petals” that will be erected starting September 12.

In related news, we understand that the cyclone fence enclosing not only the Wooded Island but the entire lagoon will be taken down in the next weeks, but that a temporary fence will be erected around the Yoko Ono sculpture to protect it, presumably from visitors. We have also been told by Park District personnel with responsibilities for the project that in the foreseeable future the current fence around the Osaka Japanese Garden will come down and a new fence enclosing the Garden and sculpture will be built “to integrate the sculpture into the Garden.” We also understand that in the future there will be only one entrance into the new “modern” Garden. Based on past announcements by Project 120’s Bob Karr, we assume there will be a ceremony to officially unveil the Yoko Ono sculpture and hope that it will be open to the public.

As more information becomes available, we will let everyone know.

Brenda Nelms and Margaret Schmid
Coordinators
Jackson Park Watch
http://jacksonparkwatch.org
Like us on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/jacksonparkwatch

Greetings all,

It has been a busy two weeks since the announcement that the Obama Presidential Center would be sited in Jackson Park. That busy-ness is reflected in the length of this Update. Bear with us.

Now what?

It’s a new ball game, as folks like to say. Project 120 is no longer the biggest elephant in the room. Now we have OPC.

To adapt to this new reality, Brenda and Margaret propose expanding JPW’s guiding principles and goals building on what JPW has represented and accomplished to date. We present a first draft below. BUT – we need feedback, critical comments and alternative suggestions, so that we can be sure that as JPW goes forward it is indeed reflecting community concerns.

1. Continue to insist that a transparent process with inclusive community engagement is essential as plans for the OPC and its impact on Jackson Park are develope

1. Maximize preservation of existing green space and trees for play, picnics, sports, and other local uses by local park users

1. Ensure replacement of the track/athletic field within easy walking distance of the Hyde Park Academy High School with an equally high quality (or better) facility without using any additional park acreage and without any disruption in access by students or other community use

1. Continue to oppose Project 120’s pavilion/music venue proposal; support new buildings in the park only if part of the OPC; otherwise, work to renew and then maintain existing buildings

Please give us feedback at jacksonparkwatch@gmail.com. JPW can only be effective if we represent significant community voices!

Talking anew to the Park District’s Board of Commissioners about OPC and Yoko Ono

Margaret and Brenda presented an early statement of JPW’s expanded position to the CPD Commissioners during the “People in the Parks” segment of the August 10 monthly meeting. Noting that a new era had begun for Jackson Park with the announcement of the Obama Presidential Center location, we asked that Project 120’s proposals be set aside and the conversation about planning begin anew with a holistic view of Jackson Park with a particular attention to the needs and wishes of regular users:

Much of the public discussion to date has focused on the role of the Obama Center as a tourist destination, an anchor for a south museum campus that will spur economic development. Amid the hope and frenzy generated by that vision, Jackson Park Watch asks that the Park District, the Obama Foundation, and other responsible parties not lose sight of the importance of Jackson Park as a park — a place to enjoy nature, to play, to gather with family and friends; a place with a community of users who live in the surrounding neighborhoods and whose voices should be heard as the future of Jackson Park is discussed. We urge you, Mr. Kelly and Commissioners, to remember that your primary commitment is not to tourists nor to developers nor to politicians, but to the children and families who use the park on a regular basis and depend on it for recreation and renewal.

We also revisited a topic presented at the June and July meetings – the terms of the Yoko Ono installation on the Wooded Island. As with the Obama Center, “Sky Landing” is no longer a possibility but an emerging reality – construction for the installation began this week and we have just been told that the fence may come down next month to allow for the Sky Landing unveiling– but many questions are still unanswered:

We know that this past Monday work on the concrete base for the Yoko Ono sculpture began on Wooded Island. We know that that base will be clad in marble. We know that the sculpture itself will be installed in about three weeks. We know that plans to remove the existing walkway along the west side of the Osaka Japanese Garden and to reconfigure the fence around the Garden to include the Yoko Ono piece are now being made. These developments add to the questions we have raised in the past and make them more urgent. Who will own the sculpture? Who is paying for it and for its installation? Who will maintain it? At whose expense? What are the plans for the new space that will be created? How will they impact the adjacent nature sanctuary? And how do you intend to manage access to the celebrity art work given that the area remains surrounded by fencing and that, even if that fencing were to be removed, neither parking nor restrooms are readily available? This is a public park. This is public space. The public deserves to know.

 You can find the complete statements at http://jacksonparkwatch.org under ‘key documents.”

A good letter to the Editor

JPW participant Eric Ginsburg wrote a terrific letter “Less is more for Jackson Park” to the Hyde Park Herald, published August 10. You can find it at: http://hpherald.com/letters-to-the-editor/

Community benefits?

Much has been said and written about community benefits since the announcement that the OPC will be located in Jackson Park. Obama Foundation president Martin Nesbitt raised at least a few eyebrows with his claim that there is no need for any community benefits agreements since the Obama Library is in itself a benefit to the community.

That aside, believing as JPW does that the Park is itself a massive benefit to the community and that maintaining as much open parkland as possible for community users is essential, JPW coordinators Brenda and Margaret participated in a community benefit coalition meeting on Wednesday, August 10. We proposed that preserving open space in Jackson Park for local uses by local users should be among the community benefits that the coalition puts forward. While there were many priority items under consideration, the idea of preserving park space for local users was sympathetically received. JPW coordinators will continue to participate in such meetings and will report back.

Brenda Nelms and Margaret Schmid
Coordinators
Jackson Park Watch