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The
Albany Park Neighborhood Council (APNC) had 1,200 community members
gather on Oct. 22 for its founding community convention. This event
marked the first time in the communitys history that diverse institutions
came together around an organizing agenda.
The
idea for the convention grew out of a series of community dialogues
in July, when more than six dozen representatives from Chicago s
religious, educational and social service organizations met, often
for the first time, to identify issues and commit to building an
institutional dues-based organization.
We are here representing institutions from every culture and every
faith, said community convention co-chair and St. Mathias parishioner
Diane Limas. APNC is a power organization consisting of the institutions
you see here tonight. We are here to get something done about the
issues in our community.
The four key issues discussed at the convention were immigrant rights,
affordable housing, youth development, and education.
"There was a real surprise of awareness ... that whether you're
from the Korean community or the Muslim community or the [Indian]
Gujarati community, we're on the same road--and why are we doing
this alone when we could do it together?" said Ted Johnson,
a vice principal at Volta Elementary School, 4950 N. Avers Ave.
Long a port of entry for new immigrants, Albany Park has the largest
percentage of foreign-born residents of any community in Chicago.
The convention was translated into Gujarati, Arabic, Spanish, Tagolog,
and Korean.
Like many parts of Chicago , housing prices are rising in Albany
Park . At the convention, three city council members committed to
APNCs demand to develop 500 new units of affordable housing over
the next five years and work with the group to develop cooperative
housing.
Immigrants are having trouble affording the rising price of housing
in this community, said Syed A. Quadri of the Muslim Community
Center . Where are people going to live?
The
convention was also significant for APNC as it publicly elected
its first board and announced that it has 17 dues paying members
(ranging from $500 to $1,500 per member).
It
is our goal to grow in membership to 25 members in a years time,
said Pastor Ken Tulloch. It is our purpose to build power and win
on the issues important to our community.
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