Welcome!

Welcome to the Brynford Blog, a place for neighbors to connect. Post messages, reminders, announcements, make recommendations and referrals, or just check it out to find out what's going on in the neighborhood.
Let us know what you think of our blog and feel free to make suggestions about what we should include in the future.

About Us

Chicago, Illinois, United States
The Brynford Park Community Association is a non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian organization committed to connecting neighbors and caring for our community.

Brynford Summer Party

Brynford Summer Party
Brynford's got talent!

Clean & Green April 17, 2010

Come on out Saturday, April 17, 2010 to enjoy some breakfast goodies and the company of your neighbors. Then we'll work together to do some spring cleaning in the neighborhood. We'll meet in front of 5601 N. Karlov. We hope you'll join us.

Brynford blooms...when we work together!

Winter sunset over Peterson Park

Winter sunset over Peterson Park
almost spring

Tall Grass

Tall Grass
Early Spring 2008 at North Park Village Nature Center. Photo by Kim Wendel

Friday, March 19, 2010

March 2010 notes

Hi neighbors,
Boy! I guess the abandoned cars note I sent a few days ago really hit a nerve. I received more than a dozen responses back from various neighbors venting their frustration and giving me info. about the cars and their observations about who is abandoning them.
Additionally, thanks to all of you who called 311. I understand that several cars were towed today as a result of your calls. Way to get things done!
I will be calling 911 and talking to the officers at next week's CAPS meeting with some leads about who's dropping off the cars in the area.
I also spoke to several neighbors who did observe some suspicious individuals out in the alleys around 1:30 a.m. last night. 911 was called. However, apparently the police did not arrive before these guys were able to leave their mark.
On a walk through the neighborhood today I noticed lots of gang graffiti and other tags on various garbage cans, and I've had reports this week about cans being tagged more than once on different nights. Some of the tags I saw today were MLD (Maniac Latin Disciples), the same group that hit us in the summer & fall. So, let's really be on the lookout for the hoodlums who are doing this. I'm thinking they must live in the neighborhood or very nearby.
If you see anyone out and about in the alleys late at night, please call 911 and ask for a patrol car to come over right away. If the operator gives you a hard time, ask to speak to their supervisor or hang up and call back to speak to a different operator. Let's catch these guys in the act so we can press charges for all of the damage they've done in the past 6 months.
Also, take pictures of any graffiti you see and send it to me or to CAPS. We do have a picture of one of the guys in the act of graffiti-ing a neighbors' garage last summer. The more pictures, the more evidence we have to hold these guys accountable for.

Finally, a couple of reminders that neighbors have requested everyone to be considerate of:
  • please don't litter
  • please clean up after your dogs
  • please keep your dogs on leashes
  • please watch out for small children near the streets
  • please no speeding in the neighborhood; there are so many little kids on bikes and on foot
  • please position your outside lights so they don't shine into your neighbors' windows
  • please contain your garbage in the alleys. overflowing cans attract rats and rodents and flies in the summer.
  • Please have your pets spayed and neutered.

Oh, and a reminder that the Maple Syrup Festival, a free, fun, family-friendly event is going on at the Nature Center this weekend, both Saturday and Sunday.

Friday, March 5, 2010

311 & 911

Call 311 when...
street lights need to be replaced
you need an extra garbage or recycling can
pot holes need to be filled
sewers are backed up
garbage is overflowing in the alleys
graffiti needs to be cleaned up
you would like a tree planted on the parkway
trees on public ways need to be trimmed

Call 911 when...
a crime is in progress
there is an immediate threat to life or a bodily injury
a suspicious person is lurking in the neighborhood
If you have any doubt about a person's activities, call 911.

Books read by Brynford Book Club

  • Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
  • Evening by Susan Minot
  • Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safren Foer
  • Half the Sky
  • Hungry Hill by Carole O'Malley Gaunt
  • In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien
  • Ines of My Soul by Isabelle Allende
  • Mission Song by John LeCarre
  • Olive Kittredge
  • Peace not Apartheid by Jimmy Carter
  • Suite Francais by Irene Nemirovsky
  • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
  • The Glass Castle by Jeanette Glass
  • The Help
  • The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
  • The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
  • The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
  • The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich
  • The Road by Cormac McCarthy
  • The Women by T.C. Boyle
  • The World Without Us
  • Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier
  • Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
  • Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer
  • Wicked by Gregory Maguire

A Walk in the Woods

A Walk in the Woods
Nature's first green is gold - Sauganash Prairie Grove Spring 2008. Photo by Kim Wendel

Brynford's Favorite Restaurants

  • Cafe Marbella
  • Al Primo Canto - Brazilian steakhouse
  • Hoanh Long - Vietnamese
  • Mee Mah
  • Malnati's
  • La Donna
  • Nonno Pino
  • Holy Frijoles

Winter sunset

Winter sunset
The sun sets over North Park Village Nature Center. Photo by Kim Wendel

What issue affecting our neighborhood is most important to you?