Pilsen residents said they thought they had overcome a developer’s ambition to turn their neighborhood garden into parking spaces a decade ago.
But they found out three weeks ago that a company run by the same developer — John Podmajersky III — had bought a large chunk of one of the neighborhood’s few green spaces, a half-acre at the corner of Union Street and Canalport Avenue.
That’s when landscapers started pulling out the trees and flowers community residents had planted. Residents, who have been cutting the grass and caring for the formerly city-owned property for 12 years, said the landscapers warned them the police would be called if they continued to trespass on the land.
“We need the freedom to have a picnic, walk a dog or plant a flower,” resident Judy Shutway said Thursday afternoon, surrounded by about 45 adults and children gathered on the land to protest the sale. “That has ended now, and that’s what bothers me.”
Podmajersky, whose family owns property on the east side of Pilsen, did not return calls Thursday afternoon.
Residents said they first faced off against Podmajersky more than a decade ago. Podmajersky’s earlier plan was to buy the green area to secure parking for lofts he planned to build on nearby South Halsted Street.
The residents’ concern for its green space is part of a much-larger issue that has been plaguing the Lower West Side community. Area residents, largely Mexican-Americans, fear they will be pushed out as gentrification brings coffee shops, new lofts and rising property taxes.
Residents said community members never were asked to give input on the sale, which took place Nov. 30, according to deed records. Other public records identify the buyer as Halsted/Canalport, LLC, which is managed by Podmajersky.
“It feels like we’re being squeezed out or suppressed,” Shutway said.
Ald. Daniel Solis, of the 25th Ward, has canceled and pushed back meetings with the residents every time they ask him to meet to discuss the garden, said resident Francis Cervantes, whose house borders the land.
“The man has not shown up, and the people are wondering where is he?” said Cervantes, 44. “He is supporting the other side. He doesn’t have time to talk to the neighbors.”
Solis, who has received campaign contributions from Podmajersky’s family and businesses, did not return calls made to his office Thursday. Pilsen residents are going to ask the alderman again to meet with them next week, said Cuahutemoc Morfin, who ran against Solis in the spring election. If Solis does not attend the meeting in the garden, the residents will march to his office.
“We demand a clear and full explanation to: How did this developer get this lot?” Morfin said.
Residents who gathered in the green area Thursday held signs that read “Pilsen is not for sale!” and “We want the voice of the community to be heard” in Spanish.
