STREETERVILLE — New signs have been posted on the wrought iron fencing surrounding Connors Park confirming that the area — including the onsite Argo Tea shop — is Park District property.
The signs were installed following a DNAinfo.com Chicago report noting that neighbors had complained it wasn't clear the park was indeed public land and open to anyone.
"Such signage is standard in our parks," Parks District spokeswoman Jessica Maxey-Faulkner told DNAinfo.com Chicago Tuesday. "We do hope it will resolve any misunderstanding and confirm the fact that Connors is a public park with regular operating hours."
Earlier this month, Streeterville resident Coleen Blake asked the Park District Board at a meeting to install the signs.
"Right now, it's not clear to the public that we can use it," said Burke, who lives across from the park and said a friend and fellow resident was once asked to leave the Argo Tea area for not making a purchase.
Burke said she's still concerned the new signs — which identify the area as Park District property and list the rules and hours for the public space — don't make it clear enough that the inside of the tea house is fair game.
"Traditional park benches are still needed," she said. "The signs are not very big ... [and] are not sufficient to make the general public feel welcome in the tea house."
When Argo Tea made a 15-year agreement with the Park District to manage concessions at Connors Park, part of the deal was that the whole property, including the interior, remain open to the public.
Chris Gretchko, a spokeswoman for Argo Tea, said "the public is welcome" to sit in the triangular tea shop without making a purchase.
"We are a tea cafe, but obviously we are a part of the neighborhood," she said. "We are a welcoming environment."
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