WICKER PARK — My Block, My Hood, My City, a nonprofit group that takes teenagers from the city's South and West sides to explore neighborhoods they don't often get to see, has opened a pop-up retail shop in Wicker Park's "Boombox."
Located at 1260 N. Milwaukee Ave. in the Mautene Court plaza, the freestanding micro kiosk is a 200-square-foot nomadic storefront dubbed the Boombox. The structure is part of Activate!, a public-private initiative to make city-owned spots more inviting and improve street safety.
The My Block, My Hood, My City store, which debuted Tuesday, will stay open through mid-April. Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. The shop sells yoga sets, hoodies and shirts, according to its Facebook page.
Katherine Darnstadt, owner of Latent Design, an East Village-based firm that's been tapped to "activate" 30 city-owned spaces over the next three years, said Wednesday that the demand for renting the Boombox, which opened in September inside of a converted shipping container, is growing.
"The response has been really phenomenal. We are getting a lot of positive and constructive feedback. Currently we are in a fundraising phase to create two new boomboxes Englewood and Lincoln Park," Darnstedt said.
After My Block, My Hood, My City ends its month-long lease, the spot is packed with other vendors through mid-June and is currently seeking more entrepreneurs to rent its nomadic storefront through the fall, according to the Boombox website.
Dedicated to Jan Metzger, a historian, author, community leader and advocate of public space who passed away in 2010, the plaza, Mautene Court, served as a staging area for deliveries to the once-thriving retail and garment manufacturing district along Milwaukee Avenue in the first part of the 20th century.
In the 1970s, Mautene Court was converted into a public space.
In addition to the Boombox project, Latent Design is assembling a performance art series taking place on the last Friday of every month at several public plazas. Artists can apply for the paid positions online.
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