LINCOLN SQUARE — Organizers of the reconstituted Heart of Lincoln Square Neighbors Association said they were blown away by the turnout at Monday night's kick-off meeting at Carbon Arc.
"I had very modest expectations. I thought 10 to 20 people would show up," said Matt Martin, who coordinated the event along with Paige Worthy.
Instead, the crowd numbered closer to 100, spilling out of Carbon Arc's lounge area into the bar and even onto the sidewalk.
"It was so heartening to see people who clearly want to get active" in the community, Martin said.
After a brief meet and greet, attendees broke out into small group sessions to discuss areas of interest and concern: crime and safety, education, zoning and development, small businesses, affordable housing and social justice, and municipal issues.
Each topic drew a group of passionate neighbors, Martin said. He added that he was pleasantly surprised by how many people arrived with fully baked ideas for ways the association could get involved in the above areas.
What particularly struck both Martin and Worthy was people's lack of cynicism or negativity about the neighborhood.
"On a personal level, I was so buoyed by the positive vibe in the room. Between waking up to tragedy in Las Vegas and finding out hours later that a rock icon was on life support, it was a pretty hard Monday — so packing in to support a local business and talk about progress with my neighbors was amazing for my soul," Worthy said.
Though the two had initially planned to hold a follow-up meeting sometime in January, the overwhelming response on Monday caused them to quickly revise their timeline so as not to lose momentum.
The next meeting will likely be scheduled for mid-November, at which point board members might be elected. Shortly after that, the board will draft bylaws and form committees, Martin said.
"These are issues we're thinking through in real time," he said.
To receive updates on upcoming meetings and other events and activities, Worthy encouraged interested individuals to follow the association on Facebook and to join the group's email list (click here to sign up).
As for who can join, Worthy and Martin clarified that the association is open to all Lincoln Square residents.
The initial boundaries that were posted — Damen, Western, Montrose and Lawrence — were designed to avoid conflict with existing neighborhood groups including the Greater Rockwell Organization and the Ravenswood Neighbors Association, Martin said.
"There's no litmus test," he said. "If you're interested in Lincoln Square, you're welcome."
