CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Mayor Lightfoot and West Side community leaders broke ground Saturday on a controversial community plaza and roller rink in the West Garfield Park neighborhood.
The project is being done in a neighborhood that Mayor Lightfoot said has been neglected too long: West Garfield Park.
There is poverty, gang violence, drugs, but also pride among those trying to change things for the better.
The Mayor’s remarks were interrupted a couple times by the ever-present sirens.
"It's about a new way of thinking about public safety and peace, and activating people in ways that they know what the direction should be and what government should to is be there to be a convener of people, of talent, and resources so we can get something done," Lightfoot said.
Lightfoot said the roller rink is a small part of what she calls the Neighborhood Activation Initiative, bringing social services, street outreach, and physical improvements.
The Mayor was at an event earlier Saturday with kids from the West Side, "which was just heartbreaking, because the parents don't let them out. They don't let them out to enjoy a beautiful day like this. They don't let them out to be in the park, on their street, because of fear of violence. What we must be about folks is claiming the territory under our feet for peace for our residents and for our kids."
Some activists and the chamber of commerce have been critical of the roller rink, because of what could happen.
Alderman Jason Ervin envisions the place to be an oasis.
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