Albany Park Chamber of Commerce

News Briefs...

Artwork installed at CTA Kimball station

More info below in CTA Updates Section...

Did Your Building Sustain Water Damage?

If your business or building sustained water damage last week, we encourage you to report it to your Alderman. The City will be inspecting damaged property the first few weeks of July and we encourage you to report the damage. Alternately, you can call 311 and report the damage.

Alderman Mell, 33rd Ward: (773) 478-8040

Alderman Allen, 38th Ward: (773) 545-3838

Alderman Laurino, 39th Ward: (773) 463-5594

Alderman O'Connor, 40th Ward: (773) 769-1140

Alderman Levar, 45th Ward: (773) 545-2545

Thank You, Burger King...

After 20 years in Albany Park, the Burger King at 4700 N. Kimball (at Leland Ave) is closed. Thank you, Burger King and manager Carmine Genobess for your support of our community and our businesses!

City of Chicago Business Seminar Information:

Don't miss the City of Chicago's Business Affairs and Licensing "Business Works" seminars all year long! Summer seminars include: How to Finance Your Business, How to Insure Your Business, Preparing Your Business For Inspection and More! For more information, please visit the Business Affairs and Licensing website, here, or visit www.cityofchicago.org.

Adopt-A-School Needs You!

Have you ever wanted to get your business involved as a partner with a local school? Well, this is the perfect time to find out more about that possibility! Why not consider taking an active role as an Adopt-A-School partner? The program is flexible. Each partnership develops its own program structure and goals based on the resources of the adopter and the needs of the schools. For more information, please call Chicago Public Schools at 773-553-1000.

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CTA RAVENSWOOD LINE RECONSTRUCTION UPDATES:

BREAKING NEWS:

July 26, 2007- New art pieces have been permanently installed at the CTA Kimball Station as part of the CTA Ravenswood Brown Line Renovation and the Arts in Transit program! Northside artist Josh Garber created two 10' tall metallic structures called "Hope" and "Renewal" after he was inspired by a conversation with Kompha Seth, founder and director of the Cambodian Association of Illinois.

PARKING INFORMATION: Two CTA Park N' Ride lots are located within walking distance of the Kedzie and the Kimball CTA Ravenswood stations. A 60-space Park N' Ride is located next to the Kimball station on Lawrence Avenue just east of Kimball Avenue. A 50-space Park N' Ride is located two blocks north of the Kedzie station on Kedzie Avenue just north of Lawrence Avenue. The Albany Park Chamber of Commerce, Lawrence Avenue Development Corporation and North River Commission leaders continue to work with CTA on finding additional permanent and temporary parking spaces in our community to help ease congestion and pain during station closures.

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CTA ARCHIVES:

July, 2007 - KEDZIE AVE BETWEEN LELAND AND EASTWOOD AVE WILL BE CLOSED JULY 12-19, 2007 FOR TRACK REPAIR - Beginning July 12, at 8:00pm, CTA will commence work on the at-grade crossings on Kedzie and Sacramento. The work will continue through July 19, 2007. Scope of work includes removal and replacement of CTA track at street level from sidewalk to sidewalk, new rubber panels, and removal and replacement of asphalt approaches. This work is needed to replace the defective areas of the track system at the Kedzie At Grade Crossing.

Due to the work, Kedzie will be a full closure. Traffic will be rerouted to Kimball via detours using Montrose and Lawrence. Local traffic will be allowed to proceed to Leland from the north and Eastwood from the south. Leland from Kedzie to the first alley east will be two way to allow vehicular traffic to access alleys and parking. There will be parking restrictions along Kedzie from Eastwood to Leland for the length of the project. As the project proceeds, the designated no parking areas will become smaller thus allowing for on street parking for customers and employees. For more information or questions, please contact Gary Medina 33rd Ward - Alderman Mell's Office at (773) 478-8040

January 10, 2007- CTA Announces that Kimball Ravenswood Brown Line Station to Reopen this Friday, January 12, 2007. At the CTA Brown Line Task Force meeting, CTA officials announced that the Kimball station is slated to reopen at the end of this week on Friday, January 12, 2007. Construction on Francisco continues and the station is slated to open on time in March 2007.

September 15, 2006 - FREE SHUTTLE BUS TO RUN BETWEEN STATIONS. Kimball, Kedzie, Francisco and Rockwell stations will close on several select weekends, the first of which is scheduled for the weekend of September 15, 2006. On those weekends, Brown Line trains will operate from the Western station to the Loop. Shuttle bus service will be provided to customers free of charge from Western station to Kimball station from 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday as a substitute for rail service. The shuttle bus will make stops at the Western station, Rockwell and Lawrence, Sacramento and Lawrence, Kedzie and Lawrence, Kedzie and Wilson, and at the Kimball station. Kedzie and Rockwell will re-open in time for service on Monday morning, September 18, 2006.

September 15, 2006 - KIMBALL AND FRANCISCO RAVENSWOOD BROWN LINE STATIONS TO CLOSE FOR FOUR TO SIX MONTHS. Kimball and Francisco stations are scheduled to close Friday, September 15, 2006 at 10:00p.m. Kimball is scheduled to close for four months and will reopen January 2007 and Francisco is scheduled to close for six months and will reopen March 2007.

Improvements at both the Kimball and Francisco stations will include: new and longer platforms to accommodate berthing eight-car trains instead of the current six-car trains, security cameras, brighter lighting, tactile edging on the platform and upgraded public address system. In addition, the Francisco Ave station house will be completely rebuilt and the station will be made accessible with the addition of a ramp and a wheelchair accessible turnstile. Newly renovated Kedzie Ave station will serve as the end of the line and will be the new port of entry into our community. There is also a new ADA accessible auxiliary entrance on Spaulding Avenue, located approximately two blocks from the Kimball station.

September 1, 2006 - 45 FREE BUSINESS ADS SECURED FOR KIMBALL AND FRANCISCO BUSINESSES - The Chamber of Commerce secured 45 free advertisements for businesses located on Lawrence Avenue, Kimball Avenue and Francisco Avenue in preparation for station closures at Kimball and Francisco. Ads are scheduled to run for four to six months starting September 18th on Ravenswood Brown Line trains and buses throughout Albany Park and online at the CTA's Brown Line website, www.ctabrownline.com.

August 16, 2006 - KEDZIE AND ROCKWELL STATIONS REOPEN ON WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2006! Our community pushed CTA to complete the station renovations two days earlier than CTA's scheduled completion date and the stations are open and look beautiful. Construction work continues on the two stations while crews finish work the last details. Trains are now running on normal schedules.

April 23, 2006 -Temporary 25-Hour Closure of Brown Line Kimball, Kedzie, Francisco & Rockwell Stations Planned for Sunday, April 23rd.

Closures for the Kimball, Kedzie, Francisco & Rockwell stations are scheduled to begin this Sunday, April 23 at 3:00 a.m. Normal service will resume at the Kimball and Francisco stations on Monday, April 24 at 4:00 a.m. During the Sunday closures, Brown Line trains will operate between the Loop and Western station. Shuttle bus service is provided to customers free of charge from Western station to Kimball station during regular Brown Line hours as a substitute for rail service. The shuttle bus makes stops at the Western station, Rockwell and Lawrence, Sacramento and Lawrence, Kedzie and Lawrence, Kedzie and Wilson, and at the Kimball station.

March 25, 2006 - COMMUNITY FIGHTS FOR AND WINS FREE SHUTTLE BUSES DURING WEEKEND STATION CLOSURES- free shuttle bus will provide service to the community from the closed at-grade Ravenswood Brown Line stations to the always open Western Avenue station ONLY during the 10 weekends that all four at-grade stations will be simultaneously closed (weekends listed above in "Weekend Closure" section). When Kimball, Kedzie, Francisco and Rockwell are simultaneously closed, community members can ride the free shuttle bus (a CTA bus with special signage) that stops: in front of the Western Avenue station, at the corner of Rockwell and Lawrence Avenue, at the corner of Sacramento and Lawrence Avenue, at the corner of Kedzie and Lawrence Avenue, at the corner of Kedzie Avenue and Wilson Avenue and in front of the Kimball Avenue station. We support additional shuttle buses during all station closures to alleviate the pain and congestion of the reconstruction period.

March 17, 2006 - MORE WEEKEND CLOSURES ANNOUNCED. Kimball, Kedzie, Francisco and Rockwell will ALL be closed on certain weekends including: March 17-19, March 24-26, April 8-9. Free shuttle buses are available to take people from closed stations to the always open Western Avenue station. To learn more about how the Chamber of Commerce and North River Commission and others helped secure free shuttle buses for our community, read below or click here.

March 16, 2006 - COMMUNITY/CTA MEETING: On Thursday, March 16, 2006 CTA and Contractors met with community at meeting co-hosted by Alderman Mell, Alderman Schulter, North River Commission, Lawrence Avenue Development Corporation, Albany Park Chamber of Commerce and Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce. Many issues that arose from construction were resolved, including the removal of dumpsters and contractors vehicles from the public way. To report any problems with CTA or contractor vehicles parked on the public way, unused metered parking spaces blocked by traffic horses or no parking signage or any other inconveniences, CTA encourages businesses and residents to call:

*CTA contact person Mark Payne at (312) 681-2713 between Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

*CTA contractor, F.H. Paschen's, 24-hour hotline at (773) 308-7378 24-hours a day for 7 days a week, or

*Your local Alderman's office: Alderman Mell: (773) 478-8040; Alderman Schulter: (773) 348-8400.

*For emergencies or safety concerns at the construction site, please call 911.

FEBRUARY 27, 2006 - High hopes for a Kedzie Avenue Bus: Community Leaders and Alderman Richard F. Mell (33rd Ward) unite to pose solutions for CTA Ravenswood Brown Line Closures. Albany Park Chamber of Commerce leaders testified at the Chicago City Council's transportation committee February 27, 2006 in support of Alderman Mell's resolution to reinstate the Kedzie Avenue bus line. The North River Commission coordinated the community action and over 50 business owners, residents, students and institutions presented testimony and 1,600 letters of support for a Kedzie Avenue bus.

February 15, 2006 - FREE ADVERTISING - The Albany Park Chamber of Commerce and Lawrence Avenue Development Corporation have helped push CTA to provide free advertising to businesses within one block of the CTA Ravenswood Brown Line stations of Kedzie Avenue & Rockwell Street. Ads, which will be posted for the next 6 months (until August 2006), can be seen on CTA buses, El trains and online at CTA's website: www.ctabrownline.com. Businesses within one block of the Francisco and Kimball stations will be eligible for advertising when their respective stations temporarily close in for six months starting in summer 2006.

January, 2006 - Kedzie and Rockwell stations will be closed for six months starting on February 20, 2006. Please continue to support our local Kedzie and Rockwell businesses during reconstruction! You will find award winning restaurants, unbeatable deals & the world at your fingertips when you "Shop Albany Park" and shop locally!


*Latest news and information about the Albany Park Chamber of Commerce*

ALBANY PARK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE EVENTS: Spring 2008 Lawrence Avenue Development Corporation Special Kick-Off Meeting: Tuesday, April 22, 2008, 9:15 am, Albany Bank & Trust Co., 3rd Floor Conference Room, 3400 W. Lawrence Avenue. Free parking available in Albank lot.* Nationally-renowned LISC MetroEdge Announces a New Market Analysis for Greater Albany Park Commercial Area. Also, Hear the Latest News on the Newest Developments in Albany Park and Mayfair. *Elections for 2008-2009 Board of Directors: Check the mail for your ballot. Please return all ballots to the Chamber of Commerce office by Friday, April 25! Only paid members are eligible to vote. Please call Liz at (773) 478-0202 x 12 to see if you are eligible! Annual Membership Meeting & Networking Event: Thursday, May 8, 2008, 5-8pm at Marie's Liquors & Pizza, 4127 W. Lawrence Avenue at Kedvale. Free for Chamber members, $10 for non-members. We will announce our 2008-2009 Board of Directors! Enjoy delicious thin crust pizza, Italian appetizers, salad and more from one of our most famous award-winning chamber members! Come for the networking, stay for the Thursday Night Martinis and Jazz! After 7pm, enjoy $4 martinis and a live jazz combo!* _____________________________________________________________________ Illinois Smoking Ban in Effect January 1, 2008 *The Illinois Smoking Ban goes into effect on January 1, 2008. Smoking is banned indoor and within 15 feet of any entrance to all public places of employment including restaurants, bars, taverns, retail stores, offices, concert halls, private clubs, lobbies, bowling allies, etc. The Smoke Free Illinois Act, signed into law by Governor Rod Blagojevich last July, is designed to protect people from the dangers of tobacco smoke, including second-hand smoke. The new law supersedes most local "no smoking" laws throughout the state, including the Chicago Clean Indoor Air Ordinance, which was initially passed in 1988 and updated most recently in 2005. The law also requires "No Smoking" signs to be posted at every entrance. Free signs are available for download on the city's website at www.cityofchicago.org. Additionally, ashtrays are to be removed from the premises. The changes effective January 1 will affect those businesses in Chicago that would have been required, by current city ordinance, to be smoke free by July 1, 2008. Business owners and managers who have questions and concerns about the new state law should visit the City's website for information or call 311. ____________________________________________________________________* WE HAVE MOVED! PLEASE VISIT US AT OUR NEW LOCATION! The Albany Park Chamber of Commerce, Lawrence Avenue Development Corporation and North River Commission are now located at: 3403 W. Lawrence Ave, Suite 201 The handicapped accessible office is located at the corner of Lawrence and Kimball Avenues in the Albank Professional Building, across the street from the CTA Kimball station and Albany Bank & Trust. Metered street parking is available on Kimball or Lawrence Avenue, as well. _____________________________________________________________________ THE CHAMBER WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS: Albany Park Community Center, 3403 W. Lawrence Ave, Suite 200, (773) 583-5111 Blue Buddha Boutique, 4456 N. Sawyer, (773) 539-7739 Pollo Campero, 4830 N. Pulaski Rd, (773) 282-1966 _____________________________________________________________________ Albany Park Chamber of Commerce 2007-2008 Board of Directors:* President- Andrew Levin, Bass Realty 1st Vice President - Andy Mourikes, International Plaza 2nd Vice President, Scott Schultz, Celebrity Properties Treasurer - Diana Torres, Albany Bank & Trust Secretary - Saima Causevic, Northside Realty and L&S Management Board of Director, Larry Anderson, Tre Kronor Restaurant Board of Director, Hassib Blan, Metro Plaza Board of Director, Shu Chan, Lawrence-Kedzie Storage Board of Director, Kate J. Rogers, Accion Chicago Board of Director, Newar Raya, Jerusalem Liquors Board of Director, Carmen Torres, Parkway Bank Board of Director, Guy Maniscalo, Avondale Orsahl Carstar _____________________________________________________________________ History & Mission For more than 75 year, your neighbors have been building and strengthening your community through the Albany Park Chamber of Commerce. Our organization provides the most powerful anchor for what we think are the best communities in the Chicago area. At the Albany Park Chamber of Commerce, we don't just talk about the future, we shape it! more. more... _____________________________________________________________________ Look for upcoming special events co-hosted with: Pulaski Elston Business Association Kedzie Elston Business Industrial Council Portage Park Chamber of Commerce &		News Briefs... Artwork installed at CTA Kimball station More info below in CTA Updates Section... Did Your Building Sustain Water Damage? If your business or building sustained water damage last week, we encourage you to report it to your Alderman. The City will be inspecting damaged property the first few weeks of July and we encourage you to report the damage. Alternately, you can call 311 and report the damage. Alderman Mell, 33rd Ward: (773) 478-8040 Alderman Allen, 38th Ward: (773) 545-3838 Alderman Laurino, 39th Ward: (773) 463-5594 Alderman O'Connor, 40th Ward: (773) 769-1140 Alderman Levar, 45th Ward: (773) 545-2545 Thank You, Burger King... After 20 years in Albany Park, the Burger King at 4700 N. Kimball (at Leland Ave) is closed. Thank you, Burger King and manager Carmine Genobess for your support of our community and our businesses! City of Chicago Business Seminar Information: Don't miss the City of Chicago's Business Affairs and Licensing "Business Works" seminars all year long! Summer seminars include: How to Finance Your Business, How to Insure Your Business, Preparing Your Business For Inspection and More! For more information, please visit the Business Affairs and Licensing website, here, or visit www.cityofchicago.org. Adopt-A-School Needs You! Have you ever wanted to get your business involved as a partner with a local school? Well, this is the perfect time to find out more about that possibility! Why not consider taking an active role as an Adopt-A-School partner? The program is flexible. Each partnership develops its own program structure and goals based on the resources of the adopter and the needs of the schools. For more information, please call Chicago Public Schools at 773-553-1000. _____________________________________________________________________ CTA RAVENSWOOD LINE RECONSTRUCTION UPDATES: BREAKING NEWS: July 26, 2007- New art pieces have been permanently installed at the CTA Kimball Station as part of the CTA Ravenswood Brown Line Renovation and the Arts in Transit program! Northside artist Josh Garber created two 10' tall metallic structures called "Hope" and "Renewal" after he was inspired by a conversation with Kompha Seth, founder and director of the Cambodian Association of Illinois. PARKING INFORMATION: Two CTA Park N' Ride lots are located within walking distance of the Kedzie and the Kimball CTA Ravenswood stations. A 60-space Park N' Ride is located next to the Kimball station on Lawrence Avenue just east of Kimball Avenue. A 50-space Park N' Ride is located two blocks north of the Kedzie station on Kedzie Avenue just north of Lawrence Avenue. The Albany Park Chamber of Commerce, Lawrence Avenue Development Corporation and North River Commission leaders continue to work with CTA on finding additional permanent and temporary parking spaces in our community to help ease congestion and pain during station closures. _____________________________________________________________________ CTA ARCHIVES: July, 2007 - KEDZIE AVE BETWEEN LELAND AND EASTWOOD AVE WILL BE CLOSED JULY 12-19, 2007 FOR TRACK REPAIR - Beginning July 12, at 8:00pm, CTA will commence work on the at-grade crossings on Kedzie and Sacramento. The work will continue through July 19, 2007. Scope of work includes removal and replacement of CTA track at street level from sidewalk to sidewalk, new rubber panels, and removal and replacement of asphalt approaches. This work is needed to replace the defective areas of the track system at the Kedzie At Grade Crossing. Due to the work, Kedzie will be a full closure. Traffic will be rerouted to Kimball via detours using Montrose and Lawrence. Local traffic will be allowed to proceed to Leland from the north and Eastwood from the south. Leland from Kedzie to the first alley east will be two way to allow vehicular traffic to access alleys and parking. There will be parking restrictions along Kedzie from Eastwood to Leland for the length of the project. As the project proceeds, the designated no parking areas will become smaller thus allowing for on street parking for customers and employees. For more information or questions, please contact Gary Medina 33rd Ward - Alderman Mell's Office at (773) 478-8040 January 10, 2007- CTA Announces that Kimball Ravenswood Brown Line Station to Reopen this Friday, January 12, 2007. At the CTA Brown Line Task Force meeting, CTA officials announced that the Kimball station is slated to reopen at the end of this week on Friday, January 12, 2007. Construction on Francisco continues and the station is slated to open on time in March 2007. September 15, 2006 - FREE SHUTTLE BUS TO RUN BETWEEN STATIONS. Kimball, Kedzie, Francisco and Rockwell stations will close on several select weekends, the first of which is scheduled for the weekend of September 15, 2006. On those weekends, Brown Line trains will operate from the Western station to the Loop. Shuttle bus service will be provided to customers free of charge from Western station to Kimball station from 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday as a substitute for rail service. The shuttle bus will make stops at the Western station, Rockwell and Lawrence, Sacramento and Lawrence, Kedzie and Lawrence, Kedzie and Wilson, and at the Kimball station. Kedzie and Rockwell will re-open in time for service on Monday morning, September 18, 2006. September 15, 2006 - KIMBALL AND FRANCISCO RAVENSWOOD BROWN LINE STATIONS TO CLOSE FOR FOUR TO SIX MONTHS. Kimball and Francisco stations are scheduled to close Friday, September 15, 2006 at 10:00p.m. Kimball is scheduled to close for four months and will reopen January 2007 and Francisco is scheduled to close for six months and will reopen March 2007. Improvements at both the Kimball and Francisco stations will include: new and longer platforms to accommodate berthing eight-car trains instead of the current six-car trains, security cameras, brighter lighting, tactile edging on the platform and upgraded public address system. In addition, the Francisco Ave station house will be completely rebuilt and the station will be made accessible with the addition of a ramp and a wheelchair accessible turnstile. Newly renovated Kedzie Ave station will serve as the end of the line and will be the new port of entry into our community. There is also a new ADA accessible auxiliary entrance on Spaulding Avenue, located approximately two blocks from the Kimball station. September 1, 2006 - 45 FREE BUSINESS ADS SECURED FOR KIMBALL AND FRANCISCO BUSINESSES - The Chamber of Commerce secured 45 free advertisements for businesses located on Lawrence Avenue, Kimball Avenue and Francisco Avenue in preparation for station closures at Kimball and Francisco. Ads are scheduled to run for four to six months starting September 18th on Ravenswood Brown Line trains and buses throughout Albany Park and online at the CTA's Brown Line website, www.ctabrownline.com. August 16, 2006 - KEDZIE AND ROCKWELL STATIONS REOPEN ON WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2006! Our community pushed CTA to complete the station renovations two days earlier than CTA's scheduled completion date and the stations are open and look beautiful. Construction work continues on the two stations while crews finish work the last details. Trains are now running on normal schedules. April 23, 2006 -Temporary 25-Hour Closure of Brown Line Kimball, Kedzie, Francisco & Rockwell Stations Planned for Sunday, April 23rd. Closures for the Kimball, Kedzie, Francisco & Rockwell stations are scheduled to begin this Sunday, April 23 at 3:00 a.m. Normal service will resume at the Kimball and Francisco stations on Monday, April 24 at 4:00 a.m. During the Sunday closures, Brown Line trains will operate between the Loop and Western station. Shuttle bus service is provided to customers free of charge from Western station to Kimball station during regular Brown Line hours as a substitute for rail service. The shuttle bus makes stops at the Western station, Rockwell and Lawrence, Sacramento and Lawrence, Kedzie and Lawrence, Kedzie and Wilson, and at the Kimball station. March 25, 2006 - COMMUNITY FIGHTS FOR AND WINS FREE SHUTTLE BUSES DURING WEEKEND STATION CLOSURES- free shuttle bus will provide service to the community from the closed at-grade Ravenswood Brown Line stations to the always open Western Avenue station ONLY during the 10 weekends that all four at-grade stations will be simultaneously closed (weekends listed above in "Weekend Closure" section). When Kimball, Kedzie, Francisco and Rockwell are simultaneously closed, community members can ride the free shuttle bus (a CTA bus with special signage) that stops: in front of the Western Avenue station, at the corner of Rockwell and Lawrence Avenue, at the corner of Sacramento and Lawrence Avenue, at the corner of Kedzie and Lawrence Avenue, at the corner of Kedzie Avenue and Wilson Avenue and in front of the Kimball Avenue station. We support additional shuttle buses during all station closures to alleviate the pain and congestion of the reconstruction period. March 17, 2006 - MORE WEEKEND CLOSURES ANNOUNCED. Kimball, Kedzie, Francisco and Rockwell will ALL be closed on certain weekends including: March 17-19, March 24-26, April 8-9. Free shuttle buses are available to take people from closed stations to the always open Western Avenue station. To learn more about how the Chamber of Commerce and North River Commission and others helped secure free shuttle buses for our community, read below or click here. March 16, 2006 - COMMUNITY/CTA MEETING: On Thursday, March 16, 2006 CTA and Contractors met with community at meeting co-hosted by Alderman Mell, Alderman Schulter, North River Commission, Lawrence Avenue Development Corporation, Albany Park Chamber of Commerce and Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce. Many issues that arose from construction were resolved, including the removal of dumpsters and contractors vehicles from the public way. To report any problems with CTA or contractor vehicles parked on the public way, unused metered parking spaces blocked by traffic horses or no parking signage or any other inconveniences, CTA encourages businesses and residents to call: CTA contact person Mark Payne at (312) 681-2713 between Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CTA contractor, F.H. Paschen's, 24-hour hotline at (773) 308-7378 24-hours a day for 7 days a week, or Your local Alderman's office: Alderman Mell: (773) 478-8040; Alderman Schulter: (773) 348-8400. For emergencies or safety concerns at the construction site, please call 911. FEBRUARY 27, 2006 - High hopes for a Kedzie Avenue Bus: Community Leaders and Alderman Richard F. Mell (33rd Ward) unite to pose solutions for CTA Ravenswood Brown Line Closures. Albany Park Chamber of Commerce leaders testified at the Chicago City Council's transportation committee February 27, 2006 in support of Alderman Mell's resolution to reinstate the Kedzie Avenue bus line. The North River Commission coordinated the community action and over 50 business owners, residents, students and institutions presented testimony and 1,600 letters of support for a Kedzie Avenue bus. February 15, 2006 - FREE ADVERTISING - The Albany Park Chamber of Commerce and Lawrence Avenue Development Corporation have helped push CTA to provide free advertising to businesses within one block of the CTA Ravenswood Brown Line stations of Kedzie Avenue & Rockwell Street. Ads, which will be posted for the next 6 months (until August 2006), can be seen on CTA buses, El trains and online at CTA's website: www.ctabrownline.com. Businesses within one block of the Francisco and Kimball stations will be eligible for advertising when their respective stations temporarily close in for six months starting in summer 2006. January, 2006 - Kedzie and Rockwell stations will be closed for six months starting on February 20, 2006. Please continue to support our local Kedzie and Rockwell businesses during reconstruction! You will find award winning restaurants, unbeatable deals & the world at your fingertips when you "Shop Albany Park" and shop locally!