Eastown Access is now online! - Eastown Community Association

EASTOWN ACCESS
VOL. XLIII No. 2
The Newsletter of the Eastown Community Association
June 6th, 8am
Eastown’s Annual
Dumpster Day
@ the Ethel Parking Lot
Eastown residents can drop off
refuse items for free!
If you would like to volunteer, ECA
could use help with directing traffic,
loading the dumpsters, and sorting
recyclables. Contact info@eastown.
org to get involved.
June 27th, 9am-5pm
April – May 2015
Chester Street to the Rescue!
S
By Lee Hardy
o is the Chester Street Fire Station
haunted?” I had heard rumors to that
effect.
“Well, things have happened that are
not easily explained,” replied Lieutenant
Sean Murray, somewhat cagily. Sean
was on duty the day I paid a visit to the
113-year-old fire station on the southeast
corner of Chester and Diamond.
Sean and two others in his crew were
putting in a 24-hour shift. They pull three
24-hours shifts every nine days, rotating
shifts with two other crews. The workday
for them begins at 7:30 in the morning and
runs till 4:30 in the afternoon. After that
they remain on the premises, on call, but
Eastown Bizarre
Bazaar
can do as they please till the next morning.
If you live in Eastown and have a
fire or medical emergency, you will be
visited within minutes by a crew from
Chester Street. Last year they responded
to more than 2,100 calls—fires, medical
emergencies, car accidents—on the east
side of the city, from Three Mile Road to
44th Street. That’s an average of about six
calls a day. About 70 percent of those calls
are medical in nature. Each member of a
crew receives emergency medical training,
which is constantly upgraded.
House fires are relatively infrequent
in Eastown. Most of the homes are
owner-occupied and in good shape. If
a residential fire does break out, that’s
Continued on next page 8
Once again it’s that time of year
when we shut down part of Wealthy
Street between Lake and Giddings
for the fantastic Bizarre Bazaar:
• Over 90 local artists and
craftspeople
• Live music
• Tasty food from local
restaurants
• And lots of people!
Vendors can apply for a booth by
filling out an application at
eastown.org.
Photo: courtesy of the Chester Street Fire Station
Check the Eastown calendar
at eastown.org for more
upcoming events!
A historic photo of the Chester Street Fire Station, when the pumpers were drawn by
horses. The upstairs of the station contains a hayloft.
People
ECA News
Business
Chris LaPorte
Page 4
New Board Members
Page 5
Goodwill Re:Blue
Page 7
From the Board
Enhancing Eastown for the Next 100 Years
Fostering a safe, diverse,
and walkable Eastown
neighborhood by creating
opportunities for
neighbors and friends to
engage and connect.
415 Ethel SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49506
616.451.3025
info@eastown.org
www.eastown.org
ECA Board Members
Shannon Cunningham, President
Heather Colletto,Vice-President
Tracy Martin, Treasurer
Courtney Myers-Keaton, Secretary
Courtney Burrows
Chris Cork
Ryan Griffith
Alice Menninga-Richards
Chad Systma
Miranda Ward
ECA Committees
Green Space
Block Captains & Public Safety
Access Committee
ECA/EBA Committee
Special Events
W
by Ryan Griffith, ECA board member
hat determines a community? In Eastown, what brings us together and bonds
us to one another?
Eastown residents are lucky to have many assets in our community that
promote health, happiness and wellbeing. Our lively neighborhood, the businesses that
provide a main street feel and fall within a short distance of our homes, our multimodal
transit corridors, and the many parks and natural places that we have to gather and
play all contribute to what makes our community so special. Eastown boasts of local
resources that other communities dream of having.
These resources that we love most about Eastown are things that did not happen
overnight. Many of the characteristics of our neighborhood took decades to develop, and
many are projects that are still in the works. As people’s needs evolve, our community
has evolved and continues to evolve as a symbiotic relationship between people and
space.
One of these continued evolutions is that of Wilcox Park. Established in 1917, Wilcox
Park has been the keystone of Eastown and undergone many enhancements over time.
(Did you know that in the 1950s, the bathhouse and pool were replaced by a shelter and
adjoining wading pool?) Wilcox Park continues to exemplify the importance of inviting
public spaces for sports, recreation, education, and interacting with nature. In recent
months, this community gem has undergone concept planning aimed at enhancing the
features of our beloved park.
Some of the most exciting aspects are a new shelter that will attract local schools
to use it as an outdoor classroom, a network of paths through the woods and a bridge
over Coldbrook Creek to keep people off of sensitive environmental areas and mitigate
erosion, stormwater runoff management, and new playground equipment and a splash
pad.
While the playground equipment and splash pad are features already slated for
implementation, other features will require the help and support of community members
to make the future vision for Wilcox a reality. In two years, Wilcox Park will be
celebrating its centennial anniversary. A great way to celebrate our park will be to make
a financial contribution towards the enhancement of this public space that brings us
together.
Wilcox Park is evolving to meet our neighborhood needs, just as all public spaces
must evolve to best match the community in which it serves. The end result will be an
enhancement of what is already in place – Wilcox Park and Eastown! Wilcox is almost
100 years old. What qualities of Eastown do we love and want to enhance over the next
100 years?
Eastown
Access
The Eastown Community Association
board of directors meets on the second
Monday of every month at 6:00 pm at
the ECA Office, 415 Ethel SE. Eastown
residents and business owners are
encouraged to attend.
As the newsletter of the Eastown
Community Association, the Access is
published six times a year.
For more information visit our website
at eastown.org
Lee Hardy
Kevan Ventura
ECA Staff
Executive Director/Lindsey Ruffin
Community Police Officer/Jeremy Huffman
Public Relations Intern/Elena Cangelosi
2 Eastown Access / April-May 2015
Christa Brenner Shannon Cunningham
Cathy TerBeek Lindsey Ruffin
Heather Colletto
Amy Wolterstorff
Charlie Lowe
The views and opinions expressed in
Access are not necessarily those of the
ECA Board. The Access reserves the
right to accept, reject or edit any material
submitted for publication. Supported
by CDBG funds via the City of Grand
Rapids.
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EBA Updates
By Chris McDonald, EBA Board Member; General Manager, Terra GR
G
oing into my third year in business
in Eastown and mid-way through
my first year of involvement with
the Eastown Business Association, I have
learned so much about the neighborhood,
the business district and the community
as a whole. With my ongoing education
about Eastown, I thought now would be a
good time to take a look back at Eastown’s
roots, where we are currently and possibly
what the future holds for us.
To do this, I spoke with a couple of
longstanding business owners, current
business owners and a few people in the
community to gain as much perspective as
I can.
I recently had an opportunity to
converse with Jaye VanLenten, co-owner
of Spirit Dreams, an Eastown institution
since 1994. She opened her unique gift
store and chose Eastown for its other
businesses that had similar paradigms as
hers, like a food co-op, massage therapists,
and yoga practitioners that also called this
neighborhood home. At a recent Uptown
GR function, I spoke to Ron Lichtenstein,
the proprietor at Gallery 154 for nearly
40 years and Andrew Hetland, who
opened McKendree Jewelers in 1976.
They both told me the tale of strip malls,
a very popular greasy spoon and a long-
lost neighborhood hardware store. The
community was a walk-able, ride-able and
bustling neighborhood.
Presently, many of these qualities,
especially the accessibility and diversity of
the community and businesses, continue
to be features that make Eastown great!
The business environment started with
local business and this continues to be
the trend as several new businesses add
to the diversity of the district. Another
outstanding quality of the communal
culture is strongly evident with the
Eastown Community Association, led by
Lindsey Ruffin, and the Eastown Business
Association, governed by a board of
directors with the leadership of Stacy
Wolfgang of Wolfgang’s. Both of these
organizations continue to lead and direct
our community, culture and businesses
towards a bright future. Eastown is also
part of the Business Improvement District
and the Corridor Improvement District to
lend Grand Rapids an Eastown voice and
influence.
Which brings us to what lies ahead:
where do we go from here? As a
community, those of you reading this will
dictate who Eastown is and what you
want. Together, each of you will make
your choices, stand for what you believe in
EBA BOARD MEMBERS
Stacy Wolfgang, President
Lyndi Charles, Treasurer
Lynn Happel
Ryan Ogle
Mary Scheidel
Christopher McDonald
Jaye Van Lenten
EBA COMMITTEE
Marketing
EBA/ECA COMMITTEE
Special Events
and support what you’re passionate about.
From a business standpoint, we
continue to have some work to do.
Jason Kakabaker, proprietor of the
wildly popular Cakabakery, says this
neighborhood has great restaurants, pubs
and bars. He would like to see a little
more retail diversity, specifically with
clothing and fashion. Jaye VanLenten
continues to preach the point of continued
growth of locally owned establishments
that share common priorities and values.
Continued on page 6
EAT. SHOP. ROCK.
th
Join us June 11 in Eastown!
There will be tons of fun activities! -­‐ Live Bands -­‐ Face Painting -­‐ Henna Tattoo Artists -­‐ Shopping -­‐ Various Music Around Eastown 5pm-9pm in HubLot
PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES HubLot music begins at 6pm
Featuring Bello Sparks
&
Gabrial James Lundy
Aspara Salon
Billy’s
Bombay Cuisine
Brandywine
Cakabakery
Connie's Cakes
Eastown Antiques
Flashlight Alley
Funky Buddha
Gallery 154
Harmony Brewing
McKendree Silver
The Mitten State
Mulligan’s
New Yorker
Nona Salon
Pita House
Rebel
Redux Books
Spirit Dreams
Striders
Tonic Salon
Terra GR
Vintage on Lake
Wolfgangs
Eastown Access / April-May 2015 3
A Portrait of
The Artist
Chris
LaPorte
By Amy Wolterstorff
T
he lines on our faces reveal who
we are, according to Eastown artist
Chris LaPorte. He should know—
he has drawn lots of them, including more
than 100,000 caricatures as well as the
pencil portraits he is perhaps better known
for. LaPorte’s work has been shown at
exhibitions in a number of cities in the
U.S., including his new solo show at the
Leep Gallery at Pine Rest.
He has entered ArtPrize four times,
winning in 2010 with Cavalry, American
Officers, 1921, a life-sized, powerful,
expressive and moving portrait of 63
seated World War I soldiers. LaPorte
feels that his 2012 ArtPrize entry, City
Band, 50 percent larger than Cavalry,
reveals a progression of his technical
drawing skills. LaPorte uses words like
“empowering, engaging and validating” to
describe his ArtPrize experience but also,
after such a large investment of time and
emotion composing the pieces, likens it to
revealing a page from his diary. Winning
the award, he says, has allowed him to
take on more commissions and exhibitions
and to continue making his large-scale
drawings. He has also been able to give
back to the community by donating prints
of his works to nonprofit organizations for
their fund-raising auctions.
A native of Bay City, LaPorte studied
engineering at the University of Dayton
until transferring to Aquinas’s BFA
program. He spent a summer earning
money for college by drawing caricatures
at Cedar Point. He studied art in France
and New York City, where he lived for six
years, and then returned to Grand Rapids
and has taught drawing at GRCC, GVSU
and Kendall. He likes to teach and engage
students and currently serves as associate
professor of art at Aquinas College where
he teaches drawing and painting. He has
lived in Eastown since 2003 and likes “the
energy that is inclusive and positive.” He
loves its walkable, urban neighborhood, its
4 Eastown Access / April-May 2015
sense of community and its history.
LaPorte’s drawings are inspired by
photographs that allow him to “take
something something that’s long gone
and make it alive.” That proved true for
him personally as well as professionally.
In September 2009, mourning his father’s
recent sudden and tragic death, he
purchased the old photograph that would
provide the inspiration for Cavalry. Until
then, he had focused largely on smaller oil
paintings and figure studies but, wishing
to push himself in a new direction,
he decided to use the photograph as
the basis for a drawing. The second
ArtPrize competition, to be held a year
later, provided a deadline and a venue.
Intuitively, he sensed that the drawing
would have to be conceptual, it would
have to be rendered in pencil, and it would
have to be life-sized (which he realized
Photo: by Lee Hardy
Chris LaPorte: Portraits, New
and Old is showing at the Leep
Gallery at Pine Rest’s Postma
Center at 300 – 68th Street SE and
continues through June 30. Hours
are 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through
Friday.
would make it nearly 30 feet in length!).
Space limitations in his (then) home studio
meant that he would have to draw it on
seven separate four-foot by eight-foot
panels. Many months later, when he saw
the completed panels placed together for
the first time, and only after showing it to
a colleague, did he realize that the work
was an attempt to draw his father back to
life and keep his memory alive.
Continued on next page
Neighbor Spotlight
Meet the ECA Board: Part 2
By Christa Brenner
I
n the last issue of the Access we introduced you to Miranda
Ward and Courtney Burrows, two of our newly appointed
ECA Board Members. For this edition, we’ll focus on the
other new reps, Tracy Martin and Ryan Griffin.
Ask Tracy Martin about herself and she’ll quickly change
the subject. But when she signed up to run for treasurer, we
couldn’t think of a better woman for the job.
Tracy grew up in Eastown and even owned a business here.
Those days are behind her and she’s now in the business of
lending as a loan officer at Lake Michigan Credit Union.
She and her family live on the 1200 block of Thomas Street,
and have cultivated (arguably) one of the best block parties in
Eastown. When she and husband Tony (former long-serving
board member) returned to Eastown in 1994, they settled in and
started making friends on the block right away. She thinks being
a good neighbor is sometimes as easy as sitting outside and
being nice.
Ryan Griffin shares many of the same sentiments, loves the
sense of community on her 200 block of Benjamin and finds
it to be a true gift. “People are always willing to lend a hand
and wild packs of kids run freely from house to house, because
parents feel comfortable enough to let them do so.”
As an urban planner she is inspired by the walkability of
Eastown and the integration of residential and commercial
areas. This mix, she says, makes the livability of any
community more complete. This works out well for Ryan—a
self-proclaimed “Avid Eater” she’s often found walking her
pack of five dogs to neighborhood eateries. Her passion for food
includes chickens, and she’s excited for urban chickens and
future urban farming initiatives in Grand Rapids.
Her previous experience running non-profits and writing
grants has made Ryan a great fit for the Wilcox Fundraising
Committee. And since she’s also a master gardener, it seemed
only appropriate we have her on the Green Space Committee as
well.
Together with Miranda and Courtney, Ryan and Tracy are
excited to serve on the ECA board and continue improving our
awesome community.
Coffee with
Bliss:
Tuesday, May 5 at noon
at Kitchen 67
Friday, June 14 at 7:30 a.m.
at Sparrows Coffee Shop
Thursday, July 9 at noon
at SpeakEZ on Monroe
Connect at blissformayor.org,
facebook or call 889-1277
True Leadership
for
Eastown
and the city of
Grand Rapids
A Portrait cont. from page 4
Making the drawings involves, as LaPorte puts it, “lots of
left-brain stuff at first followed by a window of right brain.”
He relies on a grid to enlarge the scale and uses plumb lines to
keep the figures aligned. Because the faces in the photographs
are small, the fun, creative part comes when he gets to “play
and discover” as he draws the faces and “exaggerates the
expressions,” thereby making the works “psychologically threedimensional” and infusing them with narrative and feeling.
LaPorte points to the dense pencil strokes in his portraits
and describes the lengthy drawing process as meditative. The
finished artwork is an expression of that meditative process;
viewing it is a meditative experience as well. “The weight of
it ends up being what it is about,” he says. The portraits’ rich,
dark pencil lines masterfully portray the subjects’ personalities,
relationships and histories, whereas the monumental scale draws
the viewer in. The portraits “are in the room, they’re present and
alive,” says LaPorte.
We welcome Justin
VanSpronsen to the
EFS team this year!
Providing income tax
and financial planning
services to this
community since 2000.
Money Concepts Financial Planning Center
1514 Wealthy St SE, Suite 226
Grand Rapids, MI 49506
(616) 233-9773
Eastown Access / April-May 2015 5
OnBase with GRPD
A New Baseball Program For Inner-City Kids
T
By Officer Aaron Rossin
he Grand Rapids Police Department
is partnering with the Parks and
Recreation Department to start
a new baseball program that will target
at-risk, inner-city youth. Police officers
from the Community Affairs Unit will be
coaching teams twice per week from June
until mid-August. The goal of the program
is to not only revitalize a sport that seems
to be in decline in inner cities, but also to
provide kids with an opportunity to have
positive interactions with police officers
in a non-enforcement capacity. Practices
will be held every Tuesday and Thursday
from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (with lunch
provided), and the program will culminate
in a tournament with a championship
game played under the lights at a large
community event on August 13th.
This new program is funded entirely
by business and private donations, so
your help is needed! Because participants
are coming from lower-income
neighborhoods, we will provide them with
gloves, cleats, bats, helmets, etc. After
a few weeks of collecting, cleats are the
greatest need. Monetary donations are also
needed. Tax-deductible donation forms,
as well as corporate sponsorship forms,
are available on the program’s website at
onbasewithgrpd.com.
We also hope to take the kids to a
Detroit Tigers baseball game. Many of
these kids will not have the opportunity
for such an experience outside of this
program, so we appreciate any help you
can give us to make that happen!
We anticipate having somewhere
between 50-100 kids participating, so
volunteers will be needed. Opportunities
will be posted on the program website
and Facebook page. Therefore, we’ll be
looking for anyone that can commit to
helping out occasionally with practices
and games. You can have experience
coaching, umpiring, playing the game or
just like working with kids!
EBA cont. from page 3
Maintaining a growing shopping and
dining vibrancy will continue to make
Eastown a Grand Rapids destination.
Together, our voices, our values and
our economic cohesiveness will allow
us to remember where Eastown came
from, look at where we are today and
will ultimately decide where we go in the
future. So my question for all of you is:
where would you like it to go?
Buying and selling a home should be
an exciting experience, not a stressful one.
Let us help you live happy.
6 Eastown Access / April-May 2015
Goodwill Re:Blue Boutique
Opens in Eastown
By Cathy TerBeek
O
n April 25, Goodwill opened a new Blue retail store
in the Kingsley Building between Terra Restaurant
and E.A. Brady’s Butcher and Meat Market. The new
concept store, which formerly resided in the MoDiv shops
downtown and on Cherry Street in East Hills, specializes in
men’s and women’s clothing and accessories and fashionable
home decor. There will be specifically chosen goods from
designers, vintage donated goods, re-purposed items, graphic
limited edition t-shirts, and more. The staff will put together
clothing ensembles and various handpicked wares specifically
for customers from Goodwill’s donated goods. Like all
Goodwill stores, proceeds from the store support the Goodwill
mission.
The new look for the boutique can be attributed to Lance
Marconi. He recently established INVENTUARY(tm), a design
safe haven. He offered his services to Goodwill for this project
after relocating from Chicago to Grand Rapids this winter.
“The new location speaks to the unique and trendy items
available in this urban boutique,” said Jill Wallace, Goodwill’s
chief marketing and communications officer.
Re:Blue will be open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.,
Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4
p.m.
Global Water Dances Festival
By Amy Wolterstorff
W
Don’t forget to stop by our open house
during Eat. Shop. Rock on June 11th.
Approximately 50% of dogs and 30-40% of
cats will develop cancer at some point
during their lifetime.
May is National Pet Cancer Awareness Month.
Throughout the month, all cancer screening
packages will be $375. Schedule your
appointment today for a healthier tomorrow.
hat does Grand Rapids have in common with
Paris, Lima, London and Bangalore? It will hold
a Global Water Dances festival, its first ever. On
June 20, 2015, participants in these cities and over 70 others
worldwide will “assemble to revere, renew and inspire solutions
for our precious resource of water,” according to the website
globalwaterdances.org.
The brainchild of two Eastown residents, Lea Sevigny and
Amy Wilson, the Grand Rapids event will include water-themed
family activities and will be held 12 noon to 3 p.m. at the green
space on Lyon Street adjacent to Grand Rapids Montessori
School (159 College NE).
Wilson will head up the dance portion of the festival.
According to the Global Water Dances Initiative, “dancers use
dance and music to blend local water issues with the global
struggle to ensure safe water for all human beings.” In the
spirit of unity, one of the dances will be performed at all events
worldwide. Joshua Dunigan, the event’s music director, along
with area students, will compose and perform original music.
Still in the planning stages, details are subject to change.
Contact Sevigny at lsevigny@gmail.com for more information.
www.eastownvet.com
1350 Lake Dr. Grand Rapids | P:616.451.1810
Eastown Access / April-May 2015 7
Carlton One Retail & Restaurant Project
By Kevan Ventura
O
rion Construction and Orion Real
Estate Solutions (ORES) are
proposing two 3-story mixeduse buildings at the southwest corner
of Carlton and Fulton. The project is
still in the initial planning stages, but is
anticipated to include approximately 45
residential units, on-site parking, retail/
residential space, and green space. Orion
intends to deliver one building that will
feature ground floor retail/restaurant space
and apartments on the upper two floors,
and a second building that will feature
ground floor town homes and apartments
on the upper two floors.
The site of the proposed project, which
Chester cont. from page 1
usually because the old wiring has been
overloaded. The original post and tube
circuits were not designed to handle all the
modern appliances we hook up to them,
especially air conditioners. Other common
causes: leaving food unattended on a hot
stove or storing combustible material next
to the hot water heater or furnace.
By the beginning of this summer, the
Chester Street Fire Station should be
sporting a brand-new fire engine. The
latest model offers a variety of options for
spraying foam as well as water. The new
equipment will join the old. In the other
bay of the garage stands a 1937 La France
pumper, now owned by the Grand Rapids
Public Museum. Vintage clocks and
photographs adorn the walls; the oak file
cabinets in the office look like they came
out of an antique store. Of course, the
classic fire pole is still there, running from
the upstairs dorm down to the garage.
Does all of this talk about fires make
you nervous? The Grand Rapids Fire
Department offers free home inspections
to install smoke detectors in your home
free of charge. To ask for an inspection,
call 456-3966.
Yes, real fire stations have fire poles.
This pole at Chester Street Fire Station
runs from between two beds in the upstairs
dorm room to the garage below.
Photo: by Lee Hardy
8 Eastown Access / April-May 2015
is located near Aquinas College, next
door to the Van Andel Opera Center, and
across the street from Family Fare, has
been vacant for years. According to Jason
Wheeler, Orion’s PR Coordinator, “we
love the Eastown neighborhood and we
feel that the Aquinas College area would
better serve students, faculty and young
professionals if it had additional restaurant
and retail options in the neighborhood.”
Orion intends to submit its initial
proposal to the Grand Rapids Planning
Commission on May 7, 2015. The
project does not have a completion date
or a grand opening date, as final project
approval has not yet been obtained. Orion
hopes that construction will be ready to
begin within a few months of receiving
necessary approvals, and will have a better
idea of timing after the May Planning
Commission meeting.
“We just want people to know that
we are carefully considering design
and functionality on this site so we can
propose and hopefully develop an asset
in the community that can be enjoyed
and appreciated by the neighborhood,”
Wheeler said. “We don’t want to force
anything here. Our intention is to work
with the planning and zoning commissions
and neighborhood association to deliver an
end product the community can embrace.”
New Physical Therapy Center Offers Alternative Pain Relief Therapies
A
By Cathy TerBeek
new physical therapy treatment
center, Good Life Physical
Therapy, opened in February on
1331 Lake Drive SE. Owner Ryan Gary
(PT, DPT) has certification in several
different therapies such as Active Release
Technique (ART), Astym, and manual
manipulation treatments.
Originally from Grand Rapids, Gary
graduated from Hope College with a
degree in psychology and a minor in
Spanish. He relocated to Denver, Colorado
where he earned a doctorate in physical
therapy at Regis University and completed
his clinical work. In December 2013,
Gary moved back to Grand Rapids with
his wife, Ashley, a physician assistant at
Cherry Street Health Clinic.
“We wanted to offer some different
services and different styles of
treatment allowing for a more personal,
individualized touch,” says Gary. These
services include Active Release Technique
(ART), a soft tissue mobilization and
release technique, as well as Astym, which
utilizes instruments to promote tissue
healing, and scar tissue and fascial release.
Gary also engages in more manual
manipulations and mobilization as a
therapy approach. He explains that most
physical therapists focus on exercise to
deal with pain, muscular problems, and a
range of injuries. Fabrication orthotics is a
treatment strategy that allows Gary to use
an iPad to, for example, analyze a patient’s
foot by creating a 3-D model of the foot
with pictures. This model fits better than
traditional molds that can shrink and fail.
Good Life Physical Therapy also has
an Alter-G anti-gravity treadmill available
for participants to walk at 20 percent
of what they weigh with a low-impact
advantage for the body. Pay-per-use rates
allow athletes and runners to benefit from
working out on the treadmill. Currently,
Gary is pursuing certification for trigger
point dry needling and may potentially
practice acupuncture techniques at Good
Life Therapy.
Says Gary: “In trying to do something
different than other physical therapists,
Eastown seems to be a progressive
neighborhood where we can offer these
types of services and where people are
open to different and new treatment
styles.”
To make an appointment at Good Life
Physical Therapy, call 616-248-9842.
Embrace Life. Live well.
Be mindful.
Holistic Health - Wellness - Spiritual Growth
1430 Lake Drive SE
www.spiritdreamsgr.com
Open 7 days a week
A LIFETIME of SUCCESS begins HERE
Academic Excellence
Moral Focus
Parental Partnership
Student Responsibility
Seats Available
Call 616-248-3390 Today
K-8 • NO-COST • SAFE
944 Evergreen St • Grand Rapids, MI 49507
Eastown Access / April-May 2015 9
Community Notes
Trees Need Your Help!
We received a grant through the Urban
Forest Project which allowed us to plant
15 new trees at Sigsbee Park! Now we
need your help to keep the trees watered
until fall. Please call us at 451-3025 if
you are able to help us water the trees at
Sigsbee Park (1250 Sigsbee).
Block Parties
As we enter into the summer months,
many residents throughout Eastown will
celebrate community, friendship, and
summer by closing their street and hosting
a block party.
If you are interested in hosting a block
party, contact the ECA today. There is a
one-page application that must be filled
out in order to close the street and receive
barricades from the City. The majority of
the residents on your block must all agree
to the road closure. Contact the ECA to get
your application.
Construction Updates
The continuation of the Carlton
Reconstruction Project started on April
6th. Until it is done in May, Carlton will
be closed to through traffic, with local
access maintained, and Fuller Ave. can
be used as a detour. Visit our website for
all of the details about this project: http://
www.eastown.org/carlton-construction/.
and to light up all entrances to the home
EVERY NIGHT! Stop by the ECA, 415
Ethel Ave, to pick up your free light bulbs
and to sign the porch light pledge.
Backyard Chickens
Have you considered raising chickens
right in your own backyard? Applications
to raise Backyard Chickens in Grand
Rapids are now available! The application,
permit procedure, and regulations now
posted on The City of Grand Rapids
website, grcity.us. For more information
regarding the Backyard Chicken ordinance
or permitting process, please contact the
City’s Development Center at (616) 4564100 or by emailing devcenter@grcity.us.
Get your free smoke alarms!
If you have not signed up for the FREE
residential safety program through the
Grand Rapids Fire Department, do it
today! In about 20 minutes, they will
install new smoke detectors throughout
your home, replace any smoke detectors
you have with new ones, and provide you
with good info on fire safety. You can call
them at 456-3966 to make an appointment.
Have you signed the pledge?
The ECA has CFL light bulbs for residents
who pledge to turn their porch lights on
Vendor Applications online!
For the convenience of our vendors (and
by popular demand) applications for both
Eastown Bizarre Bazaar and Eastown
Streetfair are now online.
Eastown Bizarre Bazaar features local
artists, potters, sculptors, and jewelry
designers in the heart of Eastown.
Eastown Bizarre Bazaar is June 27th,
9am-5pm and the fee for artists is $70
and $150 for outside food vendors.
Please remember this event is for quality,
handmade items ONLY. Commercial
products are prohibited at this event.
Eastown Streetfair is a community
event featuring art, local businesses, food,
and music by local and regional talent.
Eastown Streetfair is September 12th,
9am-8pm and the fee for vendors is $100,
$75 for nonprofit organizations and $250
for outside food vendors. Vendors will be
selected for participation on a first come,
first serve basis.
Visit our website to fill out an
application: http://www.eastown.org/
eastown-vendor-applications-now-online/.
NOURISH ORGANIC MARKET & DELI
L o c a l O r g a n i c G r a s s - f e d G M O - f r e e F a i r Tr a d e
More than your neighborhood grocery store!
your farmers
your food
634 WEALTHY ST SE GRAND RAPIDS, MI
Nourish Organic
Deli & Catering
fresh organic artisan fare
634 WEALTHY ST SE
GRAND RAPIDS, MI
Weekly Farm
Basket Memberships
at the store or at your door!
616.454.FOOD (3663)
NOURISHORGANICMARKET.COM
RE-ELECT RUTH
2nd Ward City Commissioner
rkelly@grcity.us 616.238.9370
w w w. k e l l y f o r g r. c o m
10 Eastown Access / April-May 2015
Useful Numbers
WEBSITES/EMAILS
Clean & Green
Eastown Community Association:
www.eastown.org
www.facebook.com/eastowngr
If you’re not recycling your paper, glass
and cans, start now by calling the city for
a free recycling bin: 456-3232
The City of Grand Rapids:
www.grcity.us
If you have electronic components you
need to get rid of, you can take them to:
Kent County Recycling Center
977 Wealthy SW/Grand Rapids
Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.
CompRenew
629 Ionia SW/Grand Rapids
Monday-Friday 10:00 a.m.- 6 p.m.
Eastown Community
Association451-3025
Second Ward Commissioners
(North of Wealthy):
Rosalynn Bliss: rbliss@grcity.us
Ruth E. Kelly: rkelly@grcity.us
Third Ward Commissioners
(South of Wealthy):
Senita Lenear: slenear@grcity.us
Elias Lumpkins: elumpkins@grcity.us
Community Police Officer
Jereremy Huffman
520-3478
The Rapid Bus System:
www.ridetherapid.org
Captain Jeffrey Hertel
456-3499
Emergency Police: Non-emergency
Silent Observer
911
456-3400
774-2345
Grand Rapids Customer Service 311
Bob Crow, Calvin College
Dean of Student Development 526-6165
Heather Bloom Hall, Aquinas College
Director of Campus Life
632-2457
Kent County:
www.accesskent.com
State of Michigan:
www.michigan.gov
Get the Lead Out!
www.healthyhomescoalition.org
Heart of West Michigan United Way
www.211.org or call 211
Have an item to recycle but not sure where
to take it? Visit www.recyclekent.org/ for
locations to accept most household items.
Used auto oil can be taken to the Auto
Zone, on Fuller just south of Leonard, for
free recycling.
If you wish to reduce the amount of junk
mail you receive, try:
www.41pounds.org or
www.dmachoice.org
Tired of telemarketing calls at dinnertime?
Register your phone number at
www.donotcall.gov
The Eastown Community Association is a nonprofit 501(c) 3 organization. Donations help us cover operating costs, hold events,
facilitate public dialogues on key issues, and support neighborhood improvement—all in service to the Eastown community.
We encourage you to make your donation online at www.eastown.org/donate or by sending in the form below. Checks and money
orders should be made out to the Eastown Community Association and can be sent to the ECA at 415 Ethel Ave SE.
Contribution $
Your gift at any level will help support the organization.
Name:
Address:
City:State:Zip:
Phone:Email:
I would like to volunteer for the following:
Green SpaceBlock CaptainAccess
Eastown Access / April-May 2015 11
Eastown Community Association
415 Ethel Ave SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49506-9907
NON-PROFIT
ORGANIZATION
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
GRAND RAPIDS, MI
PERMIT NO. 277
“We feel so great about the
staff and leadership at
Congress and at GRPS.”
EMILY & JONO KLOOSTER
See our full story at WeAreGR.com
2 015
GIVEAWAYS
ENTERTAINMENT
FREE FOOD
CONGRESS ELEMENTARY
* Strong partnership with neighborhood associations
*
*
and businesses
Major academic gains
Committed principal, teachers, and staff
INFORMATION ON SCHOOLS & SERVICES
When: August 13* | 4-8 p.m.
Where: John Ball Park
1300 Fulton St. W, Grand Rapids
Cost: Admission is FREE!
*In case of rain, event will move to City High
Middle School.
Admission to the zoo is a separate fee not included in the GRPS
Back to School Celebration Event. JUMP passes are not valid for
zoo admission during this event because the GRPS Back to School
Celebration is a special event at John Ball Zoo this evening.
Enroll Today @ grps.org/enrolltoday
WWW.GRPS.ORG
.COM
We Are Proud Parents at