BELMONT CRAGIN/CHICAGO (CelebrityAccess) – Residents on the Northwest side presented a petition with more than 500 signatures to the park district office last week, demanding the office reject AEG Presents’ plans to host the Chicago leg of the Re:SET concert series, being held June 23 – 25 at Riis Park on Fullerton Avenue.
Steve Lacy, boygenius, and LCD Soundsystem are slated to headline what AEG calls a “single-stage, artist and fan-friendly alternative” to major music festivals.
Neighbors launched their petition last week, collecting signatures from Riis Park visitors this weekend, as reported by Block Club Chicago. According to Block Club, the petition criticizes AEG, saying they have planned the event for over a year without reaching out to the Belmont Cragin neighborhoods and business owners who would be most impacted by it.
“Re: SET is two months away. It’s coming, and the park district hasn’t even had a public meeting. We just don’t feel heard, Fabian Cisneros, Community Engagement and Economic Development Manager for the Northwest Side Community Development Corporation, told Block Club Chicago.
Riis Park is a roughy 57-acre space on the west edge of the neighborhood, complete with a lagoon, fishing pier, tennis courts, playground with a pool and ice rink, baseball diamonds and a football and soccer field.
Cisneros said the three-day festival could close off public access to Riis Park for about ten days, citing conversations with the promoters and Park District officials.
West Siders who have protested Riot Fest at Douglass Park also spoke out during Wednesday’s park district meeting.
Two other festivals previously staged at Douglass Park, Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash and Heatwave, relocated to other sites this year.
“Our goal is to ensure that event organizers that are looking to have events with the parks are engaging the community, are listening to the community, are addressing the needs of the community, and they’re hearing you,” Park District CEO Rosa Escareño said in response to complaints about Riot Fest.
Park officials and AEG have yet to organize a community meeting like the one for Riot Fest where Belmont Cragin neighbors could learn more about how the festival could impact Riis Park users and the neighborhood, Cisneros said.
And despite Escareño saying she’s “actively listening,” Cisneros said she did not directly respond to Belmont Cragin neighbors’ concerns during Wednesday’s meeting.
“Rosa just kind of looked at me, and she gave me a small nod to move me along after I spoke. But we want to have these conversations,” Cisneros said. “All the Park District says is, ‘We’ll reach out to Re:Set and make sure that they know that they should reach out to you.’ That’s happened three times, most recently two weeks ago, and we still haven’t had public meetings with AEG at all.”
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