Spigot and Spirit at Chatham Square

It used to be that David Zakur and his fellow greenspace gardeners shlepped five-gallon paint cans heavy with H2O from a neighboring house to water the trees and plantings at the revived Chatham Square Park. No longer. The ceremonial spigot was turned on Friday morning.

It took a while for the spigot work order to get fulfilled because until recently Bobby DeRose (pictured on the left) was the parks department’s only plumber responsible for the park system’s 100 toilets, 12 splash pads, and 35 irrigation systems.

“East Shore’s irrigation system alone has 240 heads,” he said.

Getting Chatham Square’s to work right had additional meaning for DeRose. ​“This has a special place in my heart because I grew up here. I remember the oak tree.”

The flowing moment came. Zakur, Deputy Parks and Trees Director Christy Hass, and Urban Resource Initiative’s Chris Ozyck were on hand at 7:30 a.m. — parks folks start their rounds at 7 a.m. — to thank DeRose, electrician Paul McGilton, and the maintenance crew for all of Fair Havens parks for their stand-up contributions.

URI​’s Ozyck and Hass (she’s in the blue, with DeRose and McGilton in the green) called attention to Chatham’s success as emblematic of a new and effective collaborationamong volunteer gardeners, stewardship groups and the city’s Parks Department.

“We mark a historic moment, “ Ozyck said, citing a long list of instances that ​“when the community wants to do something, Parks are there.”

These included Monitor Square, one of the ​“rising stars” of the parks system getting a water spigot too for the first time; and Russo Park on DePalma Street in Wooster Square, receiving an irrigation system.

Kimberly Triangle in the Hill, Rainbow Park on Dwight Street, Edgewood Mall, and the Pardee Sea Wall, among others, also expanded their flourishing perennial beds and other features due to easier availability of water, thanks to the parks department’s plumbers.

“By providing water to a site, more community [people] can get involved,” said Ozyck.

Friday morning’s event, which coincided with the Sept. 11 terrorist remembrance and day of service, also recognized the maintenance workers such as Carla Korick and Jorge Lopez (pictured with Chris Ozyck). Korick is in charge of trash removal in every park in Fair Haven.

Hass calls her the ​“white tornado” for her efficiency. ​“What Carla could put on a truck is amazing.”

Korick said she is motivated in part because she and her family live nearby and use the park as well.

Hass estimated that due to the poor economy and growing popularity of ​“staycations,” the city parks’ use has grown 25 percent in the last year. While she and Ozyck praised that as glorious, that means huge new volumes of trash. Simultaneously, her department has been depleted, largely through attrition. Jobs, like the open plumber spot just filled, were left unfilled for long periods of time.

“When the economy pushed us to work harder with less and less, these people stepped up to the plate,” she said, with pride and affection.

And that goes for her seasonal staff like Kenneth Boyd as well. He said he is picking up litter often at Chatham Square before dawn. He makes a difference, he said, and his presence does as well. ​“The kids see me, and they go right to the bucket.”

Hass said that the mayor has recognized the increased park usage, and the attritted vacant positions, like a new plumber, are now being filled even in hard times. When she started in 1999, the department had 109 employees. Now it has 59, but is beginning to grow.

“Parks and recreation is [ultimately] about refreshing your spirit. That does not happen if the place is full of trash and overgrown.”

And this vandal resistant water valve, which Ozyck and Zakur are so pleased with, is now also the humble instrument of that spirit.

Spirit and Spigot

Chris Ozyck was recently diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease (PKD), which means seriously enlarged kidneys that will likely lead to dialysis within three to five years. Unless a cure is found. Therefore, in true Ozyckian fashion, Chris is diving in. He’s doing a run-walk on Oct. 3 at Lighthouse Point Park to raise money for PKD research. And to the same end, he’s joined the Bank of America Chicago Marathon team for PKD research. Click here to support him at the Lighthouse Point Park run . And here for the Chicago Marathon PKD event, his personal page, and why Chris is running. Go, Chris.

Chatham Square Festival

You can enjoy Chatham Square’s fine new spigot, plus carriage rides, and Ecuadorian and Peruvian dance and song groups, and much more at one of the areas best events at the reclaimed, revitalized, and well watered park. The event runs from noon to 5 on Sept. 12, with a rain date of Sept. 13.