Title
REQUEST TO INITIATE 45-DAY NOTICE PERIOD
TO NAME THE HUMBOLDT PARK BATTING CAGES
IN HONOR OF NANCY Y. FRANCO-MALDONADO
Body
To the Honorable Board of Commissioners of the Chicago Park District
I. Recommendation
It is recommended that an order be entered authorizing the General Superintendent or his designee to initiate a 45-day notice period to solicit public input to name the Humboldt Park Batting Cages in honor of Nancy Y. Franco-Maldonado.
Proposed Park or feature: Humboldt Park Batting Cages
Location: south of Division Street, between two ballfields
Community Area: West Town
Ward: 26
Proposed Name: Nancy Y. Franco-Maldonado Batting Cages
II. Explanation
The Chicago Park District naming and renaming procedures allow for the naming of features in parks, including playgrounds and buildings. Alderman Roberto Maldonado requested that the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners name the Humboldt Park Batting Cages in honor of Nancy Y. Franco-Maldonado. This proposal has support of the community.
Nancy Y. Franco-Maldonado was a loving wife, mother, and daughter, who lost her battle with pancreatic cancer in 2015, at the age of 46. Throughout her too-short life, she gave of herself not only to her family and friends, but to her community as well. Born into a family of community activists, and growing up in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, she had a strong understanding of her Puerto Rican heritage and the importance that a sense of place gives to individuals. She encouraged young families, especially Latinos, to purchase homes in Humboldt Park, helping to develop a strong and enduring neighborhood. She was a frequent volunteer at community events, supporting such causes as turkey giveaways and shoe drives. She was instrumental in developing affordable housing in the neighborhood, whether for Latino veterans, or for artists requiring space for their residence and their craft. Her belief that knowing your history can shape your future showed in her campaign to name a local street for Puerto Rican political prisoner Oscar Lopez Rivera (recently released). Alderman Maldonado has valued her as a trusted sounding board and political advisor during his election campaigns, valuing her input on key policy initiatives.
It was part of Nancy’s vision for an active, vibrant community that the baseball experience at Humboldt Park would be enhanced by the addition of batting cages. Her dream is now a reality, and it is fitting that the batting cages at Humboldt Park be named the Nancy Y. Franco-Maldonado Batting Cages.
III. Park Naming Procedures
Chapter VII, Section E of the Code of the Chicago Park District, (the Naming Ordinance), which governs the naming and renaming of parks and park features, states that if a proposed name honors a person, the (i) person shall have been deceased for a least one (1) year prior to consideration; and (ii) the person shall have demonstrated a continued commitment and made an extraordinary contribution to civic betterment, locally, nationally or internationally.
Pursuant to the Naming Ordinance, this request to rename and name parks have been forwarded to the Secretary of the Chicago Park District, who shall (i ) file a copy of this request with the Board of Commissioners (or appropriate Committee); and (ii) initiate a notice period of at least 45 days to provide notice and solicit public input. Such notice shall be posted at the respective subject park field house (or for any park without a field house, at the nearest field house) and it shall be sent to advisory councils located within a one (1) mile radius of the subject park. At the conclusion of the notice period, the General Superintendent or his designee may in his discretion recommend to the Board that it approve the requested renames and names.