By: Taiyana Levy, Warisha Aziz, Mohammed Owais Younus, Rashidat Feyikemi, Fey Falodun, Maria Garcia-Coronel, Ramiyah Lee, Entisar Mohamed
Beautiful beaches, quaint shops, and amazing walkability–what doesn’t Edgewater have to offer?
Residents both old and new have found a home in Edgewater. Of course, Edgewater is also home to Senn High School, which has served as a community hub for over 100 years.
Some students of Senn asked several residents to share their favorite aspect of Rogers Park for RogersEdge Reporter.
Eleanor Flanagan (42): I can walk everywhere. I live a couple of blocks from Senn. I can walk to Senn; I can walk to a grocery store; I can walk to the lakefront; I can walk to Andersonville if I want to go to dinner or something like that. So for me, a lot of it is the walkability. It’s part of why I love the neighborhood. It’s also easy to get public transit from here. There are lots of major bus lines, as well as the red line that’s very close, so I can avoid my car and traffic and just use the city’s wonderful system. I also like the people in the neighborhood; I do think Edgewater is a little too white. It could be more diverse, you know Rogers Park is more diverse than Edgewater, so I wish it was more representative of the city.
Joe Lev (38): My street has a bunch of Christmas decorations on it. The people are friendly, the people are happy. The neighbors are nice. My kids play with the neighbors on the street. It feels very safe.
Dyno Hunter (15): The small business. I like the local feeling, it’s like a tight-knit community.
Maria Shakoor (27): I have been living in Edgewater for almost a year now, and it’s such a good community. I love how diverse and open it is. I always see different kinds of restaurants and people. I love how there are so many different types of restaurants like Mexican and Indian and Afghani restaurants.
Muhammad Ghaffar (41): I just moved to Edgewater like six months ago or so, and I am still figuring things out, I guess. I did see a lot of stores and food places and parks nearby, which is nice, and I also see a lot of families living here which makes it easier for me to evolve because I also have a family of my own. I still have a lot of places to see and look around whenever I get the time.
Maria Capellani (21): What makes Edgewater a great place to live in is the interaction with people. Edgewater also has great restaurants with amazing food. It’s a great place to go to if you want to feel better. I would say my favorite place to go to is the library because it’s calming and is a great place to get work done.
Colin Cosgrove (24): Proximity to Lake Michigan, proximity to Senn High School, and the Clark Street strip has a lot going on all the time! My favorite spot is Edgewater Produce, hands down!
L’or Kizabi: It has nice places to visit, a lot of picnic spots, and plenty of street parking spots are available.
Gaby Lopez (39): My neighborhood has great parks that I like for my children, along with the stores around my area which I really like. I would like a change of more safety in my neighborhood, having more police. And to have more educational activities for our kids, for example, sports around here.
Jason Carmona (15): It’s an easy answer, but I think it’s just Senn. I mean, people all across Chicago just come to the school, and so you just get a taste of everyone.
James Stephan (32): The people are nice, and towards the holidays the neighborhood is really pretty because every one has they own decorations. It’s like everyone put their own touch in the neighborhood.
What is your favorite part of living in Edgewater? Please share in the comments below.
