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Albany Park (Chicago, Illinois)

Community Area 14 - Albany Park Location within the city of Chicago
Latitude Longitude	41°58.2′N, 87°43.2′W
Neighborhoods	Albany Park Mayfair North Mayfair Ravenswood Manor
ZIP Code	parts of 60625, 60630
Area	5.00 km² (1.93 mi²)
Population (2000) Density	57,655 (up 16.6% from 1990) 11,534.0 /km²
Demographics	White Black Hispanic Asian Other	27.5% 3.31% 46.4% 17.7% 5.14%
Median income	$40,711
Source: U.S. Census, Record Information Services

Albany Park is one of 77 well-defined Chicago, Illinois, community areas. It is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the Northwest Side of Chicago, and one of the most ethnically diverse in the United States. It has one of highest percentages of foreign-born residents of neighborhoods in Chicago. Although the majority of those foreign-born residents are from Latin America, the majority from Mexico (especially from the state of Michoacán) and Guatemala, substantial numbers are from the Philippines, India, Korea, Cambodia, the Former Yugoslavia (Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia), Romania, Pakistan and the Middle East (especially Iraq, Iran, and Lebanon). Over 40 different languages are spoken in its public schools. Due to the diverse population and immigrant population attraction, the population of the neighborhood has increased by 16.5% in the last decade.[1]

The neighborhood has been the "Koreatown" of Chicago since the 1980s. The majority of Korean shops, in Albany Park, can be found on Lawrence Avenue (4800 North), between Kedzie (3200 West) and Pulaski (4000 West). This particular section of Lawrence Avenue has been officially nicknamed by the city of Chicago as "Seoul Drive" because of the multitude of Korean-owned enterprises on the street. Although many of the Korean Americans in the neighborhood have been moving to the north suburbs in recent years, it still retains its Korean flavor. Every year there is a Korean festival, and the neighborhood is home to a Korean television station (WOCH-CA Ch. 41) and radio station (1330 AM) as well as two Korean-language newspapers. There are still many Korean businesses interspersed among the newer Mexican bakeries and Middle Eastern grocery stores. Approximately 45% of the businesses on this particular stretch of Lawrence Avenue are owned by Korean-Americans. [2]

It has the north terminal for the Brown Line (aka the Ravenswood 'L') at Lawrence and Kimball Avenues.Albany Park is accessible through the Kimball, Kedzie and Francisco stations of the Brown Line as well as by the Edens expressway (Interstate 94). The name "Albany Park" refers both to one of Chicago's 77 official community areas and the traditional name of a neighborhood within that community. The official community is bounded very approximately by Foster Avenue and the West branch of the Chicago River on the north, Montrose Avenue on the south, Elston Avenue on the southwest, and the North Branch of the Chicago River on the east. It is in Jefferson Park Township, which was annexed into Chicago in 1889.

Albany Park is also notable for being the home of the current governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich.

The area is one of the most Democratic of the country: In 2004, John Kerry won 22,800 votes (97.47%) to only 529 (2.26%) for George W. Bush. This is due to strong Democratic party involvement at the local level and Chicago is a strong Democratic town. Currently, Albany Park is in 2 wards. The 33rd ward (Alderman Richard Mell - Democrat) and the 39th wards (Alderman Margaret Laurino - Democrat). Alderman Richard Mell is the father-in-law of Governor Rod Blagojevich.

The traditional neighborhoods within the official community are (including rough boundaries):

• Albany Park: Bryn Mawr (5600 N), Irving Park (4000 N), north branch of the river (about 3000 W), and Pulaski (4000 W).
• Ravenswood Manor: Lawrence (4800 N), Montrose (4400 N), north branch of the river (about 2600 W), and Sacramento (3000 W).
• Mayfair: Lawrence (4800 N), Montrose (4400 N), Pulaski (4000 W), and Cicero (4800 W).
• North Mayfair: Bryn Mawr (5600 N), Lawrence (4800 N), Pulaski (4000 W), and Cicero (4800 W). www.northmayfair.org

Immediately to the north lie Northeastern Illinois University, North Park University, and the Bohemian National Cemetery.

Crime is a continual problem, Assualts and rape are common[common is a poor word choice in this context for an encyclopedia article], and the minorities don't like to clean up[this is a ridiculous statement...racists--another reason not to trust wikipedia!], leaving trash strewn around the streets. It's a Multi-cultural Mecca. Gangs fight over territory, usually happens during the summer months, but gang members can be seen strolling around at anytime. The following values are represented as an index, where the value 100 represents the national average. Personal Crime Risk 123 Murder Risk 215 Rape Risk 399 Robbery Risk 170 Assault Risk 268 Property Crime Risk 54 Burglary Risk 50 Larceny Risk 31 Automotive Theft Risk 85 http://homes.point2.com/Neighborhood/US/Illinois/Cook-County/Chicago/Albany-Park-Demographics.aspx

• Official City of Chicago Albany Park Community Map
• Healthy Albany Park
• Albany Park Community Center
• Albany Park Theater Project
• Albany Park Chamber of Commerce
• http://www.northmayfair.org
• Albany Park art, culture, housing, gentrification, immigration articles

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