Amundsen Park’s programs and activities are set to return Monday, according to Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th).
Negotiations over housing asylum-seekers from South and Central American countries at the 1900 North Austin building north of the park also have been halted, he said.
Taliaferro, whose ward includes the park and the surrounding Galewood and Montclare communities, announced the news in an email to constituents Wednesday.
Registration for winter programs, which was paused in October, will open again. Taliaferro wrote that with the flow of migrants being bused in from Texas slowed, there is no need to find a space that can house migrants on such short notice.
The city announced plans to use Amundsen Park as a migrant shelter Sept. 29. This prompted Taliaferro to organize a community meeting the following Tuesday, where residents spoke out against it. Most of the residents said they didn’t want the programs and activities interrupted, but some also expressed concerns about safety. On Oct. 9, a group of West Side activists and residents rallied in front of the park demanding that the city halt those plans.
Later that evening, the city announced that it was putting the Amundsen Park plans on hold while it explored renting the space at the 1900 North Austin complex instead.
At the time, the fieldhouse reopened, but only so that people at the park could use the restrooms. Taliaferro said that the city didn’t take the plans to use the fieldhouse as shelter off the table.
In a joint statement Thursday, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office, Chicago Park District officials and Taliaferro cited “significant reduction in a number of new arrivals” and more shelter space opening up in local churches, including North Austin’s Grace and Peace Church. “Amundsen Park is no longer in consideration for a potential shelter location,” the statement said.
Taliaferro told Austin Weekly News that that the city may revisit leasing space at the 1900 North Austin if the flow of migrants increases, but for now, the discussions are “on hold.”
The alderman has consistently spoken out against using the fieldhouse as migrant shelter and supported residents’ advocacy.
In Wednesday’s email, Taliaferro reiterated his support.
“[Advocates and residents] came together to stand strong in keep this community asset available to residents,” he wrote. “I sincerely thank you for your commitment to one another and your community. Great work!”
Taliaferro also thanked Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration for “never closing the door on our conversations and continuing to work with my office and the residents toward this resolution.”
25th Police District Council member Angelica Green, of North Austin, took part in the Oct. 9 rally. She said that, for a single mother like her, the fieldhouse’s closing has been disruptive, and she heard from other families struggling to make alternative arrangements. Green said she was “very excited” to learn that it would be reopening again.
“It’s because we stayed the course, we put on pressure,” she said. “That’s community, coming together and standing up for something you believe it.”
Community activist Zerlina Smith-Members, who ran against Taliaferro twice and is running for Johnson’s former seat on the Cook County Board of Commissioners, applauded the announcement.
“That’s a great win for the residents of the Austin community,” she said. “Hopefully, they won’t backpedal and use it as warming site for immigrants.”
