Aldermen offer curbside pickup of masks; 41st Ward sets May 9 drive-up event

by BRIAN NADIG

Aldermen James Gardiner (45th), Anthony Napolitano (41st), Samantha Nugent (39th), Nicholas Sposato (38th) and Gilbert Villegas (36th) have announced plans for curbside pickup of face masks at their ward offices.

Dr. Willie Wilson, who ran for mayor in 2019 and owns a medical supply business, has donated 20,000 disposable face masks to each of the city’s 50 aldermen. In addition, the city has given each ward 2,000 disposable masks and is making plans to provide 5,000 reusable cloth masks to each ward.

In the 41st Ward, the masks will be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. only on Wednesdays and Thursdays while supplies last at the ward office, 7442 N. Harlem Ave.

Residents are instructed to remain in their vehicle and to call the office at 773-631-2241. “A staff member masked and gloved up will bring it out,” Alderman Anthony Napolitano’s chief of staff Chris Vittorio said.

Napolitano also is sponsoring a series of drive-through events from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 9, in which disposable face mask will be given for free while supplies last.

The drive-through events will be at Saint Mary of the Woods Church, 6955 N. Hiawatha Ave., Edison Park Metra parking lot, 6730 N. Olmsted Ave., Saint Monica Church, 5136 N. Nottingham Ave., and Immaculate Conception Parish Center, 7263 W. Talcott Ave. (west lot, enter on Odell). Residents are asked to remain in their vehicle, and the masks will be handed to them.

The Edgebrook Community Association, Everyday Edgebrook, Edgebrook-Sauganash Chamber of Commerce, Norwood Park Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Edison Park Community Council, Edison Park Chamber of Commerce and Big Oaks-Union Ridge Neighborhood Association are co-sponsoring the mask giveaways.

In the 39th Ward, residents are asked to call the ward office at 773-736-5594 to arrange for a curbside pickup of a mask at the ward office, 4200 W. Lawrence Ave. An appointment to pickup a mask also can be made via Google Docs by visiting Alderman Nugent’s Facebook page.

Nugent said that boxes of masks have been delivered to facilities which serve “our most vulnerable populations” in the ward, including the senior living communities at North Park Village, 5801 N. Pulaski Road.

“I put on a note on the boxes saying, ‘This is from the generosity of Dr. Wilson,’” Nugent said. “I want to make sure people can go to the store on May 1 (when the face coverings become required in public).”

Nugent added that residents should limit their public outings to essential activities, such as picking up food. “We can’t encourage enough that staying home saves lives. The only thing we know that works is staying home. We have to flatten the curve,” she said.

Several aldermen have set up programs in their ward to help residents who cannot leave their house pandemic.

Under the “neighbors helping neighbors” initiative, Nugent said, volunteers are assigned to deliver food and other supplies to a home near their own.

A similar program exists in the 41st Ward. “We have had an overwhelming response with volunteers. We have had over 200 volunteers sign up,” Vittorio said.

Shop and Save Market, 6312 N. Nagle Ave., has set up a system of payment for the groceries so that the volunteers do not have an exchange of cash from those who they are helping, Vittorio said.

Meanwhile, in the 38th Ward, Sposato has announced that ward residents can pick a face mask from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Fridays at the ward office, 3821 N. Harlem Ave. Residents are asked to call the ward office at 773-283-3838, and a mask will be brought out to their vehicle.

In the 45 th Ward, Gardiner is asking residents to call the ward office at 773-853-0799 to make arrangements for the curbside pickup of a face mask. The “Gardiner Angels” volunteer team distributed thousands of masks on May 2 at the Hoyne Savings Bank’s drive-through facility. 4729 N. Milwaukee Ave.

In the 36th Ward, Villegas is offering mask delivery and curbside pickup for residents at the ward office, 6934 W. Diversey Ave. Residents are asked to call the office at 773-745-4636 or to send an e-mail message to ward36@cityofchicago.org prior to stopping by for a mask.

Villegas recently had 20,000 face masks distributed in his ward, including a drive-through event at the Chicago Academy, 3400 N. Austin Ave.