DNA Info: Spike Lee's '#Chiraq' Block Party Gets City Permit After Alderman Relents

There was supposed to be a block party near St. Sabina on Memorial Day weekend to mark the start of filming for Spike Lee's Chiraq. It was cancelled due to the weather, but we also learned that the newly inaugurated 17th ward alderman had held up a permit for this event expected to be held today at 2 PM:

Ald. David Moore (17th), who had blocked a city permit for Spike Lee's block party in a dispute over the director's choice of "Chiraq" as the title of a film he's making in Chicago, has dropped his objection to the Saturday event.

Moore signed the block party permit on Fox32's "Good Day Chicago" Friday morning. He said that he chose to wait until he had heard from the community.

"I spoke to the residents yesterday; they gave me their concerns," he said on Fox32. "Some of them strongly objected to the name, but said, 'David Moore, we want you to proceed with the block club party.' And that's why I'm here today to sign off on that."

St. Sabina Church, 1210 W. 78th Place, had plans to host the block party even if Moore didn't approve. On Thursday, the Rev. Michael Pfleger wrote on Facebook that "the block party will go on. With homicides up and shootings up, who is coming to a block party is the issue [?] Give me a break!"

A request for comment from Pleger wasn't immediately returned.

The title of this film really has a number of people up in arms still. Either way I heard that the noisiest Alderman - Will Burns - his ward had some scenes in Lee's latest joint:

More than 500 extras all dressed in white were sworn to secrecy and packed into the General Jones Armory, 5200 S. Cottage Grove Ave., on Monday morning for filming.

The exact plot of Lee’s film remains a mystery — some speculate it’s a musical comedy about women withholding sex to try to stop violence on the South Side, a modern “Lysistrata” by Aristophanes.

Now I really can't wait for this movie. :)