Wednesday afternoon, April 18th, was the inaugural day of a new partnership between the Frankford CDC (Community Development Corporation and NET (Northeast Treatment Centers.  Aimed at keeping the Frankford Avenue commercial corridor litter free, in light of the recent disbanding of the Frankford Special Services District,  three days a week, four NET clients, with assistance and supplies from the Frankford CDC, will walk from Womrath Park to the Frankford Transportation Center, picking up litter and sweeping the sidewalk.  The program is designed to be a sustainable means for regular cleanings of the Avenue, as well as an employment training mechanism for NET clients.

Terence McSherry, CEO of NET and Frankford CDC board member notes “A critical part of the recovery protocol is the concept of ‘responsible concern’ which fosters long term civic pride and involvement in our PIRs, as well as a positive impact on the community in which we live. This project achieves these goals and continues the commitment NET has made to the community to be an asset.”

Any help we can get in keeping the Avenue clean is welcome and at the same time it can be instrumental in helping these folks recover. Slideshow below of the first day on the Avenue.

What does NET do?

NorthEast Treatment Centers (NET) offers a range of mental health, addiction, foster care, community based, residential, and in-home social services to adults, adolescents, children and families. NET is dedicated to providing a comprehensive recovery and resiliency-oriented system of behavioral health care services and supportive social services to adults, adolescents, children, and their families utilizing a quality-driven, cost-effective service provider network.

City Paper has a good story by Daniel Denvir about drug rehabs and the effect Governor Corbett’s new budget will have on their survival.  As noted in the piece, Frankford has a large number of these houses.  Why do we have so many and what is the alternative if they all were to close.  Read it here to get a very balanced picture of the problem. Read it here.

The Republican governor of New Jersey is the first elected official in this area with the courage to say the unthinkable, jail does not solve the drug problem.  Jail may make the problem worse.  Once Drug addiction takes hold, it is very difficult to escape.  The only hope, if there is any, is drug treatment.  Christie proposes to make treatment mandatory for addicts arrested for non violent crimes.

The Northeast Times this week has an interesting opinion piece by Joe Quigley on this very subject where he expounds on Christie’s proposal and applies it to Philadelphia, specifically Kensington and Somerset.  That El stop is an interesting experience.  Some people say the same thing about our local intersection of Frankford and Foulkrod.  It is the same problem on a somewhat smaller scale.

Everybody I talk to at the civic meetings I attend acknowledges that drugs are a major driving force in the crime situation in Frankford.  There are new and inventive ways to get people into the drug culture.  See John Loftus’ piece of a few weeks ago in the Northeast Times for a new wrinkle (synthetic dope)  in that situation.  It’s time to finally get serious and make some progress in solving the problem rather than just throwing money at it.

It’s something that has to be done.  Drugs are not going away, there is too much money in that industry.  The only way forward it to reduce the demand by reducing the number of addicts.

The January 5th meeting of the Frankford Civic was very well attended with over 25 people in the conference room on the 2nd floor at Aria Health.  There were 3 zoning issues on the agenda for the meeting.

The owner/residents of the house at 1619 Haworth Street were seeking approval for modifications made after a fire in the building.  The Board voted to approve their application.

1619 Haworth Street

The owner and architect of the building at 4134 Orchard Street are looking to convert unused warehouse space into 2 new apartments.  The board voted to approve the application.

413436 Orchard Street

The attorney for the owner of 4325-27 Frankford Avenue appeared to present a case for the legalization of the second floor of the building as a boarding house.  The owner purchased the property about two years ago with the boarding house in operation but L&I inspected and cited it for violations so it was closed down.  Those in attendance unanimously agreed that the block is over served by the number of rooms available to single people utilizing the various recovery programs and that adding another would not be an asset to the community.  The board voted to oppose the application.  The owner is free to apply for another use for the second floor of the property.

There were no words spoken against the folks who need recovery services.  Everyone agrees that those services are a necessity in the age we live in.  The issue is that Frankford has more than enough housing for those needing the services.

4325-27 Frankford Ave.

The next meeting of the Frankford Civic Association will be held on February 2nd at Aria Health.

This is from the ever vigilant tipster ob:

I am not sure if you saw this- more information on everyone’s favorite topic in Frankford.  These articles centered on recovery houses in Kensington, but mentioned Frankford is becoming more popular for flop houses due to the rising property values in Kensington.  My favorite quote is from L & I, who are willfully ignorant, as usual.

He refers to this article on Metropolis talking about flophouses in Kensington. The point in question:

Neighbors, who did not want to be quoted for fear of retribution from boarding house operators, complained that the houses were a constant source of problems. Many said they had complained to the Department of Licenses and Inspections, which enforces the city code for boarding houses, which are supposed to comply with stricter fire and safety codes because they house so many unrelated people.

The response has been anemic at best.  L&I housing inspector Clayton Salter, who said he was the “only housing inspector in [L&I's] Central District,” which covers a large chunk of the area, said he “couldn’t think of too many boarding houses, maybe one,” that he had encountered.

However the money quote for me is:

Still, the rising fortunes of Fishtown and Northern Liberties are changing the dynamic in Kensington. As housing prices in the vicinity rise, the temptation is to sell and move on, even for the flophouse owners..

“With all this development pushing north, it puts a lot of pressure on us,” Vega says. “You’ve got these brand new houses around the corner…it’s become more profitable to sell off houses [in Fishtown], and sometimes that puts people back on the street.”

Many said that the flophouse trade was creeping farther north, into Harrowgate and Frankford, both neighborhoods with stagnant or declining property values.