The Frankford Gazette » Meetings and Events

Frankford Civic Association Meeting 2/2/2012

Gil — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:42:42 +0000

Former T&T Bar

Mention of the T&T bar once again raised eyebrows at the Frankford Civic meeting on Thursday night. Neighbors have been watching with concern as work has been going on at the now closed bar at Margaret and Hawthorne Streets. It has been not quite a year since young Christopher Spence lost his life there in a senseless shooting. Jason Dawkins, Councilwoman Sanchez representative at the meeting assured everyone that the building was not ever going to open up as a bar again. The building is for sale and the community will have input as to its future use.

In other news at the meeting, the representative of the owner of Torresdale Appliance and Furniture (4571 Torresdale Ave.) presented their zoning case. The use of the building has changed and they are looking for support from the Civic. They board voted unanimously to

Torresdale Appliances

support their application.

Stephanie Clymer made a presentation on behalf of the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership. From Manny Citron of PhillyRising, they are working on a community garden or gardens in Frankford that will hopefully be available in the Spring. From Edgardo Gonzalez of Tony Payton’s office, there is still interest from the The Center for Urban Theological Studiesin taking over the old Frankford Community Y building. No decision has been made as yet.

The next Frankford Civic meeting will be on March 1st at 7PM at Aria Health.

Coming Up in Frankford 2/4 to 3/2/2012

Gil — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:00:23 +0000

Grand Army of the Republic Museum Open House

When – Sun, February 5, 12pm – 5pm

Where4278 Griscom Street, Philadelphia, PA 19124 (map)

Description – Presentation at 1:30 PM: Major Octavius V Catto (of the PA National Guard) Highest ranking black officer in the army when murdered. by Andy Waskie
Meet the Authors CJ and Chafik Waddy

When – Wed, February 15, 4pm – 5pm

Where – Frankford Branch of the Free Library, 4634 Frankford Avenue (map)

Description – Meet the Authors…CJ and Chafik Waddy, local creators of U Noo Tito, Boy Hero, says No to Strangers will share their story at the Frankford Branch of the Free Library, 4634 Frankford Avenue on Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 4:00 pm. The father-son author-illustrator team from the Frankford section of the city will appear in costumed character, and children and their grown-ups are invited to participate in a read-aloud session. The event is free and open to the public. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and autographing. Call 215-685-1473 for more information.
Frankford Business and Professional Association Meeting

When – Tue, February 21, 8:30am – 10:00am

Where – Aria Health, 2nd floor conference room (map)
Northwood Civic Association Meeting

When – Tue, February 21, 7pm – 8pm

Where – St. James Lutheran Church, at Castor Avenue and Pratt Street. (map)
Northeast Philadelphia EPIC Stakeholders Group

When – Thu, February 23, 5:30pm – 7:30pm

Where – Aria Hospital’s Frankford Campus (4900 Frankford Avenue) in the 2nd floor meeting room. Philadelphia, PA 19124 (map)

Description – Understanding your credit report is the first step to improving your finances. As such, this will be the first in a series of workshops hosted by the N.E. EPIC Stakeholders to help residents take control of their finances. bt Chris Rhametulla, Pathways PA Want to find out what’s going on with the Mural Arts Project in Frankford. Come out and here about what’s going on with the project and what’s to come. Also, this is another opportunity for YOU to give input on the project. by Netanel Eliezer, City of Philadelphia Mural Arts
College Financial Aid Form (FAFSA) Workshop

When – Sun, February 26, 12pm – 5pm

Where – Frankford CDC, 4900 Griscom Street (map)

Description – In the Frankford Computer Lab experts will be available to help you fill out this form. See the Gazette for detailed information. http://frankfordgazette.com/wp1/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/FAFSA-Flyer-02262012.pdf
Small Business Banking Counseling

When – Wed, February 29, 12pm – 4pm

Where – Third Federal Bank Building, 4625 Frankford Avenue (map)

Description – Whether you are just starting your business or have been at work for years, get all of your finance questions answered.A representative from the Small Business Administration will be in attendance. Be sure to bring your credit questions too. Contact Michell Feldman at 215-743-6580 with questions or to sign up. Space is limited.
Frankford Civic Association Meeting

When – Thu, March 1, 7pm – 8pm

Where – 2nd floor conference room, Aria Health, 4900 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19124 (map)

Northeast EPIC Stakeholder Group Meeting 1/26/2012

Gil — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:37:41 +0000

The EPIC Stakeholders group continues to be a rising positive force in Frankford. Attending one of their meetings is never a chore and always interesting. Thanks to Kim Washington for the meeting minutes.

Ambrose Lui / Seth Pollock (Arts Rising / Harding Middle School)

We work in schools to ensure access to a high quality education inclusive of the arts for all of the students that we work with. The Artzone program taps into the expertise and enthusiasm of educators, parents, and community members at all levels. We have reached out community organizations such as the Northeast EPIC, local politicians, Councilwoman Sanchez’ office, State Representative Tony Payton’s office, the public libraries and recreations centers, faith based groups and various businesses in Frankford. The Artszone is work with Clay Studios, Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Shakespeare Theater and the Walnut street theater to bring art into the classrooms. We have convened an Artzone Advisory Council and with that we have done community asset mapping with students. You can find out more about what we do at myartsrising.org or contact Ambrose Liu, Artszone Coordinator at aliu@philaedfund.org, (215) 665 – 7400 ext. 3355.

The Artsrising program in collaboration with the Walnut Street Theater is working with the students at Harding Middle School around the issue of bullying. They are in the process of writing, directing and acting in their own play around bullying to perform for the local elementary schools. The EPIC Stakeholder group will be working with Artsrising in hosting a play for adults in the community o showcase what the student put together. Once the details of that is put together the coordinator will get that information out to the group.

Joseph Douglas (IMPACT Services)

Mr. Douglas gave a brief overview for each of IMPACT’s Job Readiness Programs.

Welfare to Work

Ex-Offender Reentry Program

Incarcerated Veterans Training Program

Youth Placement Program

Access to Recovery

First Step I.D.

Walk-in Services

Erica Smith-Fichman (Tree Philly)

The goal of the Tree Philly program is to increase the tree canopy in the city so that residents reap all of the benefits of having a tree. Through the Tree Philly campaign residents will be able to sign up to receive a small or a large tree in their yards. We are partnering with Kim Washington from the Frankford Parks Group and Janet Bernstein from the Frankford Garden club to host a tree give-a-way and tree education workshop. There are two tree give-a-ways scheduled for Wednesday, April 25^th from 4-7pm and on Saturday, April 28^th from 10-1pm in Wilmot Park.

Manny Citron (Northeast Coordinator Philly Rising)

We are working with the Frankford Parks group and the Frankford Garden club to establish a few community gardens in some of the empty lots in Frankford. I have put Janet and Kim in touch with the office that does the UGA agreements which is essentially a contract that grants the community the right to care for a city owned lot. Jason Dawkins is working on the green space in Hedge Street Park.

On Sunday, February 26 We will be holding a Free Tax Preparation and Financial Aid Workshop for residents at the CDC which is located at 4900 Griscom Street. Professional Accountants are volunteering their time to do free tax preparation and the Philly Goes 2 College office is facilitating the financial aid workshop which will walk parents through filling out the FASFA form.

15^th Police District Sgt.

The Sgt. Is new to the 15t District. He use to run the bicycle until in the 26^th District. He is interested in attending more community meetings in Frankford where residents are exchanging resources, such as the job readiness programs at IMPACT. There is a Police advisory committee meeting for the different organizations in the community that is being held on Monday, January 30^th at St. Joachim’s at 7pm. Captain Bachmeyer also does a district tour and he will stopping through the Tacony Civic Association Meeting on Wednesday February 1^st at 7:00pm.

Dwight Leevy (DHS SCOP)

The first thing organizations need to know about SCOP is that it works on a reimbursement system. The groups must front the cost for the programs and then DHS will reimburse groups that are approved for the grant. The grant ranges from $1500 -$5000. The programs must focus around youth engagement. Adults that will be involved with the youth must have criminal clearances, FBI checks, and child abuse clearances. Each group must have a board. If you have a group that is interested in applying you must come down to 1601 Cherry Street and sign up to receive an application. The grant must be completed in returned to 1601 Cherry Street by the last Friday in February at 3:30pm.

Joan Todd (Carson Valley Children’s Aid

Joan gave a presentation about two of her afterschool programs which are being run out of Harding middle school (CHEERS & CHICKS).

C.H.I.C.K.S is an afterschool program for young girls in Harding Middle School. We are holding a “Roots Benefit Concert” to raise funds for the programs. The concert is being held at the SIGMA Sound Studios on 212 North 12^th street on Saturday, February 18^th; Doors open at 8:00pm; Contact Joan Todd for information about Tickets at 215 535 1093 ext. 219.

Brandon Brown (Nu Sigma Youth Services)

Nu Sigma Youth Services, is an organization that is focused on providing information sessions to parents, community members, school officials on key resources that focus on the drop-out crisis in the city.

Kimberly Washington (NE EPIC Coordinator)

The next event scheduled to place on the strategic plan was the financial aid workshop with Philly Goes 2 College. However, the CDC is now hosting that event, so the funds allocated for that program we reallocated to the City Year Truancy Prevention Program and to the Sister Circle Program at Frankford High School.

We are in the process of working with Carson Valley Children’s Aid’s Frankford Neighborhood Center, City Year and the Ninth grade academy leader to put together the 2012 Frankford Field Day. Last Year our EPIC group was awarded a SCOP Grant to bring back this event that was previously held in the community but was cut due to a change in funding.

We are also working to use our monthly meetings for some skill building. As such our next few meetings will be financial literacy workshops. February will kick off a series of budgeting and money management workshops. Our next meeting will be “Understanding Your Credit Report”. This workshop is being facilitated by Chris Rhametulla from Pathways PA.

There will also be some outreach to form two committees to plan the 2012 EPIC mini Summit and the Women’s History month event that were both on the strategic plan. The next meeting will be Thursday, February 23^rd from 5:30 -7:30 pm at Aria Hospital.

Frankford High School JROTC Happenings for January 2012

1st Lt. Lee Nguyen — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:59:31 +0000

Applebees Fundraiser

The color guard attended the 26th annual Martin Luther King breakfast celebration at Sankofa Freedom Charter school on January 26th.

Color Guard

On January 29th, the Pioneer Battalion hosted a fundraiser at the Applebee’s located on Castor and Aramingo. It was an “All-you-can-eat” breakfast. I am glad to say it was a huge success! We raised over $600. The money will be used to fund various JROTC events.

Local Authors to Appear at the Free Library

Gil — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:00:59 +0000

Meet the Authors…CJ and Chafik Waddy, local creators of U Noo Tito, Boy Hero, says No to Strangers will share their story at the Frankford Branch of the Free Library, 4634 Frankford Avenue on Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 4:00 pm. The father-son author-illustrator team from the Frankford section of the city will appear in costumed character, and children and their grown-ups are invited to participate in a read-aloud session. The event is free and open to the public. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and autographing. Call 215-685-1473 for more information.

Mural Arts Project Reaches Milestone

Gil — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:04:27 +0000

Cesar Viveros and Netanel Portier were at the Historical Society of Frankford on Sunday, the 29th, for the last group of video interviews of Frankford residents. They have now completed over forty sit down interviews with people from every area of Frankford expressing their feelings, hopes, dreams, memories, aspirations and desires of and for Frankford. They have done a fantastic job in reaching out to as many people as they could because they want our input into this project.

Cesar Viveros interviews Sophia Lewis

The interviews are source material for the artistic vision of Cesar as he begins to compile what will make up the eight murals that will line the Frankford Avenue corridor. The interviews will be edited and produced into a single video which will debut at the Historical Society on a date to be announced. The videos will also become available on a YouTube page about the same time.

We’ll be following along with the project as it moves into the actual production of the murals and hope to document the process as it moves along. Coincidentally the murals should be finished by the time we celebrate the 90 anniversary of the opening of the Frankford El this November.

It’s a good time to be in Frankford.

Coming Up in Frankford 1/28 to 2/24/2012

Gil — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:00:23 +0000

Imagining Frankford

When – Sun, January 29, 2pm – 4pm

Where – Historical Society of Frankford, 1507 Orthodox Street (map)

Description – This is the last opportunity to talk to the artist, Cesar Viveros before the project begins taking shape. This is your chance to have a say about the Mural Arts project in Frankford.
Frankford Civic Association Meeting

When – Thu, February 2, 7pm – 8pm

Where – 2nd floor conference room, Aria Health, 4900 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19124 (map)
Grand Army of the Republic Museum Open House

When – Sun, February 5, 12pm – 5pm

Where – 4278 Griscom Street, Philadelphia, PA 19124 (map)

Description – Presentation at 1:30 PM: Major Octavius V Catto (of the PA National Guard) Highest ranking black officer in the army when murdered. by Andy Waskie
Frankford Business and Professional Association Meeting

When – Tue, February 21, 8:30am – 10:00am

Where – Aria Health, 2nd floor conference room (map)
Northwood Civic Association Meeting

When – Tue, February 21, 7pm – 8pm

Where – St. James Lutheran Church, at Castor Avenue and Pratt Street. (map)
Northeast Philadelphia EPIC Stakeholders Group

When – Thu, February 23, 5:30pm – 7:30pm

Where – Aria Hospital’s Frankford Campus (4900 Frankford Avenue) in the 2nd floor meeting room. Philadelphia, PA 19124 (map)

Description – The ultimate goal is to create a process that enhances the community’s ability to solve issues surrounding truancy, domestic violence, child safety and substance abuse.

Frankford CDC Board Meeting 1/19/12

Gil — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:45:15 +0000

Michelle Feldman, Tracy O'Drain, Dan Lodise

The annual public board meeting of the Frankford Community Development Corporation was held at Aria Health on January 19th. The meeting provides and opportunity for residents to come out to talk with the CDC about past accomplishments and future plans.

The board is presently made up of: Marie DeLany (President), Dan Lodise (Vice President), Patricia Miller (SEPTA), Terence McSherry (NET), Michael O’Brien (resident), Mike Galdi (Century 21 Realty), Herb Frayer (S&A Cleaners), Santo Caruso (Aria Health), Faye Allen (SPIN) and Fernando Torres (Mark My Flesh). In addition Tracy O’Drain is the Managing Director. Michell Feldman is Corridor Manager and Special Events Coordinator. Lisa DeMore is the Bookkeeper.

Some highlights:

Significant progress in social media and marketing – The CDC has a revamped and useful web site and is a prominent Frankford resource on Facebook.
The CDC is working closely with the Philadelphia Workforce Development Corporation to get people working.
Has recruited new business (A Cupcake Wonderland and Philly Love Bar to the Globe) to Frankford and assisted existing businesses (Avenue Shoes, Denbys, Gilberts, Just Good Scents, Quickie Mart, Simply Flawless).
Raised the profile of Frankford with some significant special events like the Second Saturday festivals.
Began work on the 4600 block of Frankford Avenue project. Impact Services under an existing contract with the city will begin work this year on those improvements.
New computer lab via PhillyRising came this month.

Dan Lodise announced at the end of the meeting that he will be stepping down as Vice President. The board has room for several more members and I believe we need more residents on the board. There were two exceptional people at the meeting who were interested in possibly joining. I hope they do. Both are business women in Frankford. Just the people we need.

Tracy and Michelle did a great Power Point presentation at the meeting that I recorded for my notes but it is so detailed I am including it below for your information if you care to see some of the details.

It works best in full screen and pause it at each slide if you need time to read them.

Coming Up in Frankford 1/21 2/17/2012

Gil — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:00:56 +0000

Northeast Philadelphia EPIC Stakeholders Group

When – Thu, January 26, 5:30pm – 7:30pm

Where – Aria Hospital’s Frankford Campus (4900 Frankford Avenue) in the 2nd floor meeting room. Philadelphia, PA 19124 (map)

Description – Joseph Douglas from Impact Services will be giving a short presentation on their community employment and training programs as well as their Re-Entry services for ex-offenders. Erica Smith from Philadelphia Parks and Recreation will have information on their new Yard Tree Initiative and how residents can sign up to receive a FREE yard tree. Dwight Leevy, our DHS Liason will have information on the 2012 SCOP grants and application process. We will also discuss our upcoming meetings and initiatives leading into the Spring.
Imagining Frankford

When – Sun, January 29, 2pm – 4pm

Where – Historical Society of Frankford, 1507 Orthodox Street (map)

Description – This is the last opportunity to talk to the artist, Cesar Viveros before the project begins taking shape. This is your chance to have a say about the Mural Arts project in Frankford.
Frankford Civic Association Meeting

When – Thu, February 2, 7pm – 8pm

Where – 2nd floor conference room, Aria Health, 4900 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19124 (map)
Grand Army of the Republic Museum Open House

When – Sun, February 5, 12pm – 5pm

Where – 4278 Griscom Street, Philadelphia, PA 19124 (map)

Description – Presentation at 1:30 PM:

PSA1 Meeting 1/18/2012

Gil — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 04:29:07 +0000

Lt. Derrick Wood

It was a good meeting on Wednesday night with the first appearance of Lt. Derrick Wood who took over from Lt. Casselli last month. It was Lt. Wood’s first PSA meeting, so time was spent in getting to know those in attendance and their problems.

The issue of drug sales at Foulkrod Street and Frankford Avenue has been an ongoing concern. The problem of a crack house on Foulkrod just off the Avenue was also addressed. It has come up at previous meetings and has been investigated by Officer Heather Andrews with L&I who says that they cannot do anything about it because it is occupied. There is an abundance of synthetic marijuana being sold in stores along Frankford Avenue. It’s not clear whether this stuff is legal or not.

The next PSA1 meeting date will be announced pending a decision on whether it can be combined with one of the other civic meetings. That would give more citizens the opportunity to meet the police in person.