We have received the following announcement about an important meeting for parents of 11th grade students at Frankford High School. These students will be taking the PSSA tests and their test results affect not only them, but the school and community, too. You are invited to come and find out more about these standardized tests your 11th grader will be taking soon!

I haven’t been commenting on  crime stories about Frankford in the media since you can read them elsewhere and I don’t have much to add to them.  The Inquirer on Sunday had a front page story (Walking the walk to cut city’s crime) about the new crime fighting strategies that have reduced crime in the city and specifically in Frankford.  We have previously noted that improvement and applauded the police for their fine work.

I am commenting now though because that story might create the impression that the only thing we have going on in Frankford is crime.  Frankford is a big place with over 30,000 people living here and going about their business peacefully every day.  The story made the point that a six square block area of Frankford “bordered by Frankford Avenue and Arrott, Leiper, and Harrison Streets, is one of 60 hot spots identified in a Temple University study as the city’s highest-volume crime areas.”

Coincidentally I live in that area and the view from here is not all that bad.  One of the points made in this story is that crime is a very local thing.

Ramsey set up foot patrols in 2008 in the city’s five busiest police districts, using officers fresh out of the Police Academy. Police soon noticed a drop in shootings, Deputy Police Commissioner Richard Ross said.

“We believed adding foot patrols was going to be effective,” Ross said, “but we wanted to measure how effective.”

That led to the partnership with Temple’s Jerry Ratcliffe, a criminology professor who conducted the study on Philadelphia’s most violent street corners.

Ratcliffe and his colleagues analyzed and mapped crime data for 2006, 2007, and 2008, revealing clusters of crime within just a few blocks. Most shooting victims are shot within a few blocks of their homes, Ratcliffe found, and he noted that violence often bred more violence, presumably in the form of retaliation.

“Philadelphia’s got really small neighborhoods, and I think many people’s lives revolve around a few streets,” Ratcliffe said. “When something happens, everyone knows about it, and you can’t let people in that neighborhood know you let something slide.”

This implies that the criminals among us live in a small area and do their business there.  That kind of makes sense and explains why I live in this crime hot spot and see little of it on my block.

Now what I would like to see is a study by Temple University to explain what brought these criminals to live in this neighborhood in the first place.  Would anybody like to venture a guess.

• Grand Army of the Republic Museum Open House When – Sun, March 7, 12pm – 5pmWhere – 4278 Griscom Street, Philadelphia, PA 19124 (map) Description – Presentation at 1:30 PM: Highlights of Civil War Medicine: The Men and Women who Served (Who they Were and What they did) Lesley Wood
• Historical Society of Frankford program When – Tue, March 9, 7:30pm – 9:00pm  Where – 1507 Orthodox St., Philadelphia, PA 19124 (map)  Description – ANNUAL MEETING and PRESIDENT’S “BEHIND THE SCENES” TOUR — Come out and learn what has been done this past year at your historical society, as the annual report and financial review are presented. Your ideas are important — so tell us what activities you would like to see — and how you plan to get involved to make these happen. Then, enjoy a rare, behind the scenes tour of our 1930’s building and vast museum and library collections by our president. Don’t miss it! BYLAWS (Constitution rev March 1995) CHANGES TO BE VOTED: Board of Directors: Article IV-Section 1: Change from “comprised of 15 persons” to “comprised of not less than 7 and not more than 15.” Board of Directors: Article IV-Section 6: Change from “Eight directors shall constitute a quorum…” to “51% of the directors shall constitute a quorum.”
• Aria Health – Frankford Campus Hosts Preventive Health & Wellness When – Wed, March 10, 10am – 2pm  Where – Frankford Campus – Wakeling Building, (map)  Description -  To help chart your preventive health and wellness goals as we look forward to the spring season, Aria Health’s Frankford Campus will host a FREE open house at its Wakeling Building. Highlights of the event will include health screenings, wellness exhibits and healthy lifestyle information. We hope you can join us! Featured Aria Health Education Resources: • Dr. Anthony J. Abbruzzi, Internal Medicine • Aria Health Center Clinic Services • Diabetes Self-Management Program – “Meet the Diabetes Educators” • Aria Health Nutrition Center – “Ask the Dietitian” and Body Mass Index (BMI) Screening • Health Partners – Resources on Community Education • Kidz Partners – Resources on Community Education Healthy Lifestyle Information: • Adult Vaccination/Preventive Screening Schedules • Smoking Cessation Resources • Diabetes • Nutrition • Cholesterol • Hypertension Health Screenings: • Cholesterol • Blood Pressure • Body Mass Index (BMI)
• Northwood Civic Association Meeting When – Tue, March 16, 7pm – 8pm  Where – St. James Lutheran Church, at Castor Avenue and Pratt Street. (map)
• Italian Style Family Dinner WhenSat, March 20, 4:30pm – 8:00pm  Where – St. Joachim’s Church, 1527 Church Street, Phila., PA 19124 (map)  Description – MARK YOUR CALENDAR Every Third Wednesday from September thru May Italian Style Family Dinner The Dinners will be served from 4:30 PM to 8 PM in Fitzmaurice Hall Take-out will be available. COST: $8.00 for Adults, $4.00 for Children. Come Join us!
• Frankford Civic Association Meeting When – Thu, April 1, 7pm – 8pm – WhereFrankford Hospital – 2nd floor conference room (map)

Some Frankford real estate transactions from February of 2010, thanks to our friends at Cityspace.