Dear Frankford,

We have been so honored to spend the past 6-9 months with you, hearing
your stories and learning about the neighborhood- its past and the
hopes you have for it.

You can now go online to catch a glimpse of what you have shared with
us: http://www.youtube.com/user/imaginingfrankford

Thank you for being so welcoming and generous! We hope that you will
share these videos with your fellow community members. Because there
were so many, it is going to take us a moment to edit all of them. As
they are completed they will be added to the website.

In the meantime, Cesar is working hard to design the 5 corridor
murals. Please check your in-boxes in June for news about this process
and how you can participate in the final mural design meetings.

Thanks for your support,

Netanel and Cesar
http://muralarts.org/explore/projects/imagining-frankford

Netanel Portier
Project Manager
City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program
The Lincoln Financial Mural Arts Center
at the Thomas Eakins House
1727-29 Mount Vernon Street
Philadelphia, PA 19130
215-685-0725 (office)
856-906-0078 (cell)
215-685-0757 (fax)

Make your donation to the Mural Arts Program today! Visit muralarts.org/support

As the school year comes to a close the ROTC must choose new leadership.

Make way for the new leaders! The pioneer battalion has chosen new cadets to lead us into a new year. Cadet/COL Justin Mount has retired as the battalion commander and Cadet/LTC Antonio Torres has stepped up to the plate. We wish him great achievements in the future. Cadet Torres will lead us into more special projects to help the community. Congrats to Cadet/LTC Torres!

Picture caption: Cadet Justin Mount (left) and JROTC Senior Instructor (right) hands down the position of Battalion Commander to Cadet Torres (center).

((This is Cadet/MAJ Lee Nguyen  Retired Pioneer Battalion S-5. It has been an amazing year working with you to get my battalion into news articles. This year I will graduate and will be handing down my position to a new S-5, C/1LT Jonathan Juarez. I hope you two have great communication as we did and work together to put the Frankford Pioneers into the local newspaper.))

This is the third segment of the interview we did back in November with Tracy O’Drain and Michelle Feldman of the Frankford CDC.  What does Michelle’s job encompass.

This is a PhillyRising event coming up on May 19th at the Gambrel Playground.  Time is short to make plans for summer.

Almost a year ago, the Gazette published a guest post from the Frankford CDC detailing our efforts and future plans. A lot has happened since the writing of that piece, and so much of it has been positive.

We have also launched several new programs in the last few months, including a partnership with Aria Health to spotlight the businesses along the Avenue and an initiative with NorthEast Treatment Centers to keep the Avenue clean. We’ve also partnered with Frankford High School to organize a roundtable with some of our community’s best food entrepreneurs – bringing business owners in direct contact with budding ones.

In addition, FCDC has markedly stepped up our communications efforts, to great success we believe. Our facebook and twitter accounts are updated constantly, aimed at creating buzz about Frankford. We also consistently post videos on our YouTube channel, and recently created a Pinterest page to again highlight Frankford’s many assets. We firmly believe we have generated interest in our community through our marketing campaign, and will have some exciting partnerships to announce before the end of the summer.

The CDC is also in the midst of planning its special events for the coming summer and fall: a community health fair with Aria Health and Health Partners, a re-reading of the Declaration of Independence at Womrath Park, another series of Second Saturday arts festivals, and an even more haunting Haunted History Tour. Stay tuned for dates, times and locations. We’d love your input as we plan these events, and we’d love to hear ideas for future ones!

Even as we expand our scope of services, we are still focused on small business development and attraction. Over the last year we have brought two new businesses to Frankford, and are working strategically to bring several more. Our increased media presence is intended in part to help bring shoppers and new business owners to the Avenue, and we believe we are having an effect.

We at the Frankford CDC love what we do, from working with wonderful small business owners to planning events and forging larger development projects. And we love talking to as many people as possible about Frankford and our plans. So don’t hesitate to contact us at 215-743-6580, or to stop by our offices at 4900 Griscom Street.

A better Frankford, and a better Philadelphia, will not come about unless we all get involved.