Chris Wink, NEastPhilly got his report out so fast on the meeting last week that it gave me time to digest to event.  You can see NEastPhilly coverage here which includes video.   There most significant points raised at the meeting to me were:

• The old Frankford Y continues to deteriorate and people who live in that area say it is attracting some bad activity.  Barry Howell (president of the Northwood Civic) noted that no progress is being made at turning it into something positive for the community.  That is what we all would like.  Then he went on to say that if something doesn’t happen he (the Northwood Civic) will be contacting the political representatives to demolish it.  With the threat of demolition, it might force those with the power to do something to actually do something.
• Tracy O’Drain of the Frankford CDC was present and spoke about their revitalization efforts on the 4600 block of Frankford Avenue.  Barry praised their efforts in that regard and said that revitalization of Frankford Avenue is important to Northwood.
• Barry announced that next month nominations for office in the Northwood Civic will be conducted with elections at the November meeting.  He said that there is a need for some new people to step up and take leadership positions.  The present leadership, including himself, would like to take a break.

Next meeting of the Northwood Civic Association meeting will be on Tuesday, October 18th.

From the Northwood Civic Association:

Northwood Civic Association
St. James Lutheran Church
4600 Pratt Street
**** Tuesday, September 20, 2011 ****
7:00 PM

AGENDA:
Quality of Life Issues
Elections
Volunteers for BOD:  Secretary & Treasurer
Mike Galdi: Presentation for Homeowners enhance your property

OLD BUSINESS
NEW BUSINESS

Bring a Neighbor!!!

Northwood a Beautiful place to Live,
Lets work together to keep it that way!

Northwood Civic held their last meeting before the Summer recess last Tuesday.  A number of routine zoning issues were on the agenda.  In addition there were complaints about the illegal and unsightly signs that festoon every available surface throughout the neighborhood.  Joe Krause is leading the charge against the sign people and the zoning issues are being dealt with as needed.

But the big news was the issue of the former Primos bar at 1520 Arrott Street.  I won’t repeat what Chris Wink has already detailed on NEeastPhilly.com so follow the link and check it out.  The bottom line is there will be an opportunity to hear from the owner of the property about his plans next Thursday, June 30, at the EPIC Stakeholders meeting at Aria Health.

This is no time to sit on the sidelines.

From Michael Bane, Northwood Civic Association:

Northwood Civic Association
St. James Lutheran Church
4600 Pratt Street
**** Tuesday, June 21, 2011 ****
7:00 PM

AGENDA:
GUEST SPEAKER: Elected Official
NEIGHBORHOOD QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUES:

OLD BUSINESS
NEW BUSINESS

Bring a Neighbor!!!

Northwood a Beautiful place to Live,
Lets work together to keep it Beautiful!

The primary election on May 17th was a low turnout event as was expected.  Councilwoman Maria  Quiñones-Sánchez defeated Danny Savage for the Democratic party nomination for the 7th District City Council seat.  Congratulations to them both for a hard fought contest.

I was curious about who was supporting which candidate.  Sanchez raised over twice as much money as Savage did, so I took at look at the contribution reports.  Both candidates got  a lot of money from other politicians, businesses, unions, lawyers, PACs and such.  There were also many small donors in the hundred dollar range.

There was only one surprise and I found it on the Sanchez contribution list.  The 8th largest contributor gave $5,200 on April 4th.  This contributor, COSAN LLC is the owner of the property where the Bridge has proposed to relocate on Adams Avenue.

A zoning variance is required before that can happen since the property is now zoned G2 heavy industrial.  At present the Northwood and Juniata Civics have both indicated that they would write a letter of support to the zoning board for the change (past coverage here).  Tony Payton, State Representative has also indicated support.  Councilwoman Sanchez at last hearing said she was undecided.

Jason Dawkins Says:
April 14th, 2011 at 12:04 pm edit

Bob, Councilwoman Sánchez did not express any decision on the Bridge. She stated before that she was going wait until all community members voted, before making any public decision.

There is nothing wrong with giving to the candidates.  Many of the donors gave to both candidates, I guess to cover all the bases.  Many of the donors gave to other candidates for other offices in the election.  The donors make their donations for various reasons.  See the Inquirer story from Sunday about the donations from the soft drink folks.

Thanks to a commenter, I have another surprise.  I did not know Terrence McSherry but he is the CEO of NET (Northeast Treatment Centers).  He donated $100 to the Savage campaign and $100 to Sanchez.  Thanks Kathleen. If anybody finds anything else, let me know.

Elections cost a lot of money.  Money has to be raised and there is nothing inappropriate in taking any donation you can get.  That is a fact of life.  It’s politics.

You can see what the donations for Sanchez and Savage look like below.  If nothing else, it’s interesting.  Thanks to the Committee of Seventy for help in finding the information.

Sanchez donations here.

Savage donations here.