The 15th District PDAC (Police District Advisory Council) along with Shop Rite of Frankford is sponsoring a gun buy back on Saturday May 7th at the Second Baptist Church at Meadow and Mulberry Streets. The last one brought in close to 50 guns which is great. Below is Pete Specos talking about the event.
Attendance was a bit low last night at the PSA meeting but there was a lot to discuss regardless.
Pete Specos of 15th district PDAC (Police District Advisory Council) announced that there would be another gun buy back on May 7th at the Second Baptist Church at Mulberry and Meadow Streets. The last event was very successful with about 50 guns taken in. The offer incentive is a $50 Shop Rite gift certificate per gun or family. The event will run from 10AM till 2PM.
The PDAC will have its annual community day coinciding with the Mayfair Fair Day on May 14th from 10AM till 2PM. The PDAC will be set up on the 3500 block of Ryan Avenue, just off Frankford Avenue. Refreshments, exhibits and fun stuff for the kids all available.
Lt. Casselli, PSA Area 1
Lt. Casselli noted that thefts from autos are down since the beginning of the year which coincides with the campaign to make people in the area aware of the risks of leaving cars unlocked and with clues that valuables like gps or ipods might be within. Arrests were made and that was good news.
Further discussion of specific crime areas and strategies followed.
The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for May 24th. You can check the schedule at the 15th districts web site community meeting listing.
It was almost surreal to hear, once again, a call for a moment of silence at the Frankford Civic Association meeting on Thursday night. At December’s meeting, Frances Clay had asked for that moment in honor of Thelma Young, long time member. This month, Brian Wisniewski asked for that moment of silence in honor of Frances who passed away before Christmas.
Alice Henry read a thank you card to the Civic for the remembrance at her memorial service and then the meeting commenced with new business exactly as Frances would expect.
The election for officers was conducted with the following results:
President – Brian Wisniewski
Vice President - Alice Henry
Secretary - Rose Zimmermann
Treasurer - Tim Wisniewski
Zoning – Pete Specos
at large – Al Rose
at large – Al Mitchell
at large – Margie Rivera
at large – Steve McClintock
Jason Dawkins
Several issues of problem properties were raised by Mike Mawson of West Frankford Town Watch. The Civic will look into those issues.
Roselyn Gonzalez attended on behalf of the club the “Third Floor” at 4651 Frankford Avenue. She has been in contact with Councilwoman Sanchez office recently(Jason Dawkins) in attempt to work through the process of finding out what has to be done with the city to become legal. You can see the coverage and video by the NEastPhilly.com here.
The club has been operating unlicensed for several months with some problems as previously reported here. The intention is to resolve the problems and become a members only club. They will be going before the zoning board to complete that process at some point in the future. The Civic will then have some input in the process.
Roselyn Gonzalez
The next Frankford Civic meeting is scheduled for February 3rd at 7PM at Aria Health, 2nd floor conference room.
The Northood Civic Association held their monthly meeting last night, April 20th at St. James. A good crowd was on hand.
The Civic has met now met with all political representatives involved and has their support on the issue of the Volunteers of America (VOA) purchase of the house on Roosevelt Boulevard for use as a group home. No compromise is possible and the home must be used as a single family home period. The ball is now in the VOA court.
The lawsuit against Northwood Civic Association by Attorney Guinan has been settled satisfactorily. No further action is to take place on the matter.
Barry Howell reported on the meeting Friday night with New Frankford Developers LLC. His comments are below.
In addition, Felicia Richardson of New Frankford Developers attended the meeting and took the opportunity to speak for a few minutes about plans for the Y. Her comments are below.
The issue of crime came up at the end of the meeting and many of those in attendance had personal experiences to report. Many were relatively minor nuisance crimes that would not usually get a police response. Barry noted however that a call to report the problem should always be made to get it on the record. Pete Specos (Frankford Civic) noted that people should take advantage of the newly implemented PSA meetings to bring these issues directly to the captain. The next PSA (Police Sector Area) meeting for sector 1 is on May 4th at 7PM at the second floor conference room at Aria Frankford.
Barry also noted that there was a flash mob in Northwood last Wednesday, April 14th. Police had been monitoring it and expected it to happen at Roosevelt Mall. No damage or injury was reported.
The Greenwood Cemetery will hold a ground breaking on the restoration of the old farmhouse on Friday, April 30th at 10AM. The pols will be there for picture opportunities. It is a historic building and the public is invited.
The next meeting for the Northwood Civic is on May 18th.
The Frankford Civic met Thursday night at Aria Health (Frankford) at 7:00 PM. The meeting called to order by Frances Clay and the minutes from last month’s meeting were read by Brian Wisniewski.
The first item on the agenda was a zoning issue related to the property at 1845 Wakeling Street. It is a commercial property presently zoned as residential. It has never been a residence but now must be officially rezoned to be legal. You can view the presentation made by Tom Citro, the expediter for the owner, at our YouTube channel.
Pete Specos went over a zoning issue regarding 4314 North Penn Street. Owner wants to convert it to a two family dwelling. The hearing is scheduled for next week. The issue of 1715 Harrison Street from last months meeting was also discussed where the owner wants to convert if from a two family to three family dwelling. The Civic issued a letter of opposition to the ZBA for that change.
Next up was Jason Dawkins of Councilwoman Sanchez office with an update on the Philadelphia Recycling Rewards program. This program is a no brainer. You get free stuff for your trash. All you need to do is recycle. The City saves money and you get something. Recycling bins are available at Tony Payton’s (4665 Frankford Ave.) office and Tina Tartaglione’s office (Bridge and Large Streets) as well.
Jason also talked about the proposed Stakeholders/Town Hall meetings on the issue of recovery homes. The meetings may possibly be scheduled by the summer. Some rational discussion about the recovery house issue followed.
The book he mentions (“How it works”) is available in our book store.
Mayor Nutter sent Lauren Vidas (Coordinator, External Affairs and Public Engagement at City of Philadelphia) , Dr. Don Schwartz (Health Commissioner) and Carl Williams (Deputy Streets Commissioner) to explain the budget options that have been proposed to close the 120 million dollar budget gap for fiscal year 2011. The discussions focused on the proposed tax on sugar sweetened beverages and the trash collection tax. They also made the point that the mayor is open to any reasonable proposal to increase revenues but at this point does not believe that further service cuts are possible or realistic.
This Saturday, park cleanups are scheduled all over Frankford. Check the upcoming events for more information. The next meeting of the Frankford Civic is scheduled for May 13th. At that meeting, folks who would like to join the Civic and become a voting member may pay their annual dues of $10.00. The Civic needs your support to continue doing the vital work that needs to be done.
