Category: Civics

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Turning Points for Frankford!

IMG_6365As a St. Joachim parishioner, I’m glad an organization such as Turning Points for Children has rented our rectory for its programs. You can read more about their mission here. This is a good purpose for our now vacant rectory.

Bob and I recently attended the grand opening of the new community emergency food pantry for families living in the 15th Police District. Notice that it is for emergency needs mainly. It was my pleasure to meet two volunteers there when we went. One is Louise Bundy and the other is Latasha Sloan. These women are very happy to assist families and children who are struggling during hard times for many.

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(l-r) Pat Smiley, Louise Bundy, Latasha Sloan

FAWN also supplies nutritional information and infant formula and diapers for families meeting income guidelines. You can make an appointment to use the pantry by calling 267.236.1558. Use is by appointment only. Located at 4346 Frankford Avenue, Unit 2 (in the shopping center with Quickie Mart Express and PNC bank), FAWN is open Wednesdays, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM, Thursdays and Fridays, 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM.

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Safecam Task Force Goes to Work

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Barbara, Veronica, Gary, Sandra and Jon at the initial meeting at St. Marks

As noted by John Loftus in the Northeast Times, the Frankford Civic Association task force on security Cameras has been meeting bi weekly to develop a program to encourage businesses to install and register security cameras on their premises.  They have been proven to be a significant crime deterrent and have also helped apprehend criminals.  The program, for businesses, may also be subsidized by the City Commerce Department.  Home owners are also encouraged to register their security camera system if they have one.

To learn more information about the Safecam program from the Police Department follow this link.

 

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Emergency Preparedness – the Time is Now!

IMG_6339If you and your family were faced with a real emergency, would you be ready? Would you know what to do? Our Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management (OEM) wants you to be ready for anything. And they are doing their best to prepare us. In late September, a Ready Philadelphia or Not? workshop was held at Campbell AME Church on Kinsey St. Led by Joan Przybylowicz, Deputy Director for External Affairs, Emergency Management, Kelly McNamara and Detective Joseph P. Rovnan, Philadelphia Police Department, Counter Terrorism Operations this workshop informed us on preparing for emergencies – whether  they be the ones requiring us to “shelter in place” or to evacuate.  The good news is that many of the informative handouts and information can be found on the OEM’s website – Ready Philadelphia.

We were not able to stay for the entire presentation but here’s just some of the invaluable information that was shared and that we need to act on if we are going to be ready for unexpected events. Of course, we know that extreme temperatures (hot and cold), water pipes, droughts, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes and outbreaks of disease can occur anytime. Hopefully, we receive warnings and have a short amount of time to prepare. But what if we don’t? Do you have enough cash money, food, water, medicine, etc. on hand if you would have to shelter in place? In the case of fires, explosions. utility outages, building collapses and heavy snow affecting the stability of roofs, do you know where you can go or where you would meet with your family members. If you have to evacuate from your house, where would you go? First choice would be to go to other family members and stay with them until the emergency is over. Schools are also the first places that are set up for neighborhood emergencies. All city shelters are pet-friendly.

The time to prepare for an emergency is before it happens. Visit Ready Philadelphia where you can listen to an audio version of the emergency preparedness guide and download a print version of the Ready or Not? guide that includes activities and information for you and your family to use together to get ready for any emergencies you might have to face.

This information is not for “if you need it” but “when you need it”. You only need to pick up the paper, browse online or watch the latest news to see that many of us are experiencing real emergencies every day! Make sure you and yours are prepared. To schedule a workshop, contact oem@phila.gov or call 215.683.3261.

 

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Frankford Civic Association November Meeting

Twenty -Five people on a November night in Frankford was a good turnout at the Frankford Civic Association meeting held on November 6th at Aria Hospital.  There was no zoning cases to discuss but there was a lot of business nonetheless.

  • Residents of Church Street noted that parking has become a problem when meetings are held at Turning Points for Children on Griscom Street.  There is a large parking lot there but people coming to the meetings end up parking on the street and taking up residents spots in front of their homes.
  • The Arsenal boat ramp is closed temporarily while the construction for the new Dietz and Watson plant is underway.  Read more at this NE Times  link.
  • Although the Northwood/Frankford Community Y is now free of debt, it has not been able to find funding to reopen the public part of the building to the public.  Local attorney, Frank Bennett, leases the mansion section of the property for his business.  The remaining area is a gymnasium and pool which could be an asset to the community.  However the pool could cost as much as 80 to 100,000 dollars a year to keep in operation.
  • Pete Specos, president of the Civic, reports that there has been some talk of reopening the Salvation Army facility on Frankford Avenue.
  • A resident of Griscom street reports hearing that the old wine and spirits store on Oxford Avenue has been sold and it will be used as a day care center.  There is no record of the sale on the city OPA site so far.
  • From the recent PSA meeting – The Frankford Deli was raided.  Over $300,000 in marijuana was seized.  Read more about it at the NE Times here.
  • A fire on the 1300 block of Foulkrod Street was caused by high school students who hang there during and after school.
  • Vice is continuing to keep the pressure on prostitutes and their customers in Frankford.

A special task force was formed by several members to work on the issue of security cameras.  That group will meet biweekly and report back to the Civic.  The purpose is to make business owners aware of the Commerce Department’s program that subsidizes installation of security cameras for businesses.  Read more about that at this link.  Anyone who has security cameras installed is encouraged to register them with the police.  You can find more about that program at this link.  Recent events have shown  how these cameras can save lives.  Many experts also believe their very presence acts a deterrent to crime.

The next meeting of the Frankford Civic Association will be held on Thursday, December 4th at 7PM at Aria Hospital.

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Northwood Civic Meeting for October

Residents learned at the Northwood Civic Association meeting on October 21st that the owners of 5050 Oxford Avenue plan to rent rooms in violation of the Northwood deed restriction.  That is cause for concern and the Civic will assist those neighbors who plan to oppose the move.

Old issues were discussed:

  • Northwood park is looking good after the Civic repaired the old benches.  Soon to be available are some of those boxes that will hold plastic bags for those folks who are walking dogs and forgot to bring their own to clean up after the pooch.
  • More residents are needed at the PSA meeting to represent Northwood interests.
  • The Civic continues to send letters to real estate companies who are selling property in Northwood advising them of the deed restriction to make them aware of what can be done in Northwood.   This can help eliminate confusion with buyers who say they are unaware.
  • The flag has been replaced at the War memorial at Frankford stadium.  It was tattered and they key to the lock that allowed it to be taken down was lost.  The new flag is smaller but looks a lot better.
  • No truck parking enforcement is a constant battle says Tom McAvoy, president of the Northwood Town Watch.  Residents are encouraged to call 911 to report violations. This may seem futile but it is a violation and calling help raise the visibility of the issue.

State Representative John Taylor spoke about some of his recent initiatives.  His web site is very good and you can keep fully informed by checking in there.  You can find it at this link,  He also mentioned that his satellite office is open at Simpson Playground every Thursday from 5 to 7PM.  This is your opportunity to talk to him or someone on his staff about your issues.

Some residents have asked Joe Krause about excessive noise and is it a crime that can be reported to 911.  Joe investigated and found the statute.  The noise has to be 5 decibels above the normal noise level between 9PM and 8AM.  Your day time noise is normal but at night you have a right to sleep.  So if you think your neighbors noise qualifies, call 911.

There will be a presentation by Joe Menkevich and Debbie Klak at the Historical Society of Frankford on deed restrictions.  Since Northwood has deed restrictions it would be of interest to many. The meeting is on Tuesday, November 11th at 7:30 PM.

Nominations for the board of the Northwood Civic Association were taken for voting at the November meeting.  That meeting will be on Tuesday, November 18th at St. James Lutheran church at 7PM.