- Services at St. James – Sat, March 29, 6pm – 7pm, St. James Lutheran Church, Castor Ave. and Pratt St. – Saturdays Prayer Service at 6:00 pm, Sundays Traditional Service at 9:00 am, Sundays Contemporary Service at 10:30 am
- Friends of Overington Park -Wed, April 2, 7pm – 8pm
- Frankford Civic Association Meeting -Thu, April 3, 7pm – 8pm, Aria Hospital, 2nd floor
- Mayor’s Spring Cleanup – Saturday, Apr 5, 2014, At our local parks and the neighborhood
- Historical Society of Frankford program – Tue, April 8, 7:30pm – 9:00pm, 1507 Orthodox St – FIGHTING FIRES IN FRANKFORD (FROM HORSES TO HORSEPOWER: PHILADELPHIA BUREAU OF FIRE 1871–1923) Presentation by Jack Wright, Historian, Philadelphia Fire Department View some of the Society’s collections of fire fighting artifacts from this area’s long-gone volunteer fire companies (first in 1793). Fire historian Jack Wright will describe the early years (1871–1923) of the “Philadelphia Bureau of Fire” and share information on the Fireman’s Hall Museum, situated in a historic 1902 firehouse at 2nd & Arch Street.
- Everybody Ready 2.0 – Wed, April 9, 5:30pm – 7:00pm, Frankford Library, 4634 Frankford Ave – Personal emergency preparedness training. Do you have a plan for a public health emergency? Come learn what you can do before, during and after an emergency to protect yourself and your family.
- Neighborhood Advisory Committee Meeting – Thu, April 10, 7pm – 8pm, 2nd Baptist Church, 1801 Meadow St.
- Senior Spring Fling – Fri, April 11, 10am – 3pm, Peter Bressi Northeast Senior Center 4744 Frankford Ave. – Sponsored by State Rep James Clay
- Grand Army of the Republic Museum Open House – Sun, April 13, 12pm – 5pm, 4278 Griscom Street – Presentation at 1:30 PM: *Ken Milano – Kensington Know-Nothing Riots – 1844
- Frankford PhillyRising Community Meeting – Mon, April 14, 5:30pm – 7:00pm, Frankford Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia 4634 Frankford Avenue
- Northwood Civic Association Meeting -Tue, April 15, 7pm – 8pm, St. James Lutheran Church, at Castor Avenue and Pratt Street.
- RECLAIM | Dumpster Divers – Apr 19 – 20, 2014, @ the corner of Frankford Avenue and Paul Street – Philadelphia’s Dumpster Divers are well known for their commitment to making art from what others would perceive as junk. Seeing the possibilities in trash and other under-utilized resources, they bring a new awareness to the concept of “upcycling” as they transform discarded materials into creative new art forms. Receptions & block party on the 19th.
- Frankford Parks Group – Tue, April 22, 6:30pm – 7:30pm, CDC Building, 4900 Griscom St.
- Northeast Philadelphia EPIC Stakeholders Group – Thu, April 24, 5:30pm – 7:30pm, 2nd Baptist Church, 1801 Meadow Street
- PSA1 Meeting – Thu, April 24, 7pm – 8pm, Aria Hospital, 4900 Frankford Ave
Category: Civics
Frankford Civic March Meeting
There were no zoning cases to discuss this month but there was an interesting presentation by Tom Branigan and Alexia Sotirchos from the Delaware River City Corporation (DRCC).
The DRCC from their web site:
The Delaware River City Corp. (DRCC) exists in order to build, maintain and promote the North Delaware Greenway. The North Delaware Greenway is a portion of the urban, multi-state corridor, the East Coast Greenway, which connects similar projects from Maine to Florida. In partnership with many others, the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, the Philadelphia Commerce Department and Department of Parks and Recreation, and local civic organizations, the DRCC is realizing the vision of a renewed Delaware riverfront.
The most recent development was the opening of the Port Richmond Trail which runs next to Delaware Avenue from Allegheny up the the Betsy Ross Bridge at Lewis Street. Right at Allegheny is the new Pulaski Park. We took a tour Sunday and even though the newly planted trees haven’t bloomed yet, you can see the potential there. See the slideshow below.
In context, this stretch of the trail will be a segment of the 3,000 mile East Coast Greenway running from Canada to Key West, Florida. The Philadelphia segment is planned out and some of it is now being implemented. Grpund was broken last week for the extension of Delaware Avenue from Lewis Street to Orthodox Street. The trail will be built along with the roadway. Eventually Delaware Avenue will run all the way up the the Arsenal boat ramp and the trail will run along with it.
Planning is also ongoing for the Frankford Creek Greenway to connect to the trail system thereby giving us in Frankford access to the Delaware river by bike.
The next meeting of the Frankford Civic Association will be held at Aria Hospital on April 3rd at 7PM.
Northwood Civic February Meeting
The meeting held on February 18th was well attended with 20 residents in the meeting room at St. James Lutheran Church. The issues discussed:
- The March 18th meeting will be candidates night. The primary election will be held on May 20th and invitations are being sent to all candidates for office to attend the meeting to speak and answer questions. There will be no debate between candidates since only one at a time will be in the meeting room.
- Residents have voiced concern about the parking problems at Northwood Academy Charter School. Joe Krause has been discussing the issue with the principal Amy Hollister. They are working on a plan to utilize the parking lot (formerly CORA) to reduce congestion at drop off and pickup time. She has been invited to speak at a future meeting.
- Joe was scheduled to tour the site of the new Bridge facility on Adams Avenue on February 19th. The Bridge is a nonprofit behavioral health treatment and youth opportunity program for adolescents and their families seeking to overcome substance abuse, mental health issues, truancy and other challenges. The facility appears to be nearing completion and the community will be notified when it will become operational. The issue of approving the zoning variance for the facility was contentious with the Frankford Civic opposing it while the Northwood Civic approved.
- The Kmart on Wyoming Avenue is closing which leaves a large vacant property on the edge of Northwood. There is no indication of what may happen to the building at this point but the Civic will keep an eye on the situation.
- Tom McAvoy discussed the Town Watch. As the president, he is dependent on reports from residents about issues. No patrolling is done by members. Truck parking overnight on Northwood streets is generally prohibited and is under control for the most part. Residents can contact Tom at nwtownwatch@hotmail.com.
- Representative Clay spoke briefly on his proposed legislation to tax lottery winnings to fund public schools in the state. He says he has gotten a lot of positive feedback from the public and fellow legislators about it. More information will be available as it moves along the legislative process.
Some residents came with a list of possible rental properties in the Northwood deed restricted area. Joe Krause took the information and will followup on the issues raised. He noted that it can be difficult to prove use of a property is a commercial enterprise which is forbidden by the deed restriction. Some may be used by other then the owner in situations that are legal.
The next meeting of the Northwood Civic Association will be on Tuesday, March 18th at 7PM at St. James Lutheran Church.
Frankford Civic Association Meeting for February
At the Frankford Civic meeting on February 6th there were no zoning cases presented. There are two pending issues that required a continuance and the owners will be requested to visit the next meeting.
Residents heard some positive news from Griscom Street. After years of decay, 4728 Griscom has been sold to a Griscom Apartments LP with the intention of use for senior citizen housing. It is also contemplated that 4732-34 Griscom (4 story historic building) will become part of that deal once some title problems are cleared up.
On the opposite corner, Pete Specos, president of the Civic Association, noted that a permit for a sit down restaurant has been granted to 4731 Griscom St. The property owner had applied for a variance for a take out chicken store at that location last year. Residents vocally protested and the application was withdrawn. Construction is now going forward with the incarnation of the business. Residents are very concerned about any business moving into that property that will attract drug users and dealers at all hours of the day and night. They resolved that if this looks like the direction the business will take, protest will be carried on until the situation is corrected. If necessary, they will take the pickets to the owner’s home.
The club at 4721 Oxford (formerly the State Store) was open for a private party the weekend of February 1st. Since it has no license and numerous L&I violations, the police were notified and came to shut it down.
The next meeting of the Frankford Civic Association will be held on March 6th at Aria Hospital at 7PM.
Frankford Civic Association Meeting takes Up New Restaurant at Griscom and Oxford
The owner of the property at the corner of Oxford Avenue and Griscom (4731 Griscom St.) is scheduled to attend the Frankford Civic Association meeting on February 6th. He has already obtained a permit for a restaurant for the building but is willing to present his business plan to the community. It does not involve a take out food license. This location was previously proposed to be the location of a Crown Fried Chicken take out store.
Weather permitting, the meeting will be at 7PM at Aria Hospital.
