Frankford Community Blog | Local News, Events, Community Resources
After a decade of vacancy, a new owner has taken control of a neglected 19th century Northeast Philadelphia landmark. Follow the link below for the rest of the story.
Steve Ostroff discussed the plans for the New Frankford Community Y building (4704 Leiper Street) at the Northwood Civic Association meeting on November 18th. After a grilling by a skeptical audience concerned about the possibility of negative uses of the building, he managed to calm the fears of many in the Northwood residents.
Garsed Mansion from Google Street View
Although he and his partner, Mavrakis Stylianos, apparently have no specific plans, the objective is to get some tenant or tenants into the building to make some money. Ostroff is a major investor in Frankford and he has a substantial investment in this building to protect. He understands the mansion part of the property is on the historic register and as such cannot be altered. He said he had no plans to do so.
This deal could be a win for Frankford and Northwood. A historic building will be protected and returned to some productive use. The sale of the building could also become a windfall for other nonprofits in Frankford. If the nonprofit Corporation which owns the building sells its property and then liquidates its assets, under those circumstances, the proceeds must go to another nonprofit. How that is handled would be up to the Board of Directors but it should stay in Frankford.
The Northwood Civic Association meeting will be Tuesday, December 18th at 7:00 PM, at Simpson Recreation Center. The new property owner will be presenting plans for a zoning variance they applied for. Plans are to have an office space on first floor and residences on the above floors. The new owner of the former Northwood Frankford Y may be present to introduce himself.
Bank owned property may be sued by neighboring residents with the support of the Civic. We will discuss the matter and make a decision as to what role the civic should take.
October 2018 Meeting
The Frankford Civic Association meets monthly on the first Thursday of each month. Meetings are held from 7 -8 PM at St. Mark’s Church, Frankford, 4442 Frankford Avenue, with convenient parking in the lot which can be accessed via Frankford Avenue or Griscom Street. We’re on the main strip!!
This month, we held a meet and greet with Ellie Vamos, the Commercial Corridor Manager for the Frankford Community Development Corporation. Welcome, Ellie, and we’re glad you’re here! Ellie joined the staff there in September. She comes to us with a varied range of experiences and skills that she developed as a community engagement specialist. Ellie has done much to build partnerships using effective communication strategies to further foster a sense of community. Ellie shared with us her vision and what she is currently working on in her new position.
Ellie is a great listener and endeared herself to the group at large immediately. Ellie would like to build and develop our local business organization by recruiting new members and helping them to see the importance of their investment in Frankford and how it can improve their own business success. Partnering with the greater community, the Frankford Civic Association agreed to co-sponsor the Monster Bash on Halloween which was held at the Pause (Pink) Park. Due to a recent fire on Paul St., the planned movie had to be canceled unfortunately.
Ellie is scheduled to return for this month’s meeting, too, to continue our discussions of how we can support the CDC’s effort to revitalize our commercial corridor.
We also discuss upcoming issues for the Neighborhood Advisory Committee such as zoning, expansion of existing properties and other issues directly affecting the community. Christine DeJesus serves as Co-ordinator of the NAC.
So join us at our next meeting on Thursday, December 6! There’s always something new to learn about Frankford!
Councilwoman Sanchez makes her presentation
The first phase has already been completed with the repairs to the exterior of the building earlier this year.
Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez presented the plan to rehab the Tiny Tots area and install new equipment at a budgeted cost of $300,000 for the project.
Tiny Tots is at present not used because of the condition.
Although the crowd was generally pleased with the improvements, questions were about making improvements to the rest of the facility. The basketball courts and baseball field get a lot of use and need improvement.
Illustration of the building showing new planting to the right of the entrance replacing equipment shown above.
Sanchez explained that this is the next phase in what must be a long-term plan and she would not make any promises that could not be kept. She emphasized that the best way for stakeholders to make sure that plans of this type meet their needs is to actively be involved in the Advisory Council at the facility. That group is part of the planning process.
Construction for the project will begin when the weather breaks in the Spring of 2019.
The next meeting of the Northwood Civic Association will be on October 16th at 7 PM at the Simpson Recreation Center, 1010 Arrott Street.
