Tag: Chris Spence

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2nd Saturday in Frankford

The weather last Saturday turned out to be pretty nice so I walked the Avenue as I often do to see what is going on down there.  I had to go down to get a picture of the Le-Truck II restaurant exterior.  I admire anybody who will hang up a 4 foot tall crab on the front of their business.  On the way back, I found the 2nd Saturday Festival going on at Paul and Frankford.  That is the former location of the Rivera Restaurant where I spent more than a few Saturday mornings breakfasting.

Angela Milburn

I met Angela who is a graphic artist (also does oils).  She had some of her creations for sale.  You can also check her out at her web site here.  She says her graphics are Urban and I can identify with that.  They were bold and colorful and reasonably priced.

Audrey Taylor

Also selling custom jewelry was Audrey Taylor.  I’m not an expert in that area but her creations looked good to me.

Since I was out I went down to 2nd Baptist to get some more pictures of the second Community Paint day.  There were a lot of people painting and quite a few were not from Frankford.  I met Javese Phelps-Washington who is the mother of Chris Spence.  Chris was the young man murdered one night at the T&T bar at Margaret and Hawthorne.

Javese Phelps-Washington

Cesar Viveros, the artist designing the murals, selected different images that will portray Frankford.  One of those images depicts a young man in a football uniform bearing the number 45.  That was Chris Spence’ number and when I walked into the room, his mother and sister were painting that panel of the mural.

These murals are very personal to Frankford.

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611 Action

Formerly Known at the T&T Bar, 4691 Hawthorne Street

The 611 Action hearing to keep the Hawthorne Street bar (where Chris Spence was murdered) shut down is May 2nd, at 10am, in Courtroom 426 at City Hall.  Concerned citizens are encouraged to attend.

Now that the pols have done their work, its time for the community to come out and make your voices heard.

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T&T Bar to Change Its Name to Deuces

Rumors swirled around the neighborhood today that the T&T bar will reopen under “new management” with the new name “Deuces”.  This is the bar where Chris Spence was shot down only two weeks ago.  The neighborhood has vowed to keep it closed, no matter what the name.

 

Formerly Known at the T&T Bar, 4691 Hawthorne Street

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Gun violence turns deadly outside T&T Bar Friday night

T&T Bar, 4691 Hawthorne Street

You may have heard about the shooting over the weekend at the T&T bar at Margaret and Hawthorne.  Mike Mawson, West Frankford Town Watch, emails me when anything unusual is going on.  He sent me this one on Saturday morning:

Police responded to a shooting at about 1:40 a.m. in Frankford. A 20-year-old male was shot once in the chest at a bar in the 4600 block of Hawthorne Street. male was transported by private auto to Aria Health Frankford division.  He was transported to Aria Health hospital Torresdale.  He was later pronounced dead at the Aria Health hospital in Torresdale.   Police have not made any arrests in this case.

Then a followup on Sunday:

Christopher Spence, 20, was shot early Saturday at the T&T Bar in Frankford. He was transported to Aria Health-Torresdale Campus, where he was pronounced dead at 3:10 a.m., police said. The shooting is under investigation.  Now here is the question.  Why was this male in the bar in the first place The police have been there multiple times and the DA’s task force on nuisance  bars had shut them down in the past.  This I know first hand because myself and other members of West Frankford Town watch were there on 2 different nights when the task force shut them down.

Today the Inquirer gave a full report on who Chris Spence was and his history in Frankford.  So why was that place still open?

Click here to see the NEastPhilly piece on the news conference rally that was held at the location this afternooon.