The meeting last night on the second floor at Aria Health was well attended despite the cold temperatures.
First issue on the agenda was a zoning issue regarding a house owned by Pastor Richard Smith of the Faith Assembly of God. He is seeking to renew his zoning variance on a property at 1930 Harrison Street to house up to eight men. A number of people from the congregation attended and there was testimony at the meeting of the pastor’s dedication to helping men in need.
Another zoning issue was related to the application to build a storage facility for a contractor at 4205-07 Adams Avenue. This applicant appeared at a previous meeting and the project is moving along.
In regard to the possible sale of the now vacant Frankford Community Y building, Jason Dawkins of Ms. Sanchez staff reports that the issue is still on the table but the attorney for the parties involved say that funding is still not in place. That was the reason why they did not appear at the last Civic meeting.
The issue of the sale of the Salvation Army building has been reported and there has been no change in status. It is significant to note that the Pols offices are both taking a proactive stance in trying to make sure that any sale that does take place will be in the best interests of the community.
The big news at the meeting was revealed by Barry Howell, president of the Northwood Civic Association. He announced that Community Behavioral Health, contracted by the City of Philadelphia, is opening up a recovery house at 4871 Roosevelt Boulevard. This would violate the Burk deed restriction which prohibits use of the property for anything other than a single family residence.
So now the city government has turned on us. The city where you pay taxes is going to war against us.
Barry requested that someone from Frankford Civic attend the Northwood Civic meetings in the future. This fight will require a coordinated effort by by both Civics. Why is this important when there are so many other recovery houses in Frankford? Because there are so many recovery houses in Frankford. There are far more than the number of people in Frankford needing those services.
It’s time again to stand together and so no more. Check out the report on NEastPhilly.com.
