Frankford Community Blog | Local News, Events, Community Resources
Frankford Neighborhood Center 14th Anniversary Recognition Banquet – Thu, June 27, 7pm – 11pm, Unity Hall, 1349 Unity Street – Honoring Marie Delaney, Chanta-l Hardy and Jennifer Powell-Folks. Tickets $25.00 per person. Deluxe buffet, Open wine and beer bar. Live jazz and entertainment.
Funding for a critical position at the Frankford CDC has been lost due to economic conditions and as a result Tracy O’Drain, Managing Director, has left the organization. In addition, Marie Delaney, President of the CDC has left to pursue other interests and Michelle Feldman, Commercial Corridor Manager, has left to run Keep Philadelphia Beautiful an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful. The board has not yet met to determine a course of action for the future.
Tracy O’Drain managed the CDC during a period when it was on the verge of bankruptcy and returned the organization to stability. She worked for the CDC for 9 years, serving as the Business Corridor Manager prior to taking over as Managing Director.
Michelle Feldman, came in as the Commercial Corridor Manager early in 2011 and was instrumental in bringing several new businesses to Frankford. She served as Secretary of the Frankford Business and Professional Association and was well known and appreciated by the business community.
Marie Delaney leaves with these words:
It has been a pleasure and an honor, to serve as the president of the Frankford CDC, Board of Directors since 2006. Moving into my new endeavors, I wish for the Frankford CDC to continue growing and prospering under the new Frankford CDC Board leadership and staff. I would like to thank all those who have made the Frankford CDC the best in the city. I will always be grateful being a part of this dynamic CDC.
From the EPIC Stakeholders political forum last night, Marie and Warren spoke on behalf of their candidacies.
Warren Bloom is running for City Commissioner in the Democratic primary election on May 17th:
UnLitter US, the movement for a litter free Philadelphia, kicked off in Frankford, Monday morning at 8:30 AM with Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez addressing a small crowd at the Frankford Transportation Center. As is often the case, I was a late arrival and only caught the last minute of her talk. Marie Delaney, President of the Frankford CDC and Tracey O’Drain, managing director were also on hand.
Now for the editorial rant. Some people will look at this effort and think “This ain’t going to make a difference”. Well I beg to disagree. Yes, it can make a difference. Harken back to 1979 when SEPTA hired David Gunn to be their the new General Manager. The first thing he saw was the deplorable state of the system which was covered with graffiti. I remember it well. There were some El cars with windows through which you could not see the light of day. He said that could not go on because it made people afraid to ride the El and subway. He said it had to be eliminated and it was.
Now why was that problem allowed to go on in the first place? Because people said “you can’t eliminate graffiti”. If you think you can’t do it, well of course you can’t. If you decide to solve the problem, at least you have a chance. You might fall short but you will be farther down the field than if you never had tried in the first place.
Cleaning crews have been in Frankford working since September 7th. I’ve seen them up on Oxford Avenue. They will continue until the 29th. A community cleanup is scheduled for October 2nd. There will be a big rally and fair on October 1st in front of the Thriftway at Frankford and Pratt from 11:30 to 2:30 PM.
We’ll pass along updates as they become available.
