You may have noticed on our event calendar an item about the new computer center. The Frankford CDC has been working closely with PhillyRising toward providing the community with a computer center that would be open to the public. The details have been worked out and the equipment is being installed this week at the Frankford CDC office at Griscom and Harrison Streets. Mayor Nutter will be there on Friday at noon for the ribbon cutting ceremony.
This service is badly needed in a community where the majority of the residents do not have access to the internet. The library is the only other public location where people can go to do job searches or type a resume. There will be an ample number of workstations available. The hours of availability have yet to be worked out and an announcement will be published when it is finalized.
The CDC is scheduled to host a free FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and tax filing workshop on February 26, 2012 in the new computer center.
Tonight, Mayor Nutter addressed the citizens of Philadelphia regarding the $645 million deficit in the School District’s budget for the 2011-2012 school year. Listen to his address here. Because you are reading this, we know you are concerned, too! What do you think?
The Frankford Civic met Thursday night at Aria Health (Frankford) at 7:00 PM. The meeting called to order by Frances Clay and the minutes from last month’s meeting were read by Brian Wisniewski.
The first item on the agenda was a zoning issue related to the property at 1845 Wakeling Street. It is a commercial property presently zoned as residential. It has never been a residence but now must be officially rezoned to be legal. You can view the presentation made by Tom Citro, the expediter for the owner, at our YouTube channel.
Pete Specos went over a zoning issue regarding 4314 North Penn Street. Owner wants to convert it to a two family dwelling. The hearing is scheduled for next week. The issue of 1715 Harrison Street from last months meeting was also discussed where the owner wants to convert if from a two family to three family dwelling. The Civic issued a letter of opposition to the ZBA for that change.
Next up was Jason Dawkins of Councilwoman Sanchez office with an update on the Philadelphia Recycling Rewards program. This program is a no brainer. You get free stuff for your trash. All you need to do is recycle. The City saves money and you get something. Recycling bins are available at Tony Payton’s (4665 Frankford Ave.) office and Tina Tartaglione’s office (Bridge and Large Streets) as well.
Jason also talked about the proposed Stakeholders/Town Hall meetings on the issue of recovery homes. The meetings may possibly be scheduled by the summer. Some rational discussion about the recovery house issue followed.
The book he mentions (“How it works”) is available in our book store.
Mayor Nutter sent Lauren Vidas (Coordinator, External Affairs and Public Engagement at City of Philadelphia) , Dr. Don Schwartz (Health Commissioner) and Carl Williams (Deputy Streets Commissioner) to explain the budget options that have been proposed to close the 120 million dollar budget gap for fiscal year 2011. The discussions focused on the proposed tax on sugar sweetened beverages and the trash collection tax. They also made the point that the mayor is open to any reasonable proposal to increase revenues but at this point does not believe that further service cuts are possible or realistic.
This Saturday, park cleanups are scheduled all over Frankford. Check the upcoming events for more information. The next meeting of the Frankford Civic is scheduled for May 13th. At that meeting, folks who would like to join the Civic and become a voting member may pay their annual dues of $10.00. The Civic needs your support to continue doing the vital work that needs to be done.
FYI everyone, the Mayor will be at the 15th Police District tomorrow – Sunday 8/02/09 at 2pm to rally for the State Budget. He has advised that if there is no tax increase then we will lose 972 police officers and 200 fire personnel. It is so important that you be there. He chose the NE for a reason guys – we will get hit the most, we pay the most taxes and have the highest mortgages outside of the suburbs. Think about that. If you do not show up and we suffer then you can thank yourself for not being there. Remember, together we can make a difference.
