Tag: northwood civic association

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Post Election Notes

The primary election on May 17th was a low turnout event as was expected.  Councilwoman Maria  Quiñones-Sánchez defeated Danny Savage for the Democratic party nomination for the 7th District City Council seat.  Congratulations to them both for a hard fought contest.

I was curious about who was supporting which candidate.  Sanchez raised over twice as much money as Savage did, so I took at look at the contribution reports.  Both candidates got  a lot of money from other politicians, businesses, unions, lawyers, PACs and such.  There were also many small donors in the hundred dollar range.

There was only one surprise and I found it on the Sanchez contribution list.  The 8th largest contributor gave $5,200 on April 4th.  This contributor, COSAN LLC is the owner of the property where the Bridge has proposed to relocate on Adams Avenue.

 

A zoning variance is required before that can happen since the property is now zoned G2 heavy industrial.  At present the Northwood and Juniata Civics have both indicated that they would write a letter of support to the zoning board for the change (past coverage here).  Tony Payton, State Representative has also indicated support.  Councilwoman Sanchez at last hearing said she was undecided.

Jason Dawkins Says:
April 14th, 2011 at 12:04 pm edit

Bob, Councilwoman Sánchez did not express any decision on the Bridge. She stated before that she was going wait until all community members voted, before making any public decision.

There is nothing wrong with giving to the candidates.  Many of the donors gave to both candidates, I guess to cover all the bases.  Many of the donors gave to other candidates for other offices in the election.  The donors make their donations for various reasons.  See the Inquirer story from Sunday about the donations from the soft drink folks.

Thanks to a commenter, I have another surprise.  I did not know Terrence McSherry but he is the CEO of NET (Northeast Treatment Centers).  He donated $100 to the Savage campaign and $100 to Sanchez.  Thanks Kathleen. If anybody finds anything else, let me know.

Elections cost a lot of money.  Money has to be raised and there is nothing inappropriate in taking any donation you can get.  That is a fact of life.  It’s politics.

You can see what the donations for Sanchez and Savage look like below.  If nothing else, it’s interesting.  Thanks to the Committee of Seventy for help in finding the information.

Sanchez donations here.

Savage donations here.

 

 

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Northwood Civic Meeting this Tuesday – 5/10/2011

Northwood Civic Association
St. James Lutheran Church
4600 Pratt Street
Tuesday, May 10, 2011

AGENDA:
Neighborhood Quality of Life Issues:
Burglaries, Nuisance neighbors
With the summer approaching we need to address
neighborhood issues before they get worse

OLD BUSINESS
NEW BUSINESS

Bring a Neighbor

Northwood a Beautiful place to Live,
Lets work together to keep it that way!

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Frankford Civic Gives the Bridge a No

There was a good turnout for the meeting tonight with several new members signing up.

4271 Penn Street

First up was a presentation by Dawn Tancredi, Esquire representing Miosotis Jones.  Ms Jones is applying for zoning to change the use of 4271 Penn Street (Penn and Ruan Streets) from single family to four unit occupancy.  That would be made up of three one bedroom apartments and one studio apartment.  She is requesting a letter of support from the Civic.  The presentation was well done and the zoning officer will do some further investigation, the board will vote and a decision will be made within 7 days.  There was some community support for the change present at the meeting.

The operator of a family day care home in the 5100 block of Torresdale Avenue is looking for a letter of support for her change to a group home.  That means the capacity would go from six to twelve children.  Discussion of the issues followed and the zoning officer will make a followup visit.

The last piece of business at tonight’s meeting was a vote on whether to write a letter of support to the zoning board for the application by the Bridge to move on to the property on Adams Avenue.  The Board and eligible members voted 2 to 1 against the motion.  Letters of support have already been written by the Northwood Civic and Juniata Civic Associations.

Follow this link to NEastPhilly.com coverage of the meeting.

The next Frankford Civic meeting is scheduled for June 2nd.

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Northwood Gives the Bridge the OK

At the Northwood Civic meeting on Tuesday, April 20, president Barry Howell noted that both the Northwood Civic Association and the Juniata Civic Association have signed off on the community agreement with the Bridge.  That agreement will be submitted to the zoning board and become part of the public record.  Frankford Civic will make a decision at its meeting on May5th.

Northwood Academy Charter school has obtained zoning approval for construction of a new additional building on the existing property on Castor Avenue.

Tony Payton announced that there has been some progress in finding a new use for the Frankford Y building and further news will be released when the deal has been finalized.

Joanne Ryles, representing the Concerned Citizens of Northwood addressed the group with an appeal for support.  They meet the second Thursday of each month at Simpson Playground.  Barry said that Northwood will take a more active role in working with the group because of the proximity to Northwood.  Problems spill over.

The VOA house issue is being re-evaluated based on its current use as a residence.  The end strategy is to bring the use of the property into compliance with the deed restriction.

Next month’s meeting will be moved to May 10th due to election day.  Darrell Clarke will be at the meeting.

 

 

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Northwood Civic Association Meeting

Barry makes the case for supporting the Bridge

Northwood Civic met last night with a crowd of about 40 people.

Discussion about the Volunteers of America Property at 4871 Roosevelt Boulevard which violates the deed restriction focused on strategies for dealing with the organization.  The VOA is a huge, well funded organization that has the resources to overwhelm a much smaller civic like Northwood.  However, the fight will continue.  The civic does not oppose the individuals who currently reside in the property.  The issue is that the property is not a single family dwelling and therefore violates a deed restriction previously upheld by the courts.  The VOA could resolve this situation but chooses to ignore it.

The big issue at the meeting was the proposal to support the Bridge in their desire to move into the property on Adams Avenue.  The Bridge is a residential and out patient drug treatment facility for adolescent boys.  Barry Howell, President of the Civic announced that the Juniata Civic Association at their last meeting had unanimously voted to support the Bridge.

In a vote by the Board of Directors of the Northwood Civic taken prior to the meeting, they had unanimously approved the issue.  A detailed explanation of the reasons for support was given to the members in attendance and a vote was held.  The members gave their approval with one or two dissenting votes.

The overriding reason for supporting the Bridge at this point seems to be the threat that if its not the Bridge, it could be something else much worse.  My point is that it might be something better.  Threats to turn the old Parkview Hospital on Wyoming Avenue into a huge drug rehab were opposed and eventually the Cancer Treatment Centers came in and took over the property. 

Have a look at NEastPhilly for their coverage of the meeting here.