Frankford Community Blog | Local News, Events, Community Resources
MEETING POSTPONED: The Northwood Civic Association meeting will be postponed until next Tuesday, October 25th. Please pass this around as best you can….Sorry for the late notice but some board members can’t make it and I have a work related commitment.
The Northwood Civic meeting on September 20th had a good crowd turn out to hear what is happening with the construction on Adams Avenue by the Water Department.
The Water Department is installing a new water main and replacing the existing water service on the route marked on map below. This is being done as a result of a petition by the residents who have been having problems with the existing private sewer line that now runs behind their homes.
When the new line is finished, residents will then have to pay a private plumber to connect to the main at their own expense. They will also be billed for a share of the cost of the installation of the main. It is a very expensive project which began on August 30th and is expected to take until March of 2017 to complete.
The project is adding to the traffic problems in that area especially when Northwood Charter students are coming and going. It is a good area to avoid at that time of day.
Also on the agenda was an update by Terry Heiser on the traffic smoothing project on Castor Avenue. The Streets department has moved the scheduled completion date to Spring of 2017 which is not acceptable to the community. It was originally scheduled for completion by the end of the Summer.
Heiser also warned drivers that the police are now actively enforcing traffic regulations at Ramona and Adams. This was at the request of the community to reduce the accidents and near misses that often occur at that intersection.
Marc Collazzo of Rep. Taylor’s office has been working with them to resolve this problem. He believes an agreement can be reached.
Joe Krause, Civic President, noted that burglary has now dropped from its high during the Summer. The police had previously indicated that an arrest had been made. However, there was a purse stolen from a residents home on the day of the meeting so the criminals are still out there waiting for an opportunity. Lock your doors and stay on guard.
The dumping at Frankford High’s Baldwin Field continues although the dumpsters have been removed. The Civic knows the identity of one of the individuals and is working on the issue.
The conservatorship of 1301 Wakeling continues to work its way through the court system. The owners have been granted an extension of time to complete the work, so the take over by Northwood’s conservator is on hold.
The next meeting of the Northwood Civic Association will be held on October 18th at 7 PM at St. James Lutheran Church at Castor Avenue and Pratt Street.
Northwood Civic Association will meet at St. James Lutheran Church on Tuesday, September 20th at 7 PM.
With the uptick in crime in Northwood, attendance may be up.
L-R Pete Specos, Co-ordinator PSA 1, Lt. Duane Gordon, Capt. Anthony Luca and Ronald Ryan, WalkSafePHL and Town Watch Integrated Services
Captain Luca and Lieutenant Gordon from the 15th Police District met with Frankford, Northwood and Bridesburg residents last Thursday, August 25 at Aria Frankford Hospital. With a standing room only crowd, residents listened to the litany of the crime statistics which they know all too well since they live them. Several residents reported drug houses, prostitution activity, problems with halfway houses, etc.
Burglaries are up in Northwood, shootings and stabbings continue in Frankford and Bridesburg continues to work for more police presence from a District that is the largest in the city and uses what officers and resources they have as strategically as they can.
The police continue to remind us to lock windows and doors to prevent easy access. They do have a suspect they are watching but you have to do more than just arrest them. You need proof and that takes police work and neighbors’ help. A local 7-11 has been robbed 4 times during the overnight hours and most crimes are crimes of opportunity. Police use “Leads on Lines” where pawn shops now have to id those wishing to do business with them and that is sometimes a help. Captain Luca is very much aware of the drug dealers – who they are and where they are. Some recent staffing issues have been, of course, the Democratic National Convention, nationwide police shootings, where for our officers’ sakes, they’ve been assigned 2 to a car so some plainsclothes officers were temporarily reassigned.
Change won’t happen overnight. Many residents realize this and that’s why our civic groups have gotten more active and involved. Town Watch Eyes and Ears – you don’t patrol – you just observe and then call in what you see. We’ve been told if you identify yourself as a Town Watch member calling 911 – that helps. Lt. Gordon promised to come up with a different way to help us report and get action on what we see more quickly. Get trained with your neighbors. Ronald Ryan, Recruiter, for WalkSafePHL and Town Watch Integrated Services, offered to help train residents. Frankford Forward, our community group focused on issues causing violence, can provide meeting space for ongoing training.
Relations between Police and citizens have been in the news consistently. Captain Luca says his officers are motivated and he works to deploy them so they are most effective. Change won’t happen overnight.
But there are signs of hope. Aria Frankford has donated space to have a Police substation located there. This will be used for bike cops to ride up and down Frankford Avenue and some side streets. The current grid is from Penn to Duffield Sts. and from Arrott to Brill Sts. One of the areas of concern had been Margaret and Worth – site of a former drug rehab center. Bob Smiley and I were out delivering The Frankford Gazette and we saw two bike police officers pull up there and just get off their bikes. I don’t think the people there knew what to do. The bike cops have a specific route and so far they have made quite a few arrests – for guns, in particular. One of the guns confiscated was found to be involved in multiple shootings.
The meeting took an interesting turn as the people gathered started talking about what we needed to do to take back our community. The Police alone cannot solve the problem. One resident, Josue, says he comes out and talks with his neighbors. Other residents wanted to see more officers representing the ethnicities of our community. Lt. Gordon and Capt. Luca understood that but they have no control over how officers are assigned. Captain Luca recalled that the role of police officers has changed from a “warrior mentality” back in the 70’s and 80’s to a “guardian mentality” today. Who wouldn’t agree that a police officer is taking his/her life in their hands every day? We would have to admit it can very much be the same way for some of us!
There used to be several places youth could go in the community that are no longer there. Everyone agreed that there was respect for your elders. Parents were concerned that their children’s activities in the neighborhood would reflect on the family and, as a kid, you didn’t want to be guilty of that. Neighbors would tell your parents/grandparents what you were up to and then it all hit the fan. Today, parents are using their children to sell drugs to help support the family. No one really wants to live that way has been said at a few community meetings by people who know. That realization is why the Frankford CDC is working hard to bring more economic development to Frankford Avenue.
Another positive development is that the Police are looking to re-establish a PAL Center in the neighborhood and have the funding to develop and maintain it. A future police vs. youth softball game is in the works, too!
Everyone realized that it must be a “grassroots” effort that takes a community and its people. Would you like to get involved? Here’s just a few of the groups that would warmly welcome you, your friends and family to support their efforts:
There will be a Community Bike Ride in Frankford on September 24 beginning at Aria Frankford Hospital. All are invited! Details below!
Thanks to Lieutenant Cannon from the 15th district for attending the Northwood Civic Assoc. meeting July 19th on a minutes notice. He came to the meeting prepared with the crime stats for our area and explained what was being done to combat these problems.
There were residents in attendance who were recently burglarized and told their stories; and hinted on why they may have been targeted. Open and/or unsecured windows seem to have been a factor in many of these burglaries, leading one to believe these are crimes of opportunity.
Keep our homes secure and work with neighbors through phone, text, and email to notify each other of anything you notice.
Other things discussed were abandoned homes and what we’re doing to get these places fixed and sold. Illegal fences in the neighborhood were discussed, as I have gotten dozens of calls in the past 2 weeks. All the ones reported to me were forwarded to 311 and L&I to let them handle it. If the fences remain we will discuss a civil action. We’re not trying to be bad neighbors, we’re simply preserving the value of everyone’s property and investment in our area. These fences destroy a neighborhoods character and other people’s home values.
I am working with a couple places to get great deals on home surveillance systems so they can be affordable to everyone, as well as motion lighting. I will be creating a survey to see who would be interested, this information will help me negotiate the best cost.
The next meeting of the Northwood Civic Association will be on August 16th at 7 PM at St. James Lutheran Church.
