Tag: northwood civic association

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Northwood Civic Pledges Support to Leiper Street Resident

The issue of housing for those in recovery programs has surfaced again on the 4700 block of Leiper Street.

There are presently two large houses being used for this purpose.  The Joy of Living program at 4716 Leiper is well known.  In addition there is another residence at 4747.  Mary, the owner of 4719 recently found out that the house next to her, 4717 has been purchased by the owner of Joy of Living.  She is concerned that it will be used as a residence for those in recovery.  The question is, how many houses of this type can one block support.    This is not a case of “Not in my back yard” but more of concern of how the neighborhood can support the density of concentration of short time residents.  Northwood Civic and those attending the meeting voiced their concern and pledge support.  Jason Dawkins also committed to setting up a meeting between the owner of the property and Joy of Living.

Mary says: “My family feels trapped here on Leiper Street, sandwiched in.. having to accept the constant turnover of neighbors on every side of us. Constantly there are people coming and going on this block, no peace and quiet. Men that we do not know hang outside, from very early to late at night, smoking cigarettes and talking inappropriate dialogue for a residential neighborhood. The environment here is starting to feel like a bus station. It is a terrible feeling knowing that you will never get to know who will be living next door to you (on every side). I feel that eventually all families are going to choose to move away because leaders of the community are not acting on their promises. Promises like limiting the concentration and overpopulation of transient like living. People like myself with kids are going to chose to move away to a better place more conducive to family life. Surrendering the block and the neighborhood entirely to passersby.”

In other news from the meeting on September 15th:

  • Joe Krause, Presdent of the Civic, reported that he had sent a letter of support to the zoning board for Amuneal Manufacturing for their application for a paint booth at their new facility on Torresdale Avenue.  A letter was also sent to support the application of the owner of 1301 Fillmore who wanted to add take out food to the services provided at their store.  These letters are in the interest of giving the neighborhood a voice in zoning issues.  At present the ZBA only requires applicants to appear before the Frankford NAC for approval.  The NAC has instructions to allow only residents living within two blocks of the applicant to vote on the issue.  The result is that a few people who attend a meeting are giving a disproportionate voice in determining the future.
  • The homeless veteran who had been living in his car on Herbert Street has moved. He caused no trouble and residents were more concerned about him the frightened.
  • The Castor Avenue traffic study has moved to stealth mode using radar guns.  This is to collect data and is not an enforcement tool.  By the time you read this it will be over but the data will be used to make recommendations for speed control.
  • Bandit signs are back.  Call 311 and take pictures if you report them on a mobile app.  There is a fine for each one they put up.

The next meeting of the Northwood Civic Assocation will be held on October 2oth at 7 PM at St. James Church at Castor Avenue and Pratt Street.

 

 

 

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Northwood Civic to Cleanup Northwood Park

At the Northwood Civic Association meeting on July 21st, President Joe Krause discussed the condition of Northwood park that resulted from the wind storm in June.  There are numerous trees that were knocked down.  The city says the cleanup will be done BY THE END OF THE YEAR.  The neighborhood finds that totally unacceptable and so the Civic will look into the cost of renting the equipment to do it with volunteer labor on a cleanup day.

Also at the meeting:

  • In September nominations will be accepted for those willing to sit on the board. If you are interested in becoming active in the Civic, come out to the next meeting for more information.
  • The proposal for stop signs on Castor Avenue between Harrison and Pratt Street has been submitted to Councilwoman Sanchez.
  • The Civic has been dealing with the people who are trying to take over 1301 Wakeling.  The scheme is to just take over the vacant property and rent it out.
  • They are working on the abandoned car around Baldwin field.
  • Town Watch will provide information on the police departments project ID at a future meeting.  It gives you property identification tags for your valuables in case of a burglary.  It makes it easier to recover your property in the event of a loss.

The next meeting of the Northwood Civic Association will be held on August 18th at 7PM at St. James Lutheran Church at Pratt and Castor.

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Northwood Civic Meeting June 16th

There was a large contingent of political representatives at the Northwood Civic Association meeting on June 16h as well as a good turnout of residents.

Stewart Graham for Councilman OH, James Kennedy for Congressman Boyle and Darien Stafford for Representative Dawkins all gave updates.

Resident issues discussed:

  • Traffic on Castor Avenue
  • Rerouting of buses because of the ongoing work on Foulkrod Street
  • Story about somebody gaining entry to 1301 Wakeling Street with the intention of taking possession and renting it out.  Joe krause says this is a scam going on throughout the city.  He is addressing the issue.
  • Abandoned cars at Oakland and Filmore
  • 1200 block of Filmore sees speeding cars as a big problem.
  • Speeding at Harrison and Pratt.

Issues being resolved:

  • Councilwoman Sanchez has secured funding to begin repairs to the building at Simpson Recreation Center.  We should expect that project to take a year.
  • No truck parking signs are being put up as manpower is available.

Stop signs for Castor Avenue – not yet determined if they will go up.

The next meeting of the Northwood Civic Association will be held on Tuesday, July 21st at 7 PM at St. James Lutheran Church Castor Avenue and Pratt Street.

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Water Ice Coming to Northwood

At the Northwood Civic Association meeting on April 22nd, Bianca Reyes presented her plans for opening “Nini’s Sweets and Treats, Water Ice and More” at the intersection of Adams Avenue and Castor Avenue.  The location had last been used for water ice sales but has been closed for several years.  She said there will be water ice and ice cream from the take out window with no outside seating available and no outside music.  She anticipates an opening in mid May.  Neighbors expressed their concern about noise, traffic and lighting and she answered all questions.

water ice

“Nini’s Sweets and Treats, Water Ice and More”

Joe Krause, President of the Civic opened the meeting and discussed open issue the last month’s meeting.  The Civic donated $50 to the Lewis Family easter egg hunt at Northwood Park this year.  The event entertained about 250 kids and was the biggest one so far.  The could use more community support and the Civic would like to do more for next year.

The Civic also plans to make a donation to the Simpson Playground for much needed equipment.  That will be taken up at the next board meeting.  The board will also be looking into the possibility of getting a dog park established in Northwood in the hopes that it might curtail the dog dropping problem.

It is know that Wawa was interested in the former K Mart property as a new location for a new store and gas station to replace the one across the street.  The owners of the property however have a agreement with the Supreme grocery store to not lease to a business that would sell the same products which would seem to bar a Wawa at that location.  The Civic believes the community would benefit from the Wawa moving to the new location.

Stewart Graham, Chief of Staff for Councilman at Large David Oh was present and said he would be attending future meetings whenever possible to keep the Councilman advised of issues in Northwood.

Darrion Shuford, Chief of Staff for State representative Jason Dawkins announced that there is a financial Literacy Workshop Saturday April 25 at the Greater Olney Free Library at 5501 North 5th Street from 10 AM to 1 PM.  There is also a free health insurance enrollment event being held Saturday April 25th at the Northeast Baptist Church at 4744 Tackawanna Street from 11 AM to 3 PM.

As a result of Councilwoman Sanchez attendance at last month’s meeting, several city representatives were on hand to address issues raised at that time.

City traffic engineer Nicholas Cinciruk talked about neighborhood complaints about noise and traffic on Castor Avenue between Foulkrod and Pratt Streets.  He said that the Streets Department can erect signs controlling these issues but the police still will have to enforce them.  On the issue of truck parking in Northwood, he had a list of the streets where Councilwoman Sanchez has drafted legislation prohibiting parking as requested by the Civic and had signed off on the work orders for the signage.  He did say that work crews are behind schedule and it would take some time to get them put up.

Keith Lemchak, Engineering Supervisor for the city Air Management Services talked about the noise and vibration problems report by residents on Ramona Avenue near Adams caused by heavy traffic.  He told the group what testing could be done and was available after the meeting for specific questions.

There were four candidates for judge in the upcoming primary election on May 19th.  They introduced themselves and then waited until after the meeting to speak with all who were interested in getting their views and qualifications.

Betsy Wahl is running for the Court of Common Pleas.  link

Chris McCabe is running for the Court of Common Pleas.  link

Anthony Kyriakakis is running for the Court of Common Pleas.  link

Frank Bennett is running for the Court of Common Pleas and also Municipal Court.

The next meeting of the Northwood Civic Association will be held on Tuesday, June 16th at 7 PM at St. James Lutheran Church at Castor Avenue and Pratt Streets. (No meeting in May since it falls on Primary election day)