Tag: northwood civic association

At the Northwood Civic Association meeting on November 18th, President Joe Krause announced that the Association is taking steps to incorporate at a non-profit 501 (c) (3).  This step provides some tax benefits to donors and also allows the Civic to participate in certain programs only open to those types of organizations.

The civic also recently took nominations for the board.  As of November the board makeup is as follows:

• Joe Krause, President
• Tom McAvoy, Vice President
• Mary Robus, Secretary
•  Renee Hudson, Treasurer
•  Ed Martin, Board member
• Allen Jackson, Board member
• Sonya Martin, Board member

Other news at the meeting:

The Civic will do a mailing to all Northwood residents in the deed restricted area give them information on the deed restriction.  Rep. John Taylor’s office will be providing assistance with this task.

NO TRUCK PARKING signs are going to be put up around Northwood Park.

The owner of 5050 Oxford Avenue has been cited by L&I for renting rooms.  The may be an illegal day care on the 5000 block of Oxford Avenue.

4834 Penn Street is ready to open as a 6 unit apartment house.  The property was the focus of protests when it was initially announced that it would be a recovery residence for 30 plus occupants.

The 900 block of Foulkrod continues to see parking of cars for sale by a local car dealer.  That is illegal but the dealer manages to stay one step ahead of the police by moving them almost every day to a different location.

The have been a number of burglaries in Northwood in recent months.  The perpetrator looks for open windows and unlocked doors as a point of entry.  Residents are advised to take precautions.

There has been no progress in making repairs to the Simpson playground building.  Estimates to fix it are in the area of a half million dollars which has to come from the district Councilperson. That area is going to switch districts next year and Darrell Clarke is reluctant to use funding source to repair a building that will soon be in Councilwoman Sanchez district.

Northwood Academy Charter School as asking the Civic to support their plan for banners along Castor Avenue identifying the school block.  There was no opposition to the proposal from the membership at the meeting and a letter of support will be provided.

Numerous complaints about the poor condition of Orthodox Street from Castor Avenue down toward Frankford Avenue came up at the meeting.  Residents are advised to call 311 to put it on the radar for the city to repair.  They will only recognize a problem if enough people complain.

The next meeting of the Northwood Civic Association will be held on December 16th at 7PM at St. James Lutheran church at Castor Avenue and Pratt St.

Residents learned at the Northwood Civic Association meeting on October 21st that the owners of 5050 Oxford Avenue plan to rent rooms in violation of the Northwood deed restriction.  That is cause for concern and the Civic will assist those neighbors who plan to oppose the move.

Old issues were discussed:

• Northwood park is looking good after the Civic repaired the old benches.  Soon to be available are some of those boxes that will hold plastic bags for those folks who are walking dogs and forgot to bring their own to clean up after the pooch.
• More residents are needed at the PSA meeting to represent Northwood interests.
• The Civic continues to send letters to real estate companies who are selling property in Northwood advising them of the deed restriction to make them aware of what can be done in Northwood.   This can help eliminate confusion with buyers who say they are unaware.
• The flag has been replaced at the War memorial at Frankford stadium.  It was tattered and they key to the lock that allowed it to be taken down was lost.  The new flag is smaller but looks a lot better.
• No truck parking enforcement is a constant battle says Tom McAvoy, president of the Northwood Town Watch.  Residents are encouraged to call 911 to report violations. This may seem futile but it is a violation and calling help raise the visibility of the issue.

State Representative John Taylor spoke about some of his recent initiatives.  His web site is very good and you can keep fully informed by checking in there.  You can find it at this link,  He also mentioned that his satellite office is open at Simpson Playground every Thursday from 5 to 7PM.  This is your opportunity to talk to him or someone on his staff about your issues.

Some residents have asked Joe Krause about excessive noise and is it a crime that can be reported to 911.  Joe investigated and found the statute.  The noise has to be 5 decibels above the normal noise level between 9PM and 8AM.  Your day time noise is normal but at night you have a right to sleep.  So if you think your neighbors noise qualifies, call 911.

There will be a presentation by Joe Menkevich and Debbie Klak at the Historical Society of Frankford on deed restrictions.  Since Northwood has deed restrictions it would be of interest to many. The meeting is on Tuesday, November 11th at 7:30 PM.

Nominations for the board of the Northwood Civic Association were taken for voting at the November meeting.  That meeting will be on Tuesday, November 18th at St. James Lutheran church at 7PM.

The general meeting of the Northwood Civic Association is this Tuesday 9/16 at 7:00PM. St James Church at Castor and Pratt. The Community Relations Officer from the 15th District will be in attendance. Please attend and bring a neighbor; we have been requesting service in our neighborhood and would like to justify that request with a great turnout of concerned neighbors. We will also have an update of the work at Northwood Park and will discuss our next project.

At the Northwood Civic meeting on August 19th, the Association laid out its plan to rebuild the deteriorating benches in Northwood park at Foulkrod St. And Castor Avenue.Funding has been approved by the board and materials are being acquired to do the work.  They would also like to work on the steps going into the park but the cost at this point is prohibitive.  In addition, picnic tables. would be nice and they are looking into that.

Other issues discussed at the meeting:

• Dumping at the lot by the Kmart is still going on as well as on Adams Avenue behind the Bridge.
• Residents are cautioned about cutting done trees on the sidewalk.  You need a permit and it has to be approved the the fair mount Park Commission.
• Truck parking seems to be under control with atom McAvoy patrolling and promptly reporting violators.
• No news on repairs to the building at Simpson playground.
• Residents of the 4700 block of Ramona Avenue are asking for a letter of support from the Northwood Civic Association in a possible suit against the owner of three properties on their block that are being rented in the deed restricted area.  In that situation, the owners of the other properties must file suit against the offending owner.
• Complaints about the condition of the street at Adams Avenue and Orthodox Street were many.

The next meeting of the Northwood Civic Association will be held on Tuesday, September 16th at 7PM at St. James Lutheran Church.