The Rhawnhurst NORC recently worked with the Hunger Coalition to distribute assistance information to those who need it. Photo/Shanice Richardson

Northeast Philadelphia has many different programs that help members of the community in different ways. T

wo programs that are relatively new to the area are Heart to Heart, run through the Klein JCC in Somerton, and the Rhawnhurst Naturally Occurring Retirement Community. Both programs are designed to help families that may be in the “fringes of society” in one way or another. continue reading »

St. Joachim Pastor Fr. Steven Wetzel was honored for his service after Sunday’s mass. Photo/Haniyyah Sharpe

The 15th Police District Advisory Council and the Frankford Civic Association honored St. Joachim Pastor Father Steven Wetzel Sunday for his commitment to the community. But the celebration was bittersweet, as the congregation prepared to bid farewell to the church and a pillar in the community.

The oldest Catholic parish in Northeast Philadelphia, St. Joachim is one of 27 churches scheduled to close July 1 as a result of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s initiative to merge parishes.  St. Joachim and Mater Dolorosa in Frankford will merge with Holy Innocents in Juniata and St. Joan of Arc in Harrowgate. St. Leo and Our Lady of Consolation in Tacony will merge, as well. continue reading »

Northeast Community Center, 2840 Holme Ave. Photo/Haniyyah Sharpe

With a damaged roof, a stalled Sheriff’s Sale and no perspective tenants, the Northeast Community Center at 2840 Holme Ave. in Holme Circle is likely also still without a buyer.

Holme Circle Civic Association President Elsie Stevens said last week that brothers Ravinder “Robbie” and Hardeep Chawla will probably not follow through with a deal to purchase the center, mainly because of the inability to find a tenant. continue reading »

The Frankford Gazette’s “Digital Ave” display projects neighborhood news on a storefront. Photo/Shanice Richardson

In a world where news is becoming increasingly digitized, how do individuals who don’t have regular access to the internet stay in the loop? Bob and Jim Smiley of The Frankford Gazette provide The Digital Ave as one answer.

The Digital Ave is a storefront projection that provides a live update of headlines and tweets via The Frankford Gazette, the neighborhood’s news publication that began as a website and now prints monthly. The father-son duo teamed up NorthEast Treatment Centers to project the feed in the NET building’s storefront area. continue reading »

Short dumping in industrial areas of Holmesburg and Tacony has community leaders worried about quality of life issues and fires. Photo/Steven Mitchell

This is the second in a two-part series about quality of life issues in Tacony and Holmesburg, and the neighborhoods’ approach to growing stronger together. You can read the first part here.

Short dumping is a problem all over Philadelphia, and in some Northeast neighborhoods, the issue is weighing down the community.

Short dumping is the illegal act of disposing trash and debris on a street or vacant lot. Industrial areas — like those along Torresdale Avenue and State Road in Holmesburg and Tacony — tend to be dark at night, which allows for people to come and dump their trash and other items in this area.

The railroad tracks at James Street and Bleigh Avenue is a particular hotspot for short dumping. There, you’ll see trash and other debris, as well as abandoned tires. continue reading »

Tacony business owner Mark Whited is part of the community effort to revitalize the Torresdale Avenue business corridor. Photo/Raymond Boyd

This is the first in a two-part series about quality of life issues in Tacony and Holmesburg, and the neighborhoods’ approach to growing stronger together.

With similar missions but different approaches, Tacony and Holmesburg are seeking a better future for their residents. Tacony is taking a business-first approach, while Holmesburg is looking to take advantage of its history.

Both neighborhoods understand that they must work in collaboration to make their goals a reality as they try to stand as pillars of Northeast Philadelphia. continue reading »

“Imagining Frankford” muralist Cesar Viveros shows the technics of painting a mural. Photo/Tiffany Goforth

Picture a neighborhood, revitalized and colorful. Picture a neighborhood that highlights its past, while looking toward the future. And picture a neighborhood that makes use of its barren landscapes as canvases.

For Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez, D-7th, this image of a revitalized and bustling neighborhood was at the forefront of a project she helped to initiate a few years ago. Imagining Frankford, a two-year project consisting of a collection of murals along the Frankford Avenue corridor, was a vision to help inform the residents of Frankford about the neighborhood’s past.

Imagining Frankford is a collaborative project between the Frankford community and the city’s Mural Arts Program. And as Netanel Portier said, Sanchez wanted to bring the Mural Arts Program to the Frankford corridor as a part of the other corridor revitalization initiatives in the neighborhood. continue reading »

A 5k through Tookany Creek Park promoted healthy lifestyles and celebrated a new trail. Photo/Tiffany Goforth

Saturday marked a continuation of a developing initiative, occurring all throughout the United States, of promoting healthier lifestyles. Residents of Northeast Philadelphia were invited to the inaugural Healthy Trails 5K run/walk in the Tookany/Tacony Creek Park to enjoy a fun-filled day with friends and community members.

The run was used as a platform to mark the dedication of a new urban trail that links the Philadelphia park system together.

The event, which was sponsored by the Philadelphia Water Department, the Scattergood Foundation, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, Friends Hospital, the Fairmount Park Conservancy and the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership, drew residents from all age groups out to see what the new trail had to offer. continue reading »

NewsWorks Photo/Bas Slabbers

By Alaina Mabaso for NewsWorks

This week, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation confirmed that Northwest Philadelphia residents opposed to a treetop adventure course in Wissahickon Valley Park may have gotten their wish, at least for now.

According to a Thursday statement, Parks and Rec “is deferring further public action and discussion regarding the Tree Top Adventure course in the Wissahickon Valley to conduct an internal re-evaluation of the concept.” continue reading »

Philadelphia City Council held a public budget hearing April 29 at Lincoln High School. Photo/Shannon McDonald

With the exception of one outburst from the audience early on about Philadelphia City Council members not listening closely enough to public testimony, Monday night’s city budget hearing at Lincoln High School was otherwise calm. Raised voices were saved mostly for support for those pleading with Council for better services and more funding.

The meeting, one of a handful around the city designed to bring public budget testimony to those who can’t make it to Council chambers on a weekday afternoon, was led by Council President Darrell Clarke, D-5th. He was joined by Republican Councilmen at-large Denny O’Brien and David Oh, Councilmen Bobby Henon, D-6th; and Mark Squilla, D-1st; and Councilwoman Cindy Bass, D-8th. All but Clarke are first-term council members. continue reading »