Danza showed his Viking pride at a Northeast football game. Photo by Bill Achuff.

It started about a month ago. Or seven months ago, depending on where you think the story really begins.

It was hyped for months: Tony Danza would be teaching at a high school in Philadelphia for his new reality show. And then we come to find out, he’d be spending the semester at Northeast High. Even those who aren’t Danza fans, who didn’t spend their childhoods watching him on the small screen, were excited that something big, something of national interest, would be happening in the Northeast. continue reading »

Photo by Maria Konidaris

More than a month ago, we ran a story about Mayfair residents’ thoughts on the flashing blue light and accompanying police camera at Cottman and Frankford.

Fox 29 ran the same a similar story yesterday.

The original NEast Philly story was written by Temple student Maria Konidaris for her Philadelphia Neighborhoods class. She interviewed several residents, got the history of the light and talked to the presidents of the Mayfair town watch and civic associations. FOX29 reporters talked to a couple of the same people. continue reading »

People in the Northeast were saving spots even during that "mini" storm in December '09. Photo by Bill Achuff.

Now that the snow is finally going somewhere, it’s time to take a step back and re-evaluate the parking situation. Perhaps now that there are fewer lawn chairs, trashcans and other paraphernaila saving spots, we can look back on the 2010 blizzard and laugh . . . or at least not slash tires, breaks windows and steal traffic cones.

We had hundreds of readers weigh in on various snow-related topics, but none was as popular as the spot-saving issue. Here are some of their thoughts, in addition to remarks from police officers, politicians and Mayor Michael Nutter:

continue reading »

2009 was a big year — not just for NEast Philly, but for the Northeast. But this isn’t intended as a look back on the previous year. Our purpose is to look ahead.

The NEast Philly staff has some big things planned for the upcoming year, but we think the mission to put our beloved region on the map in a figurative sort of way should extend citywide.

In the coming months, we’ll introduce new features, bring on new sponsors and keep making strides to make NEast Philly the place to come for the latest news in the Northeast. Here are just a few things you can expect from us in 2010: continue reading »

Happy Thanksgiving from the NEast Philly staff!

Whether you’re spending the day at home, or traveling to be with family, have a happy and safe turkey day.

As I was wading through news stories not too long ago to find mentions of the Northeast, I came across an Inquirer story about people illegally riding all-terrain vehicles.

In it, one person mentions he rides his ATV from his neighborhood to Little Puerto Rico, which, the Inquirer writer reported, is in the Northeast.

Many neighborhoods in the Northeast have blocks -  or even whole pockets of – Hispanic residents, but is there an area that can be called Little Puerto Rico? Based on previous stories from the Inquirer, like this one featured in Right NEast/Wrong NEast, writers for the paper go by the rule that Feltonville is in the Northeast. Or was the writer referring to Kensington, which the paper has also called Northeast before?

So the questions remains: where is Little Puerto Rico? Is there a small pocket of a neighborhood that’s being overlooked, or is it really in Feltonville or Kensington, and not in the Northeast at all?

Tacony-based Dietz & Watson gives out thousands of free sandwiches at City Hall.

Who says there’s no such thing as a free lunch?

Thousands of people stood in fast-moving lines on Dilworth Plaza outside City Hall yesterday, with good reason:  Dietz & Watson was there to give each and every one of them a freshly made wrap sandwich and a bottle of ice-cold water.  Our corporate neighbor, in that big, shiny, 600,000-square-foot facility at 5701 Tacony St., sure knows how to throw an anniversary party!

They did so by inviting everyone to celebrate the company’s 70 years in Philadelphia by giving people a free lunch.  A group of  550 employees from the neighborhood plant were on hand to make the sandwiches (moving fast) and hand them out to all of us with a description (mine was baked turkey with roasted garlic-infused American cheese and D&W’s own cranberry honey mustard) and a smile. continue reading »

After potential terrorist threats to some other mass transit systems across the country, Philadelphia police have been taking advice from the FBI and Homeland security and upping patrols at many popular transit stops around the city.

The police have been working with SEPTA to conduct random sweeps, and while most of the security increases are based elsewhere in the city, many think smaller, less obvious locations could use a little more patrolling. There’s been no official word yet from SEPTA or the Philadelphia Police about how they plan to monitor the transit system more closely, but one would have to think the Northeast should being to see increased security presence.

With several major bus routes and train stations, and the Frankford Transportation Center hub, the NEast could stand to use more transit patrols – especially if government agencies want cities to be on alert of suspicious activity. Time will tell.

Have you noticed more police or SEPTA security on your daily route? Do you think a certain route or station is particularly at risk for crime or an attack?

Pennsylvania recently released its list of Persistently Dangerous Schools for the 2009-2010 school year, and the top 25 are all in Philadelphia. Of those 25, five are in the Northeast.

A school is defined as persistently dangerous if it meets any of the following criteria for this year and one of the two previous years: at least five dangerous incidents in a school with enrollment of 250 or less; dangerous incidents representing 2 percent of a school’s enrollment for schools with 251 to 1,000 students; 20 or more dangerous incidents in schools with enrollments exceeding 1,000. continue reading »

The September 2009 issue of Philadelphia magazine is out, and similar to last month’s Best of Philly awards, the editors made note of the city’s best schools. And yes, the Northeast got some love. We’re on the cover, in fact.

The Best of Philly Schools cover is red, white and powder blue with two Father Judge cheerleaders showing off their moves. The team received the Best Cheerleaders nod, and the 36 girls were recognized for their Top 10 status in the nationals.

Northeast High was recognized for its Diversity, since the Cottman Avenue school’s student body has representatives from 50 languages and countries. The school is home of the first nationally recognized Muslim Student Organization and has, among other things, a gay-straight alliance and strong ESL program.

Though only two NEast schools were recognized, we still had a strong showing in the rankings, since most of the awards were given to suburban schools. Of the mag’s Top 50 Public Schools, only two – Masterman and Central – are in Philadelphia.