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 »

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 »

The old North Catholic High School building. Frankford Gazette photo/Jim Smiley

The new home of Marianna Bracetti Academy Charter School continues to take shape in anticipation of it’s opening in Fall of 2013.  The building is the former Northeast Catholic High School for Boys, once the largest boys school in the world.

The charter school is currently occupying an old trolley shed at Kensington Avenue and Cumberland Street.  The school is contracted by the city to educate 1,155 students.

Read more about this project and see more photos from the Frankford Gazette.

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 »

4731 Griscom St. Photo/Frankford Gazette

By Bob Smiley for the Frankford Gazette

In an at times contentious meeting of the Frankford Civic Association on April 4th, the membership voted unanimously to oppose the opening of a Crown Fried Chicken at 4731 Griscom St.  continue reading »

Castor Gardens residents cleaned up Max Myers Rec Center during the 2012 Philly Spring Cleanup. Photo/Michelle Alton

Is there a spot in your neighborhood that needs cleaning?

For those looking to volunteer, the Philly Spring Cleanup website has the full list of sites for the annual citywide clean-up event.

All cleanups scheduled for Northeast Philadelphia will be posted here, below. The clean-up day is April 13. continue reading »

High school dropout rate graphic by Joseph Kemp for the Public School Notebook

Between 31 and 40 percent of high school freshmen in the 19124 zip code who entered ninth grade in the 2006-07 school year dropped out by 2012.

That number is the same in 19154. The details come from a map published by the Philadelphia Public School Notebook that shows the six-year dropout rate in the School District. continue reading »

There were no zoning issues to discuss at the Frankford Civic Association meeting on March 7, but there was a host of old business to update. continue reading »

Community Planner Ian Litwin shows Frankford resident Doris Booker some improvements the Planning Commission envisions for the neighborhood. Photo/Tiffany Goforth

In 1961, Jane Jacobs wrote The Death and Life of Great American Cities, in which she proposed supporting neighborhoods’ use of community-based initiatives.

Fast-forward 50 years, and urban planners are taking her observations into serious consideration, as evidenced by the city’s comprehensive plan,  Philadelphia2035, to play up individual neighborhoods’ strengths and improve upon their obstacles to connectivity and access.

Within the next few years, the planning commission will complete 18 district plans, which will incorporate many of the themes and objectives found in the overall citywide plan.

Currently, only three of the 18 plans have been adopted. The most recent being the Lower Northeast District Plan, which includes Frankford, Northwood, Summerdale, Lawncrest and Oxford Circle.

Saturday, Lower Northeast District Plan Project Manager Ian Litwin, other consultants and city employees held a community visioning workshop at Aria Health-Frankford to discuss ways to make Frankford, a major transit hub, more accessible. continue reading »

Luke Dercole, right, is charged with buying guns for 16-year-old Michael Burak, left. Photo/Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office

Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams was in Oxford Circle today to announce the arrest of a straw purchaser who bought several guns for a teenager who used one of those firearms to shoot someone.

Luke Dercole, 32, is charged with illegal transfer, firearm not to be carried with a license, carrying firearms on public streets, possession of firearms by a minor and other charges. Dercole is accused of buying four guns fort he 16-year-old drug dealer. continue reading »