At the October meeting of the Burholme Civic Association/Town Watch, Nicole Wenger of Northeast Victim Service explains how the agency assists victims of crimes in the Northeast.

Northeast Victim Service “helps you not become a victim for a second time,” explained Burholme Civic Association President Al Taubenberger at last night’s meeting of the civic and Burholme Town Watch.

Nicole Wenger, a court advocate for NEVS was on hand at the meeting to explain to Burholme residents how the agency helps crime victims. continue reading »

Northeast Philadelphia Now meeting at the John Perzel Community Center on Monday, June 21, 2010.

The beginnings of a coalition to unite the neighborhoods of Northeast Philadelphia around a common agenda stemming from quality of life crimes took another humble step inside a Mayfair recreation center Tuesday night.

Just a handful of attendees cycled in and out of the John Perzel Community Center for the second meeting for the Northeast Philadelphia Now initiative, corralled by Mayfair Town Watch Founder John Vearling, and the conversation roamed wildly. The pitch is to bring various and sundry community leaders together to develop cohesive strategies to supplement stretched police details and maintain the family-first reputation that has been a Northeast staple since its post-World War II boom.

“Our question is what can we do in the Northeast and what can we do now,” Vearling said. “Whatever the rest of the city does, I don’t care. I want to fix the problems in the Northeast.”

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Al Taubenberger, president of the Greater Northeast Chamber of Commerce, says several business corridors in the region have not experienced decline during the economic fallout.

For Samuel Nalbandian, owner of Rising Sun Pizza in Lawncrest, the business is a way of life and the recession is nothing to worry about.

“For me, it’s been the same,” he said of business during the past several months. “It’s always good, as long as I’m here managing. The customers are satisfied.”

Nalbandian, who opened the pizza parlor in 1982, said while he did see a slight drop in business last year that he attributed to the recession, he doesn’t worry about the shop.

“I do worry for other people not having jobs when the economy is bad,” he said. “But as long as I do the right thing, I don’t worry [about the business].”

Like some owners throughout the Northeast’s many neighborhoods and myriad business corridors, Nalbandian is a small business owner lucky enough to skirt the worst of the decline, avoiding being hit as hard as other businesses, especially larger ones. While there are not concrete statistics for our region of the city specifically, in terms of the economy’s effect on the businesses, a consensus exists among owners and civic leaders that while the Northeast’s businesses were hit, they largely weren’t hit too hard, and will pull through and stay profitable. continue reading »

Common Pleas Judge Chris Wogan addressing the Burholme Civic Association meeting on April 8, 2010.

Judge Chris Wogan says he has such a reputation for being tough on crime,  that once a defendant had a will drawn up, naming Wogan as the primary beneficiary in the hopes that a conflict of interest might force a change.

It didn’t work then, the Philadelphia Common Pleas judge says, and nothing has changed.

“They say I’m tough. I just think I’m fair,” Wogan, 60, told more than 60 residents at Thursday night’s Burholme Civic Association meeting. In a 20 minute address, Wogan railed against his perceived frustrations with the Philadelphia court system but said there is hope.

“Good people are working to fix the problems,” the 1968 Cardinal Dougherty High School alumnus said. “There is an optimism now that I didn’t see even a few years ago.”

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District Attorney Lynne Abraham says a temporary farewell to Burholme's community groups.

There is nothing more important than a community “involved in its own life,” District Attorney Lynne Abraham said to attendants at last night’s monthly meeting of the Burholme Civic Association and Town Watch groups.

Abraham, a frequent guest of the Burholme groups, came to say farewell, as she is stepping down as District Attorney after 19 years on the job. She will be replaced by Democratic District Attorney-elect Seth Williams. continue reading »

Gary Weyhmuller, center, chief operating officer of Fox Chase Cancer Center, accepts the 2009 Crystal Vision Award on behalf of the hospital from the Greater Northeast Philadelphia Chamber Commerce at their 87th Annual Accolades Ball Dinner Dance Gala Nov. 13, 2009 at Knowlton Mansion in Northeast Philadelphia. Ball chairperson Sally B. Danciu (l) and GNPCC President Al Taubenberger (r) present the award.

More than 175 Northeast residents gathered Friday to honor two regional staples.

The Accolades Ball, hosted by the Greater Northeast Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and held at the historic Knowlton Mansion at Rhawn Street and Verree Road, is an annual event, which marks the GNPCC’s anniversary while celebrating community members for “outstanding success and continuing commitment to the advancement of the organization and region.”

For its 87th anniversary, the Chamber honored Fox Chase Cancer Center and William St. Clair of St. Clair CPA Solutions. continue reading »

Residents from all over the Northeast attended the Burholme community meeting to learn about the Northeast's history. Photo by Christopher Wink.

The promise of Northeast Philadelphia historian Dr. Harry Silcox drew even larger crowd than usual to last night’s meeting of the Burholme Civic Association and Burholme Town Watch.

About 100 people showed up – more than the group of 65 for a similar presentation in Tacony, and more than a past Burholme meeting the mayor attended. President Al Taubenberger called the meeting to order as folks set up more chairs and pressed themselves against walls to hear Silcox discuss the history of Burholme and other parts of the Northeast.

Keep reading for Northeast trivia and a video. continue reading »

By Christopher Wink

The unofficial mayor of the Northeast has something to say about Philadelphia’s financial crisis that Michael Nutter announced in November.

Al Taubenberger, the Burholme resident and former Republican mayoral challenger and Northeast Chamber of Commerce president, was asked by city hall reporters what he would do if he overcame the city’s wealth of registered Democrats and was leading Philadelphia through this dark night.

Read below.

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