Shamrock Shuttle 2010 outside McNoodle's. Photo/Mayfair resident and Civic Association board member Donny Smith

It’s that time of year again. The buses, the drinking, the public urination. The revenue for Frankford Avenue’s many bars and restaurants.

“The elephant in the room,” as Mayfair Civic Association President Joe DeFelice called it at last night’s meeting. It’s all coming back in March when the trio of annual bar-hopping events returns to Mayfair.

The Mayfair, Tacony and Holmesburg civic associations have already met to discuss finding a happier medium for the bars that participate in Shamrock Shuttle and the neighbors that deal with the aftermath. continue reading »

Phil Grutmacher reviews Lawncrest's top zoning issues at the January Community Association meeting. Photo/Shannon McDonald

Last night’s Lawncrest Community Association meeting began with a word about burglaries from 2nd District Community Relations Officer Mark Mroz, ended with a $49 50/50 ticket and was interrupted by  a birthday cake for dedicated LCA member Peg Kramer.

But the meat of the meeting was zoning. With no guest speaker plan, President Bill Dolbow breezed right through the agenda and let Phil Grutzmacher take the mic to discuss zoning. Five proposals were reviewed, but the first is a site that’s been a thorn in the LCA’s side for months. continue reading »

Before the Frankford Civic Association meeting got started Thursday, zoning officer Pete Specos had an announcement.

Alice Henry will withdraw from the board for personal reasons, with Specos taking the helm. Henry joined the board as vice president in January. continue reading »

The re-opening of the Holme Avenue Bridge was one of the main discussion points at the October Holme Circle Civic Association meeting. Photo by Stephen Schultz.

The Holme Circle Civic Association held its annual “Meet the Candidates Night” during its monthly meeting on Wednesday at St. Jerome’s School Hall.

The local candidates in attendance were City Councilman Brian O’Neill and Democratic challenger Bill Rubin; Democratic at-large Councilman Jim Kenney represented by his aide, John DelRica; Republican candidates Denny O’Brien and Michael Untermeyer; and Republican candidate for City Commissioner Al Schmidt represented by his aide, Steven Boc. Each candidate was given five minutes to expound on their platforms culminating with questions from the 40 member audience. continue reading »

What's left of the Holme Avenue Bridge as PennDOT works to repair it.

“The bridge failed.”

That’s the way PennDOT engineer Javier Salgveiro explained the recent closure of the Holme Avenue Bridge. Amid technical jargon about bridge decks, rebars and beams, Salgveiro, two other PennDOT employees and John Buckley of Buckley Construction explained why the bridge closed last Monday while crews were in the middle of repairs.

The topic brought about 40 people to last night’s Holme Circle Civic Association meeting, where the bridge was the only item on the agenda.

“Serious deterioration,” as seen in the photos below, means the bridge will be closed until Buckley and his crew can finish the repairs. The timeline is “before Christmas,” as Salgveiro put it. That’s the silver lining in what’s otherwise been a headache for residents as they navigate their way around the closure. Had the bridge remained open during repairs — as was originally planned — work would have gone on until mid-2012.
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Upper Holmesburg residents have decided to pass for now on a chance to build a playground at Pennypack Street and Frankford Avenue.

Stan Cywinski needed to act quickly. When the Upper Holmesburg Civic Association president received a call from KaBOOM!, the playground-building organization told Cywinski if the neighborhood wanted a new playground, a decision had to be made — and soon.

With a Friday deadline, Cywinski made the matter a top priority at Thursday’s UHCA meeting.

KaBOOM! had reached out to the UHCA to offer to help build a playground, like the organization has done in many cities. Citing the progress with KaBOOM! at the Mayfair Memorial Playground, Cywinski thought the opportunity seemed like a good one, and he had just the spot: the unused space on the 4300-block of Pennypack Street at Frankford Avenue.

But the residents had already discussed other uses for this space at previous meetings with the City Planning Commission, so Cywinski decided if the property is going to have a playground, it should be the “membership’s call.” continue reading »

The Far Northeast will get two additional red light cameras. That was one of the bigger announcements at last week’s Somerton Civic Association.

Councilman Brian O’Neill said two busy intersections — Grant Avenue and Academy Road and Bustleton Avenue and Byberry Road — will be among the many Northeast corners to have red light cameras.

Zoning and crime updates took precedence during the second half of the meeting. Those details are below. continue reading »

Maggie's Waterfront Cafe owner Kevin Goodchild addresses the East Torresdale Civic Association. Photo by Danny Donnelly.

Since 1935, 9242 N. Delaware Ave. has housed several bars and restaurants. For the past three years; however, this address has been housing several concerns for the neighbors of  East Torresdale’s Pleasant Hill pocket.

Individuals present at Monday’s East Torresdale Civic Association meeting placed Maggie’s Waterfront Café, at the top of their list of issues facing the neighborhood.

John Swiker lives five blocks away from Maggie’s and says the dispute has been going on since he began attending the civic association’s meetings last year.

“It’s a quality of life thing. People don’t mind the bar, in actuality. I go to this bar. It’s the events that are going on,” he said. “The music is going too loud too long. If they kept it inside it wouldn’t be a problem. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.”

Current owner Kevin Goodchild purchased the building where Maggie’s now stands in 2008. Goodchild said he initially envisioned his business to be a small indoor restaurant and bar for local residents. continue reading »

The Tacony Quality of Life Council meets monthly at the Sons of Italy.

The Tacony Quality of Life Council meets monthly to address crime, zoning, licensing and other quality-of-life issues in Tacony and beyond. Below are the minutes from the group’s May meeting. The next meeting is scheduled for June 23. continue reading »

With recent tornado-related disasters in the South and Midwest, and still memorable tragedies in Haiti and along the Gulf Coast, Philadelphia’s Office of Emergency Management continues to take steps toward readying the city for widespread emergencies.

Deputy Director for External Affairs Joan Przybylowicz was at Tuesday night’s Lawncrest Community Association to highlight some of the services the office has, and review safety measures business and homeowners are encouraged to take. continue reading »