Manny Citron of the Philadelphia Managing Director’s office leads a PhillyRising meeting in Lawncrest. Photo/Lucia Volpe

A park cleanup and Veteran’s Day ceremony, a five-block cleanup, and a neighborhood watch walk- through were just some of the successes highlighted during a PhillyRising meeting at the Lawncrest Library Tuesday night.

PhillyRising is a program through the City of Philadelphia that targets neighborhoods that are plagued by chronic crime and quality-of-life concerns.

“During meetings like this we put together an action plan to determine what this neighborhood needs and what we can do to make that happen,” said Manny Citron, the coordinator of the Northeast division of PhillyRising. continue reading »

Photo/Lucia Volpe

Parishioners of Trinity Church Oxford in Lawncrest will keep the spirit of their church alive during a historical lantern graveyard tour this Saturday.

Kate Sampson, director and producer of the lantern graveyard tour, incorporated stories from prior tours with new material found in burial records, archives and tombstones. She said she believes that the lantern tour is an opportunity to engage the community.

“The church holds 314 years of history,” Sampson said. “I feel it’s our responsibility to see that it continues to be passed down.” continue reading »

From the City of Philadelphia:

The Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) recently announced its proposal to seek rate changes, beginning Oct. 1, 2012, to maintain the City’s top-quality water, alleviate flooding, meet regulatory requirements and improve the quality of local rivers and streams. Even with the proposed additional rates, PWD’s water and sewer charges will continue to be among the lowest in the region.

An additional public hearing has been scheduled with Councilwoman Marian Tasco’s, D-9th, office at the Philadelphia Protestant Home in Lawncrest, 6500 Tabor Ave. at 6 p.m. for customers to continue to comment and ask questions. continue reading »

Commuters board the first train out of Fox Chase. Photo/G.E. Reutter

Severe thunderstorms hampered the morning commute in Northeast Philadelphia today. At around 5:30 a.m. as the storms roared through, a tree fell on Septa Train 805 while it was passing between Cheltenham Station and Ryerss Station in the Northeast. continue reading »

A 2nd District police officer and an elderly woman were hospitalized Saturday following a car crash in Lawncrest.

According to reports, the crash occurred around 1:30 p.m. when the officer was en route to a call. Both drivers were injured when the woman, 90, ran a red light near Oxford and Longshore avenues.

They were taken to separate hospitals and are expected to recover.

The boundaries of PhillyRising's Lawncrest initiative. Image/PhillyRising Collaborative

Lawncrest residents have identified three plans for action within the neighborhood as part of the community’s involvement with PhillyRising.

PhillyRising, an initiative out of the city’s managing director’s office, targets neighborhoods with chronic crime and quality of life issues and brings community organizations and city agencies together to try to solve them. The program is entrenched in several neighborhoods, including Lawncrest and Frankford.

Following two initial community meetings, Assistant Managing Director Manny Citron drafted Lawncrest’s “Action Plan” based on feedback from the more than 50 people who gave their input. continue reading »

Northeast natives Mary Guarnieri and Scott Garvin in Central High's "West Side Story." Photo/G. E. Reutter

Northeast natives Mary Guarnieri of Lawndale and Scott Garvin of Chalfont shined as Maria and Tony in Central High School’s production of West Side Story on Saturday evening.

This production of West Side Story marks the second year that Central has returned to its musical theater roots and what has sprouted is a professional-level production. Actors, choreography, orchestra, set design, costumes – all punched up for this performance under the direction of Alan Bronstein and produced by Stephen Wilenski. continue reading »

A dozen sick and dead cats were removed from a Lawndale home Tuesday night.

PSPCA officers raided a home near Lawndale Avenue and Levick Street where a couple had been keeping several cats and neighbors became concerned about the smell of feces and trash.

Some of the cats were dead and most of the living ones were sick.

Manny Citron of the Philadelphia Managing Director's Office

Things were going well at the Lawncrest Community Association meeting until Manny Citron laid out the boundaries for the city’s new PhillyRising target: LawncrestRising will comprise Tabor Avenue to Godfrey Avenue to Hasbrook Avenue to Comly Street.

More like CrescentvilleRising, if you ask the association members.

Citron is the assistant managing director for the City of Philadelphia and oversees the Northeast branch of the PhillyRising initiative, which began in Frankford.

Citron spoke for 10 minutes at Tuesday’s Lawncrest Community Association meeting before taking questions from residents, who were mostly from Lawndale. continue reading »

A man was kidnapped Sept. 21 and rescued by police on the 6800-block of Martinsville Road.

Of course, there is not Martinsville Road in the Northeast — or anywhere in Philadelphia, for that matter. continue reading »