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 »

Lawncrest’s grove was cleaned up for the neighborhood’s annual Veteran’s Day commemoration Sunday. Photo/Jessica Lopez

The “Star Spangled Banner” rang out as Joe O’Rourke, a Vietnam War veteran, raised the American flag at the Lawncrest Recreation Center during a Veteran’s Day ceremony Sunday.

Lawncrest residents gave their support and appreciation to veterans from the Vietnam, Korean, Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Organizer Kathy Wersinger, a neighborhood liaison for Councilwoman Marian B. Tasco, D-9th, welcomed guest speakers Judge Patrick Dugan and Councilman-at-large David Oh to the ceremony. 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 »

From left: City Council members Maria Quinones-Sanchez, Mark Squilla, Kenyatta Johnson, Marian Tasco, Darrell Clarke and Bill Greenlee. Photo/Shannon McDonald

Can a City Council budget hearing be called such if only six members attend? Last night was Northeast Philadelphia’s turn in a series of meetings Council is holding to take public testimony about the Fiscal Year 2013 budget.

President Darrell Clarke led the hearing and was joined by a mostly silent but present 1st District Councilman Mark Squilla, 2nd District Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, 7th District Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez, 9th District Councilwoman Marian Tasco and Councilman-at-large Bill Greenlee. continue reading »

Philadelphia’s City Council members will be in Northeast Philadelphia tonight for a public hearing on the city’s budget.

The doors of St. William’s parish hall, 6234 Rising Sun Ave., will be open to the public, and residents are encouraged to give their public testimony.

“Please come and show your interest,” Councilwoman Marian Tasco, D-9th, encouraged attendees of the March Lawncrest Community Association meeting. Though held in Lawncrest, residents and business owners from all over the city are invited to the meeting – the only neighborhood budget hearing scheduled in the Northeast.

Lawncrest dog owner Kris Cheung (right) takes her dog to the unofficial dog park in Lawncrest. Photo/Maryline Dossou

This is the second in a two-part series about how youth organizations interact with city and private agencies. Read Part One here.

On Apr. 25, the residents of Lawncrest assembled at a community meeting to discuss an ongoing issue affecting both the youth athletics and local dog owners. For the past three years, neighborhood athletic association’s little league team and the dog owners have been using the same baseball field at the Lawncrest Recreation Center for very different reasons.

The problem began when participation in youth sports within the athletic association started dwindling, leading to the eventual disintegration of the AA approximately 10 years ago. Since then, dog owners took to entering the gated field and letting their dogs run around. Over time, the space became an unofficial dog park.

Once the AA started back up again three years ago, dog owners were faced with having to find a new place to walk their dogs, but they continued using the field. In late 2011, the children started using the field again, causing concern among parents. Lawncrest parents Brad and Crystal El have been outspoken in their advocacy for the dog park for the safety of the children. continue reading »

Philadelphia’s City Council members will be in Northeast Philadelphia next week for a public hearing on the city’s budget.

The doors of St. William’s parish hall, 6234 Rising Sun Ave., will be open to the public, and residents are encouraged to give their public testimony.

“Please come and show your interest,” Tasco encouraged attendees of the March Lawncrest Community Association meeting. LCA meetings typically draw 80 to 100 impassioned residents, many of whom Tasco has been working with on specific neighborhood improvement projects. The meeting will be open to the general public and starts at 6 p.m. continue reading »

Councilwoman Marian Tasco, seen here at the 2011 Rising Sun Avenue Clean-up. File photo/Ian Romano

Ninth District City Councilwoman Marian B. Tasco’s Cha Cha dance steps led her to victory at the Fourth Annual “Dancing with the Philadelphia Stars” event on Sunday.

The event was an awareness-raising fundraiser for the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America Philadelphia/Delaware Valley Chapter. Referred to as the “forgotten disease,” it affects 1 out of every 500 African Americans, but 1 out of every 10 to 12 carry the trait.

Each contestant chose one dance style and spent 10 weeks rehearsing with their partners from the Society Hill Dance Academy. Tasco performed the Cha Cha, a Cuban dance, with Nodari Tetruashvily at the Crystal Tea Room event.

Read the rest of this story from our partners at NewsWorks.

Tarken Rec Center's ice rink will undergo a $3.3 million renovation. Image/Google Maps

A $3.3 million renovation to the skating rink at the Tarken Recreation Center is expected to begin in June.

As a part of a private-public partnership with the City of Philadelphia, the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation will fully enclose the rink located at 6250 Frontenac St. by matching a $6.5 million grant from the state’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.

City Councilwoman Marian Tasco, D-9, announced the news from her district at Thursday’s City Council meeting, noting that a West Oak Lane rink had undergone a similar makeover.

Scanlon Ice Rink in Kensington, Laura Sims Skate House in West Philadelphia and the Simons Recreation Center in West Oak Lane were all open-air outdoor rinks that operated just 12 weeks a year until the foundation stepped in.

Read the rest of this story from our partners at NewsWorks.

Philadelphia Councilwoman Marian Tasco, seen here at the 2011 Rising Sun Avenue Clean-up, announced City Council will hold a public budget hearing in Lawncrest. File photo/Ian Romano

Philadelphia City Council is coming to the Northeast.

On Tuesday, May 8, Council will hold a public budget hearing at St. William’s School in Lawncrest. Ninth District Councilwoman Marian Tasco made the announcement last night at the Lawncrest Community Association meeting. continue reading »