It’s the day after Thanksgiving, which means it’s time for a NEast Philly tradition: our 12 Days of NEastmas holiday song.

This song, which first ran on Nov. 27, 2009, after we felt the Northeast really needed its own carol, has become a tradition.

You can click below for an instrumental version of the song, with our original NEast-y lyrics.  continue reading »

Northeast streets will become more bike and pedestrian friendly. Image from the City Planning Commission's planning document

Earlier this fall, the City Planning Commission held public meetings in Northeast and West Philadelphia to discuss the beginning of Phase 2 of the city’s Pedestrian and Bike Plan.

Those draft plans are ready and detail how streets in our region could change to better meet the needs to pedestrians and bikers. continue reading »

Jeanné Hannum. Photo by Pamela Seaton

Jeanné Hannum is the proud mother of four children. Each of her children has gone off to do great things–her oldest daughter is a food and personnel safety manager at Wegmans, her oldest son is a Navy petty officer, her youngest daughter is a Navy veteran and new mother and her youngest son is a Fulbright scholar. With such accolades, it seems that Hannum kept her children quite occupied as youth, but she said things were not so simple.

“I would have liked to have had a resource when I was a young mother with four children at home,” Hannum said. “I now enjoy finding things my granddaughter and her friends would enjoy doing.”

Hannum’s granddaughter and longing for an activity-filled resource inspired her to join the Macaroni Kid National e-newsletter. The newsletter started in early 2008 as friends and fellow mothers Joyce Shulman and Nicki Hemby shared a meal. Shulman came up with the idea of publishing a weekly newsletter of local events for mothers and their children in East Hampton, N.Y. Hemby agreed and they began publishing Macaroni Kid online in May 2008, going national a few months later. continue reading »

Jodie Rizzo,(right), of Holme Circle at Occupy Philly

Occupy Philadelphia is preparing to enter its second week and Tuesday’s noon-time crowd numbered a little more than 100 people.

Plain clothes police, reporters and the homeless mixed with activists on the plaza at City Hall. A number of Northeast Philadelphia residents joined the protest, all with different reasons.

Earl Refsnider of Lawndale is protesting the harsh treatment of the homeless by the government. “I am protesting the government screwing over people,” he said. It is getting harder and harder, as there are continued cuts in funding.” continue reading »

Last month, I began discussing a few obstacles to living away from home that lead to me missing the Northeast.

Honestly, when I sit down and think about them, the obstacles can occasionally seem overwhelming.

Therefore, I wanted to use another column to help lay them out.

Take a Walk

Although there are admittedly fewer trees, less grass and fewer parks in the Northeast – partially due to a denser population – than many parts of New Jersey with which I am familiar, one thing I have always liked about my hometown is that you can pretty much walk anywhere.

Of course, just like everywhere else, Northeast Philadelphia has its fair share of highways and high-traffic streets that are difficult to cross. However, just about every street has a sidewalk.

It may seem like a trivial point, but you would be surprised how few streets in northern New Jersey have sidewalks. Of course, most of these towns have sidewalks in and around their downtown areas. But, other than that, you’re pretty much forced to use another form of transportation other than your own two feet.

To make matters worse, many of these towns don’t have streetlights (other than the downtown area, of course). Don’t get me wrong; it’s probably great for residents to cut down on the light pollution. However, it makes it difficult and unsafe for people to attempt to walk in the sidewalk-less streets at night.

I saw it as a rite of passage back when I was in third or fourth grade to be allowed to trek a few blocks by myself to a friend’s house on a Saturday afternoon — an opportunity that would have been difficult to come by if there weren’t any sidewalks around. Additionally, not having sidewalks would have made it a little less safe as I walked to and from Archbishop Ryan High School as a teenager.

No Wawa

It’s funny how much Philadelphians rely on Wawa. But it’s terrifying how much you go into withdrawal when there isn’t one around.

Sure, there are 7-Elevens and Quick Cheks, but there is something about Wawa that makes it irreplaceable. Perhaps it’s the freshly made sandwiches. Perhaps it’s the lemonade iced tea.

The problem is the sheer lack of Wawas in northern New Jersey. The first one just opened a few miles away from my job, and I believe there are plans to open additional shops in the area.

For the time being, though, I guess I’ll just have to stick to making my own sandwiches and mixing together my own proportions of lemonade and iced tea.

Missing the Northeast is a column written by Stephen Wilson, a former Northeast resident who moved to New Jersey for work. You can read his column on the last Monday of every month.

The EF0 tornado did significant damage to both the front of the building and its roof. Photo by Danny Donnelly.

Imagine $15,000 worth of damage in less than 10 seconds.  It’s possible.

Last week’s twister that shook up a small section of the Northeast is leaving a couple of small businesses in recovery mode. Keith Walsh is the manager of Ace High Auto, located off Northeast Avenue in. Just before 2 p.m., Walsh and his staff were sitting inside their office enjoying a peaceful lunch break when the twister rattled their bones.

“It got real dark and I heard all kinds of glass breaking behind us. It sounded like a jet engine coming by. It was crazy. I turned around and saw the funnel coming right up the driveway,” Walsh said. continue reading »

I find that many of these columns either start or focus around me comparing the Northeast to where I live now. When I pull myself back from what I have written, it always kind of makes me laugh because, although I completely agree with every word in front of me, I really do like where I live now and can see myself being up here in northern New Jersey for a long time.

That being said, there are a few obstacles I constantly run into that I would never come across if I still lived in the Northeast. continue reading »

This is the second in a three-part series covering the 6th District Council race. You can read Part 1 here.

UPDATE: On April 18, Mayor Michael Nutter and outgoing 6th District Councilwoman Joan Krajewski endorsed Bednarek.

As the City Council primary elections creep closer and closer, candidates for the Northeast’s 6th District are in full campaign mode.

For the first time in more than 30 years, Joan Krajewski will not be continuing her reign as the voice of the 6th District of Philadelphia, leaving her seat open to a new leader of the district.

Krajewski, who is known as the “Queen of Constituent Service,” flirted with retirement a few years ago. In 2007, she retired for 24 hours after she was re-elected, in order to collect her $297,466 DROP retirement payment. She returned the next day to begin her eighth term.

This time; however, she is serious about retiring.

As Krajewski finishes up her final months in office, three new candidates have been busy walking through neighborhoods, speaking to residents and expressing their ideas of change for the community. The three candidates for the 6th District position are Bobby Henon, Sandy Stewart and Marty Bednarek continue reading »

The concept design for the Philadelphia Sports Zone planned for Upper Holmesburg. Image courtesy of Philadelphia Sports Zone.

Months of talks culminated Friday with an event to debut plans for the Philadelphia Sports Zone.

With entertainment from the Masquerade Band, architects of the proposed facility, Craig Schmitt and Scott Nixon, of Ewing Cole, unveiled the plans.

The proposed sports complex for youth teams was brought about by Father Judge High School soccer coaches Jose Ibarra , John Dunlop and Tony Parson, as well as Maggie Fulmer, a Northeast native and graduate of St. Hubert’s.

Fulmer said the idea has been a few years in the making. “Jose and I sat down and figured out what we wanted to do for the Northeast,” she said. “We talked about different facilities we could bring in and what we needed. We did a lot of research – a few years of research. We brought people together, and here we are.” continue reading »

Matt Morgan 12, plays at Reale's on Frankford Avenue once a month.

Check out the video below of some talented Northeast musicians who spend their weekends playing in local bars and get publicity from the entertainment magazine Out on the Town. continue reading »