Danza showed his Viking pride at a Northeast football game. Photo by Bill Achuff.

It started about a month ago. Or seven months ago, depending on where you think the story really begins.

It was hyped for months: Tony Danza would be teaching at a high school in Philadelphia for his new reality show. And then we come to find out, he’d be spending the semester at Northeast High. Even those who aren’t Danza fans, who didn’t spend their childhoods watching him on the small screen, were excited that something big, something of national interest, would be happening in the Northeast. continue reading »

Councilwoman Krajewski (l) reviews the wall of her fellow inductees for the inaugural Northeast Philadelphia Hall of Fame. Photo by Christopher Wink for NEast Philly.

The Northeast gets called a lot of things: suburban, Republican, behind-the-times — and those are just the subtle insults.

But what people in other parts of the city — and even people from the Northeast — don’t realize, is that our region is as important, historic and evolved as the rest of Philadelphia. And if you need proof, look no further than the Northeast Philadelphia Hall of Fame.

In the video below, City Councilwoman Joan Krawjewski, one of last year’s inductees, talks about the Northeast.

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City Councilwoman Joan Krajewski (l) examines the wall of inductees to the Northeast Philadelphia Hall of Fame. Photo by Christopher Wink.

The Northeast welcomed the first inductees into its hall of fame yesterday, celebrating more than 300 years of accomplishments in our region.

More than 100 guests, honorees and elected officials gathered in Holy Family University‘s John M. Perzel building to formally honor the first eight Northeast Philadelphians to be included in the Northeast Philadelphia Hall of Fame — something its creators plan to make an annual event.

“A [Northeast Philadelphia Hall of Fame] is long overdue,” State Rep. Dennis O’Brien said in his address to the events attendees.
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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 »

Incumbent Democratic candidate for city controller addresses the Parkwod Civic Association.

Parkwood Civic Association President Mike Hatala got right down to business at last night’s meeting, leading with the Pledge of Allegiance, then calling up the group’s guest: incumbent Democratic city controller candidate Alan Butkovitz.

Butkovitz will face off against Republican candidate Al Schmidt in the Nov. 3 election. The Democrat first addressed what he said have been  the three focal points of his past year as city controller:

• spending time looking at failures in service
• emphasizing money and viability as an important role in the city’s collection of funds
• being an independent voice in analyzing Mayor Nutter’s budget and financial plans

Continue reading for a recap of the rest of meeting, more from Butkovitz and a numerical break down of the city’s finances. continue reading »

Here’s a summary of the week’s Northeast news we didn’t cover. See others here.

Bail has been set for the three adults charged with the murder of 57-year-old Lyudmila Burshteyn, whose body was found in the woods in New Jersey earlier this month. One suspect’s bail is set at $2 million, and the other men’s bails are set at $1 million each.

Continue reading for a ruling in the Valley Swim Club case, an update in the Hero Thrill Show and more. continue reading »

Here’s a summary of the week’s Northeast news we didn’t cover. See others here.

The Philadelphia Police Department’s Northeast Detectives Division is seeking the public’s help in locating its most-wanted suspects in connection with crimes linked to the Northeast. Call 215-686-3153 to report information about any of the suspects.

Keep reading for an update on a bank robber helped caught by Daily News readers, vandalism at Nifty Fifty’s and more. continue reading »

By Shannon McDonald

In a recent Northeast Times article, Franklin Mills Mall manager (and Washington High School alum) Joseph Binder, said he has been listening carefully to Northeast residents – particularly, those who like to read.

Binder mentioned that the outlet mall has been working on negotiations with a major book retailer. Though he can’t many more details, Binder also said he is in talks with a popular value store looking to take over the old Kay-Bee toy store location. These additions would join the 13 new stores that have come to the mall in the last two years.

By Christopher Wink

Here’s a summary of the week’s Northeast news we didn’t cover. See others here.

The 22-year-old daughter in the alleged mother-daughter prostitution operation that advertised on the popular Craigslist Web site and was busted last fall has received a three-year probation sentence, the Daily News reported Wednesday. The woman, Tami Smith, and her now 39-year-old mother were caught soliciting an undercover police officer in a home they rented in Wissinoming, as CBS3 reported in October. continue reading »

Reiger tombstones in the graveyard of Trinity Oxford Church near Burholme, where black and white residents were buried together in the 18th century.

Last week’s Northeast Times featured the first in a cool three-part series on the history of black communities in the Northeast for Black History Month.

There has always been a significant African-American presence in the Northeast. A trip to the Trinity Oxford Church graveyard near Burholme, where there is a cluster of early 17th-century graves marked by the first names of slaves, attests that there were blacks in Northeast Philadelphia very early in its settlement.

Read more below.

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