Image/Philadelphia City Planning Commission

The Philadelphia City Planning Commission has scheduled its second meeting for the Lower Northeast District.

Stakeholders from Frankford, Northwood, Summerdale, Lawncrest, Oxford Circle and part of Castor Gardens first met in early April to identify their neighborhoods’ strengths, weaknesses and opportunities. They gathered around seven large maps of the area to discuss the assets and detractors. continue reading »

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A teenager was stabbed Wednesday night in the woods in Parkwood. The 17-year-old was taken to Aria-Health Torresdale with multiple stab wounds after the incident occurred near Medford and Vinton roads in Poquessing Park. [Daily News].

Authorities are looking for the driver who struck a teenage bicyclist Tuesday night in Tacony. The 17-year-old was on the 4500-block of Tyson Avenue when he was hit by a dark-colored sedan. He remains hospitalized [Action News]. continue reading »

A Lower Northeast District map marked with residents' opinions of neighborhoods assets and obstacles. Photo/Shannon McDonald

Seven tables, 14 city planners and seven maps marked up in blue, red, black and orange filled a Friends Hospital conference room last night.

They were signs of the first of three community planning meetings for the Lower Northeast District – the Philadelphia City Planning Commission’s distinction for Frankford, Northwood, Summerdale, Lawncrest, Oxford Circle and part of Castor Gardens. The district is one of 18 identified by the commission and is next on tap to develop ideas for future planning and zoning opportunities under the comprehensive Philadelphia2035 plan. continue reading »

Glenn Segal writes about Oxford Circle and Castor Gardens when he's not working in a real estate office.

Glenn Segal is a man who talks fast. Earnestly and fervently dispensing his opinion and gesticulating animatedly while he discusses his novel series, Devine Intervention, he somehow manages to cover everything from the Grateful Dead to religious fanaticism to gang patrols from his youth in the Northeast in the space of an interview.

He’s obviously very bright, energetic and passionate about his work; he has very evidently poured his heart and soul into his books. Currently working two jobs – as an optician in Huntingdon Valley and at a local Prudential real estate office on Frankford Avenue – he writes constantly in his spare time as he finishes up the third installment of the series, titled Revelations, which

is due out at the end of this year.

Segal was born and raised in the Northeast, using it as a major source of inspiration for his series. continue reading »

It’s rare a mainstream news outlet can find Castor Gardens. Summerdale, Oxford Circle and Lawncrest often get the Castor Gardens label. Or simply, ‘Castor,’ whatever that’s supposed to mean.

When a body was found inside a car on the 800-block of Unruh Avenue, Philadelphia’s mainstream media rushed to report on it. Most came out without embarrassment. continue reading »

UPDATE: The victim in the car has been identified at 25-year-old Landis Carter of the 2300-block of Tremont Street.

Police in the 2nd and 7th Districts are busy today searching for suspects in two separate incidents that took place early this morning.

Around 1:30 a.m., a teenager delivering pizza was robbed and stabbed by a group of three males on the 6100-block of Belden Street in Oxford Circle. Five hours later, police in the 7th District were called to the Plaza Towers Apartments on the 2300-block of Tremont Street where a man was shot in his car. continue reading »

Two Lawncrest RNWN features in one week. Clearly the folks in front of the TV cameras haven’t been reading.

Just like there wasn’t a shooting last Thursday in Lawncrest, no one there died from the heat Tuesday. Early reports of a death on the 900-block of Carver Street indicate heat may have been a factor. continue reading »

Maybe it’s because Lawncrest is really two separate neighborhoods. Or maybe it’s because our local TV news reporters have never actually been to Lawncrest (except when there were some dog fighting arrests).

Whatever the case, the Lawncrest, Summerdale and Oxford Circle neighborhoods seem to present a real problem for Philadelphia’s mainstream media — geography-wise, that is. continue reading »

Police have arrested two suspects for an early Thursday morning shooting around Roosevelt Boulevard and Bridge Street.

Authorities discovered a man around 1:30 a.m. who’s been shot multiple times with a rifle, and the victim was taken to Albert Einstein Medical Center in critical condition.

A short time later, SWAT members arrested two men on the 1200-block of Cheltenham Avenue.

John Esch wiped his brow and took a hard swig of his water bottle. He has just traveled more than three hours, from the outskirts of Gettysburg, arriving at 900 E. Howell St. – the site of the Oxford Circle Farmers Market.

Esch, along with two other vendors, braved the near 100-degree heat last Thursday to bring farm fresh fruits and vegetables and baked goods to the people of the great Northeast. continue reading »