Hugh Campbell, a 45-year-resident of Burholme, thanked Matt Taubenberger for sweeping up trash Saturday.

Campbell said he can’t shop at the stores on Castor Avenue because there is too much trash.

“It’s good to see a couple of young fellas cleaning up,” Campbell said. “I’m a product of New York City and left because it was so filthy.”

Taubenberger and a group of college students took part in Philadelphia’s spring cleanup by packing mulch into the street trees and sweeping the sidewalks on Burholme’s end of Rising Sun Avenue. Councilwoman Marian Tasco joined volunteers on the Lawncrest end of the street.

“One of the things that I really hate and see all the time is people throwing their trash right on the ground,” said Taubenberger, who plays an active role in the neighborhood as part of the Business Association. “I think when people walk by and see us cleaning up they realize how hard it is to keep the street clean and they try not to litter.” continue reading »

Friday – Police raided Lawndale Coin and Collectibles Friday morning, as it’s an apparent front for stolen jewelry and metals. Authorities believe owner Robert Snyder has been receiving stolen goods there, including items from 55 burglaries for which the perpetrator  was arrested in October. Snyder insists the Rising Sun Avenue store conducts legitimate business. continue reading »

More than 60 local residents turned out for the vigil held out front of Glatz Jewelers on Rising Sun Avenue.

A preacher is standing on a street corner in a white jacket with a megaphone. He is wearing an “I Love Jesus” cap and spouting his message loudly to oblivious passersby on Rising Sun Avenue in Lawncrest.

“I was an alcoholic. I was a drug addict. But I found Jesus and Jesus’ message changed my life,” said Jimmy Gardner, 52, an aspiring Bible teacher from North Philadelphia. “Only in Jesus can we all see the error of our ways and can we find salvation.”

An older woman with sleek gray strands pulled back into a bun ran over to him holding her pink jacket closed with her right hand, informing the megaphone preacher that he was disrupting the vigil for a murdered jeweler being held across the street.

So touched was the megaphone preacher, and so apologetic for his disruption, he joined the others in prayer.

“We are all God’s children,” Gardner said.

The vigil was held Saturday in honor of William Glatz, hosted by pastors from several local churches in front of his former jewelry store, in response to the man’s shocking death during a robbery attempt on Oct. 21. Glatz was 67. continue reading »

The Rising Sun Avenue corridor has gone through a drastic change in the eyes of the people who have lived there all their lives.  A community that once was solely described as a close-knit, working class residency is now suffering from a spate of robberies, violence and an overabundance of trash and unkempt houses.

Kathy Wersinger of Councilwoman Marian Tasco’s office is a 55-year-resident of the area and believes the problem to be renters.

“People that rent houses for a profit and don’t worry about the condition of them as long as they are receiving their monthly check,” contribute to the decline in quality of life, she said. continue reading »

Obina Onyiah has been charged. Image courtesy of philly.com.

UPDATE (Nov. 12, 2010 at 11:26 a.m.) — Obina Onyiah has been charged with the murder of Glatz. The 27-year-old Frankford resident escaped from the crime scene in a car driven by another suspect, who is still on the loose.

UPDATE (Nov. 9, 2010 at 11:36 a.m.) — Authorities are questioning a second suspect whom they believe in connected with the robbery and homicide at Glatz Jewelers.

UPDATE (Oct. 26, 2010 at 10:22 a.m.) — Police say an arrest is imminent in connection with those responsible for helping Kevin Turner escape from prison. The suspects will face charges involving Turner’s escape and the murder of William Glatz.

UPDATE (Oct. 22, 2010 at 12:29 p.m.) — A photo of the missing suspect has been released.

William Glatz, owner of William Glatz Jewelers in Lawncrest is dead today following a shootout in his store yesterday morning.

Two men attempted to rob 67-year-old Glazt in his store on the 6400-block of Rising Sun Avenue around 11 a.m. Thursday. Glatz exchanged gunfire with the suspects and sustained a bullet wound to the chest. He died later at Einstein Medical Center. continue reading »

Photo courtesy of Elsie Stevens.

Scores of Holme Circle residents participated in two protests on Oct. 17 at 9 a.m. and Oct. 27 at 4:30 p.m. at the Engine 18 firehouse at Pennypack Circle to voice their concern of the Fire Department’s new “brown out” policy. continue reading »

(L to R): Bill Conaway, PPh Director of Community Relations; Sherry Wharton; John Evans, Salvation Army Thrift Store; and Sandi King, Philadelphia Commerce Department Business Services Manager, take a break from cleaning Rising Sun Avenue from Hellerman to Levick streets. Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Protestant Home.

This submission was provided by the Philadelphia Protestant Home, one of many business and organizations that took part in the Rising Sun Avenue cleanup. NEast Philly will have additional coverage of the event in the coming days.

More than 75 people took to the street on Saturday morning, and with brooms, rakes and shovels in work-gloved hands, cleaned up Rising Sun Avenue from Adams to Cottman avenues. continue reading »

Members of the Lawncrest Community Association voice quality of life concerns to 2nd District Officer Mark Mroz.

A little more than 50 people turned out for last night’s meeting of the Lawncrest Community Association — about half the usual number. But the still-sizable group was as vocal as ever, especially when talks turned to quality of life issues.

Mark Mroz, community relations officer for the 2nd District, ran the first 30 minutes of the meeting as part of the PSA Zone 2 meeting, but residents’ concerns stemmed beyond crime.

Homelessness, trash, dog droppings and nuisance bars were among the leading issues in the neighborhood, and many residents had their own ideas about how to fix them. continue reading »

Photo submitted by Elsie Stevens.

I’m seeing red these days as I learn more about the Fire Department’s brown outs.  Did you know that three firehouses in northeast Philadelphia are among those on the citywide list:  Engine 18 Pennypack Circle, Engine 71 Cottman and Loretto, and Engine 64 Rising Sun and Magee?

With past cuts in fire personnel and equipment and now rotating closures of neighborhood firehouses, how can the Mayor and Fire Department’s administrative personnel justify that they have our public safety in their best interest?  Is it not the core responsibility of our city government to provide adequate fire protection to its citizens?   continue reading »

The intersection of Rising Sun and Adams avenues is now equipped with a red light camera.

As part of the city’s ongoing crackdown on red light-runners, two more red light cameras have been installed — one in Roxborough, the other at Rising Sun and Adams avenues. continue reading »