Police are investigating a kidnapping case that happened over the weekend involving a Burholme man.

According to a report by CBS3, Edwin Guzman, who owns a grocery story in Kensington, was abducted by two men around 7:30 Friday morning on the 6800-block of Dorcas Street. continue reading »

So NBC10 reporters were on the scene yesterday when a man got stuck in the creek at Pennypack Park in Holmesburg.

Or, as you can read on NBC’s website, a man was stuck in the Pennypack creek in Frankford.

Rescue crews saved a man struggling to stay afloat in Pennypack Creek in the Frankford section of the city Tuesday morning.” continue reading »

The area of Pennypack Park where two men's raft overturned in the creek.

One of two men who went rafting in Pennypack Creek yesterday is missing.

According to a report by the Daily News, the men’s raft overturned just before 7 p.m. in the water off of Winchester Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard. A witness riding his bike in the area saw the men go under water and called police, but only one of the rafters made it out of the water. continue reading »

Image courtesy of NBC10

Rescue crews saved a man yesterday who was stuck in the creek at Pennypack Park.

The man became trapped in the water — which was deeper and faster than usual due to the rain — around 11 a.m. near Frankford Avenue and Ashburner Street in Holmesburg. It’s unclear how the man became stuck, as he was reportedly wearing a life jacket. No injuries were reported.

Thursday’s water main break in Upper Holmesburg sent a geyser-like rush of water more than 100-feet into the air. While authorities got the situation under control, drivers on I-95 got a good look at the plume. Here’s our slideshow, with photos courtesy of Somerton’s Mike Korostelev.

Upper Holmesburg residents have been waiting for the demolition of Liddonfield for five years. The civic association has worked with police, politicians and the Public Housing Authority over the years when problems have cropped up, and recently established its own committee to oversee the demolition and transition process.

And though the announcement at last night’s meeting of the impending demolition  from Richard Zappile, chief of police for PHA was music to residents’ ears, those who’ve been fighting Liddonfield for the last five years want to make sure the new homes aren’t host to the same problems.

“The community is a large part of this,” said Zappile that PHA homes often raise neighborhood property values because of their innovative design and clean appearance. continue reading »

Dale Heverline (left), Jesse Lofton (center) and Carmen Rivas (right) discuss and admire the gardens Heverline and Lofton built outside their apartment building in the Holmecrest Homes.

In this two-part series, NEast Philly goes inside two housing projects to see what works, what doesn’t and what’s to come. In the second half, we talk to residents of Holmecrest.

Public housing projects are dirty, dilapidated, filled with crime and unwelcome in their neighborhood.

Except when they’re not.

Holmecrest is a Philadelphia Housing Authority project, but it doesn’t fit into the many negative stereotypes about projects that exist today. The 84-unit development is tucked away in a corner of Upper Holmesburg, just a few blocks from Frankford Avenue. It’s a tranquil place residents say is a wonderful home, and that neighbors seem hard-pressed to find a reason to complain about.

“Never,” said Lillian Cook when asked if she had problems with Holmecrest Homes, which is half a block from her house. “I’m comfortable with the way it is.”

“We don’t even look at it like a project,” added her friend and neighbor Nicole Varchacoski. “[Holmecrest residents] will yell at you if you get in trouble.”
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Belongings and broken glass are all that remains of the families who once resided in the Liddonfield development.

As part of a two-part series, NEast Philly goes inside two housing projects to examine what works, what doesn’t and what’s to come. In the first part, we take a look at the soon-to-be-demolished Liddonfield.

No plans are set for the 32-acre site in Upper Holmesburg where construction crews will eventually demolish the 436-unit Liddonfield Homes, but many neighbors are breathing a sigh of relief at the public housing development’s closure.

“They were saying for years they were going to close Liddonfield, and it never closed,” Maria Asterga, whose parents immigrated to the United States from Cuba and moved across the street from the development in 1964, said. “It was trouble and drugs. The cops came a lot. As a child, I was worried about walking up there.”

Asterga and her parents said rumors flew around the community since they moved there that the development, built as military barracks in the ‘40s and converted to public housing in the ‘50s, would be shut down. continue reading »

On any given day, you’ll find Officer Michelle McMillian patrolling the streets of the Northeast. She’s not a police officer, or a parking authority employee, though she’s been mistaken as both.

McMillian is an officer with SWEEP, the Department of Streets’ Streets & Walkways Education and Enforcement Program. The 30-year city employee was at last night’s Upper Holmesburg Civic Association meeting to talk about recycling.

“This area is not doing that well,” McMillian told the 20 or so residents in attendance about their trash and recycling habits. She cited some of the main problems she and her colleagues see as they patrol the streets: continue reading »

Upper Holmesburg Civic Association Zoning Officer Paul DeFinis leads the zoning discussion at the March meeting.

Auto-related businesses were the focus of last night’s Upper Holmesburg Civic Association meeting, with zoning issues being the highlight of the 90-minute gathering.

Zoning Officer Paul DeFinis began the zoning portion of the evening with 8301 Torresdale Ave., whose occupants are seeking to legalize the many auto-related businesses in the industrialized area. continue reading »