Frankford Special Services District

Councilman Dan Savage introduced a bill to City Council to re-establish the Frankford Special Services District. No hearings on the bill have been scheduled as yet. email me if you would like the entire text of the bill.

City Council Chief Clerk's Office
402 City Hall
Philadelphia, PA 19107
BILL NO. 070540
Introduced June 7, 2007

Council member Savage Referred to the Committee on Rules AN ORDINANCE Reestablishing a neighborhood improvement district in an area that generally includes both sides of Frankford Avenue from Torresdale Avenue to Bridge Street and certain side streets including portions of Kensington Avenue, Foulkrod Street, Gillingham Street,Griscom Street, Margaret Street, Meadow Street, Orthodox Street, Paul Street, Pratt Street, Darrah Street, and Unity Street, to be known as the Frankford Special Services District ("District"); designating the Frankford Special Services District of Philadelphia("the Authority"), an Authority established pursuant to the Municipality Authorities Actof 1945, as the Neighborhood Improvement District Management Association for the District; approving a final plan for the District, including a list of proposed improvements and their estimated cost, and providing for assessment fees to be levied on property owners within the District; authorizing the Director of Commerce, on behalf of the City,to execute an agreement with the Authority relating to the District; and authorizing the Authority to assess property owners within the District a special property assessment feet to be used in accordance with the approved final plan; all in accordance with the provisions of the Community and Economic Improvement Act, and under certain terms and conditions.

Workshop of the world

Well at one time that is what Philadelphia justifiably called itself. Times have changed as it always will but this web site takes a look at the industrial archeology of Philadelphia and Frankford appears prominently. I found some things I never knew and it does make you want to know more. Take a look: http://www.workshopoftheworld.com/frankford/frankford.html

Happenings at Mozaic

The Dylan Taylor Trio will be performing at mozaic tonight, July 28th.. from 7PM - 11PM featuring the amazing Jim Ridl on the Baby Grand, Jim Miller. drums and Dylan Taylor, acoustic bass.

Gallery Night At mozaic Wednesday, August 1st., 6PM - 8PM The photograpy of Jim Sell will be exhibted at mozaic from August 1st. 'til September 29th.Come and meet Jim, enjoy the wine and cheese buffet, grab a bite, get your cards read, have your silhouette drawn and listen to the renowned Father John D'Amico on the Baby Grand. This promises to be a special night.

Bloggers & Blogettes, I so look forward to seeing you all on August, 4th. It's gonna be a par-tay. The Chef is working on a Blog Special. Scoats, I'm addicted to the Badger Dance, thanks to you. The stress reducing qualities of it really do prepare one for when the snakes in the grass pop up.

Peace,
Joan Oliveto
mozaic
4524 Frankford AvenuePhiladelphia, PA 19124
215-535-5040

mozaic is a BYOB restaurant/gallery featuring live jazz every Saturday night and wallet-friendly fine dining.

The website is up but still under construction.www.mozaicrestaurant.com

New Chef at Mozaic

mozaic is very proud to welcome Chef Michael Leitmeyer. Chef Michael, formally of the White Dog Cafe, looks forward to exciting and expanding your palate with his culinary skills.

Deni Playground

Press release from Councilman Savage:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday July 26, 2007
CONTACT: Elizabeth McCollum Nazario – 215-686-3448


On August 3, 2007 at 6:30pm some forty children will play baseball and t-ball at Deni playground for the first time in twenty years. The inaugural game comes as the result of the work done by the Deni Advisory Council created in April, 2007 by Councilman Daniel J. Savage. The Council is comprised of 4 board members and is supported by local volunteers. Councilman Savage said he “wanted to bring some life back to the playground” and saw the advisory council and ball teams as a great way to do that.

The forty or so participants will range in age from 5-12 with the 5-7 year olds playing t-ball and the 8-12 year olds playing instructional baseball. The advisory council hopes that this year’s flagship team will lead to even greater enrollment and participation in the coming seasons and years. The teams, which are sponsored by The Phillies Rookie League, will also be playing a spring season in 2008. Councilman Savage noted that he is “delighted and proud to have played a role in bringing something to the neighborhoods which is great for the kids and the community as a whole”.

Phillyblog at Mozaic

I watch the happenings on Phillyblog daily and have noticed the interest that some of the posters have in the development of Frankford. The Northeast folks occasionally have a meet up where they get together face to face and have decided to make it to Mozaic on August 4th. This is a practical decision but also a show of support from a lot of folks who do not live in Frankford. When you get right down to it, we are all in this together. Cheers to the Phillyblog folks. http://www.phillyblog.com/philly/showthread.php?t=40325

Toddler Falls From 2nd Story Window

by KYW's Al Novack

Police were continuing their investigation into the circumstances that led to a two-year-old girl falling from a 2nd story window from her family's apartment Wednesday night.

The incident happened around 7:30pm at an apartment building located at Harrison and Oxford Streets in the city's Frankford section. The youngster was admitted to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children with non-life threatening injuries.

Northwood Neighbors Association

The monthly meeting is tonight at 7:30 p.m. See the details on the community calendar at the bottom of this page.

News Gleaner this week

My gripe with the News Gleaner is that they have a poor online edition. But this week's print edition features the Great Neighborhoods of Northeast Philadelphia as a separate section. It has short histories of Frankford, Mayfair, Tacony, Holmsburg, Torresdale, Byberry, Bustleton, Oxford Circle and Rhawnhurst. For the price you can't beat it. The downside is that those of us who are older may actually remember seeing some of the ancient history of the northeast. I guess if you live long enough you become history.

Number 236 is ours

Philly.com reports that the 236th murder this year occurred in the 2100 block of Wakeling street this morning.

"An unidentified 25-year-old male was found shot multiple times in the chest and arms, a police spokesman said." (Other reports say he was 18 years old.)

I'm not sure how they determined his age was 25 but don't know his name but that does not matter in the end. Another life is wasted on the streets on Philadelphia.

The CBS Evening News chose Philadelphia to top its week-long series on crime last night. It is not a distinction that we need but it is the reality. We are not alone in this. Violence is an escalating problem throughout the country. Talk is cheap and the solution is illusive.

Handguns are an easy target. They make it entirely too easy to kill on the spur of the moment. Making them illegal is not a practical solution though unless it is done universally and that is not going to happen.

Controlling them may be a step in the right direction though and that should happen. Should the city be allowed to make its own gun laws? Seems like a reasonable request but its not legal for us to do that in Pennsylvania.

Maybe the real question in the mind of many people is why should I care that these guys are killing each other. He was out at night in a park he must have been up to no good and that is the way it goes.

But the violence can and does reach out to others who are not involved in their foolishness. That danger can touch you unexpectedly. If we do nothing, we give our consent to these crimes and give the OK to the criminals. It's just not the right thing to do.

New look today

The New look today is courtesy of our web wizard. Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions.

The old Third Federal building on Frankford Avenue

There is an ongoing discussion about the future of the old Third Federal building on the avenue. Take a look here and put in your two cents. http://www.phillyblog.com/philly/showthread.php?t=40658

Community Calendar

We had a comment on one of the stories about the East Frankford Civic Association asking if there might be more notice about their upcoming meetings. This is an open invitation to any community group to send me your meeting notices for inclusion on our community calender. Email me for information and I will tell you what we can do. Greater participation will lead to greater effectiveness. Civics, churches, blocks all are welcome.

Mozaic tonight

The Butch Ballard Trio will be performing this Saturday, the 21st., from 7PM - 11PM

Specials

• Italian Wedding Soup
• Empanada Duo (Shrimp/Beef)
• Tofu Tostada served with Vegetarian Refried Black Beans
• Pistachio Chicken with Rabe and a Risotto Pesto Patty

East Frankford Civic Association

A report on the recent meeting of the East Frankford Civic Association is in the Northeast Times this week. Al Taubenberger, Republican party candidate for mayor, attended the meeting. Also, an interesting zoning issue for a building on Penn Street. The Civic will support the variance. Read the entire story here: http://www.northeasttimes.com/2007/0719/frankford.html

Demolition

When is demolition of a house a good idea. When the structure is such an eyesore or hazard that we have no choice. The Northeast Times reports http://www.northeasttimes.com/2007/0719/homes.html that 43 properties are slated to be demolished in Frankford. Although we are seeing a fair number of properties being reborn there are also a large number that look beyond hope. Elimination of those dangerous eyesores can't help but make the neighborhood more attractive to future development. When the dust settles, we will have taken another step on the road to the "Next Great Neighborhood in the Next Great City".

Historical Society of Frankford

The Historical Society of Frankford has given us a preview of their upcoming events for the remainder of this year. They are now posted below on our calendar. Just go down to the calendar and click on the Agenda tab. Then tab through the months. All events will display. Click on any for the Historical Society and a description will pop up. Take a look at the program for October 12th. That one is sure to be a sell out.

Free Library

This is another of my old post card views of Frankford. It is hard to imagine but the building in the picture is the original library. I can remember seeing it when I was very young. At some time, in the 50s possibly, it was rebuilt in the modern style you see today. If you look on the side of the existing building you can still see part of the original foundation walls.

This was a Carnegie library. If you're curious about that follow this link: http://www.statelibrary.state.pa.us/libraries/cwp/view.asp?a=11&Q=41240

Parking meters on Frankford Avenue in Frankford

The good news keeps rolling in thanks to councilman Dan Savage. Parking meters were previously required to be fed up until 9:30 PM Friday and Saturday nights. Today the new signs were posted that give you free parking after 6PM every night of the week. This then provides free parking for those patronizing Mozaic.

Summer Career Exploration Program

Frankford Group Ministry does good work. From the Northeast Times: http://www.northeasttimes.com/2007/0712/careers.html

Art Holiday Property

The Northeast Times article on the future of the Art Holiday. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

http://www.northeasttimes.com/2007/0712/artholiday.html

SPIN

If you read Phillyblog you may find references to the "dogooders" in Frankford. I guess you could be called worse.

SPIN Frankford has an Early Head Start Program, Head Start Program and an Early Intervention Program with 3 classrooms that provide services to children with Autism. The center is community based and home based and supports well over 300 families in Frankford.

I have a link over to the right: http://spininc.org/services_children.asp

Summertime in Frankford

My mother grew up in Frankford in the 20s and 30s. She sometimes talked about going to the bathy in the summer. I know that translated to swimming pool but did not know where it might have been. I found this post card a few years ago. It's possible that this is from the Frankford in western Pennsylvania but it has the look of urban Philadelphia. I can almost picture it on Wakeling down by Worth Street.

Frankford crime confab has a meager turnout

"Crime and safety in Frankford attracted a handful of people to a meeting at Frankford Hospital’s Frankford Division last week."

This concerns the Frankford Community Crime and Safety Summit

From the Northeast Times: http://www.northeasttimes.com/2007/0705/frankford.html

Art Holiday Property

Over on Phillyblog a post indicates some positive news: http://www.phillyblog.com/philly/showthread.php?t=39744

mozaic

I was happy to find that the mozaic web page is up and running tonight. I have it listed in the Frankford Business links section on the right or follow this link directly: http://www.mozaicrestaurant.com/

Northwood Civic Association

The Northeast Times today has a good article about the situation at the Northwood Civic Association. Read it here: http://www.northeasttimes.com/2007/0705/northwood.html

I buy houses - cash - quick closing

Last week I was out collecting the trash cans after they had been emptied. I was bending down to get one that was sitting in front of a utility pole when I noticed this sign hanging up there. It mad me so mad I ripped it down without thinking about it for a second.

Since then I've been trying to remember why that sign made me so mad. Well for one thing if I want to sell a house I'm going to get the best price I can get for it. This guy is looking for bargains and it's not going to be me. Then again he isn't looking to live in the house he buys. He is looking to invest in it which means he wants to make a profit off me and my neighborhood rather than make a contribution to it. And again the sign is ugly and I don't want it on my block. Now that I think about it, I think I did the right thing. Any comments are welcome.