Frankford year in Review 2007

This is just our take on it. I am sure there are some things that should be included here but have been overlooked.

• We had a councilman representing us once again. Dan Savage took over the seat held by Rick Mariano. Although he lost the primary to Maria Quinones-Sanchez, he continued to represent us and worked on his agenda for the remainder of his term.


• The Art Holiday closed. This cesspool was a blight on the neighborhood and deserved to die long before the end came. Shame on us for tolerating it.
  


• Sale of the Third Federal Bank building to NIT caused a tremendous uproar. So far nothing on the Avenue has changed as a result.
  


• Demolitions of properties throughout the neighborhood began again this year. The removal of the blighted properties improved the blocks where they had been and creates future opportunity for development.
  


• Frankford's Gambrel recreation center was highlighted on national television with an extreme makeover.
  


• Deni playground once again saw organized baseball for kids thanks to councilman Savage.
  


• The Prisoner re-entry program has continued to be a political issue.
  


• Northwood Civic Association leadership twas urned over to a new team
  


• East Frankford Civic Association also found new leadership and was rechristened the Frankford Civic Association.
  


• Frankford Creek Greenway Master Plan was published.
  


• Frankford Business and Professional Association leadership was turned over to Elizabeth McCollum-Nozario.
  


• Councilman Savage re-established and reorganized the Frankford Special Services District.


• Councilman Savage introduced a bill designating Frankford as a Transit Oriented Development District for the purposes of the rezoning of the City. This is a fundamental part in planning for the future of Frankford.
  


• Mozaic, restaurant and Jazz venue closed on December 7th.


• The Frankford Gazette appeared on the web one day in May.

Happy new Year from the Frankford Gazette.

Anonymous comment:

Thank you for all your hard work.

January 4, 2008 1:44 PM

Welcome to Frankford

On Wednesday, December 27, 2007 on the 4800 Block of Frankford Avenue, Councilman Daniel J. Savage unveiled the new "Welcome to Frankford" and "Historic Frankford” Banners for the Frankford Avenue Business Corridor.

The new banners are part of Councilman Savage’s plan for streetscape improvements for the Frankford Avenue Business Corridor. Councilman Savage said, "Revitalizing business corridors are key to revitalizing our neighborhoods. These banners will add a touch of warmth and class to the Frankford Avenue Business Corridor.” Before cutting the ribbon Councilman Savage said, “This is my Christmas present to Frankford.”

Anonymous comment:

Wouldn't the money be better spent on trashcans, increased lighting, or something that would make shoppers feel more comfortable while patronizing the Avenue's businesses? I hope these banners are not indicative of how the 1 million dollar grant will be spent.

December 31, 2007 2:34 PM

Next week in Frankford

• From the GAR museum: Annual General Meade Birthday Celebration Philadelphia, Penna.: Monday, December 31, 2007 - see community calendar for details
• Tuesday - New Years day
  
• The meeting of the Frankford Civic Association has been rescheduled to be held next week on Wednesday, January 10th
  

Frankford man murdered in West Philly

From today's Daily News:

After visiting with relatives in West Philadelphia Christmas night, Shawn McKnight, 35, went to the Intocable Food Mart on 60th Street near Haverford Avenue to get a Mountain Dew.

He never made it home. He was shot to death outside the store.

"He was the victim of an apparent robbery," said Homicide Lt. Philip Riehl.

McKnight, of Edmund Street near Margaret in Northeast Philadelphia, was shot at about 7:30 p.m. outside the corner store where he had stopped to make the purchase.

Police found him lying on the ground and took him to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was pronounced dead at about 8:10 p.m.

Riehl said detectives were still trying last night to get a description of the killer.

It was reported that McKnight was survived by his fiancee, a 3-year-old son, a 4-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old stepdaughter.

Read the entire article here.

Frankford Christmas Lights

Thanks to a tip from a reader, we have the final picture in our collection tonight. All of these photos were gathered over several nights. We have to admit that we discriminated against those folks who did a great job of decorating their homes but did not end up with something that was easily photographed at night. As my partner noted you can see some of these displays from the space shuttle they were so bright.

Our solution is that next year we will do a daylight tour and also include some video since some displays now include music and those neat inflatable moving snow globes.

This one is from Orchard near Church Street. You can see the full show here.

Special services to return to Frankford

From the Northeast Times:

Business owner Bill Goldshlack tried hard to block re-establishment of the Frankford Special Services District, but, in the end, he just couldn’t pull it off.
In a last-minute push, Goldshlack, who owns the Victor Stores, needed 51 percent of Frankford business owners to oppose the Special Services District — and in particular the taxes that would be assessed by the city to support it.
Goldshlack couldn’t muster that opposition. As a result, Mayor John Street’s endorsement of a bill creating the district is expected to have it up and running before he leaves office in January.
The Frankford Special Services District will encompass both sides of Frankford Avenue, from Torresdale Avenue to Bridge Street, and certain side streets that include parts of Kensington Avenue and Foulkrod, Gillingham, Griscom, Margaret, Meadow, Orthodox, Paul, Pratt, Darrah and Unity streets.

Previous criticism that the system failed in the past due to poor management does not seem to be addressed in the new proposal. Read the entire article here.

"Welcome to Frankford"

From Councilman Dan Savage:

Philadelphia - December 27, 2007 at 10:00 AM on the 4800 Block of Frankford Avenue, Councilman Daniel J. Savage will unveil the new "Welcome to Frankford" and "Historic Frankford” Banners for the Frankford Avenue Business Corridor.

The new banners are part of Councilman Savage’s plan for streetscape improvements for the Frankford Avenue Business Corridor. Councilman Savage said, "Revitalizing business corridors is key to revitalizing our neighborhoods. These banners will add a touch of warmth and class to the Frankford Avenue Business Corridor.”

Merry Christmas

From Plum Street off of Torresdale. See the entire slide show here.

Christmas in Frankford

Wilmot Street. For the entire slide show click here.

Frankford men charged in robberies

Three of our local citizens have been arrested in a series of armed robberies. Read the entire story about this lowlife trio here in the Northeast Times article

Christmas in Frankford

See the entire show here.

St. Joachim Convent may have a new tenant

As reported by the Northeast Times, Catholic Social Services may take over the convent as a community-based home for 16 dependent girls between the ages of 12 and 17. Read the entire story here.

Frankford Group Ministry’s Parent Empowerment Training

The Northeast Times reports on this program run by the Frankford Group Ministry. Read the entire story here.

"Unity is more than just the name of a street in Frankford."

The Northeast Times reports on the closing of Mozaic and the impact it may have on the future on Frankford. Read the entire story here.

Next week in Frankford

• Tuesday December 25th - It's Christmas
• Thursday December 27th - at Northeast Catholic IT Academy - North Catholic IT Academy will host a mini-seminar on creating a “Resume Business Card” Free and open to the public, all are welcome. Seminar to be held on December 27 at 6PM sharp! For more information please call 215-289-9000 or 267-972-0192.

Merry Christmas

On a lovely Friday evening we took a tour through parts of Frankford to see the lights. It was an eyeopening tour and we have posted the pictures as a slide show.

This is a sample from Duffield Street. Click here to see the slide show.

The Twins at PowderMill

Construction on the long awaited new housing at Castor and Wingohocking is about to begin. Follow this link to the website.

Lorenzo Compton

From the New York Times:

PHILADELPHIA — Lorenzo Compton did not have a promising start. His parents kicked him out at 17 for refusing to obey, he dropped out of the 12th grade when he got a girl pregnant, he served almost two years for drug dealing and he carries a bullet in his thigh.

At 43, Mr. Compton is again a force in the Frankford section of northeast Philadelphia — but this time as a one-man block patrol, as a mentor to countless young men, and as keeper of the keys to the fancy new football field that helps bring a ragged neighborhood together.

Read the New York Times entire story here.

Read in the HeraldTribune.com here.

Frankford High School

There are a lot of good things going on in Frankford High but we can't ignore the news:

Frankford High School was locked down this morning while school police searched for a male student who had brought an unloaded handgun to school in a bookbag.

The 17-year-old eleventh grader bolted down a hallway after school police manning the X-ray machine spotted the weapon in his bookbag at approximately 8:15 a.m. Fernando Gallard said the lockdown was lifted at 9:30 when it became clear the student was not in the building.

Read the entire story from the Inquirer here.

Frankford home of the week

This is the 17th week of our series. We found this pair on Jackson Street near Kennedy. Getting ready for the holiday on a rainy afternoon.

Gun Laws Poll

The poll about stronger gun laws has closed. The question was "Do you think stronger gun laws will reduce gun violence in Philadelphia?" This is how it ended:

• 13 out of 30 people said it would reduce gun violence.
• 8 out of 30 said it would not reduce gun violence.
• One thought it would make no difference one way or the other.
• 8 out of 30 said it might help but it would not be significant.

So roughly 43% think that it will definitely help and the rest say no or not much. Clearly we are divided on this issue.

So where does that leave us? Fumbling around as usual. Here are some of my incoherent thoughts:

• People who are straw buyers of weapons that are later used in a crime should be prosecuted as accessories to that crime. I don't know why it is not done now but those folks are far worse than drug dealers and should be treated the same as the criminals who later commit the crime.
• The mostly young people who are the perpetrators of violent crime are on a one way track to nowhere and I wonder why we have let them come to this. It's really easy to say it's not our problem but we are certainly going to pay now or later when we have to support them for the rest of their lives in prison. Why is it that the wealthiest nation in the word can't educate its children and put them on track to a positive life? Might it be that we just don't care enough?
• Have you met a criminal lately? If you think you have not, I would hold on to that thought. The prisons in this country run people though at an astounding rate. They bring them in, hold em and then send them out. Whatever problem they had before they went in are untreated and here they go on the cycle again. They are all over Frankford because it's a great inexpensive place to live. Hooray for us. If any area should support an effective criminal reentry program, it's us. Just don't ask us to do it for the entire city.
  

I would appreciate your comments and I'll publish them in a future post.

Crime in Frankford

A 27-year-old home-health-care nurse thought she was doing her disabled patient a favor when she let him crash at her Northeast apartment early yesterday after an argument drove him out of his own home.

But instead of thanking her, the man allegedly raped her as she slept, police said.

Ernest Johnson, 50, of Frankford, told the victim he needed a quiet place to clear his head, said Philadelphia Detective Joseph Jenkins, and she believed her patient, who walks with a severe limp.

Read the rest of the story from the Daily News on Philly.com here.

Next week in Frankford

• Saturday December 15th - Councilman Dan Savage and Frankford Business and Professional Association Presents Pictures with Santa Saturday, December 15, 2007 1:00 pm to 3:00 PM Frankford Hospital Lobby Free pictures and giveaways. Pictures are on a first come first serve basis!
• Monday December 17th - 8PM - Channel 10 - Clash of the Choirs - Philadelphia choir member Barbara Kellam
• Tuesday December 18th - 7PM - Northwood Civic Association Meeting - St. James Lutheran Church
• Thursday December 25th - 10AM - Multicultural Holiday Party 4620 Griscom St. Sponsored by Frankford Group Ministry’s Neighborhood Parenting Program. Parents and their children, 5 and younger, can learn about the traditional celebrations of Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa with songs, food and crafts. 10 to 11:30 a.m.

Making Philadelphia Safe

From the Institute for Civic Values we have this proposal.

As we at ISCV wrestle with how to contribute most to the anti-violence movements in the City in the coming year, it seems clear to us that we need to achieve two critical goals:

1. Unite all the groups in our neighborhoods working to reduce crime and destructive behavior with those who are trying to help people who commit crime 'go straight' into a comprehensive movement for safe neighborhoods.

2. Establish as a basic goal of our movement not only reducing crime, but reducing the number of people who commit crime. That is the only way to insure that our neighborhoods will be safe over time.

The following is a proposed ten point PhillyBlocks Anti-Crime Neighborhood Agenda built on these principles.

We invite your comments--and especially your statements of support.



Making Philadelphia Safe

A Proposed PhillyBlocksNeighborhood Agenda

Institute for the Study of Civic Values


1. Establish partnership between Town Watch groups seeking to reduce ongoing known criminal activity with those who are fighting code violations and trash dumping and those who are working with ex-offenders and at-risk young people in the neighborhood. Every area of the city should have a neighborhood safety network that includes everyone working on violations of the law from code violations, trash dumping, drug dealing and drug houses, and related offenses.

2. Adopt the “311" System that enables citizens to report non-emergency problems to the City and strengthen the “Eyes and Ears” program of the Managing Director’s Office that enables community groups, block captains, and concerned citizens gain a quick response in dealing with code violations, trash dumping and related problems. Insure that citizens get an immediate response to citizen complaints that sets forth how the City will handle them. .

3. Adequately fund the District Attorney’s Public Nuisance Task Force and broaden collaboration between community groups and the Task Force to address ongoing serious problems in neighborhoods that are well known but not yet addressed by the criminal justice system.

4. Establish a strong relationship between the Police and community groups to implement the G.R.I.P.P Program to encourage people to turn in their guns in every neighborhood and continue to fight for new laws that protect the community from the illegal possession of guns.

5. Enable every Police District to issue its reports on area crime via email to networks that enable citizens to monitor these offenses on a quarterly basis. These reports should be placed on the Police District’s web site, with easy access from city groups.

6. Fight for adequate funding of drug treatment programs to insure that everyone who seeks and needs drug treatment can get it and insist that all drug treatment programs and centers be managed in ways that protect the surrounding neighborhood.

7. Strengthen block association and community organization with After School Programs aimed at providing increased opportunities for young people to get involved in the neighborhood. Strengthen block and neighborhood group partnerships with Truancy Centers, the District Attorney’s Juvenile Aid Panels, and related programs aimed at helping young people overcome destructive behavior at an early level. Support efforts to place young people who cause problems in schools in programs with expertise on helping them move in a positive direction.

8. Secure the fast release of people from the Philadelphia Prison for people awaiting trial for minor offenses, held there simply because they can’t make bail. Support proposals to move people charged with major offenses from the Philadelphia Prison to the State Prison System.

9. Secure an adequate budget for the City’s Probation Department to have caseloads of no more than 125 people apiece and set up a communications system between citizens, the police, and Probation to enable citizens to report to the Probation Department people who may be in violation of their probation. Insist that the Probation Department release a quarterly report on the status of ex-offenders they are monitoring in each division.

10.Fight for funds to support job training and placement for ex-offenders, within a system parallel to the welfare-to-work system. Require as a condition of probation and parole that ex-offenders enroll in a Reentry Center, in the same way that TANF recipients must enroll with the Department of Public Welfare and follow a structured strategy for getting off of welfare.

Ed Schwartz, Institute for the Study of Civic Values, 1218 Chestnut St.,
Rm. 702, Philadelphia, Pa. 19107 215-238-1434 edcivic@libertynet. org

ISCV web site: http://www.iscv. org
Also Check out "Neighborhoods Online" at http://www.neighborhoodsonline. net.
Or in Philadelphia: http://www.phillyneighborhoods. org

"Citizenship is the American ideal. There may be an army of actualities
opposed to that ideal, but there is no ideal opposed to that ideal."
--G.K. Chesterton

These ideas seem amazing rational given the situation we find the city in today. Give them some thought and send any comments you have to the email listed above.

Frankford Civic Association

The East Frankford Civic Association has changed its name to the the Frankford Civic Association. Read about it and other issues discussed at the recent meeting here.

Frankford resident in the news

Thanks to a tip from a reader it's a pleasure to highlight Barbara Kellam. Read the entire story on phillycom here.

Harmonizing

Twenty amateur singers have been holed up at Mount Airy Presbyterian Church many nights as they rehearse for the NBC reality series Clash of the Choirs.

Premise: Five celebs - Patti LaBelle in Philly, Kelly Rowland in Houston, Michael Bolton in New Haven, Conn., Nick Lachey in Cincinnati, and Blake Shelton in Oklahoma City - choose and train 20-member choirs in their hometowns to sing on the four-night live series, starting Dec. 17 in New York.

"This is not your father's choir," says executive producer Jason Raff, immediately apologizing for the cliche. "They won't be in robes holding song sheets." The music and contestants are diverse. R&B star Rowland's crew is rehearsing Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody."

Winners will fund a local charity; LaBelle's is With Our Voices, a health-outreach program.

Juniata's Tim Bolognone, 30, a Frankford High and Bob Jones U grad, apprentice in the cabinetmakers' union, and worship leader at Grace Bible Church in Northeast Philly, has had some stage experience with a barbershop quartet, "but not in front of 11 million people."

Frankford's Barbara Kellam, an airline customer-service rep at Philadelphia International Airport, calls it "surreal" to have been chosen by LaBelle to represent Philly. "I'm seeing myself in commercials, and then I go to work," marvels Kellam, daughter and granddaughter of singers. This is "my breakthrough year," she says. "I was 315 pounds, had gastric-bypass surgery and lost 140 pounds. I also turned 30. I'm on fire!"

Rounding out LaBelle's choir are Amanda Gordon and Liimu McGill of Glenside; Christina Blue of Trenton; Frank DiCristo of Media; Joshua Womer of Mount Pleasant Mills, Pa.; Lucas Lasagna of Allentown; Katie Romano of Norristown; and Philadelphians Arlyn Wolters, Danielle Baker, Darian Moore, Jessie Reed-Benton, J'onett DeVeaubray, Mary McClinnaham, Niesha Cherry, Rachael Sutliff, Robbie Cunningham, Sharon Gary-Dixon, and Shonse Hawkins.

Frankford home of the week

The spotlight falls this week on a house we found over on Cottage Street near Bridge. It's a quite block near the cemetery. And it's only a stone's throw away from an architecturally significant building that I'll post next week.

Mozaic

Posted on the phillyblog today:

It is with the most indescribable sorrow that I announce mozaic is now closed.
I would like to thank everyone who supported this endeavor from the bottom of my broken heart.

Peace,
Joan Oliveto

www.myspace.com/mozaicrestaurant

The photo section is only a very small glimpse of many fond memories.

Next week in Frankford

• Tuesday December 11th - 7:30PM - Historical Society of Frankford - Jim Wiley presents Old Toys and How they Work; Old toys will be on display.
  This is our Winter Social. Please bring tea sandwiches or a dessert to share if you wish. $5.00 Donation for Non Members
• Thursday December 13th - 7PM - Jim Wiley presents "Old Toys and How they Work" Old toys will be on display.
  This is our Winter Social. Please bring tea sandwiches or a dessert to share if you wish. $5.00 Donation for Non Members at Simpson Playground
  

Lydia Darragh

The Garden City (New York) News online edition featured a small story about Lydia Darragh. While she didn't live in Frankford, she came here to pass on some vital intelligence about General Howe's plans. Read it here.

City Year

I recently had a comment on our community calendar from Alesha at City Year. Since it could be easily missed I am going to post it here.

Hello! My name is Alesha and I currently work for a non-profit organization called city year. We provide academic support to 24 schools in the Philadelphia area and are established in 18 cities. My team and I are currently doing our service in the Frankford high school located on Oxford ave. We will be honoring some members of the community next year who have provided an outstanding service to the community and we need some assistance in locating these people. If anyone that reads this or knows of any persons in the frankford area that have performed great civic duties or are an extreme asset to the community please contact me. My e-mail a21lesh@aol.com my phone number is (215) 939-8917 I appreciate this very much thank you.

If you would like more information or would like to suggest some worthy individual call or email Alesha.

History in the Northeast

There is a story in the Northeast Times this week about a new and exciting development. The cooperation of our various historical societies is something that makes so much sense you have to wonder why it has not come before now. However the time seems to be right for this new opportunity to preserve and teach the history of the Northeast. Have a look at the full story.

Frankford Special Services District

There is a letter to the editor in this week's Northeast Times opposing the re-establishment of the Frankford Neighborhood Improvement District. Councilman Savage introduced the bill and hearings have been held. The letter writer asks what is the benefit when a previous version of this idea has been tried and did not result in much improvement.

Unless this new version fits into a comprehensive plan for the future of Frankford, residents and business owners may not see the benefit. If that plan exists, it certainly has not been well publicized.

Frankford home of the week

This week is a neighbor of last weeks featured home. At the corner of Griscom and Harrison Streets.