Bringing Together Business and Community in Nicetown

On Monday, September 28, the Nicetown Community Development Corporation (NTCDC) held a meeting to address the problems plaguing the neighborhood. The meeting, which was held at the Touching Your World Church on Wingohocking Street in North Philadelphia, addressed a key problem: how to get local businesses to give back to the community. “They come, they take and they leave” said Majeedah Rashid, Chief Operating Officer of the CDC, referring to the way local businesses interact with the Nicetown community. Rashid, who was addressing the group of residents, said it was important for residents to reach out to business and share information. Rashid proposed creating a strong coalition of neighborhood “block captains.” These block captions would hold regular meetings together and brainstorm strategies for reaching out to local businesses and creating partnerships between them and residents.

One of the objectives said Mike Lynch, who takes charge of block captain meetings, is to keep the line of communication open between residents and businesses. He said it was important to “build a bridge that won’t fall apart” adding that cultural barriers should not infringe upon efforts to establish relationships with businesses.

Tanya Wilson, President of the Nicetown Business Association (NBA), addressed the concerned residents saying that starting small before branching out was a key way for Nicetown to incorporate businesses into its community. One of the efforts of the NBA in coordination with the NTCDC was to place large pots with flowers on the streets of Nicetown in order to beautify the neighborhood. The NBA is hosting a fundraising event called “A Taste of Nicetown” on October 17 at Hot Pot Cuisine, a restaurant serving mainly Caribbean-style food. The event is an effort to introduce residents to local businesses and explore the various cultural aspects of the neighborhood. Though NBA partners with the NTCDC and has made strides to establish these partnerships through these types of events, Rashid said the help of the community is needed in order for Nicetown to prosper.

Group 13, Ayisha Arshad, Morgan Ashenfelter, Nicetown/Tioga