Philadelphia Neighborhoods: Behind the Bylines

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2011-01-27T10:58:00.002-05:00

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Walnut Hill: Code Blue Remains in Effect

2011-01-26T09:36:00.007-05:00

As another week of frigid temperatures continue for Philadelphia, the city maintains its Code Blue status, not for the safety of its home owning citizens, but its homeless ones. Area shelters, usually only open for the nightly hours, have opened their doors almost round the clock for the health and safety of dozens of those less fortunate.

“Either that or I’ll be at Bethesda,” says Samora Keene, as the 42-year old huddles under a blanket on the corner of 49th and Walnut. “Shelters only take us after dark, at least now we have somewhere warm in the daytime.”

Keene is talking about Bethesda Project, a homeless shelter located on South St. in Center City. While she would prefer to use the People's Emergency Center on Spring Garden which is closer, Keene says that she prefers Center City because the local residents are more generous when she begs on the street corners.

Going into effect on Jan. 6, Code Blue, unlike their medical term counterpart, are declared in the city when temperatures drop below 20 degrees, that includes wind chill as a contributing factor. With this in effect the city has the power to enforce a Court Ordered Transportation to Shelter, designed to get endangered homeless people off the streets, out of the cold and safely into a warm shelter. Coupled with this any government facility maybe used, from public buildings to police stations. After one cold-related deaths this week, 50-year-old Denise O'Hara slipped in her driveway in North Haven, Connecticut and died due to the cold, city and state officials are taking the recent blast of cold from Canada very seriously.

Team 13: Irene Kipervasser and John 'Jay' Jones

Walnut Hill: Green Line Cafe hosts "All around this World"

2010-12-14T14:04:00.000-05:00

“Take an imaginary plane to Bulgaria” says the woman at the head of the room. “ Your fingers are wings. Get ready for take off” So the group starts encircling the half room that they have been designated. A passerby stops at the window to see this strange sight.
The Green Line Café is currently hosting a music workshop for children age 0-8 called “All around this World: presents a music workshop with Svytanya. “These kinds of workshops happen once or twice a month” says the barista at The Green Line Café “It costs five to ten dollars on a sliding scale”.
This hip coffee shop has several locations in West Philadelphia including this one at 44 th and Locust and one on 42nd and Baltimore, and 36th and Lancaster. The way the coffee shop is decorated seems entirely fitting for the kind of workshop as there are different paintings hung on the walls demonstrating artists of all caliber.
“Recently we have been focusing on different parts of Eastern Europe like Estonia, Russia, Bulgaria, and all over the place. This week were going to be focusing on Bulgaria”. To begin the workshop a music teacher in Walnut Hill picks up a guitar and starts playing a song reminding people of how to say hello in Russian.
“Pineapple Apple Apple” says the leader of the workshop and the rest of the group follows while banging on wooden spoons. “This is a rhythm that is important to the kind of music we are learning about today” says the music teacher. “What about Apple Apple Pear” yells a little girl from the crowd “Well we can do that too” says the teachers in between chuckles and the group switches.
People in the half of the room that is still a coffee shop turn away from their bagels and computers to see what’s going on.

Walnut Hill: Watusi Karaoke Night

2010-12-14T12:02:00.000-05:00

“Oh we gone give you something to write about” says Pam, the bartender at the Watusi Lounge on 46th and Walnut. For the last month this location of Watusi has been hosting a karaoke night on Mondays that has been getting people from the neighborhood and beyond out on what have started being cold Monday nights. “People come from North Philly and Germantown to come sing with us” she says

“We start really getting people in around 11”says Pam. At this point only about 9 or ten souls have braved the freezing winds of December in Philadelphia, but those few brave enough have come to sing their hearts out. “Last week you couldn’t even get a seat in hear and it was cold then too” she says.
The beginning notes of Santa Baby trickle out of the stereo and a woman starts singing soulfully. This was sandwiched in between some slower RnB songs. Suddenly about four people stand around the microphone to start singing the song Secret Lovers. Pam goes up and starts singing.

As the time passes more people make their way into the lounge. On their Karaoke nights Watusi, has drink specials with some scandalous names. This is called a “Blowjob” says the other bartender as she shows me a little shot glass with a squirt of whipped cream on top of the liquor. “Who’s gonna eat the pink pussy” says Pam. Once she gets some takers she starts mixing a drink and pours out two of them into some plastic bowls and line them up in front of the customers. These customers proceed to slurp the drink up without using their hands. Everyone in the place seems to be very friendly with each other giving it that real community feel to it.

Walnut Hill: Gardeners Brace for Winter

2010-12-13T16:00:00.004-05:00

On the corner of 47th and Spruce streets in Walnut Hill is a tennis court with a community garden attached to it. The facilities are managed by the Garden Court Community Association and feature more than 20 10x10 plots.

I walked by to check it out and noticed a mother and her young son braving the frigid weather to work on their garden plot. Arielle Jungworth and her husband moved to Philadelphia about two and a half years ago from Seattle, Washington. “I had a nice-sized garden back home and when we moved here, we moved to an apartment so I didn’t have the space to really do anything,” said Jungworth. She said her husband first noticed the community garden more than a year ago and signed up on the waiting list for a plot. Almost a year later, they received a call that no plots were available, but someone was willing to share a plot with them. They eagerly accepted. “We’ve grown tomatoes, basil, lettuce, herbs and kale, a lot of kale. We crammed a lot into this little area,” says Jungworth.
There is a fee of $10 a year to rent space in the garden. The money goes towards general upkeep of the facility. Volunteers also meet up a few times a year to clean up the area around the garden and they work to maintain it yea round. On this bitter day, Jungworth and her 15-month old son James, stopped by their garden to touch it up by weeding and tilling the soil. The temperature was in the low 30’s with a wind chill near 29 degrees, but nothing could stop this mom and son team from doing their work.

Kristina Leon
Walnut Hill- Group 23

City Council Meeting: Councilwoman Brown on Education

2010-12-10T12:42:00.004-05:00

by: Maria pouchnikova and John Buckner

Yet another Philadelphia City Council meeting took place on Thursday, December 9th, 2010 in room 400 of City Hall. Commencing just after 10am, the heavy gavel of Council President Anna Verna resounded loudly throughout the room. After a brief prayer, Madam President Verna introduced and congratulated a number of organizations for benefiting the community in their specific way. Immediately following the recognitions, the council got down to business discussing the legislation and bills of the day. A few main topics came up including the installment of a 6 story billboard at the exit of the Ben Franklin Bridge and towing legislation taking power away from local towing companies. Towards the end of the meeting, Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown brought attention to her minority business issue. Councilwoman Brown stated that Philadelphia "has a 57% minority community, with a school district budget of $2 Billion dollars. Councilwoman Brown pointed out that "80 percent of the student body is minorities" and the outrage of minority firms receiving "Twelve-thousand, eight-hundred and ninety dollars of a seven and a half million dollar contract. Councilwoman Brown is calling for more to be done in the area of minority aid in Philadelphia. City council will consider the issue in future meetings.

Center City: City Council faces resistance with proposed towing bill

2010-12-10T02:43:00.007-05:00

Philadelphia City Council heard voices from the public on several issues Thursday. This is the second meeting in which the general public has been permitted to comment during the weekly meetings. Employees within the tow-truck industry voiced their concerns on a proposed towing bill that would give the Philadelphia Parking Authority more commission.

Jose` Jiral, owner of Derkas Auto on Aramingo Avenue, said the group is opposed to the bill because "it gives the parking authority the power to control the towing rotation list". He believes the bill has a hidden agenda that will ultimately force most private and small towing companies out of business.

The bill would also revise licensing and require the tow-truck companies to re-apply for a towing license. The fees to apply for a license would increase from "$75 per truck to $1000 per truck, "Jiral said. Many other workers are afraid that the bill will cause lost revenue for their companies and lay-offs will happen. "It's taking business away from small business…it's more than regulating," Jiral concludes.

After 3 workers from the industry spoke on behalf of the group, City Council President, Anna Verna informed the room that the bill would be held. The men left shortly after.

Aigner` Clevelamd

Breaking News: Extra Credit

City Council Meeting: The Towing Bill

2010-12-09T21:18:00.007-05:00

by: Maria Pouchnikova and John Buckner

Philadelphia city council held its weekly meeting on Thursday, December 9, 2010. With the pound of the gavel on Council President Anna Verna’s lectern, the room fell silent. After an opening prayer, blessing the council and the city of Philadelphia, Madame President Anna Verna began the session with the honoring of groups that had done public service for the city. With Philadelphia’s modern government operating for the past 59 years, the presence of public opinion at council meetings has never been allowed. However, for the past two weeks, the city council has taken an unprecedented step in allowing Philadelphia taxpayers to speak their minds to the councilmen and councilwomen. One hot topic for December 9^th’s meeting was the amending of The Philadelphia Code in regards to towing. This bill gives the Philadelphia Parking Authority the power to delegate towing procedures in the city. As part of the open public forum, many tow truck operators voiced their opinions on the bill. Local Philadelphia tow truck driver, “June” said, “it’s frustrating, the city is fighting over the little guy and ruining the business for everyone in the name of punishing a few bad apples.” “June” said that “we have kids, mothers, fathers; we are taxpayers just like those council members and they are trying to take us out of business.” The towing bill is still up for discussion before the council.

Carroll Park: Extra Credit, City Council Meeting

2010-12-09T21:08:00.006-05:00

by: Maria Pouchnikova and John Buckner

On Thursday, December 9, 2010, the weekly meeting of the Philadelphia City Council took place. Opening with a prayer, the meeting started off with some awards and recognitions of people who have done some public good. Since Philadelphia’s modern government was founded in 1951, public opinion has not been allowed at the regular council meetings. For the past two weeks, Philadelphia taxpayers have been allowed to voice their opinions on issues before the council members. One such issue was the proposed installation of a 6 story LED billboard. This billboard is to be placed facing the Ben Franklin Bridge, visible as motorists enter Philadelphia.

Many local residents came out to let the council members know they do not want the new bill-board to be put up. Mary Tracy is president of the organization “Scenic America”. He organization fights for keeping America free of billboards and other “visual clutter” to maintain the beauty of the country. Mary strongly opposed the LED billboard and said like all billboards, it will be a “weapon of mass distraction.” Mary continued that the billboard will “use as much energy as 30 homes” and that “during the day, it will use more than that. “ Despite much outcry from the public on the issue, councilman Frank DiCicco stood firm on his support for the sign.

Center City: Mayor Nutter Makes Appearance at Citizen's Planning Event.....

2010-12-07T17:59:00.005-05:00

On Monday, December 6, 2010, the Citizen’s Planning Institute of Philadelphia hosted an awards ceremony to honor and pay tribute to the staff, committee, volunteers, teachers and students who are a part of their amazing program.

Monumental best describes the event which occurred at the Conversation Room in City Hall, located in Center City, Philadelphia. Parents and family and friends came together to watch their loved ones receive recognition for their hard and dedication to the program. Students, ranging from grades 4th to 11th, were awarded with certificates for expressing their creativity in the artwork they put together for the program. As a part of CPI’s Philadelphia2035 plan, the students were asked to create portraits depicting what each of them (students) believes their neighborhoods would look like in the next 20 years or so. Parents stood up from their seats, and cheer for their children as they went up to the front podium, one by one, to accept their awards.

“Children are precious resources for the future,” Gary Jaroub, one of the members of CPI said, during his speech.

Mayor Michael Nutter managed to stop to by for a few minutes. While standing at the podium to deliver his speech, Nutter offered a brief congratulation to the winners, and gave a little some positive input on the Philadelphia2035, and where he see the program going in the upcoming years. “….I’ll be here in 20 years,” Nutter said jokingly.

A fairly new program that is funded by the William Grant Foundation, CPI’s mission is to encourage the residents of Philadelphia to take initiative, when it comes to their neighborhoods. The Philadelphia2035 plan is a sort of like a 25-year contract that promises that the city of Philadelphia will improve in areas such as: growth and preservation, community planning, and housing.

For more information on CPI, please visit http://citizensplanninginstitute.org/ and, for details on the Philadelphia2035 Plan, visit http://citizensplanninginstitute.org/phila2035 .

Teresa Nicole Hatch (of ) Group 29

Extra Credit

Carroll Park: Random Meetings

2010-12-06T14:32:00.002-05:00

On the same morning as we were visiting Bible Way for the first time, Maria and I were approached by a woman who actually invited us to come eat at the church. We mentioned to her that we already had plans of visiting the church and she told us she would see us there. Before we parted ways, the woman made sure to tell us her name. She said, "my name is Pearl M. Jenkins, no don't you forget that now. I write poetry, Iv'e written over 80 poems." Needless to say, after Maria and I had finished our networking at Bible Way, we ran into Pearl on our way to the car. Pearl said hi to us again but for the life of us, neither one could remember her name. She told us we were both young enough to just call her Ms. Pearl. When we finally came back to shoot our project, we found that Ms. Pearl was actually a volunteer for the Tuesday "Outreach" program at Bible Way. We ended up getting an interview with her and were able to get to know her better. We learned about the website www.allpoetry.com where you can read all of Pearl's poems.

Carroll Park: Converting Plots Into Farms

2010-12-06T13:52:00.005-05:00

One aspect of visiting the House of Umoja that we found very profound was their idea for tackling an Urban Farming Academy. In order to fully pursue this new project, Queen Mother Falaka Fattah and her fellow employees need to make one major thing happen. Rightnow, on Frazier street, where House of Umoja owns much ofthe real estate, is onevery large empty, overgrown area of grass. Queen Mother and her head farmer Antonio Colone want to cultivate this larger area and turn it into farming plots to get a jumpstart with their Farming Academy. The House of Umoja wants to bring a change to all of Philadelphia with this program not just Carroll Park. Queen Mother and Antonio Colone feel that farming can bring aboutgreater health awareness for the city aswell as bring a sense of pride to people asthey eat something they themselves grew.

Carroll Park: Carroll Park Breakfast

2010-12-06T13:31:00.004-05:00

One day, as Maria and I were walking through Carroll Park, something jumped out at us that we had not seen the week before. It seemed like out of nowhere a brand new breakfast diner named "Carroll Park Breakfast" had sprung up right on the west side of 52nd street. Maria and I immediately went in to talk to the owner. She wasn't there and we decided we would come back. The next time we came back, the owner was still not in. Yet again, a third time, Maria and I decided to go in and eat, since that would have been better than just coming in and asking questions. So Maria and I sat down for lunch. After talking to our waitress, we found that the owner was not in again. We felt that a new breakfast diner opening up in right on a main street in Carroll Park was a great thing. In this bad economy, a business had opened and had the ability to employ people. Since the owner was not in we couldn't really talk to any of the workers. With the opening of "Carroll Park Breakfast" the residents in the neighborhood have a new place to get a hot breakfast or lunch.

Carroll Park: Meeting with Pastor of Bible Way

2010-12-06T13:11:00.003-05:00

Upon our second visit to Bible Way Baptist Church, we went back in search of the pastor for permission to cover the Tuesday "Outreach" program. The program starts at noon and Maria and I arrived around 10:30. The pastor was scheduled for a staff meeting and it was not looking so good to sit down and talk to him. He had never gotten back to us so we were not able to set up an interview. As we were summoned into his office, Senior Pastor Dr. Damone B. Jones Sr. greeted us and had us sit down. He then went on to explain about how a few years ago, a Temple came to do a story about the church and casted a negative image of the church on a public website where the reputation of the pastor was tarnished. He was very reluctant to allow us to cover the luncheon down stairs. He did not trust us and we had to assure him that our story was strictly about the luncheon and nothing else. After threatening to bring every lawyer and judge he knew against us if we wrote anything negative, he had his secretary photocopy our student ID's. After a little more reluctance, he finally allowed us to shoot video of the luncheon. This experience was very unexpected but we were still able to get permission to do our story. We were unable to have the pastor pose for a picture or give us an interview.

Carroll Park: Bible Way Baptist Church

2010-12-06T13:00:00.002-05:00

In getting started on our final project, Maria and I ventured to West Philly in search of our ideas. We visited Bible Way Baptist Church to hopefully speak to the pastor and set up an interview. He was not in and we ended up having to leave a message with his secretary. We were given a small tour of the church and some volunteers introduced themselves to us. We got a little more information on what was going on for that particular day, Tuesday. We had prior knowledge of a free luncheon open to any and all that wished to come for a hot lunch. Having no equipment and no permission from the pastor to film, Maria and I ventured outside. Along the outside of the church people were beginning to congregate by the door. We both approached and asked the few people sitting there if we could ask them why there were there and get a few pictures. Out of the three or four people in front of us, only one man would talk. John Charleston is a local resident of Carroll Park and was there to enjoy a free meal. Mr. Charleston said he thought the program "helps because we have no jobs and are out of work". He thoughts on the program were positive and when asked about the future of the program he said that "because more people are out of work, more people will become involved."

Mill Creek: Covering the Brightside Academy

2010-12-06T12:16:00.004-05:00

Our final project for this class turned out to be our most challenging. As we reported in our earlier posts, we had planned to cover the Mill Creek School. I had been in touch frequently with the director of the school, Art Friedman. He seemed relunctant, but still willing to meet with me, but due to the Thanksgiving holiday we were unable to make it work. This left us scrambling for another story; we eventually were able to reach the Brightside Academy.

The Brightside Academy is an early education daycare center, and is one of many throughout Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio. We initially were able to get the local manager to agree to speak to us, but found out at the last minute that we needed approval from the marketing department. I spoke to Sidney Rolluck, the marketing director, who has some reservations about our project. After a number of phone calls and emails, he finally became comfortable with our story concept, and granted us permission to film. Our final hurdle came when we arrived to shoot our interviews at the arranged time which unfortunately coincided with nap-time. It was too dark to shoot video, so we had to switch to shooting in audio on the fly, but I think we managed to pull it off. Overall, I'm fairly pleased with the work that we put together. Mill Creek, Benjamin Frommer and John Jones

Germantown: 'Philadelphia: The Great Experiment'

2010-12-05T23:16:00.043-05:00

Sam Katz and Phil Katz screened their pilot film, Philadelphia: The Great Experiment on November 30 at William Penn Charter School, 3000 School House Lane at 7 p.m. The screening was hosted in collaboration with the East Falls Community Council.

The 30 minute pilot episode "clearly shows that the Philadelphia story goes beyond 1776," Sam Katz said.

The film focuses on the period after the end of the Civil War in 1865 and up to and including the 1876 Centennial Exposition. The film is produced by Phil Katz.

The film opens with the funeral of Abraham Lincoln. The melancholy music sets the somber tone of the event. It tells how stores exhausted their supply of black bunting and how nearly 300, 000 people line the streets to see the procession of the funeral.

The film goes on to the story of the Pennsylvania Railroad, the building of city hall, the volunteer fire company, Octavius Catto, who was a black educator and civil rights activist, Caroline LeCount, the desegregation of the trolley car and many other stories.

The film uses a combination of story telling techniques including sketches, black and white photographs, movie clips, interviews by historians and personal accounts from diaries and letters.

After the screening, Sam Katz answered questions from the audience. Several attendees made positive comments about the film including one calling it "a fabulous and educational piece."

Someone asked "Why did they leave out the creation of Fairmount Park?" The reply was that they were trying to maintain a level of intensity- just the "goose bump moments."

Katz said the purpose of the film was to tell a story, do that successfully and to raise awareness.

"What we are trying to do is initiate a conversation about what we will be," Katz said.

I asked him how this project came back? He said he saw the movie on New York by Ric Burns, which last ed 14 hours. Later, he watched "Chicago: City of the Century," which was based on Donald Miller's book of the same title. Then, he wanted to see the movie on Philadelphia. He couldn't find it.

At least now, there is one. Unfortunately, it is only 30 minutes long. Ultimately, Katz said the goal is to create 7 one-hour episodes. They hope to create several eight to ten minutes of webisodes. For more information go to www.historyof philadelphia.com.

By Sue Ann Rybak and Jillian Horn

Fa1028Germantown

photo 1: Sam Katz and Phil Katz at the screening on November 30 at Penn Charter School in the Kurtz Center.

North Philadelphia: Tartaglione's District Offices Collecting Toys for Tot

2010-12-03T23:46:00.016-05:00

For 15 consecutive years, State Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione district offices have hosted "Toys for Tots." This year is no exception. The program which started 50 years ago by the Marine Corps has distributed millions of toys to needy children. The senator made the announcement just before Thanksgiving, that both of her offices in the city will be collecting toys until December 10th.

The offices collects the toys for the Marine Corps says Carmen Sousa. Sousa, who is the Office Manager for the Susquehanna Office says, Senator Tartaglione partnered up with the Marine Corps to help with their efforts to collect toys for children. "We help the Marines collect them. They have a list compiled of families in need and they actually go around and disburse the toys according to that list" she concludes.

The box on this day was less than half full. Sousa, sounding pretty assured said "we do pretty good…usually by next week the box will be pretty full."

Constituent Service Representative, Virginia Martinez said the Susquehanna office has been very successful in collecting the toys throughout the years. "Sometimes we have two boxes full of toys" she adds. As different people come to the office daily, Martinez says that she always mentions

the "toys for tots" box and the need for people to bring in new, unwrapped toys. "I want to make sure the box is full."

Sousa says that people can drop off the toys at the Susquehanna Avenue or Bridge Street locations from nine a.m to five p.m. "It's a way for us to give back" she ends.

For more information or questions visit http://www.toysfortots.org/.

Aigner` Cleveland

Member of Group 24

Extra Credit Assignment

Walnut Hill: The Herb Nook and Wellness Center

2010-12-03T18:02:00.002-05:00

In an unlikely spot between a dollar store and a corner store on Spruce street is found a small herb, natural remedy store called “The Herb Nook and Wellness Center”. Buzzing your way into this hidden treasure reveals Ron Norwood’s smiling face.
“People come to me” says Norwood as he looks through his database to try and find the furthest people come for his services. “ New Jersey, Baltimore, Maryland, Washington D.C.” he says “People know I have a certain expertise in the field”.

“I opened University Herbs originally about 20 years ago on 40th and Ludlow, then moved to 31st and Larchwood, then to 36th and Lancaster where I actually ran three locations and then here.” says Norwood “In that time I have gathered about 9,500 to 10,000 contacts in my database from people who still come to support the store even though I have changed locations” he says.

Norwood also mentions that he teaches healthy living classes in the back of the store every two weeks for a couple months in the fall and a couple of months in the Spring and he happened to be teaching the last one of the season in an hour.
“Soap does not clean you” Norwood says to a group of shocked African Americans ranging between late twenties to mid fifties and me. “If you were to wash yourself with a conventional soap and dry yourself off you wouldn’t be able to see the dirt that was there before but if you were to take a swab, dip it in alcohol and pass it over the same spot that had just been washed What would happen?” he asks the class “it would pick up more dirt” a couple of the students respond unconfidently. “Right because your normal bar soap only picks up the superficial layer but does not attack the dirt that gets stuck in your pores or that gets absorbed into the deeper layers of your skin the dermis and epidermis.” One woman looks as though Norwood has rocked her very foundation.

The way that Norwood attacked the problem of being happy with the skin you’re in is from a scientific perspective delineating exactly what it is that the skin’s role in cleaning the body is. He emphasized that in the last decade a trend has started of people wanting to get their colon cleaned and more generally speaking focusing on cleaning themselves from the inside out. By studying the teachings of a Dr. Jensen, Norwood has come to the conclusions that people should be focusing on taking care of the skin as it is the one of the most important ways the body acts to remove waste.

“Antiperspirants are demonic” says Norwood “We are supposed to perspire, it is one of the bodies ways of releasing toxins.” “In my opinion it is these products that have led to the rise in breast cancer in both women and men.” he explains.

As the class came to a close Norwood discussed different methods that he has found to be effective in keeping his skin healthy including the Dry brush Massage and a Niacin wash. Handouts about the science to dry brush massaging and samples of niacin were offered to the class and everyone went one there way.

Walnut Hill: Homework Not Just For Children

2010-12-02T01:04:00.004-05:00

A group of seven men sat in chairs that formed a large circle. I can not recall a time when I have seen a group of males come together willingly to discuss personal issues, let alone sit in a circle to discuss them. But on this day that is exactly what happened. The reason for them coming together is a common connection they all have...being a father.

Ranging from 24-65 years of age, these males come to the WEST YMCA to take part in a weekly program known as the Father's Club. This program, which is specific to the West Philadelphia section of the city, focuses on providing fathers with information and tools to be a positive figure in their child's development.

On this day the fathers were discussing the homework assignment that they were given the week before. One by one the father's discussed their answers. The assignment was for each male to answer several question that touched on what they individually wanted for their children.

It was funny to notice a few father's writing their answers as another father was reading theirs. A familiar scene in most classrooms when it comes time to hand in any homework assignment. One father told the facilitator to come back to him because he wanted to change something. I chuckled to myself as I recalled several situations like that in my grade school days.

Once the session was over for the day the men said their goodbyes. A few lingered a while longer. When an YMCA employee came into the room and asked the facilitator how much longer he would be because the building was about to close for the evening, I took that as my cue to leave. Driving home I thought to myself, "what angle will I take to this session?" Then it suddenly hit me, why not write about their homework for my homework- after all, homework is not specifically designated for children.

Aigner` Cleveland & Lea Coyle

Group 24 - Walnut Hill

Singled-Out Statistics in Fairhill

2010-12-01T13:22:00.002-05:00

Fairhill is definitely a neighborhood that has seen a lot of crime, drugs, high school dropouts and other negativity. A lot of experts like to link this type of behavior to a lack of discipline at home, especially in single parent households. However, statistics from 2009 show that most families in Fairhill do not actually fit this criteria. While single mothers do make up the majority of homes in Fairhill by 44 percent, homes with married women, or two-parent homes make up about 40 percent of Fairhill's households. Therefore, it is wrong to assume there is an overwhelming number of single parent homes in the area. It is also wrong to link the high amount of crime in Fairhill to this fact.

By Jarret Barbour and Samantha Bucher

Group 1, Fairhill

Northeast: Senator Tartaglione's Office Hosting Toys for Tots Collection Box

2010-12-01T13:21:00.009-05:00

With the holidays just on the horizon, there are many programs throughout the city to help those who are less fortunate. At State Senator Christine Tartaglione's office on the corner of Large and Bridge Streets, they are helping to do their part with a Toys for Tots box.

Office Manager John Duffy says the box has been there for about a week and will stay until December 10th.

"We get a good amount of toys each year," Duffy said. "Most people bring in one toy but a few will bring in a bunch. We always come through for the Marines. All employees bring in at least one toy to contribute"

Tartaglione's office is asking for the community to bring new, unwrapped toys to the office. They also have a location at 127 West Susquehanna Avenue. The offices are open from nine a.m. to five p.m. At Christmas, coordinators and other social welfare groups will help distribute the toys to needy children in the community.

"We've been handling the program for about five years now and there has been positive feedback from the community." Duffy said.

Since the Toys for Tots program started more than 50 years ago, nearly 400 million toys have been collected and distributed to millions of needy children at Christmas.

For more information visit www.toysfortots.org.

By Nicole Dalrymple and Shaun Gallagher Team 3: Northeast

Technology: Potential FCC Bill Aims to Fill Broadband Gaps

2010-12-01T10:24:00.002-05:00

The Federal Communications Commission could be proposing a bill that would further the expansion of broadband services through out the country.

The bill, as a New York Times article reports, would forbid broadband Internet service providers from blocking lawful content from its users, allowing providers to charge different rates for different levels of service to consumers.

In Philadelphia, according to the U.S. Census, 41 percent of residents reported not having access to Internet in their homes, compared to the 34 percent without access nationwide.

This lack of access in Philadelphia has been largely attributed to poverty. According to the U.S. Census, nearly 25 percent of Philadelphians live below the poverty level.

On Nov. 15, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Austin Burke announced the launch of an interactive broadband map that would help individuals identify the availability and speed of broadband connections throughout the state.

The map, which will officially launch in February 2011, is the result of a $7.3 million grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Burke said it aims to identify the “gaps in service so [the state] can implement [the] statewide broadband plan and meet our access goals,” according to a press release.

Meanwhile, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski plans to give a speech in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday announcing the potential broadband expansion bill.

Maria Zankey and Tracy Galloway
Group 18

Port Richmond: A Memorable Jingle Bell Walk/Run

2010-12-01T10:23:00.002-05:00

This Saturday, December 4, at 9:00 a.m., residents of Port Richmond will celebrate their fourth annual Peter J. Hanlon Memorial Jingle Bell Walk/Run. The walk/run is organized by the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) Division 87 and PROPAC to honor the memory of Peter Hanlon.

Despite his perfect health, Hanlon, 48, inexplicably died in June of 2007. Every year since his death, the Jingle Bell Walk/Run has been a tradition residents of Port Richmond have strived to uphold. Hanlon was a transportation manager for SEPTA as well as an officer in the AOH. His hobbies included, competing in marathons and traveling all over the United States. Hanlon was active in the Port Richmond community as a lector and member of the Parish Council at his church St. George, in Port Richmond. Since Hanlon was known for his appreciation and love for the Christmas season, community leaders celebrate Hanlon through their Jingle Bell Walk/Run.

Karen Stankiewicz, a family friend of the Hanlon’s said, “Pete’s gift to us was in knowing him and allowing us to share his love of life, family, friends, faith and the community. His death has left an unfulfilled void.”

Immediately following the race, Stankiewicz, along with other members of the Port Richmond community, will conclude the event with a pancake and sausage breakfast. Terry Lindsey-Welsh will also be accepting donations of new toys that will be displayed in the WXTU Toy Truck Parade the following Sunday morning, December 5. All the toys will benefit the Child Abuse Prevention Effort. Also, all the money raised by sponsors will be donated to the PJH Memorial Fund, which supports Port Richmond community organizations in honor of Hanlon.

“It’s just something nice to do during this time of year,” said Lindsey-Welsh. “It’s a hard time for [Hanlon’s friends and family] but through events like this, it makes the season a little more bearable and easier to get through.”

By: Chesney Davis and Ashley Huber

Center City: Building Through the Years

2010-12-01T10:00:00.005-05:00

The Black Friday rush is over, but the holiday shopping continues and the perfect toy may just be one that is simple and educational. Legos and Lincoln Logs are just two examples of such toys that are on display at the Center for Architecture’s Constructing Play: Classic Building Toys exhibition. The exhibit explains the history of construction toys, most of which were invented over 175 years ago to be used for educational purposes in elementary schools.

“Toys are hands-on. There are a lot of people who can only learn that way.” said Jeff Stockbridge, whose first stop of the night was the car robot display.

This year’s toy exhibit was presented by the Center for Architecture, along with the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Philadelphia Associates Committee, the American Institute of Architects Young Architects Forum and the General Building Contractors Association Young Constructors Committee. After two months of planning, two weeks of assembly, and over six weeks of building the One Liberty Place structure, the display kicked off with an opening reception and toy drive on November 26 at 5:30pm. The entry fee to the party was $20 or a toy donation to be contributed to the Philadelphia's Northern Home for Children. The display includes a historical journey in reverse chronological order from the 21^st Century to the early 20^th Century, documenting construction toys from K’Nex and House of Cards to Tinker Toys and Alphabet Blocks.

“The oldest toys were designed for use in the classroom, but by the 21^st century parents bought toys into the home,” explained David Bender, coordinator for the Center for Architecture.

Located at 1218 Arch Street, the Center for Architecture is home of the AIA Philadelphia is a chapter of the American Institute of Architects which represents over 1,400 members across southern Pennsylvania. The Center for Architecture works to collaborate with the architecture community as well as engage the public. The center offers lecture series, monthly film nights, book talks, professional programs and a walking tour of the city. The building includes a storefront for the AIA Bookstore and Design Center.

Bender considers that while newer toys have stricter child safety requirements, parents still buy the older and educational toys of the 20^th Century, for now.

So what’s the next building block in the construction toy world? The end of the exhibit presents Cubelets. These blocks come in a set of 20, and contain sensor, action, and operator blocks giving users the ability to create robots that move and react to various environmental stimuli. Each block has data built into it and when placed next to another block they communicate, allowing for a different outcome depending on the combination. Costing about $300, only 100 Cubelet kits, which according to Modular Robotics are not yet toys and are still being tested, are expected to be released in January 2011 intended for ages 8 and older.

The Center for Architecture’s Constructing Play: Classic Building Toys exhibition will be open until February 4 and is free admission, seven days a week. For more information visit http://www.philadelphiacfa.org/.

Keisha Frazier, Lisa Wilk Group 16

South Philadelphia: Programs Employing People

2010-12-01T09:55:00.003-05:00

Four over forty years, Programs Employing People (PEP) have been serving the Philadelphia community. This non- profit organization was founded by a group of women who began a summer day camp for disabled children. Currently, the program has vastly grown and offers a variety of programs that provide support for people with developmental disabilities.

PEP now services over 300 people in the Philadelphia area, providing recreationally activities, educational programs and job placement services to people with mental handicaps. One of their programs include the production work center, which provides disabled adults with jobs at PEP. They are required to work 35 hours a week while being supervised by a trained employee. The goal of this particular program is to teach the worker new desired skills and techniques that they can use in all aspects of life. Their overall salary is determined by their output and production while on the job.

This is just one of the many programs offered by PEP. They also provide supporting employment, adult day programs, adult literacy and educational programs, arts and socialization programs, garden programs and camp PEP. Because 37 percent of this organization gains its funding by raising money or contributions, they hold a variety of events that raise money to support their programs. These activities include annual plant sales, flower sales and bowling fundraisers.

Since 1974 the nonprofit organization has offered manufacturing and production services as well. One of these services is the product assembly services. From kit assemblies to contract assemblies, their workers are able to do this because of their spacious work stations at PEP. Other manufacturing and production services at PEP are paper collating services, contract packaging services and document destruction services. Their facility maintenance services are also very widespread ranging from janitorial crews to window cleaning.

To provide all of these programs to the disabled, PEP’s budget is 2.9 million dollars. To help this organization with donations or volunteer work, visit their website.

By: Sheila Kane and James Rose

fa1020

Hunting Park: Community Members Keep Neighborhood Going

2010-12-01T09:37:00.002-05:00

George Hunter sits in a circle with members of his community and begins to rattle off names.

“Papa was there, Jenny was there, Andy was there,” he says to the group.

He’s referring to a group of people who cleared a vacant lot in the community over the span of a year. However, as George speaks one thing becomes clear: the residents of the neighborhood are the heart of the community.

People like Leroy “Chuck” Fisher, founder and president of Hunting Park United are the heart of the community. It’s the passion of people like Hunter, his wife Catalina and Fisher that have helped make Hunting Park a better place.

For Fisher, the reason he and others donate countless hours to the community is not complicated.

“I live here,” he says. “It’s home.”

Andy Nolan, a community member who spearheaded the Hunting Park Community Garden is no different. Nolan donates as much of his time as possible to helping the community.

“It’s a dream,” says Nolan.

And although community members such as Hunter, Fisher and Nolan dedicate countless hours to the community they do not classify themselves as different from any other member of the neighborhood.

“There’s really not much to say [about me]," says Fisher. "[I'm] taking care of my home."

According to Matthew Lin, another Hunting Park resident, the hard work of the community has gone a long way.

“When you have homeowners who want to make a difference that brings stability to the community.”

Residents agree and for them, the future of their neighborhood is a bright one.

"It'll only get better," says Fisher.

West Oak Lane: Education under the Recovery Act

2010-12-01T09:02:00.006-05:00

As part of the Recovery Act, $4.6 billion has been made available for Pennsylvania as of July 9 from the U.S. Department of Heath and Human Services. In total, $645.980,914 will be given to Philadelphia County. The stimulus funds will be distributed among the following areas: education, energy, environment, other infrastructure/housing, public safety, transportation infrastructure and the workforce.

(charts compliments of The Recovery Act in Pennsylvania)

Of the totally, $406,915,996 will be dedicated to education. All of the three charter schools in West Oak Lane were granted funds. West Oak Lane Charter School, housing grades K-8, will receive $547,370. Hope Charter School, housing grades 9-12, will receive $284,810. Imhotep Institute Charter High School, housing grades 9-12, will receive $387,164.

These funds will be used to expand Title I reading and math services, implement a Title I summer school or extended day program, provide intensive professional development for teachers and more.

The School District of Philadelphia as a whole will receive approximately $348,302,283. How the funds will exactly be distributed between school in the School District of Philadelphia was not determined by the official Recovery Act in Pennsylvania Web site.

However, schools outside of the School District of Philadelphia, such as the three charter schools in West Oak Lane, are receiving part of the money that was dedicated to the school district. Concerning special education, with the help of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) West Oak Lane Charter School will receive and estimated $131,395, Hope Charter School will receive an estimated $33,172 and Imhotep Institue Charter School will receive an estimated $201,199.

Samantha Krotzer and Andy Whitlatch

Germantown: Petitioners Want Town Hall to Go from Gloomy to Green

2010-12-01T08:14:00.005-05:00

This year, much of Germantown is asking for one thing this holiday season: a redevelopment of Germantown’s Town Hall. With litter collected on the large stone steps of the historic massive building, many are petitioning to transform the crumbling figure into a modern-day LEED-certified (“green”) facility.

With bordering towns such as Mount Airy and Tioga, Germantown petitioners stress that the Town Hall will stand as the “regional center” of the neighborhood. Being said, Town Hall has been the significant architectural keystone at Haines Street and Germantown Avenue. Petitioners hope that by redeveloping the notable building, there is potential to raise the quality of life for people in the Northwest section of Philadelphia. The main prospect of Town Hall is to serve as a location for many of the city offices. Since the building is city property, it would be understandable that these offices include the District Attorney and Justice Center, State Representative Office, 8th Councilmatic District Office, WIC (Women, Infants, Children), Public Assistance, L and I (Licenses and Inspections), and even rooms for community meetings to be held.

Much of Germantown is speckled with historic buildings-- such as The Wyck House and Upsala-- that are inviting to visitors to Philadelphia. However, while driving down Germantown Avenue, many newcomers to the Germantown may wonder what the crumbling mass of history is. The crumbling and acid-worn facade brings a gloomy air to the avenue. As the Town Hall was built in 1855, the white granite columns, detailed dome roof, and sky-scraping clock display historic architecture that modern day architecture can not replicate.

As the building acted as the center of municipal offices for Northwest Philadelphia then, residents today hope that those of the area hope to renovate the building and revitalize its original purpose. The Central Germantown Council puts forward a figure from $10 to $15 million. UCI architects have studied the existing building and evaluated its present-day condition. The main concern is the decaying exterior of Town Hall, focusing on the roof. The first step would be to renovate the roof on the building, and move on to crumbling stone walls. Each wall would need to be resealed, along with replacing the windows. After the outside portion of the building would be set, the inside would need to be update entirely. UCI Architects found that the building did not meet many of today’s building codes-- which include Safety, Electrical, and Plumbing. Overall, a new HVAC and electrical system would need to be installed, along with adequate flooring.

To petition for the renovation of Germantown's Town Hall, sign the petition on-line at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/gth/signatures .

Team 10: Maria Santilli and Kali Wyrosdic

Fox Chase: MMA Academy in Unlikely Location

2010-12-01T07:48:00.001-05:00

So, I’m walking along Oxford Avenue in Fox Chase one day, admiring the row of stores down the small neighborhood’s main street.

There is a doughnut shop, car wash, McDonald’s, Wawa, Pizza joint, upscale restaurant, MMA Dojo, German market...wait, what was that last one?

Hm. Curious place for a Mixed Martial Arts Academy, don’t ya think?

“Actually, this place is a gold mine,” says Semper Fi MMA Academy Owner, Julio Rosario, an ex-Marine. “A friend of mine majored in business in school, and he said if you can get a place near a McDonald’s you will always have business. People are drawn to McDonald's chains and the stores around. He said they spend something like $1 million on research to figure out where people are and if stores will work there.

“Think about it, do you ever see a closed McDonalds?”

Fair enough.

Rosario, 33, came home from his third tour in Iraq and his brother, a Philadelphia Police Officer, wanted to make sure he didn’t go back for a third. So they rented the space together and started their own business.

“It took about $20,000 to get it started,” said Rosario, who grew up in North Jersey. “We started with about four kids and now we have about 62 registered, which includes kids, teens and adults.

“The kids are my best students,” he continued. “A lot kids are being bullied and some can’t handle it and sadly some end up committing suicide. Learning these techniques gives them confidence, this gives them an opportunity to defend themselves.”

Rosario, who trains his students in MMA and jujitsu styles and also fights in matches sanctioned in Atlantic City and Philadelphia, thought about school and becoming a cop after the Marines, but loves what he’s doing now.

“I love teaching the kids,” Rosario says. “I love keeping them here and off the streets where they’re doing stuff they shouldn’t be doing.”

It’s easy to find. Just look for the bright store front with the mats and heavy-bags in the windows. Trust me. You can’t miss it.

By Tom Rowan Jr. and Gail Austin
Team 2: NE Philly

Germantown: Nostalgia Cafe Is Still Going Strong

2010-12-01T07:45:00.006-05:00

Kris Prieto had her dreams come true on Sept. 1 when she became the owner and head chef of the space at 5815 Wayne Ave. in Germatown, which she named Nostalgia Cafe.

However, 45-year-old Prieto said that keeping that dream has been a bit hard because of fluctuating business.

"These are very hard times," she said. "I'm looking to expand beyond the neighborhood."

Prieto is not willing to give up this dream without a fight, especially because everyone who's come in the cafe after her Nov. 6 grand-opening loves her food and the atmosphere she provides.

To attract new clientele, Prieto said she was going to introduce a special for the teacher's who work at the schools in the Germantown/Mount Airy area, as well as offer to host and cater holiday parties for the local offices.

Prieto's chic blue, white and pink cafe is named after the antiques and heirlooms she used to decorate it. Antiques include her mother's childhood chair, an old tea set, old photograph frames, black and white photographs of mid-20th century celebrities and other objects from Prieto's life which provide her customers with the "feeling of homeyness and nostalgia."

Prieto said the menu selection showed she was conscious of nutrition and "respects everyone's palettes," which is why she includes non-diary and vegetarian items in brunch and dinner menu.

"I am determined to hang in there because everyone loves food, and I put love and attention to every dish," she said. "I have to have faith that will amount to something."

Group 08 Germantown/Mount Airy: Josh Fernandez and Kristen Mosbrucker

Germantown: Chair Caning Pops Up Where You Least Expect It

2010-12-01T07:31:00.004-05:00

When going through historic Germantown, one of the things you would least expect to see is a store specializing in chair caning, the weaving of cane into chair seats and backs. However, that is exactly what Nicholas Thaete has been doing in the area for around 30 years. Originally an O.R. technician. "I was born in Mt. Airy, and I got started when I borrowed my sister's chair caning book. The thing was, she never finished her first chair and here I am," Thaete said.

Thaete has been at his current site in Maplewood Mall for around two to three years, and it's pretty hard to miss when walking through the mall area. From outside one can see antique chairs lining the walls through the shop window, some caned, some waiting to be caned.

"The oldest chair I have in store right now is from around the 18th century," although Thaete later went on to say that he didn't make a habit out of working with this various historical societies in the Philadelphia area because "they have no money." Beyond that, he says that there is a dispute in the business asking whether or not to keep the original canes, or to refurbish the chairs so they can be used. "Most of the chairs I work on are meant to be sat on."

Sarah Fry and Chris Banks

Group 17 – Historical Society

Walnut Hill: Parent Infant Center

2010-12-01T03:51:00.000-05:00

Located at 4205 Spruce Street in Walnut Hill, on the corner of 42nd and Spruce Streets near the University of Penn campus, lies the Parent Infant Center. This center provides care and education for children of many families in the Walnut Hill area, at a reasonable price. In the morning and early evening, a long line of children and their parents can be seen coming and going from the large stone building, housed on the grounds of the former Episcopal Divinity School of Philadelphia.

According to their website, "The University of Pennsylvania opened The Parent-Infant Center (PIC) in 1978 to serve infants and toddlers who were too young for its campus preschool program. A year later, when the University decided to close PIC, parents incorporated the center as an independent, nonprofit organization. " The PIC's after school care center was opened in 1992 for grades K-6. Since 1997, the center has been accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. In 2002, the After School Center was the first school-age program in the Delaware Valley to achieve accreditation by the National School Age Childcare Alliance. The PIC accepts children as young as six weeks old, and many are eligible for scholarships and grants.

Strawberry Mansion: Afternoon Tea Raising Money

2010-12-01T02:25:00.000-05:00

On Friday, December 3rd, the Historic Society of Strawberry Mansion will hold its second annual "Holiday Afternoon Tea." The event - in place to help raise funds for the Historic Strawberry Mansion Geothermal Climate Control Project - will consist of a silent auction, afternoon tea service prepared by Stephen STARR events and live music.

Those responsible for this year's event are expecting a larger turnout than last year. As a result, "we won't be doing the serving ourselves this year," one said. "There just won't be enough man - or should I say woman - power."

The event is scheduled to start at noon and run until 3:00 p.m, but those interested in the silent auction are encouraged to arrive a half-hour early. Among the items available for auction according to the event's website, are "antiques and vintage items."

For those interested, the event is being held at the Fairmount Park Horticulture Center at the corners of North Horticultural Drive and Montgomery Avenue in West Fairmount Park.

By Ari Charlestein
Group 21
Strawberry Mansion

Mantua: Puppet Theater Brings Initiatives to Community

2010-12-01T01:35:00.002-05:00

The Spiral Q Puppet Theater in Mantua is multi-faceted, that's for sure. Part creative outlet, part social movement initiative, and part educational tool, the organization was founded in the early 1990s to serve the Philadelphia community. Among the events they hold is the Peoplehood parade, which takes place annually in October, and it's mission is similar to that of the overall goal of the theater: to exhibit issues in our city through artwork and freedom of speech.

“Peoplehood is our biggest event every year, and we prepare all year for it. So many people come together to make art and just march with us and stand for what we say,” said Liza Goodell, a volunteer at Spiral Q.

Other programs include their educational initiative, where they work with local schools such as J.S. Jenks school and McKinley Elementary. They also offer tours of the building, which can be set up by calling the office.

Team 11: Mantua/Parkside

Rebecca Bleznak and Ethan Chideckel

Olney: A Home for the Holidays

2010-12-01T00:24:00.003-05:00

As the economy continues to slump and many working class families struggle to make their mortgage payments, one home in Olney narrowly avoided becoming a focal point for the issue of foreclosures in Philadelphia.

After Esther Smith’s mother died two years ago, she’s struggled to make her payments on time as a reluctant head of the household to her two sisters and nephew. After she lost her job after missing work to attend to her grief-addled sister, payments piled up until her mortgage company began to go through foreclosure proceedings. With nowhere to go except the streets, Smith vowed to squat in her own home if she had to.

Her struggle caught the attention of the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign, a group dedicated to defending the resources of the working poor. The group pledged to stand by Smith and host a kind of sit-in protest in front of her home at 237 Widener Avenue. If the bank boarded up the windows, the PPEHRC said it would pry them off and move the family back in.

A week after the Daily News published a story on Smith’s situation, however, her fortune changed. An anonymous Samaritan sent Smith a check for $9,100 – enough to cover her overdue payments – just a few days before Thanksgiving.

According to the follow-up story by the Daily News, a note with the check read "Always stay positive. And remember, God provides."

It appears as though Smith’s troubles are over for now, but according to the PPEHRC similar situations are still all too common in the city.

By Zack Shapiro and Michelle Kraus

Group Six: Olney/East Oak Lane

Logan: Standing Strong On Unstable Ground

2010-11-30T23:38:00.005-05:00

Despite being a quarter-century-old problem, the Logan Triangle continues to be one of the area’s most controversial issues. The 35 acres of stagnant land conjures heated debates at community meetings, but fervent arguments often sizzle to sighs of lost hope. One local resident’s opinion remains as hot as it was 25 years ago, when the dilemma began, and justly so. Doctor Donald Turner’s practice is one of the few buildings still standing on the blighted land.

“MAYOR GOODE THOUGHT MY WHITE FRIENDS WOULD HELP ME,” reads a sign on top of Courtland Street Medical, the font larger than that of billboard advertisements. “Things have gone from bad to worse,” explains Turner. He blames former mayor Wilson Goode for the empty land that sprawls out from his building. In 1984, Goode took office, in the following years the deconstruction of the Logan Triangle began.

“My block was the first to be torn down,” explains Turner. He says Goode’s primary concern was to relocate the black residents, which was the entire block aside from him. The Doctor’s small practice was spared, masked as a blessing; it is the only structure on the block that still stands.

The building appears more like a shed from a distance, dwarfed by overgrown weeds which rise halfway to the roof. Along the cement side wall, a staircase ascends a few feet, only to crumble to a detritus of rock and litter. The front of the building, painted white, bows at its base with a decaying sidewalk. “One time a cancer patient fell in a sinkhole,” says Turner, “I thought they’d shut me down for sure.”

He wasn’t shut down. And he won’t be. The city has tried to force the doctor out, but he stands his ground--no matter how unstable it is. “They won’t offer me a buyout,” he says. Relocating without funds is out of the question. Turner has lost, and continues to lose service because of the physical location and condition of his practice.

“I’m embarrassed to bring friends here,” he says, “it’s not the nicest place.” In addition to driving away clientele, Courtland Street Medical’s location and appearance deter potential help from hospitals. “No hospital wants to put money into a place like this,” says Turner.

Things didn’t get any better after Goode left office. During Mayor John Street’s tenure, Councilwoman Marian Tasco confronted him with the Logan problem. Turner claims that the two had irreconcilable personal issues with each other which prevented action from being taken. “Tasco fought with Street,” says Turner, “they didn’t get along, so nothing happened.”

Since the houses in the 35 acres were torn down, Turner’s practice has deteriorated both physically and economically. The building is dilapidated and clientele is dwindling. After pleading his case in court multiple times to no avail, government interest has also diminished. “Judges just sigh at the story,” he explains, “you have to know people to win in court.” Turner continues to fight, always looking for new ways to bring life to the area, but he admits the road has been rough: “It’s difficult, after a while it becomes depressing.”

By Alex Onkow and Stacey Naughton

Fishtown: Frankford Arts Set for December First Friday

2010-11-30T21:37:00.004-05:00

In 2007, the Frankford Avenue Arts Corridor launched its official website thanks to the New Kensington Community Development Corporation (NKCDC). Frankford Ave runs through Fishtown and Kensington and is made up of galleries, gardens, businesses and shops. According to the website, over 200 artists work in the communities which has inspired more homeowners and business owners to relocate to the neighborhood. A comprehensive plan for the Frankford Avenue Arts Corridor was completed in 2004. It aims to maintain the authentic feel of the community and sustain the community’s history.

The revitalization of the corridor has brought together artists and business owners who all have one main focus—economic improvement of the area. With this frame of mind, First Fridays have become a huge event on the Frankford Avenue Arts Corridor. This Friday marks December’s First Friday and a big one for Fishtown.

Highwire Gallery will have an opening reception for their annual Community Group Exhibit, “Art for the Urban Collector,” GERM Books and Gallery will have two art shows, one featuring documentary photography and one featuring found object sculpture and the Walking Fish Theater will have a showing of it’s latest production, “A Fractured Christmas Carol.”

First Friday events don’t end with gallery openings. The night will also consist of deals on seasonal and draft beers at O’Reilly’s Pub, two shows at Johnny Brenda’s and the newly opened, fine art/print and paper collectible shop, Perpetua will be selling antiques and collectibles at half price.

Spending First Friday on Frankford Avenue is the perfect opportunity for some early holiday shopping. Not to mention, you can enjoy most of the events happening on First Friday for absolutely no cost! Head over to Black Vulture Gallery for food and drinks or Liberty Vintage for a live performance by the student band from Philadelphia High School for Performing Arts.

By Lauren Macaluso & Tyler Laurie
Group 13, Fishtown

Strawberry Mansion: A Tour in Stop Motion

2010-11-30T19:38:00.005-05:00

Strawberry Mansion in Stop Motion from Brad Larrison on Vimeo.

For this final blog post we decided to do something a bit different. A stop motion video tour of the streets of Strawberry Mansion, starting at 33rd and Montgomery St. or John Coltrane Avenue. The video is accompanied by John Coltrane's, "While My Lady Sleeps."

Team 04 Strawberry Mansion

By Brad Larrison and Lindsey Burgess

Kensington: Crime Kills Revitalization

2010-11-30T19:17:00.004-05:00

The same night I sat down to write a frustration-filled blog post about the current serial killer in Kensington just so happened to be the same night news broke that the man who was accused of raping an 11-year-old girl in Kensington in June of 2009 finally admitted to his guilt.

The neighborhood which I’ve been hanging around in and reporting on for this class is the exact area where this serial killer has been striking. See the interactive map below.

View Kensington stranglings in a larger map

According to the Inquirer, officials released information on Nov. 23 that DNA evidence linked the two murders to one suspect. A 21-year-old woman and a 34 year-old-woman were found within blocks of each other, both showing evidence of sexual assault and strangulation. Since the discovery of the victims, two other women have come forward and confessed to a man attempting to choke and kill them in the month of October.

While crimes like these happen in the city of Philadelphia almost every day, Kensington just seems to come up on breaking news more frequently than other neighborhoods.

If you search 'Kensington' on Philly.com, your results will consist of seven articles about the serial killer, one about the convicted rapist, one about a Kensington children's soccer team and another about a man shot and killed on Thanksgiving.

A neighborhood that strives so hard to revitalize its community with organizations like the New Kensington Community Development Corporation, is being held back every day by these violent crimes. When broadcast news reporters are warning me to not go into the neighborhood alone, how will the community ever grow and improve?

By Kait Privitera & Eric Pellini

Group 15: Kensington

Cedar Park: Armed and Ready

2010-11-29T22:33:00.007-05:00

Over the past few weeks, crime has drastically increased in, and around, Cedar Park, thefts in particular. According to reports, there has been at least one theft a day. Yesterday evening, between the hours of 6:20 and 7:34 there were four thefts, not including the attack at 8am. G. Whitney, who was attacked at 47th and Baltimore and threatened within the past two weeks, has had enough. Following the attack that left a nasty gash, Whitney has since been patrolling the area, armed with two containers of mace and a well-hidden baton, for his “Babyfaced” attacker.

His neighbors have taken precautions and carry fake wallets, knives, mace and guns. G. Whitney, a two year resident in the area, has a calmer approach and is currently pushing for a Neighborhood Watch program. However, upon his inquiry of a Watch program, he was told that University City officers patrol the area and that the idea was unnecessary. “There’s only so much area they can cover…I wouldn’t mind patrolling the area in shifts. “The difference between being Quick or the Dead [is that] the survivor’s the one who’s prepared and acts decisively to defend him/herself. And in most cases, junior thugs will pass on someone with the gumption to fight…they’ll simply apply their profiling/stereotyping to the next prospect and hope [they’re] more compliant.”

Team 30: Christine Bright

Church Members Against the Building of a Parking Garage

2010-11-29T19:38:00.000-05:00

Arch Street United Methodist

Advocates for the Arch Street United Methodist are opposed to the new development of a parking garage directly next to the 144 year old church. This new development was proposed to the Philadelphia Planning Commission last week by Philadelphia developer Dennis Maloomian. The garage would be located on the south corner of Broad and Arch but zoning regulations do not permit the building of a parcel in that particular area. Despite the unpermitted construction, this development would allow 530 parking spots and the ground floor would include 16,000 square feet of retail and commercial space.

Architects working with the project claimed construction of the garage would not harm the façade of the church in any way but the Church’s congregation is still concerned. The 27 million dollar project has yet to be fully presented to the 375 members. Certain concerns they have include the fragileness of the building, specifically the stained glass windows in close proximity to where the garage would be constructed. Renovation of the church is still being continued and members are worried about how the development of the garage will impact their own buildings construction. A meeting will be held at the Arch Street United Methodist on December 6 that will allow community members and developers to discuss this project further.

Haddington: The Elderly Have A Home Away From Home

2010-11-29T04:27:00.008-05:00

On Monday, November 22, 2010, I made a trip up to the Haddington Multi-Services Center.

Upon my arrival, I was quite surprised by the center’s appearance. For starters, the location of the center was at the corner of the 5300 block of Haverford Avenue in West Philadelphia, and once I made my way to the building I was shocked to see a firehouse station. But, what appeared to be a firehouse station was really the side entrance of the center. I must admit the center was not at all what I had expected. In my mind I assumed the center would be more like a nursing home rather as opposed to a recreational facility for the elderly. course, my original assumption was incorrect.

“This is a facility where the members come to visit us six days a week. During the week, from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., we provide socialization services, and we are funded by the PCA (Philadelphia Corporation for the Aging),” says Cathy Brewington, director of the center.

During my visit to the Haddington Multi-Services Center, Brewington made it a point to inform me about the overall history of the organization. From the conversation between Brewington and myself, I learned the center was created and founded by Geneva A. Black, executive director, who was away from her office at the time of my visit.

According to the company’s website, Black is very active and quite involved with what is happening in the West Philadelphia area. In her time as founder and executive director of the Haddington Multi-Services Center, Black has managed to serve on and act as leader of various neighborhood committees.

In the 38 years this organization has existed, the mission has always been simple: “to provide quality and effective in-home, community services to the elderly population.” Some of the services and activities that are available to the members of the Haddington Multi-Services Center are: arts and crafts, computer classes, exercises and fitness, African American history classes, pool, peer counseling and much more. After my interview with Brewington, I had a chance to interact with some of the members, and see the activities some participate in on a daily basis. I observed as some of the male members played a game of pool. I also took a walk through the dining area of the center.

With the holiday season quickly approaching, the staff at the Haddington Multi-Services Center has their hands full. For good reasons, of course! For instance, one event scheduled to take place at the center is Haddington’s Echoes n’ Concert, on Tuesday, November 30th, from 10:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.

It’s just weeks before Christmas, and the center is preparing for their annual Christmas Bazaar. This particular event will take place at the organization on Friday, December 17th and Saturday, December 18th, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. The event will give members the opportunity to either create arts and crafts gifts to give or to purchase some items from the center.

Thanks to the services provided by Black and the rest of her staff, the elderly of the Haddington community have a home away from their home.

Visit www.haddington.org for more information on the Haddington Multi-Services Center.

Group 29 (Haddington) Teresa Nicole Hatch & Diana Holtz

Mill Creek: The Mill Creek School

2010-11-28T22:50:00.002-05:00

In the coming weeks we intend to perform an interview with the prestigious and long establish Mill Creek School, a 30-year old organization for high school students who wish to find a supportive and healthy environment for young adults who find difficulty adapting to many public high schools and emotion/social concerns. Here at Mill Creek School students can immerse themselves into a trusting yet academically stimulating educational setting and find success beyond the books of mainstream education.

The school promotes social, personal and academic growth among its young minds and in it's over three decades of work has garnered rave reviews from the community, its students and numerous alumni. On average there are eight students to every teacher and historically overall classes sizes are small, the current graduating class of 2010 is only 30 seniors.

Working through the home school districts of their active or potential students, parents do have to pay tuition in order for their children to attend, however instead of paying additional local taxes Mill Creek School offers paid reimbursements through the students school district, meaning that struggling families are not wasting their money on local taxes or to move into the local vicinity of the school. This system means that many students that can't afford to attend a private school now have a fighting chance in a usually competitive academic world of secondary education.

By: John Jones and Benjamin Frommer

Germantown: Ann Hobson Pilot Returns to Her Alma Mater

2010-11-25T00:40:00.052-05:00

Ann Hobson Pilot, the first African-American woman to be appointed to a major orchestra returned to her alma mater Settlement Music School on Sunday, November 23, to perform in Settlement Distinguished Alumni Concert. It was held in the Samuel and Elaine Lieberman Auditorium at the Settlement Music School Germantown Branch, 6128 Germantown Ave.

"It's so great to be back to see so many old friends at the school I played at so many years ago," Ann Hobson Pilot said.

Pilot was joined by BBC New Generation Artist Tai Murray on violin. Murray studied with Joel Smirnoff at the Juilliard School.

Pilot learned to play the piano from her mother, who was a public school teacher. Later, she learned to play the harp from Philadelphia Orchestra Principal Harpist Edna Phillips at Settlement Music's Germantown Branch. Later, she graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music. In 1980, she became principal harpist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Pilot and Murray performed to a packed auditorium. Everyone in the audience seemed captivated by the soothing sounds of the harp and the melancholy sounds of the violin. The program included "Sonate for Violin and Harp" by Gaetano Donizetti, "First Arabesque for solo harp" by Claude Debussy, "Fantaisie for violin and harp" by Camille Saint-Saens and "History of the Tango" by Astor Piazzolla.

At the end of the "History of the Tango," an attendee yelled "Ole'." Pilot and Murray received a standing ovation. It was an accelerating concert full of poetic and vibrant sounds. The audience agreed.

"It was wonderful. They are two very talented musicians," Viola Tribbey, from Philadelphia said.

"I thought it was absolutely fantastic. Every note the violinist played was perfect," William Eaton, who came up from Maryland for the concert, said.

"It was great," Sensa Dornan, who was eight years old, said.

As the first African-American woman appointed principal harpist on the Boston Symphony Orchestra, she is an inspiration to the younger generation. Many people do not know the harp orginated in Africa. In 1997, Pilot was the subject of a PBS documentary, Ann Hobson Pilot: A Musical Journey, after she and her husband traveled to Africa to research the origins of the harp.

The concert was part of The Alumni Series, which was funded by the Pennsylvania Council on Arts and the estate of Jean J. Sterne.

photo top-Ann Hobson Pilot, former principal harpist of Boston Symphony, and BBC New Generation Artist Tai Murray at the reception following the concert at Settlement Music School, 6128 Germantown Avenue on November 23, 2010.

second photo-Ann Hobson plays the First Arabesque for solo harp during her performance at Settlement Music School in Germantown.

third photo-Sensa Dornan, 8, and Raar Corinaldi, 8, enjoyed the concert. They are both Germantown residents.

By Sue Ann Rybak and Jillian Horn

Fa1028Germantown

Temple University: Two Temple Football Players Accused of Rape

2010-11-24T12:47:00.003-05:00

As Temple University's Football team gears up to play Miami of Ohio tonight in Ohio, the outcome of a bigger situation remains on Temple's campus. Two football players have been accused of raping a female student. Ray Betzner, Assistant Vice-President of University Communications said "Temple University received a report of a sexual assault that took place in a University residential hall over the weekend."

The incident is said to have taken place inside of 1300 Residence Hall, located on Cecil B. Moore Avenue. Several students have confirmed that alcohol was present.

A freshmen who lives on the same floor as the players said she knows the players personally and she doesn't "think it's in their character" to do something like this. Another student who lives in 1300 said he has been hearing "a lot of stuff" concerning the incident, including that the alleged victim "was really drunk" that night.

According to Betzer, information concerning the incident is currently being reviewed by the Police Department and Special Victims Unit. Campus Police have directed all questions to University Communications at this time.

Aigner` Cleveland

Extra Credit Assignment

Robbery Encourages More Self-Defense Programs for Young Girls

2010-11-22T23:13:00.008-05:00

At around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, November 17., three young girls were held at gunpoint down the street from the PAL center located on Clearfield and Belgrade streets. One of these young girls was an avid member of PAL and was headed home after a dance class. The gunmen were said to have been asking the girls for drugs and when they said they didn’t have any, the gunmen robbed them of what they did have-their phones and what little money they had in their pockets.

In lieu of this unfortunate event, leaders of the PAL Positive Images Program, Officer Ernie Rehr, Laura Kelly, PAL director, and Patty Pat-Kozlowski decided that instead of their usual

Monday night activity, they would hold a self-defense class for PAL girls in hopes to prepare them for situations like being held at gunpoint, or being robbed.

Sensei Randy Pellowitz and his wife, Deb, from Karate 4 Women, based in Langhorne, P.A. coached the girls through a one-hour self-defense class in which they learned several basic

maneuvers in various attack situations. Pellowitz repeated each

move slowly and carefully so the girls were sure to remember.

“My goal is to not make you experts at what I do,” Pellowitz told the girls. “My goal is to try to teach you girls how to be safe.”

After the self-defense program, Officer Trina Willis, from the 24^th district, also came in to talk to the girls not only about self-defense, but about sexual harassment as well. Many of the girls

asked serious questions like what do we do if we have to walk home alone and should we give the robbers what they want if they have a gun? While these questions may seem easy to answer, when actually faced with this type of situation, it can be hard for young girls to act the way they should.

“If the attacker has a gun, give him what he wants,” Willis said. “You can’t be a hero all the time.”

After the officers left, Kozlowski told the girls that Pellowitz offered them a month of free self-defense classes at his studio if they were interested. After a unanimous, “Yes!” Kozlowski created a sign-up sheet for the girls to write down what days worked best for them to attend so they could plan a time to all go together.

Since the night ended on a heavier note, Kelly decided to give each girl a beanie baby on the way out to lighten the mood.

By Ashley Huber

Cedar Park: Crime Spree

2010-11-22T15:06:00.009-05:00

Its day two and we had already missed the Education conference at the Yoga studio at 45th and Baltimore. Trudging back and forth between extravagant Cafes, desperately searching for a lead, any lead. “Stacy D*****!” “Phil Forrest!” That’s when Phil ran into friend Stacy D. She immediately invited us upstairs and gave an update on the recent flood of thefts and robberies in the area. According to the monthly a meeting held on the 11th, there were nearly 30 or more attacks. And that most of the victims were wearing ear buds and not paying attention.

Two days later I found a public forum where each theft/robbery had been logged. A gentleman, “X” on the forum shared his story about his encounter that occurred a few days ago at 47th and Baltimore Avenue, infront of Fu Wah, Vietnam Cafe, Nick's and Mr. Lee's. When I contacted him, he was more than willing to share his story and said he wished he read the paper before the incident. X noted that most neighbors were and are unaware of what is really going on in Cedar Park. What’s unfortunate is that another “incident” happened yesterday afternoon. X said that “Any press promoting awareness of this issue will ultimately prove beneficial to public safety."

Team 30: Christine Bright

Mill Creek - Mill Creek School

2010-11-22T12:22:00.002-05:00

We will be covering for our final piece the Mill Creek School, at 111 N. 49th Street. The school is described as an "private alternative secondary program," and is designed for students who struggle in larger school settings, have significant social anxiety, or need specialized emotional or learning support.

The school, founded in 1970, is run by Director Adam Levine. It is extremely small, with only about 60 students enrolled and eight teachers on staff.

We hope to speak to Director Levine, a few teachers and hopefully a student or parent about the perceived success of the school. Getting in touch with Dir. Levine has been very difficult, but we are confident that we will be able to get through to him and to cover this very interesting private educational project.

Mill Creek, Benjamin Frommer and John Jones.

North Central: Struggling to Study

2010-11-22T10:12:00.003-05:00

The economy has had a crippling effect on most people. Danielle Moskowitz is a 26-year-old barista from Long Island, NY. She is one of the many young people struggling to make ends meet today. She is a graduate student at the Brooklyn campus of Long Island University. Currently she is working in a coffee house in Brewerytown while she finishes her thesis.

“I’m hoping to be a college professor in the end,” Moskowitz explains, “I’m going for my masters in English with a concentration in rhetoric.” Once upon a time this was attainable, but with the economy in shambles, it’s hard for her, as well as many other students, to dedicate the necessary time to her studies.

“It’s really difficult for me,” she says, “I had to sacrifice a lot to focus on school. I don’t even have cable anymore.” One of her main concerns is how she is going to be able to afford her student loans that will inevitably be looming over her in a few months. “I hope by that time I will be making enough money to pay for them on top of all of my other bills,” Moskowitz admits. She is hopeful, though, as one must be to achieve his or her dreams.

By Lauren Hubbard and Natalie Santoro

North Central

Group 26

Mt. Airy: God Speaks Through The Members of Woodcrest

2010-11-22T01:04:00.004-05:00

The Woodcrest United Church of Christ stands out.

It is a religious institution that has been in existence since 1940. Located in the East Mount Airy section of Philadelphia, Woodcrest shows no signs of leaving the community any time soon.

The seventy-year-old institution is a small division of the United Church of Christ, a denomination and national organization that embraces individuals from all walks of life. Along with Woodcrest, the United Church of Christ is responsible for 5,600 other ministries that exist across the country.

With a tagline which reads: “God is still speaking”, Woodcrest’s overall message is simple --- use the power of ministry and praise to reach out to the community.

“We represent Christ in the world. We are his hands, and his fleet to go out. We should be compassionate and love one another,” Patricia Sampson, Committee Member of the Outreach Program at Woodcrest said.

As long time member of the congregation, Sampson wears several hats at Woodcrest. Not only does Sampson serve on the committee of the Outreach Program, but she is also a Sunday Schoolteacher, and is involved with the church’s Youth Praise Dance team. No matter the years and the number of roles she hold at the church, Sampson feels true service begins with members actually leaving the church’s grounds to bring in local residents. God expects this much of his people, Sampson believes.

“So, we should be active in our communities, not just behind walls, or in stone buildings. But, we have to reach out--- just like Christ did.”

Group 27: Teresa Nicole Hatch

Haddington: Local Rec Center Has a Rich History in Sports

2010-11-22T00:05:00.006-05:00

An elevated subway system, religious institutions, and a strip malls are not the only historical landmarks in the Haddington community. A local recreation center proves a strong presence of sports history exists in the area.

As an organization where the youth is welcomed and athletics is the main focus, the Shepard Recreation Center, which is located on the 5700 block of Haverford Avenue in West Philadelphia, is a place that offers many sports-related programs to its visitors. Some of the programs offered at the center are: age basketball (for children between ages 10 and 16), boxing, martial arts, soccer, track and table tennis. During the summer months, day camp, swimming, and baseball are available to guests. For those who are over the age of 18, the center has an adult male basketball team.

In the four years that Dawn Hoover, assistant recreation leader of Shepard, has worked in her position, she said the center has been a home to several Philadelphia athletes and is the force behind the careers of many sports professionals. “..Wilt Chamberlain, John Cheney are some of the people that have passed through here,” Hoover mentioned.

The Shepard Recreation Center is also responsible for shaping the careers of college players like Andre McCarter and Sonny Hill, and middle weight-boxing champions such as Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins, and Mitchell Allen. In an article published by the Daily News, it was reported that in honor of the boxing champ, Mitchell Allen, his son, who would also play sports at the center along with his two sons, Shepard’s gymnasium was renamed, “The Mitchell Allen Boxing Gym.”

For more information on The Shepard Recreation Center and the Mitchell Allen Boxing Gym, please feel free to visit www.phila.gov, or contact Mitchell Allen at: 215. 850.2701.

Group Haddington: Teresa Nicole Hatch & Diana Holtz

Germantown: Faces Never Fade Remembrance Ceremony

2010-11-20T23:21:00.036-05:00

Face to Face, 109 E. Price St., held a Rembrance Ceremony at St. Vincent De Paul Church in Germantown on Saturday morning to remember and honor community members that died, many of whom were homeless and struggling to survive day-to-day. Students from the University of Pennsylvania School of Business and Face to Face collaberated on a community service project to pay tribute to their lives.

Face to Face is a non-profit organization that seeks to provide "dignity, compassion and a sense of community" to the homeless. For many people it is a home-a place to find a homemade meal, compassion and access to much needed resources. Face to Face provides free meals, nurse managed health care, legal and social services, computer training, creative arts studios, children's after school and summer programming.

Face to Face recently lost two community members: Alice Renzulli and George Winston. Glenn Murchinson, 62, spoke during the ceremony about his friend, George Winston.

"He was a nice guy. People were drawn to him. I knew he was sick but you would never know it; because, he was always smiling. He had this nothing is going to get me down attitude. George could endure anything that fell upon him. Being in the ceremony made me think about how other people have influenced my life," Murchinson said.

Judith Fields, 66, came to remember and honor her mother, Lila Hill.

"My mother went to church every Sunday. She was a kind and loving person. If she could help you out, she would." she said.

Ernest "Flip" Flippen, 70, remembered his friend, Alice Renzulli.

"To Alice, everybody was a friend. She used to make sure I received the newsletter every week so I knew what activities were going on at Face to Face," he said.

Alice was a gentle soul, who loved children. As a member of St. Vincent De Paul Church and casserole cook for Face to Face, Alice's gentle smile and dancing blue eyes will be missed by my family-especially my children, who loved to eat donuts with her and chat about what they learned at church that day.

"You can feel the manifestation of God's love for all human beings here. We are all family here. Everyone should pull together to help each other," Dominque Echevarria, 55, said.

Butch O'Leary is a volunteer at Face to Face. The volunteers are great here, he said. Many of the volunteers at Face to Face are homeless. It is a place where people can come and enjoy a warm meal and peace and quiet. The atmosphere is warm and cheerful, O'Leary said.

"This was a great opportunity to do something meanful and to make an impact on people's lives," said Edward Wadsworth, 19, an University of Pennsylvania student.

"Participating in this community service project has given me the opportunity to work with the homeless and learn from them," said Chris Miller, 19, a student from the University of Pennsylvania.

"The homeless are all sweet and grateful," said Rebecca Wu, 18, said.

She said she is going to continue to volunteer here because there is a sense of community.

Face to Face is hosting a Thanksgiving Dinner on November 25, Thursday from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Dining hall at 109 E. Price St.

Face to Face is more than just a place to enjoy a warm meal and socialize. Jonathan Thompson summed it up when he said, "I will be here on Christmas because this is my family."

By Sue Ann Rybak and Jillian Horn

Fa1028Germantown

Photo 1- Sheila Sharp, who is a volunteer at Face to Face, reads during the Remembrance Ceremony at St. Vincent De Paul Church. 109 E. Price Street. Face to Face held "Faces Never Fade Remembrance Ceremony" to honor homeless men and women that recently died.
Photo 2-Ernest "Flip" Flippen and Mary Kay Meeks-Hank at the reception after the Remembrance Ceremony at St. Vicent De Paul Church in Germantown.
Photo 3- Alice Renzulli hugs a friend outside St. Vincent Church 's rectory. photo credit Blaise Tobia
Photo 4-Chris Miller, 19, a University of Pennsylvania student plays the piano at the reception in the dining room at Face to Face in Germantown on Saturday afternoon.
Photo 5- Jonathan Thompson and Howard Cherry enjoy lunch in Face to Face's dining room.

Walnut Hill: 11th Annual PEOPLEHOOD Pageant and Parade

2010-11-18T15:09:00.008-05:00

Hundreds of people from different communities and organizations throughout Philadelphia gathered near the Paul Robeson house located on 50th and Walnut streets. Children lined the streets wearing colorful costumes. Adults stood holding signs reading "say no to drugs" and "love is all we need". Participants as young as 3 and as old as 93 were spotted taking part in Spiral Q's 11th annual Peoplehood Pageant and Parade.

Leaving from the Walnut Hill Section of the city shortly after 1 p.m. the parade, "demonstrated" through several West Philadelphia neighborhoods. The purpose- to come together as one, no matter your ethnicity and share experiences in a positive manner about discrimination and reactions to it. This year Spiral Q Puppet Theater decided to focus their theme for the pageant on discrimination as recent events worldwide have dealt with the problem.

Horace Patterson, president of the Walnut Hill Community Association participated in the parade with his three grandchildren. Walking the route of the parade, Patterson held the sign for the Association while his grandchildren walked in front of him wearing the colorful puppet costumes.

Ending the parade in Clark Park, near 45th and Chester Avenue, the parade turned into a pageant. Hundreds of people sat waiting for the participants to perform their

scenes. The scenes were set up to illustrate universal encounters with discrimination. The stage for the pageant was in the middle of the park. A barren area, resembling a dirt lot, the participants took turns showing off their costumes and acting out scenes without words to convey their experiences with discrimination.

Aigner` Cleveland

Lea Coyle

Group 24- Walnut Hill

Mount Airy: Theater Group Brings Life Back to the Sedgwick Theater

2010-11-17T11:16:00.002-05:00

The Sedgwick Theater was once a very successful movie theater in the Mount Airy community. This art deco movie palace was built in 1928 and was designed by Architect William Harold Lee.

For about forty years the theater remained in operation, but when it closed in 1966 it was converted into a warehouse. At this time the new owners split the building in two, closing off the lobby and coat check from the main viewing stage. The owners attempted to restore the building, but they did not use the proper materials and actually caused more damage than help to this historic building.

David and Betty Ann Fellner purchased the theater in 1995, creating the Sedgwick Cultural Center which main purpose was to bring the community together and to help preserve the old theater house. Unfortunately the center separated from the theater in 2006, leaving the Fellners to resort to renting the old theater as storage space.

In Fall 2009 the Quintessence Theater Group signed a lease with the Fellner’s to use the theater as their new performance location. Assistant Art Director Pamela Reichen is one of the founders of Quintessence and helped make the decision to move their organization to the Sedgwick Theater. Aside from the building’s dire need for restoration, Reichen believes that the theater fits perfectly with their ultimate vision for Quintessence.

“It’s just an old building and wasn’t necessarily always properly taken car of, “ said Reichen. “But it definitely has a lot of character that we love and it’s definitely very conducive to the type of theater that we do.”

Quintessence discovered the Sedgwick Theater through Artistic Director Alex Burns, who grew up and still lives in Mount Airy. Burns had took Reichen to the theater in hopes of making it their new location for the theater group. The two fell in love with the space and a month later the space was officially the Quintessence Theater.

Burns and Reichen meet about for years ago while working at the Shakespeare Theater in Washington D.C. They talked about the state of theater and where they wanted their careers to go. Together they imagined having a company where they could build a classical repertory theater to develop and produce immediate and necessary performances. In order to do this they knew that they would need the support of the local community.

“This certainly won’t work here without the community’s support. The neighboring businesses on the block have been really great. Probably half of our donors are within a five mile radius of the theater and that is very encouraging to us,” said Reichen.

Although there has been a lot of support from the community, the theater house is in need of some very expensive restoration. Some parts of the ceiling are crumbling and the former stage and its seats are now a storage space for a furniture store that also rents the space. A large black pipe runs across Quintessence’s make shift stage, which was not part of the original design for the theater. Former attempts to repair the building have strayed away from the original Art Deco design, making it less authentic to its time.

“People who have never been here before are sort of blown away by the space because you don’t really get this kind of architecture anymore. The fact that it is still here and still exists has definitely made people understand the need to preserve it and to keep using it,” said Reichen.

Quintessence is now registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, so obtaining funds to restore the theater has been a struggle, but they hope to one day bring back its place as a jewel in Philadelphia’s cultural landscape.

“Our first response to theater space itself was that it could be very similar to the BAM Harvey Theater in Brooklyn, New York,” said Reichen. “If we can just go that extra step and sort of finish it and keep it the way it is would be really ideal.”

Quintessence Theater Group is now showing Plato’s Apology, which will be shown Nov. 10 to Dec. 5, Wednesdays at 7 p.m., Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. There will be no performances Nov. 22 to Nov. 30 due to the Thanksgiving holiday. For more information about Quintessence Theater Group, please visit their website at http://quintessencetheatre.org/.

By Lisa Wilk and Keisha Frazier

Group 16 - Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Northeast: Crime Takes Precedence at Lawncrest Meeting

2010-11-17T09:41:00.008-05:00

The Lawncrest Civic Association Meeting has always been a very vocal gathering. The more than 80 people that turned out for Tuesday night’s meeting had great concern over the recent violence in the community.

William Glatz Jewelers has been a fixture on Rising Sun Avenue for over 40 years. After the recent murder of the well-known, friendly owner Bill Glatz, talk of the tragedy spewed talk for ways of future crime prevention.

Mark Mroz, community relations officer for the 2nd District, acknowledges that police did their job. The second suspect in the Glatz murder has been arrested.

“The shooting could have been prevented if someone at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility would not have let the robber, Kevin Turner, escape,” says Mroz.

It is now known to police that the suspects were casing the jewelry store for three days before the robbery occurred. John Perillo, a resident of the community, brought up the fact that police were not notified of the escape and questioned why.

“That’s a huge problem in reflecting on what happened here and what could have happened here,” Perillo says.

“I think there is some sort of conspiracy.”

Mroz had no idea why police were not alerted and informed. He told the group that a call should have been made to the police department when it was noticed the same two guys kept coming in and not buying anything in the jewelry store for three days in a row.

“If it looks, feels, smells no good—it probably is so give us a call,” Mroz says.

Residents at the meeting asked for more communication and prior knowledge on who police are looking for in the area. In the time before the meeting, Perillo gave Mroz the idea of handing out Most Wanted flyers at the community meetings to get the word out.

“I had planned on handing the flyers out at this meeting, but everyone on our list has been apprehended,” Mroz says.

The group blatantly sighed and laughed in relief. Residents seemed surprised to find out crime has gone down substantially in the community since last month. Mroz reminded the group not to get too ahead of themselves because the holidays are always a reason for crime to go back up. He left the group with some holiday dos and don’ts.

“Please don’t put items under the tree before the early hours or Christmas morning, don’t leave packages in the car, and don’t carry large sums of money or multiple credit cards with you at one time,” Mroz says. “And when you get a new big screen TV and put the box on the front yard for trash, cut the box up, turn it inside out and tie it up.”

By Nicole Dalrymple and Shaun Gallagher

Team 3: Northeast

Germantown: Senior Housing in Foreclosure

2010-11-17T09:36:00.009-05:00

Robert Rowser and his wife have lived in Elders Place apartments for three years. For a 540 sq. ft. one-bedroom apartment rent he pays $724 a month. But he is trying to look for another place to stay because his wife is on dialysis and he's worried about the future. Currently there are over 50 seniors living in his building and he's not the only one with problems.

Mr. and Mrs. Rowser are in need of many repairs. The two major ones are electrical problems and a plumbing. His front door won't lock properly. The list goes on. Despite repeated requests for service for the past two months, nothing has happened.

"I don't think they have the right kind of system. Just come and repair the building. They don't fix nothing, they don't have the equipment to fix anything with."

The reason?

"I think they switched from one company to another I'd imagine."

The current property manager, Kyla Weisman Bayer could not be reached for comment.

This Friday, yet another company will own both Elders Place and Elders Place II as HUD has foreclosed on the properties.The senior citizen apartment complexes were owned and run by Greater Germantown Housing Corporation, a subsidiary of Germantown Settlement. Since Settlement's bankruptcy filing over 45 properties in germantown have been in legal limbo.

HUD, the Department of Housing and Urban Development has decided to foreclose on both Elders Place on Wister Street and Elders Place II on Collom Street. According to HUD documents there is over $30,000 in electrical work to be done for Elders Place alone. The total estimated repairs for Elders Place is over $700,000 to bring the apartments up to federal housing quality standards required by HUD and an additional $220,000 for Elders Place II to bring it up to code.

But these buildings have run into problems since the beginning. Two audit reports by HUD, one filed in April 2007 and another in 2008 disclosed the financial mismanagement of GGHDC. For example, Elders Place II finished construction in June 2004. By March 2007 Settlement still had not filed proper expense reports.

The 2007 report ordered Elders Place II to repay over $80,000 in nonfederal funds because the money was spent for items not eligible for HUD funding. It also ordered Elders Place II to provide documentation for over $600,000 of expenses that they felt were questionable. Of the $600,000 given to Elders Place II $400,000 came from the Redevelopment Authority of Philadelphia.

An example of a violation occurred in December 2006.

The RDA gave Elders Place II $542,345 to be deposited into a project construction account as required by law. Instead $500,000 was deposited into a bank account owned by GGHDC according to bank statements.

In addition, bank records show $85,500 on one occasion and $101,572 on another of HUD funds meant for Elders Place II was paid to Germantown Settlement directly between 2004 and 2007.

HUD found no evidence of a board of directors for Elders Place II and warned that they would foreclose on the property if need be. Also, a 2008 Elders Place audit by could not account for $300,000 of funds and warned of foreclosure.

Both buildings are up for public bid on November 19th. The annual estimated income from the complexes before taxes is over $700,000. Over $900,000 in code violations and repairs are mandated to be taken care of by the new owner.

By Kristen Mosbrucker and Josh Fernandez

Group 8

Germantown

Hunting Park: Reconstruction by Faith

2010-11-17T09:13:00.005-05:00

To the average person the remodeling of this house on North Laurens Street is no different from any other. But for members of One Hope Community Church it’s more than a house, it’s scheduled to be their new house of worship.

Members of the church, some being volunteers, helped purchase the house a year ago. Now they work tirelessly to ready the building.

For one member of the church, Bernadette Sanderlin, the demolition and construction of the new church has given her more than simply a chance to dirty her hands. The construction project also helped her overcome a battle with heavy drinking.

“I traded in a bottle for a hammer,” she says with a smile.

With support from the church she’s now been sober for over a year.

“This is my family. Not by blood, but they support me,” says Sanderlin, whose father, Joe, also attends the church.

Before the project, Sanderlin had never worked with the tools used to renovate the building. She learns on the fly, much like many of the other volunteers working on the project.

“[I work] wherever I’m needed and when I know what I’m doing,” she says.
With help from volunteers like Sanderlin the church hopes to have the building ready before the end of the year.

For Matthew Lin, the church’s pastor, the hard work from church members and volunteers makes the opening of the building extraordinary.

“Because so many people have their hands in it, that’s going to make it worth it,” he says. “People in general like to see people working and invested in their community.”

By Brittany Miller and Kenneth Marone
Team 14: Hunting Park

Germantown: Putting Some Heart into the Feet

2010-11-17T06:19:00.005-05:00

With a brisk winter approaching, harsh weather is something that those living on the streets are dreading. And some time ago, local volunteer Tom Costello found out some interesting information while volunteering at an event in Germantown’s St. Vincent de Paul. Tom Costello, now founder of the Joy of Socks, was told by a podiatrist that the hardest part for the homeless to care for are their feet.
As most homeless depend on donated charity clothes to bundle up in, many have their feet exposed to the cold much more than any other. Socks-- coming in pairs-- are hard to also keep together. And with an estimated 4,000 homeless in Philadelphia-- that’s 8,000 feet-- it is much more of a challenge to keep their feet healthy.
Costello, a professor at the near-by Chestnut Hill College, has organized an event this Friday in which helpers will put together 774 socks, all of which were donated by a manufacturer of Alabama.
Project Housing, Opportunities for Employment, Medical Care, Education, also known as Project H.O.M.E, will be delivered the socks to distribute the socks to the homeless they’re working to serve. The organization in the community is to address the cycle of homelessness and focus on street outreach. While their main goal is to end homelessness, Project H.O.M.E is now taking part in the focus on their feet.
“Its getting cold, but I’m lucky to have shoes.” states Robert, a homeless man bundled in mismatched clothes and while resting Vernon park area. “ But I never have socks. I got these a while back, but I need some new ones. These are worn out!” As many like Robert may not be expecting a warmer winter ahead, they can start staying warmer by keeping their feet warmer. For more information on Project H.O.M.E, visit http://www.projecthome.org/ .

Team 10: Kali Wyrosdic and Maria Santilli

Northeast High School's Basketball Star Returns

2010-11-17T02:40:00.004-05:00

It's not often we talk about a female athlete who is from Philadelphia and playing in Philadelphia, I can't even think off the top of my head of an athlete who is from Philadelphia, but playing somewhere else and people still talk about them (I think people are still upset at Kobe Bryant). I mean how often does the hometown hero things usually workout? Answer is not often, but the neighborhoods of Philadelphia have a new success story and her name is Satoria Bell.

It was late last month that I first learned of Bell and how she became a Temple Owl basketball player. I was watching the women's practice and the team's events coordinator was pointing out six new players on the team this year each by various paths that took them to Temple, but Satoria's story stuck out the most. Originally from Philadelphia where she attended Northeast High School, Bell grew up watching the women's basketball team at Temple play on Broad Street.

Bell started off her college career at two junior colleges before transferring to Temple. She played at Central Florida Community College and Labette. After finishing last season as the fourth leading scorer in the junior college division Bell decided she wanted to be closer to home and Temple was a good fit. Although Temple is top team in the country at the division 1 level, Bell wanted to be closer to home so her family could see her play and she does get more minutes during the season she will have to earn them, as Temple has very good bench.

She was able to break the line up in the first game vs. number seven ranked Ohio State at home and she played well scoring seven points.

A few things to know about Satoria:

Her dream job is to be a paramedic.

Her favorite basketball moment is hitting a three pointer in the regional championships vs. Hutchinson Community College to put her team up by two with seven seconds to go.

Her favorite college class is art of acting.

Port Richmond: True Community Art

2010-11-17T02:14:00.016-05:00

Yesterday, Nov. 17, local residents showed off their painting skills as the Portside Arts Center (Portside) hosted the second of three free mural creation events.

After two years of planning and organizing, the Portside, along with the Philadelphia Mural Art Program, has begun it's development of a mural that will wrap around the outside of the center's edifice.

What is different about this project is the Portside has invited the community to participate on major sections of the mural. In September, at the art center's annual block party, friends of the Portside began to paint whole panels and add buttons to one panel with a colorful fish on it.

Muralist Cesar Viveros designed the project applying his own paint by number system and to decide what images would be on the mural, the Viveros and the Portside enlisted the help of the community, accepting suggestions for designs and themes. Finally, an "under the sea" motif was chosen and to make it educational, the mural will include images of marine life indigenous to Philadelphia, New Jersey and surrounding areas like the shad.

By Chesney Davis and Ashley Huber
Team 12, Port Richmond

Mayfair: International Market Gives Locals Fresh Food Options

2010-11-17T02:01:00.000-05:00

For those who feel there are no good chinese restaurants in the Northeast, a new option has emerged.

The 1st Northeast International Market, which officially opened it’s doors three months ago but are still unpacking their bags, offers an opportunity to purchase fresh chinese cuisine that can be prepared at home.

From fresh fishes, to frozen meals and vegetables, the Market offers a wide variety of oriental tastes that make the unique storefront a welcome change to endless strings of tired eateries such as McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts and various chinese restaurants offering much of the same artificial chinese dishes, within a small radius of each other.

Located below Cottman Avenue near St. Vincent Street only blocks from Frankford Avenue, the supermarket is a good find for locals tired of similar menus from many local chinese-food establishments.

“The owners and workers and stuff don’t speak good english and not many people come and go, but it’s got fresh and clean,” said Mayfair resident Kevin Robinson, while standing in the checkout line. “I mean, it’s the real thing, and it’s not expensive.

“All things considered, this place should be packed!” he said.

By Tom Rowan Jr. and Gail Austin

Team 2: NE Philly

Germantown: Pawn Shop Exists as a Piece of History

2010-11-17T01:28:00.003-05:00

Leonard’s Money Loan may be one of the more unexpected historic sites in Germantown. Started in 1929, the business has always been in Marc Leonard’s family.

“My grandfather started this, so I was basically raised here. I started really working at the shop when I could drive and I started full time in 1979,” Leonard said.

He also noted that he had always wanted to be in this business. “It’s neat, you never know whats walking through the door, and because of that you have to know a little about a lot,” he says as he jokes about being sold a kayak.

Having been operating out of Germantown his entire life, Leonard has seen the neighborhood evolve over the years. “It has really been turning around, in the 1980’s there were a lot of break ins, but now they are building stuff up and the community’s getting a lot safer.” He also believes that the shop plays an important part in the community, offering loans that a bank wouldn’t be interested in making.
While many use eBay to purchase things that used to befound in a pawn shop, he believes that because Germantown isn’t 100 percent computerized that there is still a place for Leonard’sMoney Loan.

Chris Banks and Sarah Fry - Group 17

Logan: Neglect Mars Neighborhood

2010-11-16T23:59:00.018-05:00

Escape the bustle of Center City and one will quickly be thrown into the sprawling grid of houses that makes up most of Philadelphia. Head out in any direction, and it is certain that one will encounter an abandoned building, whether it be a house, factory or store. Once a manufacturing hub, most of Philadelphia’s factories now sit vacant, and with the loss of jobs, the city’s population has also declined.

Logan is no exception. A walk down any of the streets in the 1.6 square mile north Philadelphia neighborhood will be more than likely to yield a derelict building. Old factories stand ominously above row homes, boarded up apartment buildings are guarded by drooping chain-link fences, and numerous homes and corner stores rot away next to occupied houses.

The issue of abandoned buildings is one of Logan’s most glaring problems. With the empty buildings comes other issues--litter, dumping, loitering, vandalism, squatting—an overall decay of the area. Trash is tossed about the sidewalks and building fronts, at times so multitudinous it overbears the pavement. The faded, decrepit rags that remain of former cardboard boxes and other garbage reveal that little has been done to reverse the matter.

Citizens are outraged. They speak at meetings and address the issue vehemently. Call for action. Wait for the city to move. But it is autumn’s leaves that are generous enough to mask the problem.

Ironically, the much debated Logan Triangle is a breath of fresh air in the neglected neighborhood. Perhaps, the empty land that has marred the neighborhood for so many years is the solution. It is mocked by residents, yet remains, sadly, the most notable landmark of Logan.

What downsides, if any, does the enclosed vastness, with its few protruding houses, cause compared to a vacant factory? It offers no refuge for homeless, or clandestine hangouts for youths, and has no walls to be covered with graffiti.

Since its steep economic decline, city planners in Detroit have looked into condensing the city—keeping the population concentrated. Some plans suggest leveling entire areas without any intent of rebuilding. Although Philadelphia’s situation is not as severe, a vacant lot is usually less of an eye-sore than a boarded up building.

And of course, there is the possibility for development. In a neighborhood with nearly 20 percent of its homes vacant, prices are appetizing, but most other selling points are not.

The problem is the due in part to the city. The Logan Triangle is testament. It has sat vacant for over 25 years despite fervent resident protest. Numerous factories loom over the neighborhood, crumbling, vacant for even longer than the triangle. As litter accumulates on the streets and forgotten structures melt into the ground and rust into the landscape, it seems that hope for a brighter Logan is slipping.

By Alex Onkow and Stacey Naughton
Group 5

Olney: A Block's Pride

2010-11-16T23:41:00.004-05:00

The 6100 block of North Franklin Street is officially the cleanest in all of Philadelphia.

Set up in the corner of Olney near the Fifth Street business district and across from Fisher Park, the block is a bubble of beauty that seems out of place not only in the neighborhood, but perhaps the whole city. Lines of small gardens sit in the front of every bright green lawn and seasonal decorations hang on the front of every door and window. Across the street, the tenants tend a garden along the edge of the park. Within this whole perimeter, there is no – absolutely zero – trash.

Last week the street won the city’s Clean Block Contest, a sort of beauty pageant run every year by the city's Keep Philadelphia Beautiful group. At a reception held after the announcement, the block’s team of dedicated fixer-uppers received a ceremonial check and met with Mayor Michael Nutter.

The winners of the contest receive $1,000 to help improve the block further. According to Philly.com, the residential team plans to use it on solar lighting, sidewalk upgrades and a scholarship fund for school supplies for the block’s kids.

By Zack Shapiro and Michelle Kraus

Group Six: Olney/East Oak Lane

Northern Liberties: Zoning Accomplishments

2010-11-16T23:19:00.004-05:00

The Northern Liberties Neighbors Association is proud of what they have been able to accomplish with zoning in the past five years. The association’s zoning chair, Larry Freedman, pointed to three crowning achievements by his group in the area of zoning. First of all, the association was able to battle accessory dwelling units, or single-family houses that are turned into multi-family houses. “We fought against R10 [multi-family residential] zoning, and were able to convert it to R10A [single-family residential] zoning,” said Freedman. This means any homeowner looking to rent out part of a dwelling, even to parents, would have to struggle to apply for a variance.

Freedman also cited his association’s work in requiring people who wanted to build a garage in a single family dwelling to obtain a variance. “This off-street parking led to difficulty parking,” said Freedman. This was because the garages would take more than one parking spot off of the street. Previous to the association’s work, it was exceedingly easy for people to build front-end, first floor garages on their houses.

The third zoning change that Freedman rattled off was a tightening of height restrictions for commercial uses. Previously, C3 designations were popular for businesses in Northern Liberties, which meant they had no height restrictions. However, Freedman and his fellow zoning committee members convinced the Zoning Code Commission to switch many buildings classification to C2, which meant there were height restrictions. This meant slightly lower density, and less of a downtown feel.

Andy Sharpe and Taara Savage-El
Group 19: PlanPhilly

Walnut Hill: Diversity Shows in Neighborhood

2010-11-16T22:29:00.007-05:00

If you find yourself walking along the streets in

the Walnut Hill neighborhood of southwest Philadelphia you will experience the cultural and ethnic diversity of the neighborhood.

In Walnut Hill there is the heavy presence of an African community, including Ethiopians and Moroccans.

Evidence of African culture seems to emanate into the streets as Ethipoian and Moroccan restaurants advertise dishes native to their respective countries.

There is also a Islamic presence in the community as signs are printed in both English and Arabic.

The Association of Islamic Charitable projects mosque at 45^th and Walnut streets is appropriately placed to serve the growing African-Islamic community.

In concert with the Islamic traditions in the community, most of the restaurants serve Halal food.

Walnut Hill is growing in a diverse way, as of the 2000 census, black residents consisted of nearly 67 percent of population of Walnut Hill, while the population that was neither black, white or Hispanic was 12 percent.

There is also a population of people from the Middle East to add to the diversity.

Women dressed in veiled Muslim garb walk the streets in this quaint section of southwest Philadelphia that is quickly becoming a reflection of its growing and diverse citizenship.

Sean Rossman and Drew O'Meara

Group 7: Walnut Hill, Cedar Park, Garden Court

Strawberry Mansion: Historic Landmark Closed for Repair

2010-11-16T22:14:00.002-05:00

Nestled in a verdant, quiet corner of Fairmount Park sits Historic Strawberry Mansion, the landmark that provides the surrounding North Philadelphia neighborhood with its quaint title. Originally known as “Summerville”, the building was constructed in 1790 by a well known lawyer and abolitionist by the name of Judge William Lewis. The two large wings that flank the mansion on either side were added by Judge Joseph Hemphil, the mansion’s second owner. The name “Strawberry Mansion” came to be during the residency of Mrs. Grimes, who was known for selling strawberries and cream to neighbors and visitors.

The interior of the building is rich with history and embellished with numerous items from the past, including everything from antique canopy beds to an enormous doll collection that is housed in the mansion’s unique attic. The historic site typically provides tours from July to mid-December for out-of-towners and local history buffs alike, however, it is currently closed to the public. Interior and exterior structures, including the fragile roof beams that support the ceiling, were in a state of great disrepair but are in the process of being restored and preserved.

Team 4

Lindsay Burgess and Brad Larrison

Fishtown: NKCDC Offers Free Flu Shots

2010-11-16T20:14:00.011-05:00

The New Kensington Community Development Corporation has been offering the Fishtown neighborhood many free events since its inception, perhaps none more important as on Monday. Over the past few weeks, the corporation has provided the community with an opportunity to secure healthcare information and get free flu shots for three hours. The event was put on by the neighborhood advisory committee and Quality Community Healthcare inc. provided the flu shots.

The best part of the event was that the flu shots and information was available to anyone, not just registered members of the NKCDC or people who live in that area. The free flu shots were part of the neighborhoods conscious effort to limit the outbreak of influenza and other sicknesses during the wintertime in a neighborhood that has many people without health insurance. Quality Community Healthcare inc. provides this service to any center that gets approved by the community government and will provide this and other services free of charge. They are a company based out of Philadelphia and have been all in all areas of the city, but mostly have been based out of the Northeast. The event has gone right along with many of the events that the NKCDC has attempted to put on in the past year. The group has focused on health and sustainability throughout the year, and will continue to offer forms of free health care throughout the winter.

By Tyler Laurie and Lauren Macaluso

Group 13, Fishtown

Center City: Youth Health Empowerment Program Reaches Out

2010-11-16T19:16:00.003-05:00

The AIDS Activities Coordinating Office reported 808 cases of children ages 13 to 19 with HIV or AIDS in Philadelphia in 2008. Another 5,872 young adults between ages 20 and 29 were also reported infected.

Located at 112 N. Broad St., the Youth Health Empowerment Project is a community-based health and leadership development program for Philadelphia youth. The program is a branch of its mother organization, Philadelphia FIGHT, a comprehensive AIDS services organization. Each year, Y-HEP serves over 8,000 high-risk, hard-to-reach teens and young adults in the Philadelphia area.

“It is a place that really reaches high-risk young people who are disconnected from other services or their families,” said Juliet Fink, the Director of Education at Philadelphia FIGHT.

Peer-led workshops, outreach programs, and a peer education academy are only some of the ways that Y-HEP helps these youth. Y-HEP also provides a drop-in center for Philadelphia youth.

“They can come to the drop-in center to get showers and food, to do their laundry, or to meet with a family-planning counselor or a trauma therapist,” said Fink. “Most of the youth that we see have extreme cases of trauma in their lives.”

The program is currently piloting a new project called Dance for Life. “We’re going into schools and using dance as a way to inspire young people to take action against HIV and AIDS,” said Fink.

By Tracy Galloway and Maria Zankey

Team 18, Technically Philly

South Philadelphia: American Swedish Historical Museum

2010-11-16T17:18:00.004-05:00

By Jim Rose and Sheila Kane

The city of Philadelphia has a long list of historical sites. On the list is the oldest museum in the United States.

The American Swedish Historical Museum was founded back in 1962 and has been preserving and promoting Swedish and Swedish-American culture heritage and tradition for more than 80 years.

Located in the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park in south Philadelphia, Swedish history, art, architecture, music, science and technology can come together.

Today the museum consists of 12 permanent galleries, one changing exhibition gallery and a library. Three of the 12 galleries are devoted to the history of the New Sweden Colony. Other galleries ranging in style form Art Deco to International concentrate on more recent Swedish contributions.

The museum also offers many different educational programs for all audiences. They offer programs for school classes, Swedish cooking classes, Swedish language classes and other activities that focus on Swedish heritage.

The museum also has a gift shop where you can find everything from books to candy, to Dala horses and jewelry.

The museum is open Tuesday to Friday from 10 to 4 and Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 4.

Parkside: Lone Standing Tire Center In Parkside

2010-11-16T10:31:00.008-05:00

"This is the only place like this where people can come and get their tires fixed, or get another tire in the whole neighborhood," said Kwamir Turner (Pictured to the right) of C-D-M Tires. C-D-M Tires is a tire outlet in the West Philadelphia community of Parkside that sells and repairs tires for a discounted rate. "Were aware that a lot of people in the community have fallen on some tough times, that's why we try to make our tires affordable," said Turner.

C-D-M Tires has been open for about eight years now. They are located at the intersection of Aspen Street and Lancaster Avenue in Parkside. They do relatively good business because they are the only tire center in Parkside. They are open Monday through Friday from eight Am until five-thirty Pm. They are also open on Saturday from Eight Am until four Pm. "You can count on me to be here everyday as long as were open," said Turner who has been working here for a little over three years.

Ethan Chideckel and Rebecca Bleznak

Group 11 Mantua/Parkside

Germantown: Germantown Town Hall

2010-11-15T23:39:00.030-05:00

John Churchville refers to Germantown Town Hall as the "Gem of Germantown." He is working on "The Town Hall Project" in conjunction with Philadelphia University's School of Architecture to create a "Green Business District" along the Germantown Avenue Business Corridor contiguous to Town Hall. The Town Hall is the "Green Gem" or centerpiece of a larger plan by The Greater Germantown Business Association to create a "Green Business District." He is working to make Germantown one of the greenest cities in America.

What the Germantown Town Hall needs is a political leadership with a vision," said Churchville. "The most creative things happen in a down economy."

Churchville envisions the Germantown Town Hall being a Green Business Incubator. The goal is to combine both historic perservation and an energy efficient design. The goal is to create a multi-use LEED certified, geothermal/solar facility.

Germantown Town Hall was placed on the National Register of Historic Places Inventory for Colonial Germantown Historic District in 1982.

According to the Preservation Alliance, it contains several rare historic treasures including a clock made by Isaiah Lukens in 1828 that had once hung in Independence Hall. It also contains World War I Memorial tablets and a bell by John Wilbank that was cast in the same shop as the Liberty Bell.

Germantown Avenue is one of the longest historic districts in the country. Germantown Town Hall should be restored to its orginal grandeur. Currently, there is a petition available on-line to save Germantown Hall.
For more information go to http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/gth/

By Sue Ann Rybak and Jillian Horn

Fa1028Germantown

Photo captions from top to bottom:

photo top- John Churchville, CEO of Liberation Fellowship Community Development Corporation stands in front of Germantown Town Hall, 5928 Germantown Ave. He is working with Philadelphia University's School of Architecture and The Greater Germantown Business Association to create a "Green Business District" along the Germantown Avenue Business Corridor continguous to Town Hall.

Photo 2-left- Germantown Town Hall has beauithful architecture.

Photo 3- One of many broken windows in the Germantown Town Hall. The three-story building, once the center of Germantown, sits neglected and abandoned.

Photo 4

The orginal building was built in 1855 and rebuilt in 1923. Germantown Town Hall is a registered historic site.

Cedar Park: Elena's Soul Cafe

2010-11-15T21:32:00.002-05:00

Elena's Soul Cafe has only been around in its current form for only two years but the space has a long history in the community dating back a full century.
In 1909 it began as Steelman's Cafe, a bar which remained open until the National Prohibition Act went into effect in 1920. During the 13 years of Prohibition it served the community in a few different ways, including as a meat market.

With the end of World War II in 1945 the shop again began serving alcohol, this time as Al's Tavern which it remained named until one of the employees named Leroy bought it in 1976 and named it Leroy's Showcase Lounge. Leroy's was around for 32 years until Algernong Allen, the current owner bought the bar in 2008 and renamed it Elena's Soul Cafe, after his mother.

These days Elena's is reaping the benefits of community renewal programs which have brought new faces and also new money to Cedar Park. Allen said of his interest in the bar, “I own a few other properties in the neighborhood. I had come in here as a customer and saw it was laid back, I saw how the neighborhood was becoming really cool and decided to buy it.”

Elena's hosts a wide variety of events now. “We've got lots of events. Jazz, blues, we do everything from Mennonite players to hip hop to a jam session every Thursday,” Allen said.
With its history going back a full century Elena's Soul Cafe is still serving as a neighborhood hub of creative energy, where everyone can gather and enjoy some of the artistic variety that Cedar Park brings to Philadelphia.

Christine Bright and Philip Forrest
Team 30

North Central: Going Green on Girard

2010-11-15T11:19:00.003-05:00

After winning Best of Philly in 2005 for their Fairmount Avenue location they decided to branch out and open a Mugshots on Girard Avenue in October. Mugshots is a coffee shop built with a philosophy that stems from improving the environment and the people within its environment.

They specialize in vegan treats and locally grown and produced food. All of the coffee sold is fair-trade and all of the food is organic and locally grown. Pete Corning, 22, is a barista at Mugshots. He explains that Mugshots has a, “buying program where people can get locally grown produce from Lancaster farms and pick it up here.” The products are shipped to the coffee houses from a cooperative named Lancaster Farm Fresh. But that’s just scratching the surface, they also use environmentally-friendly cleaning products, dispose of trash into a compost pile and recycle everything possible.

Another barista, Emily Fell says that, “Not nearly as many people are interested in vegan food as we thought there would be.” The new location also affected the first location. “There were a lot of people from the Girard area that used to go to the Fairmount location,” Fell continues, “so the new location has definitely distributed the business a little.”

Although Mugshots tries to do a lot of the community, Corning is not sure that the community is quite ready for it, “They’re trying to do to Girard Avenue what they have done to Northern Liberties,” he says, “there has been a lot of major overhaul in the neighborhood.”

There are high hopes for the new location, “Fairmount has been a good location for us because there are more people in this area who are more willing to pay a little bit more for organic goods.”

By Lauren Hubbard and Natalie Santoro

North Central

Group 26

Fairmont: Cerulean Art opens the Artistic Scene in North Philadelphia

2010-11-14T23:55:00.004-05:00

Down Ridge Avenue, past the imposing yet abandoned tower of Divine Lorraine, stands Cerulean Arts, a blue faced building among an otherwise uninteresting section of Philadelphia. Yet this tiny beacon of artistic creativity has brought culture to the area, with the massive piece of perspective mural work directly across the street, to the promoting of a wide variety of art in its windows, Cerulean Arts stands fast to its mission of bringing aspects of the Avenue of the Arts into north Philadelphia. Where most galleries specialize in one form of artwork, to one demographic of clientele or media form, owners Michael Kowbuz and Tina Rocha have decided to establish a center to meet the needs of all, artists and art buyers. From purchasing the ideal piece of art for yourself, Cerulean Arts tries to separate itself from the crowds of curators looking for the next big thing, from the art connoisseurs following the latest trends, offers itself up as an entity where anyone and everyone walking in right from the street or seeking something specific will find something to their liking. On top of that they offer numerous classes in some of the most basic forms of artistry, like acrylic painting to perspective drawing, to the more exotic like a traveling class around Philadelphia to major iconic buildings to sketch.

By: Ben Frommer and John Jones

Olney: Building an American Life

2010-11-10T22:06:00.003-05:00

Every year, hundreds of immigrants sign up to spend their weeknights at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Literacy Center, an English as a Second Language school based out of the basement of a Catholic church up along North 5th Street. When they graduate in June, the students know enough English to communicate in stores and at their jobs, and maybe enough to become citizens.

The school was founded and is still run by the order of Catholic nuns of the same name. Classes began formally in 1989 when the program attached itself to the Mayor’s Commission on Literacy, a city-run program to network together and support individual literacy programs. In the years since then, the classes have gotten so popular that the IHM Center regularly has to turn students away due to limited space.

Jean Baptiste started out as a student at the IHM Center, but has since graduated and gone to college. Years later he came back and now teaches English to newer immigrants. He believes that they can easily relate to him, since he has just gone through the process, and that learning English is a crucial step in building a life in America.

“It’s very, very important [to learn English] because we can make progress – we can see that. When they come here, some of them don’t even know how to speak, how to talk, and then now after a couple months they’re progressing,” he said. “We can see that [it helps them]. Some of them go for citizenship and pass; some of them get drivers licenses and apply for a job. That’s how we know that the language we’re teaching here helps them.”

Walnut HIll: The Paul Robeson House

2010-11-10T14:28:00.000-05:00

Located at 4951 Walnut Street, on the corner of 5oth Street in the heart of Walnut Hill, lies the Paul Robeson house. This historical building is a museum dedicated to the life of the acclaimed scholar athlete, performer and human rights activist. Robeson was a Walnut Hill resident living in the house for the last 10 years of his life before his death in 1976. You have most likely heard his rendition of "'Ol Man River" from the musical Showboat.

The son of an escaped slave, Robeson was an outstanding athlete and valedictorian of Rutgers University. In the US and British film industries, he became one of the first black actors to play dignified roles. Later he became a civil rights activist, fermenting his legacy as a true Renaissance Man. His restored home is now a shrine to his legacy and ideals. Students from schools in the area frequent the house on field trips, and there are also art and writing workshops or both children and adults. Tours of the house can be scheduled by appointment.

Kensington: The Future of Food

2010-11-10T14:26:00.004-05:00

Kensington has been over-run with convenient stores and fast food for far too long and residents are starting to take notice.

Lena Helen has been a resident in the area for the past two years. She labels her neighborhood as the “edge of the food desert”. “Looking around the neighborhood for areas to improve, food seemed like a no-brainer,” says Helen.

Helen and a few other local food enthusiasts joined together in 2008 to create Kensington Community Food Co-op. For those not familiar with Co-ops, the organization’s goal is to provide fresh, local food (both organic and conventional) to their fellow neighbors. Their goal is to open a cooperative grocery store by winter of 2011.

The grocery store will be open to anyone but shoppers will have the opportunity to become members of the cooperative by investing with a one-time fee. Once a member, you have the option of becoming a “working” or a “non-working” member for the chance to earn extra KFCC dollars for each hour you work.

As far as the exact location and esthetic design of the grocery store, the planning is still in the works. “The store will thrive if it has the neighborhood feel. We have to survey residents to see what the community wants and needs,” says Helen.

According to KFCC’s Community Forum release, a meeting concerning the Co-op will be open to the public on November 17^th at Philadelphia Brewing Company (2423 Amber St.) from 6:30 – 9:00 PM. The meeting will serve as a forum for all those in the community who wish to voice their grocery shopping needs.

By Kait Privitera and Eric Pellini

Team 15: Kensington

Northeast: Tot Recreation Conference

2010-11-10T09:33:00.010-05:00

On Saturday November 6th, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation held a workshop at the Pelbano Recreation Center and Northeast Older Adult Center located on Bustleton and Solly Avenue. The workshop, called the Tot Recreation Conference, was designed to help their recreation leaders use various ways take care of the children who come to the centers, including nutrition, arts and crafts, phyiscal games and a seminar on inclusion.
Program Coordinator Anne Marie Dunne says the Recreation Center hosts after school programs as well as tot recreation.
Dunne said, “We're here to help define motor skills with projects for the kids to do.”
A large focus was designed around the seminar on inclusion. The idea behind this conversation was about how to include any child in activities who may have a disability ranging from physical disabilities to ADHD.
With more than 20 women in attendance, they each broke into small groups and were given a disability they would have to face at the recreation center. District Manager Kathi Muller lead the discussion and had the women write their ideas on large pieces of paper. Muller not only wants to include any child in the activities available, but also wants the recreation leaders to help parents if there may be a problem with their child.
“Eighty-five percent of parents know if there's something not right with their child,” Muller said. “But we need to help provide them with the information and access to collective services they need.
The groups then went around explaining what they would do if they had a child who was deaf, had downs syndrome, speech problems, autistic or shy. The women all had a way to have activities to include these children and also a way to direct the parent's attention if the disability is not known.
“We're not diagnosing the children,” Muller said. “We are a partnership with the parents for these children.” Muller explained how all of the programs they do are centered around the children.
“We don't have certified teachers but just really good people who do great things for these kids.”

Nicole Dalrymple and Shaun Gallagher
Team 3
Northeast

Center City: LGBTQ Archives open window to gay history

2010-11-10T09:33:00.008-05:00

It’s not often that LGBTQ history is taught in your average history classes, but Philadelphians who are interested in learning about it luckily have comprehensive resources at their fingertips.

The John J. Wilcox Jr. GLBT Archives of Philadelphia is housed in the William Way Community Center, and it’s one of only a handful of GLBT archives in the country.

Candice Thompson, the director of Center Services for the William Way center, said the archives are organized by volunteers who work to preserve the material and arrange and describe them. She said historians and documentarians have even used materials from the archives to compile entire LGBTQ history books.

The archives host thousands of periodicals, magazines, newspapers and journals dating back to the 1950s to the present, as well as audio-visual content with hundreds of tapes, CDs and DVDs of local talk shows, erotica and interviews. The full run of the Philadelphia Gay News can also be found in the archives.

Those looking for books about LGBTQ history can access travel guides, rare LGBTQ history and culture books, as well as novels dating back to the 1950s.

The archives also collect a collection of memorabilia, including T-shirts, awards, pamphlets, posters and an abundance of pins.

Thompson said the archives are open to the pubic, but the best way to access them is to make an appointment through the William Way Center.

Tracy Galloway and Maria Zankey
Technically Philly
Group 18

West Oak Lane:Daren Dieter

2010-11-10T08:21:00.002-05:00

Daren Dieter is paralyzed from the neck down. He was shot four times in 2007 while he was on a date. Interviewing Dieter was one of the most difficult interviews I've ever held.

Dieter had invited me into his home to talk, but there was still such a strong sense of invasion. No matter how much you think you are prepared to speak with a victim, there is no real way to prepare to know what to say to them in return. I struggled with what to say when Dieter made it very clear that if he had the power to kill himself then he would.

Several stories were published in the local media about this shooting when it first happened, but Dieter said that no one has contacted him after the fact.

"My issues haven't been brought to light as much as I would have liked them to," said Dieter.

Dieter's father interrupted the interview and said that anytime he wanted me to leave he can tell me to leave. And that he can't let me edit him, he has to edit himself.

I completely understand Dieter's father's words to his son. For the first time I actually felt like maybe I was invading this victim's privacy.

Brewerytown: New Cafe Location Opens on West Girard

2010-11-10T08:04:00.003-05:00

Mugshots Café’s third location is up and running at 29th and Girard in Brewerytown and thus far business has been great. There are currently two other stores, one is located in Manayunk and another neighbors the Eastern State Penitentiary at 21st and Fairmount. “This weekend was off to a good start,” says Jasmine, manager of the new location and former employee of the Fairmount café. The newest member of the Mugshots family is owned by Angie Vendetti who also owns and runs the other two sister stores.

The coffee shop features a vegetarian-friendly menu, including items like vegan chili and even a vegan B.L.T. Paintings produced by local artists hang on the freshly painted walls and are for sale at modest prices. The interior structure of the café is stunning and unique with a large arched ceiling and antique lighting fixtures that truly represent the historic nature of the Brewerytown neighborhood.

There are high hopes for the store’s success, especially since the other locations have yielded very positive results. “I worked at the Fairmount store for two years and this weekend’s opening sales were very comparable to that of Fairmount’s,” Jasmine says. With the current commercial revitalization occurring on West Girard, Mugshots will likely fair well and act as a welcomed hub for the community.

Lindsay Burgess and Brad Larrison

Team 4

Port Richmond: Ernie Rehr

2010-11-10T05:44:00.003-05:00

Officer Ernie Rehr has been with the Philadelphia Police Department for twenty-six years. In 1990, Rehr decided he wanted to get more out of his career as a police officer and asked for a transfer to Port Richmond where he would find himself taking on the role as the Rizzo Police Athletic League’s Positive Images program director. He has held this title to date.

“I accept the responsibility of being a coach, mentor and role model to these girls,” Rehr explains in regards to the adolescent girls active in the Positive Images program. “I do a lot of one-on-one, hands on type of stuff with the girls. I take my job very seriously.”

PAL is a unit within the Philadelphia Police Department that is a non-profit organization geared toward helping out young people in a specific community. There are currently twenty-seven PAL centers within the city of Philadelphia. Each center is supervised by Philadelphia Police Officers who are assigned full-time to direct activities and oversee the young people. Rehr is glad to have sole responsibility of the PAL center located on 2524 E. Clearfield St.

Rehr stresses that the most important thing, besides a higher self-esteem, he wants the girls to take away with them is the same sense of giving back to the community he had as an active cop in the city of Philadelphia.

“We’re doing a food drive for one of the food banks in the area,” Rehr says. “I challenged the girls to raise one-thousand cans of food. If they accomplish that, my friend Kathy Killian, will give each girl two tickets to a Phillies’s game.”

Killian, who now is the director of Group Sales for the Philadelphia Phillies, used to work closely with Rehr in their fighting crime days.

“Her story as a former PAL kid is inspiring to these girls,” says Rehr. “I hope they can see, through her story, what having a positive image of yourself can do for you later in life.”

Overall, Rehr sees the Positive Images program as a success and hopes to remain director of the program for a long time.

“Making the right choices, positive choices is something very important and I’m glad I can play a role in raising these girls.”

Team 12: Ashley Huber and Chesney Davis

Germantown: Wyck Historic House Starts 'Cabinet of Curiosities' Tour

2010-11-10T02:27:00.009-05:00

During a time when most are finding their entertainment through some sort of technology, museums like the Wyck Historic House and nearby Woodmere Museum seek to improve audience participation through interactive tours. While the Woodmere Art Museum at 9201 Germantown Avenue will be adding informational numbers for visitors to call via cellphone, the Wyck House is taking a simpler approach. Instead of taking an auditory approach to the subject, Wyck's new free, self-guided tour titled the "are you curious tour" makes the visitor use cards and their brain.

After a a short tour of the house's exterior from curator Linda C. Keim that gives the context of the historical house (which used to be three buildings believe it or not), you are guided through the Dutch double doors into the house and brought to the center room where an old-style dark wood postal cabinet stands. Inside the cabinet are cards with clues. Scattered throughout the Wyck's rooms are many objects with labels. You put the two together.
Keim said the dual goal and challenge of the historic house is to attract and keep the attention of its more upper-class regulars while engaging a cross section of interested locals who happen to be walking down the street. All in all the new 'exhibit' is pretty effective, it nabbed a few innocent couples walking down the street, and it does increase audience participation.

Team 10: Maria Santilli & Kali Wyrosdic

Germantown: Give and Take Jugglers Work from the Community

2010-11-10T00:08:00.006-05:00

When you think of Germantown, one of the last things many would think of is juggling, yet it is the home of The Give and Take Jugglers, a group that practices juggling, along with other circus arts out of the neighborhood.

"It started as a hobby that got out of control," said director and founder Dave Gillies. A former school teacher, Gillies used the art form because it's something that kids can pick up quickly. "It was an interesting way to make points during teaching," he said, "I think it conveys the message that learning is fun, the kids would try a bit and they would surprise themselves with what they could do. Also, kids who don't have that much success in other areas find that they have success in this."
"The performance can be used as a tool to add to the teaching" added Eric Geoffrey, a juggler who went through anapprenticeship with the program and has worked previously with the Ringling Bros.

About half the work the group does is performing in schools, according to Gillies. However, they do more than perform, they also teach workshops at the schools they perform at. While kids of any age can learn the skill, the best age range is "upper elementary" according to Gillies.

"If you look at a lot of people who do juggling, they all picked it up sometime around 5th grade," added Geoffrey. Gillies has been in the Germantown area foraround 30 years, and in that time he's seen the area change for the better around him.

"It seems that once Dave came in the area started improving around him. First his house was painted, then the others around him started repainting...there's a lot more vitality in theneighborhood now."

Sarah Fry and Chris Banks

Group 17

Feltonville: Transcending the Statistics

2010-11-09T22:48:00.005-05:00

Although predominantly Hispanic, Feltonville is home to a variety of cultures. “Just walk down Wyoming Avenue, every sign is in a different language,” explains resident John Gonzalez. Gonzalez is a father of five, and has lived in the area his whole life. He says the variety of cultures integrate gracefully.

Nearly one-fifth of current Feltonville residents were born outside the United States. About fifteen percent of total residents can speak little to no English. Feltonville also shares an unfortunate common trait with most high-minority populated areas: poverty.

An estimated 36 percent of Feltonville residents live below the poverty line—that’s 14 percent higher than the city’s average. Poverty among minorities is due in part to poor educational attainment, and Hispanic dropout rates are traditionally the highest. On average, neighborhoods like Feltonville will see about half of high school freshmen graduate.

Various establishments throughout the area have taken action to turn around the educational struggle. The quickly growing Esperanza College offers a GED program as well as a two-year degree program with special aid for Spanish speakers. The Wyoming Library hosts free ESL classes in Spanish and Chinese. And various private owned after-school programs are sprouting up.

In addition to the various educational services, businesses are opening too. Along 5^th Street new Hispanic owned restaurants and hair salons, mostly private and or family owned, are appearing beside established businesses. Feltonville residents have already overcome cultural differences amiably. Now the economic growth as well as focus on education could allow Feltonville to turn around the problems that afflict minority neighborhoods.

By Alex Onkow and Stacey Naughton

Group 5

Hunting Park: Meet the Mother of Hunting Park

2010-11-09T21:43:00.006-05:00

Blowing kisses and waving as she walks down the street, community stakeholder Catalina Hunter isn’t addressed by her full name. Instead, neighbors, family members and kids simply refer to her as “Mommy”.

This reference isn’t just a name, it defines the very role Hunter plays within the community. Hunter says she cares for every child in that area, as if they were her own.

“I have more than 100 kids, and pictures of them on my wall in my store, every couple of years they’ll pop back up, I always remember them,” said Hunter.

Her grocery store, located on 4th and Cayuga Streets is a place where Hunter is able meet and reach people from all over the city. However, loyal customers in Hunting Park come for more than just food or candy.

“People come looking for counseling and prayer,” said Hunter. “I used to evangelize children and hold bible study.”

Aside from caring for residents, Hunter is involved in the community as well. Hunter is a member of local organizations such as Hunting Park United, an active church member of One Hope Community Church and an activist for community affairs.

“I have one purpose,” said Hunter. “I want it to be better, it’s the rehabilitation of the community.”

By Brittany Miller and Kenneth Marone
Team 14: Hunting Park