The locked gate of Squirrel Hill Falls park at 48th and Chester.

Squirrel Hill Falls Park, a pocket park which was built in the 1990’s but has been closed for years, will reopen for several hours this Saturday for a spring cleanup. The organization that owns the lot at 48th and Chester, Friends Rehabilitation Program (FRP), has allowed the Friends of Squirrel Hill Park community group to enter and clean up the park from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Taking into account the park’s deteriorating condition FRP has two requirements though: Anyone wishing to help in the cleanup has to sign a waiver, and because of safety concerns minors will not be permitted to participate in this cleanup. The Friends of Squirrel Hill Park will have copies of the waiver on hand.

Anyone wishing to help with the cleanup is welcome to join the Friends. The tools will be provided, but you can bring your own rake or set of gloves.

Read more about the latest efforts to reopen the park for community use here.

On Saturday, April 11, thousands of people throughout the city will take to their neighborhood streets, parks or lots for the annual Philly Spring Cleanup. This will be the 8th Spring Cleanup organized by the city and supported by many local organizations. As always, there is an opportunity for everyone to participate in this important neighborhood cleaning and beautification event, and you can now choose and sign up for projects in your area (see map below) by visiting the Philly Spring Cleanup website.

Or just step outside your house or apartment building and pick up some litter, dead leaves and sticks!

There may be some progress in the ongoing efforts to re-open Squirrel Hill Falls Park, the enigmatic gated pocket park at 48th and Chester that has been locked for years. The Friends of Squirrel Hill Park community group have launched a new campaign that they hope will help give the park new life. The newest effort to reopen the park, which was designed and built in 1996 by West Philly artist Danielle Rousseau Hunter, comes after Friends Rehabilitation Program Inc., the organization that owns the lot, indicated that they are interested in an agreement about the park’s reopening. All earlier efforts seem to have fallen through (read our previous story about the park here).

Community support is essential in this process, and the Friends of Squirrel Hill Park are asking all interested residents to participate in a short survey and sign a petition titled “Let’s make progress at Squirrel Hill Park!”

“As a neighbor of the long blighted former park at 48th and Chester, I would like to see something positive at this corner. The park is waiting to once again become a great amenity to our neighborhood, and we are ready to join together to make it happen. We ask Friends Rehabilitation Program to work with the Friends of Squirrel Hill Park to help us bring new life to this unused community space,” the petition reads.

The survey includes such questions as what type of programming you would like to see at the park and how much help you can offer to the Friends of the park.

For more information and to access the survey please go to the Friends of Squirrel Hill Park website. You can also find more information about the neighbors working to reopen the park on the group’s Facebook page.

Some past scholarship recipients (photo from Cedar Park Neighbors).

It’s that time of year again when all sorts of friends and neighbors gather together to eat good food, have fun, and raise college scholarship money for Cedar Park neighborhood kids.

This year’s annual Gary Bronson Memorial Scholarship Fund fundraiser will be held April 12 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the St. Francis de Sales Parish School auditorium (917 S. 47th St.).  The event will feature food and drink from local restaurants, including Gold Standard Cafe, Fu Wah, Aksum Cafe, and others. It will also feature live music from West Philly based singer-songwriter Gretchen Elise, kids activities and music from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.; prizes from local West Philly artists; gourmet gift baskets; and gift certificates to West Philadelphia businesses.

Tickets are $40 and sponsorship packages are also available. Go to the Cedar Park Neighbors website here for tickets and more details.

This is one of our favorite events of the year and the money goes to support terrific young people. Since it began the scholarship fund has raised thousands of dollars and given out 149 scholarships to 71 young Cedar Park residents. Last year’s event raised $10,000 to provide scholarships for eight students.

The large residential project proposed for the corner of 43rd and Baltimore across the street from Clark Park has cleared another hurdle and will now go through a series of reviews at the city level.

The Spruce Hill Community Association zoning committee, the Friends of Clark Park and the University City Historical Society have all approved the plan, according to a recent email announcement from the Spruce Hill Community Association’s zoning chair Barry Grossbach.

The 132-unit building at 4224 Baltimore Ave. would include a mix of condominiums and market-rate apartments. The plan also calls for first-floor commercial space, including a large restaurant.

Three project hearings have been scheduled for this month at the City government offices at 1515 Arch Street. All meetings are open to the general public. The community participation is encouraged, especially for the Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) meeting, which will take place on Wednesday, April 29.

Next week, on Tuesday, April 7, the Civic Design Review Committee will examine the project. Large development projects with over 100 dwelling units, like the proposed apartment building at 4224 Baltimore Ave, require a Civic Design Review. You can read more about this here.

Here are more details on the upcoming meetings at 1515 Arch Street:

Tuesday, April 7 – 1:00 p.m. – Civic Design Review Committee – Room 18-029

Tuesday, April 28 – 1:00-4:00 p.m. – Philadelphia City Planning Commission, 18-029

Wednesday, April 29 – 4:00 p.m. – ZBA (Zoning Board of Adjustment), ZBA Hearing room, 18-002

Photo courtesy University City District.

Spring programming began today at The Porch, the popular public space adjacent to the 30th Street Station. Starting today, there will be more food trucks and lunchtime entertainment, including live music, dancing and Free at Noon concerts. Here’s what will be happening at The Porch this month.

Gourmet Food Trucks (11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.)

Mondays: Say Cheese, BrazBQ
Tuesdays: Farm Truck, Sum Pig
Wednesdays: Taco Mondo, Whirly Pig
Thursdays: Spot Burger, Mac Mart (April 2, 9, 23), Phoebe’s BBQ (April 16, 30)
Fridays: Pitruco Pizza, Mucho Bueno

Lunch Entertainment

Tuesdays (12 – 1 p.m.): Accordion player Dan Nosheny.
Wednesdays (12:30 – 1:30 p.m.): David Falcone, fingerstyle acoustic guitarist and vocalist fusing Celtic, traditional and classical sounds.
Thursdays (12 – 1 p.m.): April 2 – Hoop dancing; April 9 – Bujee Magoo, stilt walking performers.  Continue Reading