Renovation underway at 47th and Kingsessing.

Neighbors backing the plan to bring two pre-schools to the recently purchased church building at 47th and Kingsessing are collecting signatures for a zoning change that would help make the plan a reality.

Back in January we reported that the 114-year-old Frank Furness-designed church building at 47th and Kingsessing was undergoing renovation thanks to local developer Guy Laren, who bought the deteriorating building and saved it from demolition. Laren’s plans include opening two pre-schools that would occupy about 40 percent of the large building after the renovation has been completed. The schools are Little Learners, currently located next to Four Worlds Bakery on the 4600 block of Woodland Avenue and Children’s Community School, currently in the basement of Calvary Center at 48th and Baltimore. Relocation to the church building would allow both schools to expand and accept more kids for the next school year.

The petition can be downloaded here. Supporters are asking those interested to sign the petition and drop it off at Four Worlds Bakery, 4634 Woodland (you can put it in the mailbox if the shop is closed). You can also show your support for the zoning changes at the Zoning Board of Adjustment hearing on April 15 at 2 p.m. The address is 1515 Arch Street, 18th Floor. Guy Laren and the directors of Little Learners and Children’s Community School are expected to be at the hearing.

UPDATE: There’s also an online version of the petition on Change.org.

Some of the naming opportunities in the Greening Lea project. Click to enlarge.

Want to make a positive, indelible mark on the neighborhood? The West Philly Coalition for Neighborhood Schools has a way to become an important part of big undertaking. Its Greening Lea Project is offering naming opportunities for various parts of the evolving playground at the Henry Lea School.

The school’s playground was expanded last summer and a landscaped perimeter was added to part of the playground in 2012. Now coalition has its sights set on some bigger projects, including the addition of a new green stormwater infrastructure, brick pavers, large shade trees and rain gardens. New hoops will be added to the basketball court and seating will be added to the playground. The changes could make the Lea Playground a prime public recreation spot in the neighborhood.

If they can raise the money.  Continue Reading

A support group for a great local library is seeking feedback from community members and stakeholders that will help improve their work. The planning committee for the Friends of Walnut St West Library is asking for just five minutes of your time to share your thoughts about their work in bringing library services, programs and events in an online survey. The results of the survey will help shape the Friends’ support of the library over the next three to five years.

“The more we can learn about why or how people use the library (or don’t) and what community interests the library might meet, the better we can assess how to supplement the Friends’ support of the library moving forward,” the Friends of Walnut St West Library president Kathy Wheeler wrote in an email.

Another goal of the survey is to gather information on how folks learn about events so they can not only attend library programs but be able to volunteer their skills and time.  Continue Reading

Philadelphia Parks and Recreation is hosting its first annual job and opportunity fair on Wednesday, March 25. The fair will include an information session on the summer employment opportunities at Parks and Recreation pools and camps. Parents and guardians can also learn more about summer camps offered by Parks and Rec.

Job opportunities are available for youth ages 14 and up. Summer camps are for ages 6 to 18.

The fair will be held at Christy Recreation Center, 728 South 55th Street, from 6 to 8 p.m. The info session is from 6:30 to 7 p.m.

For more information, visit the Philadelphia Parks and Recreation website.

Mayoral candidate Jim Kenney (Facebook photo).

The 27th Ward Democratic Executive Committee will host a forum Thursday, March 26 with candidates contending in May’s primary. The forum will include mayoral candidate and former city councilman Jim Kenney and city council candidates Blondell Reynolds Brown, Helen Gym, Ed Neilson, and W. Wilson Goode, Jr., Paul Steinke, and Sherrie Cohen.

The public is welcome to attend this meeting, which will take place at Rosenberger Hall at the University of the Sciences (600 S. 43rd Street, near Woodland Ave.), starting at 7:30 p.m.

This forum was originally scheduled for March 5 but was cancelled due to snow.

The primary election will be held May 19 and the general election is slated for Nov. 3. You can get up to speed on the council and mayoral candidates on the Committee of Seventy website.

– Mike Lyons

Some residents said that their trash was picked up a day late last week. Now we have the explanation. The Philadelphia Streets Department has just announced that due to the extreme weather the city has experienced over the past several winters, an unusually high number of trash trucks, which double as plows, have been either scrapped or are in the shop for major repairs. As a result, trash pickup has been impacted citywide with scattered one day collection delays.

“We understand the frustration that comes with delayed trash collection, and we regret this inconvenience,” said Streets Commissioner David Perri. “During these past winters, there have been several occasions where Sanitation trucks have been fitted with snowplows to assist in snow removal. In these instances, Sanitation trucks account for over one-third of the vehicles used during snow removal.”

Residents are asked to continue placing their trash out on the regular scheduled day at the normal location as delays are expected to continue for the next several weeks. Materials not collected on the scheduled day will be picked up the following day.