The Blanche A. Nixon Library after renovation (rendering image).

Rebuild Philadelphia, the City’s program that invests in public spaces, broke ground on a major renovation project for the historic Blanche A. Nixon Library located in the Cobbs Creek neighborhood of West Philadelphia (at 58th and Baltimore).

“Built in the 1900s, the Blanche A. Nixon Library requires critical accessibility improvements to equitably meet the needs of all the residents it serves,” Mayor Jim Kenney said at the groundbreaking ceremony held last week. “The renovations at Blanche are set to transform and restore this historic building into a clean, safe, modern, and accessible community asset for many generations to come.”

A community staple within the Cobbs Creek neighborhood, the Blanche A. Nixon Library is undergoing major renovations thanks to Rebuild’s $8.5 million investment, which includes nearly $1.7 million in grants including $250,000 from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and $1.4 million in federal Community Project Funding (CPF) for ADA upgrades to the library, secured by U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA).

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Winter holidays are approaching fast, and residents have a chance to make them brighter for local kids by donating toys. One of local holiday toy drives is being hosted by the Office of Councilmember Jamie Gauthier (3rd District). There are two ways to donate:

First, toys can be purchased online from one of these toy registries: https://bit.ly/3rdDriveTarget or https://bit.ly/3rdDriveAmazon.

New, unwrapped toys can also be dropped off at the 3rd District Office at 606 S. 52nd Street on Mondays-Thursdays from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Donations are accepted until Dec. 14. Toy giveaway will be held on Saturday, Dec. 16 from 12-3 p.m.

See the flyer for more details.

Stay tuned for information on more holiday drives in West Philly.

The Halloween candy contest results are in and the most popular treat among West Philly kids is… not Reese’s! Read on to find out what it is.

Penn students involved with the Halloween Data Project went to the Spruce Hill Halloween Tot parade and hung around during the trick-or-treating festivities and were able to record lots of creative costumes and kids’ opinions (266 in total!) on their favorite candy and least favorite candy. The students compiled all of their data into an interactive dashboard for kids and parents to see all the different answers in the community: West Philly Candy Dashboard (Panbo App was used to create it).

To personalize the dashboard for West Philly, the students created digital drawings, a mascot named Panbo that explains the data, and a thank you note at the very end that names every individual costume they saw. The dashboard itself presents the data collected in many different ways: a cluster map with each individual response, bar graphs showing the rankings of the candy, and interactive pie charts that help you see correlations between certain costumes and their favorite form and flavor of candy.

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Residents of the neighborhoods surrounding West Fairmount Park have a chance to help shape the future of the park and the Centennial District. Philadelphia Parks and Recreation is currently working with the Fairmount Park Conservancy, The Mann Center, Philadelphia Zoo, and the Please Touch Museum on a new planning initiative which includes improvements of the park experience for visitors and residents.

A “community-led framework for how to be more inclusive and fair in future park investments”  used in the planning process.

As the plan affects communities it needs to be developed with communities. Therefore, The Centennial Subdistrict Design Plan team is looking for paid Community Ambassadors to be a part of the process.

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The Streets Department’s 2023 Leaf Recycling Program begins on Monday, Nov. 6 and runs through Saturday, Dec. 16. The program is one of several services provided by the Streets Department that helps reduce the amount of materials that reach the waste stream.

During the six-week program, bagged leaf drop-off will be offered citywide at various locations. West Philadelphia residents can drop off bagged leaves at 54th & Woodbine Avenue or 43rd & Powelton Avenue on the following Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.:

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Another great West Philly tradition, the Peoplehood Parade & Pageant, is returning Saturday, Oct. 28. The event was postponed by one week due to rain last Saturday. As always, the parade will feature giant puppets, created by Spiral Q artists and community volunteers. Here are some more details about this year’s event.

The line-up begins at Noon near The Paul Robeson House (50th and Walnut). The parade departs at 1 p.m. and proceeds to Clark Park at 45th and Kingsessing (see the map below), where performances will take place starting at approximately 2:15 p.m.

The family-friendy event, which promotes diversity, civic engagement and creativity, has been held since late 1990’s. Besides giant puppets, it features drumlines and banners. Last year, 43 community groups and over 600 people joined the parade and celebration, according to the longtime event organizer, Spiral Q, a West Philly-based arts organization.

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