Squirrel Hill Park, the controversial gated pocket “park” at 48th and Chester, is still open after being “liberated” earlier this month and renamed “People’s Park.”

Residents have been asking for years what it would take to open the park to the public. A group started a few years back to work through the legal entanglements. They event sent out a survey. But members of the Black and Brown Workers Cooperative showed what it took: vision, temerity and a pair of bolt cutters.

The Cooperative posted a video (see below) of the opening of the park a couple of weeks ago. The video now has nearly 20,000 views and the park is still open.  Continue Reading

A reader sent this photo of an overturned car at 48th and Chester this morning. The incident happened at around 8 a.m.

UPDATE: Here’s a witness report:

“It seemed like there were no serious injuries, although the driver of the SUV was taken away by Ambulance. Residents rushed to the SUV to help the driver out of his car. The other vehicle had substantial damage to the front end, but miraculously was drivable. A firefighter started it up and moved it away from the Trolley tracks.”

Many thanks to our reader Nadia Adawi who sent us this report of an amazing cat rescue that took place in the Chester Avenue Dog Park at 48th and Chester last night.

A cat was stuck at the very top of a tree in the dog park for some 36 hours before a heroic rescue by Red Paw Emergency Relief Team, the Philadelphia Fire Department, and Animal Care and Control Team of Philadelphia. It took five attempts, because the cat kept climbing higher. The cat is now safe at ACCT.

A 52-year-old woman was reportedly killed Monday night near 48th and Chester during a hit and run accident involving an SUV with heavy front-end damage and the left rear brake light out, police confirmed.

The woman was crossing Chester Avenue when she was struck. She was pronounced dead at the scene, at about 10:35 p.m.

Anyone with information about the accident is asked to contact the Accident Investigation Division at 215-685-3180, the tip line at 215-686-TIPS (8477) or text a tip to PPDTIP (773847).

UPDATE: Police recovered the vehicle, a silver Trailblazer, on the 4700 block of Larchwood, according to 6ABC. A police officer reportedly followed leaked fluid and scrape marks from the accident scene east on Chester Avenue. A suspect in the accident has not yet been named.

Police charged two men in connection with an alleged marijuana growing operation on S. 48th Street yesterday.

James Lippert, 49, and David Eisenstadt, 50, were charged with possession with intent to manufacture or deliver, which is a felony, and other drug-related charges, after police raided 1123 S. 48th St. (near Chester Ave.) yesterday afternoon.

Lippert is being held on $1.5 million bail, according to court records. Eisenstadt’s bail is $1 million. Both are being held at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility.

Witnesses say they saw police removing large trash bags and planting pots from the home, which property records show is owned by Lippert.

The presentation of revised plan for a 12-unit apartment building at 4820 Chester Ave. during a meeting last night at Kingsessing Recreation Center (photo by West Philly Local).

The owners of an empty lot at 4820 Chester Ave. presented a scaled-down proposal for a 12-unit apartment building during a zoning meeting last night. But in the end it didn’t really matter.

Last night’s meeting, hosted by Southwest Philadelphia District Services at the Kingsessing Recreation Center, was the latest iteration of an ongoing debate about the property at the corner of 49th and Chester. The lot is zoned for a semi-detached, two-family structure. The original proposal of a four-story, 18-unit building received considerable community pushback, so the developer hired a new architect and proposed a revised plan that included 12 units.  Continue Reading