The Cedar Park Neighbors Scholarships Fund is currently accepting applications from neighborhood students who need help paying for their college expenses. Each year, the fund awards several scholarships, ranging from $600 to $1,000, and students living within Cedar Park boundaries (see map below) are welcome to apply. Applications must be received or postmarked by June 1, 2014. To download the application, click here. For more information, email: scholarships@cedarparkneighbors.org

The Cedar Park Neighbors community organization will hold its annual meeting tonight, from 7 – 9 p.m. at Calvary Center for Culture and Community (48th and Baltimore). All neighbors are welcome. The annual meeting is a great introduction to the organization, its work and accomplishments over the last year and plans for the coming year. You can also meet candidates for the CPN Board of Directors (more information about the candidates is available here). Voting for CPN Board Members will begin at 6:30 p.m.

The meeting will also include a conversation with the two local candidates for the state representative – James Roebuck (the incumbent) and Algernong Allen. The talk will be moderated by Cedar Park resident Bill Hangley Jr., a journalist with The Philadelphia Public School Notebook.

An informal meet and greet will follow the meeting.

Note: The meeting will take place at Calvary Center Sanctuary (please enter through the doors on the second floor).

Two big community events are happening in the Cedar Park neighborhood this weekend (April 5-6).

A Spring Clean-up is scheduled for Saturday, from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. to wake up the gardens at Cedar Park (49th-50th & Baltimore). Lots of volunteers are needed to help with rose bushes and grasses and clean out the garden beds for future mulching and planting. Tools and gloves will be provided. If you have clippers to bring that would be helpful. If you want to join your neighbors this Saturday please RSVP at: https://www.facebook.com/events/686153788112115/

The annual Cedar Park Neighbors Scholarship Fundraiser on will again bring together local residents and businesses in an effort to help neighborhood youth who want to continue their education after graduation from high school. The CPN Scholarship Fundraiser is a great opportunity to mingle with your neighbors, friends and business people and enjoy music by local musicians and food prepared by neighborhood restaurants. Here are more details (from the CPN website):

What: Live music for all ages with West Philly based singer-songwriter Gretchen Elise, beer by Dock Street Brewing Company, wine, and food from Aksum, Fu Wah, The Gold Standard Café, and Dock Street. We’ll also have a Silent Auction to include handmade crafts, jewelry, museum tickets, gift certificates to local restaurants, and much more! Children will enjoy kids’ music and activities from 4-5 p.m.
When: Sunday, April 6 from 4-6 p.m.
Where: The Cedar Works, 4919 Pentridge Street (South of Baltimore, between 48th & 49th 49th & 50th)
Cost: Tickets are $40 and available online or at the door. Kids under 12 are free. To purchase tickets or make a donation, complete the form on this page.

Photo by West Philly Local readers Karen and Peter.

A house fire was reported in the Cedar Park neighborhood on Saturday, around 7 p.m.. A house on 48th Street between Baltimore and Cedar Avenues was engulfed in smoke. Multiple fire trucks and lots of firefighters responded to the fire that was shortly taken under control. The building was still smoking and it looked like it may have suffered serious damage, according to one West Philly Local reader.

UPDATE (3/31/2014): The fire was at a three-story twin at 615 S. 48th St. It was reported at 7 p.m. and brought under control in 27 minutes at about 7:30 p.m., according to a fire department spokesman. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The heart of Cedar Park (Photo by Annamarya Scaccia / West Philly Local)

Over the past 10 years, West Philly has undergone a semi-orchestrated revival, with the last five of those years seeing rapid — and, in some areas, dramatic — change. New businesses started popping up along the Baltimore Ave Corridor while young professionals and grad students began moving out further and further from the confines of 40th Street.

And, as with any other metropolis experiencing accelerated regrowth, West Philly has also seen an increase in housing and rental prices throughout those years. But nothing as dramatic as the spike in monthly rents that’s happened in the Cedar Park area over the last year: an 18 percent jump from 2013 to 2014.

As Technical.ly Philly reported last week, rental listings from the San-Francisco-based rental service Lovely showed that, in Southwest Cedar Park, the monthly median rent price went from $900 in January 2013 to the current $1,100 medium—the highest increase among neighborhoods in Philadelphia.

“It is troubling that the rents went up that high. I’m surprised to see that it went that high,” Michael Froehlich, president of the Cedar Park Neighbors association, told West Philly Local. Although he knew the rents were rising in the area, he said, he didn’t think they were “the highest” in the city. Continue Reading

Gary’s Nails Salon (Photo by Annamarya Scaccia / West Philly Local)

Well, readers, it looks like Gary’s Nails Salon which was severely damaged after Elena’s Soul Christmas Eve fire in 2012, is coming back better than ever.

As we reported in October, Gary’s Nails was undergoing some roof renovations after almost a year of silence since the demolition of Elena’s Soul Lounge destroyed the nail spot at 4910 Baltimore Avenue. Turns out, as we saw when we passed by yesterday afternoon, there’s a bit more work happening on the building.

When we peaked inside Gary’s Nails through the empty window frame, it looked as though the interior is shaping up for a revival. Multiple beams were erected throughout the salon, forming what seem to be the foundation for new bays. We also noticed two permits on the wall—according to Philadelphia Licenses and Inspections, Gary’s Nails was issued an electrical permit on January 16, which is active, to install a service breaker; and a plumbing permit on January 14 (updated on February 19), also active, to install toilets and bathrooms, sinks, ten pedicure chairs, and a laundry tub.

No one was on site to give us more details, so we’ll post an update as soon as we have more information.

–Annamarya Scaccia