Cedar Park Neighbors is holding a pubic zoning meeting this Thursday (March 29) that will focus on two development proposals on Baltimore Avenue:

• The event space Petite Féte has requested a use certificate for a banquet hall for up to 49 people on the first floor at 5042 Baltimore Ave. This site is currently zoned CMX-2 (Commercial use) and also has two residential units above (on the second and third floor). The proposed use, “Assembly and Entertainment,” requires a special exception approval in this zoning district.  Continue Reading

Cedar Park Neighbors in cooperation with area churches and other nonprofit organizations, will again prepare and distribute food baskets for those in need during the holiday season. The 2017 CPN Holiday Food Drive is currently underway. The suggested donation is $36. Support at this amount will help CPN supply meals for two families.

In 2016, CPN was able to reach over 150 local families.  Continue Reading

November 18th will be exactly 10 years since Cedar Park’s craft and gift shop VIX Emporium opened its doors to customers at 5009 Baltimore Ave. To celebrate the shop’s 10th anniversary, owner Emily Dorn invites everyone to a party this Saturday from 6 – 9 p.m.

It’s also the opening party for two new 2018 wall calendars by two local artists. One features 12 tiny oil paintings of West Philadelphia architecture by Russell Brodie (see image below), and the other, by Loretta Gary of Radical Hearts Print Lab, highlights 12 prominent social and political activists.

Both limited-edition calendars will be available for sale.

And last but not least, you can head start on your holiday shopping at VIX. Your purchase of $50 or more during the party will be 10 percent off. Also, stay tuned for more details about the annual Go West! Holiday Craft Fest, which will take place at The Rotunda on Sunday, Dec. 10.  Continue Reading

With rapid development in Cedar Park, what steps can be taken to protect historic buildings? Community members are invited to learn more about building preservation issues in the Cedar Park area on Monday, Oct. 16 at a Neighborhood Preservation workshop presented by the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia. The workshop will feature an overview of historic preservation policies and the current extent of preservation protections in the neighborhood.

At the end of the workshop there will be an opportunity to share thoughts and concerns about preservation and development in the neighborhood.

The workshop will be held at the Calvary Center (in the chapel, 801 S. 48th St), beginning at 7 p.m. and will be followed by the Cedar Park Neighbors monthly board meeting.

Mariposa, the cooperative grocery store at 49th and Baltimore, has implemented two initiatives aimed at making a positive contribution to the neighborhood: On September 20, it announced a 10 percent discount program for qualifying low-income shoppers, and back in August it raised its minimum salary from $10.75 to $13 per hour.

The 10 percent discount emerged from a sense among Mariposa’s leadership that many of the store’s products aren’t accessible to all its neighbors. Hillary Wickline, Mariposa’s marketing coordinator, said the organization knows that even with government assistance, healthy food can be out of reach.

“We just want to make sure that we’re creating a welcoming space within this environment and not serving just a group of people with a steady income of, like, $50,000 a year or something like that,” Wickline said.  Continue Reading

The Cedar Park Neighbors zoning committee will consider a proposal on Tuesday for a three unit, multi-family building on the vacant lot located at 5047 Baltimore Avenue.

The building would include commercial space on the first floor and two additional floors. The maximum height of the building is 48 feet.

Community members are invited to meet with the owner, see the plans, ask questions and voice their opinion. More information can be found on the Facebook event page.

The hearing begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Calvary Center at 801 S. 48th Street (2nd floor).