Image: Google Street View.

Editor’s note (6/28/2016): The hearing to determine whether the demolition will be halted concluded yesterday, and a ruling is required within 30 days. The hearing was held to decide whether a demolition permit, applied on March 17 for 4046-4048 Chestnut Street, should be voided. An application to declare the building “historic” was made on May 16, just prior to the permit’s issuance. The question the ruling will answer is whether the demolition permit is valid and whether a temporary injunction to halt the demolition will be lifted.

The hearing that could determine whether the late 19th century rowhomes on the 4000 of Chestnut are demolished will continue Monday, June 27, at 1:30 p.m.

Read more about the history of the buildings here and here. They are owned by different developers and are currently used as rental housing. Demolition permits are currently pending for 4046-4048 Chestnut and 4050-52 Chestnut. Both sets of twins have been nominated for the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places. This hearing is focusing on whether a demolition permit is still valid if a building has been nominated for historic designation after it has been issued and before it has been demolished.

The hearing is in Room 232 of City Hall. The public is encouraged to attend.

The University City Historical Society (UCHS) is waging a legal battle to stop the demolition of the buildings at 4046-48 Chestnut Street and the construction of an apartment building in its place. These properties, along with the rest of the block date to the 1870s and are currently nominated to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places. Due to their nomination, the validity of the demolition permits are in question.

“We currently have a stay on them,” writes Kelly Wiles, a UCHS Board member, and tomorrow (Thursday, June 23) at 11 a.m., a hearing is scheduled in Room 232 of City Hall to determine their fate. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend.

“We welcome community support and involvement by those who are interested in maintaining the character and preservation of West Philadelphia’s built environment as well as those who are concerned with the changing patterns of large-scale development, poorly-constructed  and out of place building stock, zoning issues, the displacement of non-student residents,” writes Wiles.  Continue Reading

A five-story apartment building with a parking garage is coming to 4215 Chestnut Street.

Another apartment building is coming to the area. Recently, we noticed new construction next door to Dana Mandi, a South Asian grocery store on the 4200 block of Chestnut Street. A quick search in the database of the Office of Licences and Inspections revealed that a five-story, 28-unit apartment building is in the works for 4215 Chestnut St.

What’s interesting though is that the first floor of the building will be used as a parking garage. Due to an increasing amount of apartment buildings in the area, availability of parking spots has been named as one of the biggest issues at community meetings discussing new development.

A three-alarm fire displaced over 100 people from the Netherlands apartment building at 44th and Chestnut, according to reports. The fire broke out on the 4th floor of the building at around 5 a.m. on Sunday. No injuries have been reported.

The Red Cross and the City Office of Emergency Management have set up a reception center at 4209 Spruce St.:

@RedCrossPhilly & @PhilaOEM have set up a reception center at 4209 Spruce St following Chestnut Str. Fire pic.twitter.com/azwqn13Na4

— RedCrossEasternPA (@ARC_EasternPA) June 12, 2016

A shelter for the displaced residents has been set up at the Cato School on the 4200 block of Ludlow Street, according to 6ABC.

Chili Szechuan is opening a new location at 4205 Chestnut St. (Photo West Philly Local)

The owners of popular Baltimore Avenue restaurant Chili Szechuan have announced that they will be opening a new location on the 4200 block of Chestnut Street within the next week or so.

We stopped at the restaurant for dinner over the weekend and got a chance to chat with the staff. “We found a bigger place and it’s close to campuses… the current location is doing well business-wise,” one of the restaurant workers said.

The new location is opening at 4205 Chestnut St, at the former Dana Mandi International Foods and Spices space. (Dana Mandi moved next door, to 4211 Chestnut St, last spring). This location is also next door to Kabobeesh restaurant. The new restaurant will have the same menu items as the current location but will feature some new items as well, according to Chili Szechuan owner Kangzhi Ma. Both locations will be open until the end of the calendar year, after which, the owners will make a decision whether to keep the Baltimore Ave location open or not.

Chili Szechuan’s original location at 4626 Baltimore Ave. (Archived photo)

The original Chili Szechuan location opened at 4626 Baltimore Ave in early 2013. We did a food review about the restaurant then and would like to report that it is still as delicious as we remember it to be.

By the way, during our latest visit to Chili Szechuan we stayed off the “Americanized menu” because we felt like there was something snarky about the title, so we went for the authentic stuff. The Dan Dan noodles were very flavorful and the flavor was robust. Next was the deep flash fried chili chicken, with a biting spice. (Be sure to keep the water and napkins coming). Another highlight was the Szechuan style chicken, simmered in sauce and cabbage. The portions were huge, so there were many leftovers.

– Rana Fayez

Last month, Aljazeera became the latest offering in the burgeoning African/Middle Eastern food scene developing on the 4400 block of Chestnut Street. The latest eatery to take over 4403 Chestnut Street, former home to the short-lived Sudanese joint Al Khartoum Echo, might be also West Philly’s first-ever Middle Eastern buffet.

Owned by Samir Kassem of Upper Darby’s Falafel Exotic Cuisine, Aljazeera features an all-day, all-you-can-eat Halal spread of Middle Eastern staples like moussaka, yellow rice, stuffed zucchini, chicken curry, and beans with lamb meat for a flat price of $10.95. But guests visiting the new restaurant won’t taste dishes from just one Middle Eastern nation. According to the 48-year-old Kassem, who also acts as cook and manager, the daily-changing buffet menu represents the flavors of all countries in the region (he said he named the buffet Aljazeera, which means “The Island” in Arabic, for this fact.)

When West Philly Local visited Aljazeera yesterday, we had found ourselves standing in a dressed-down joint with a few tables and chairs, a simple buffet set up, and a few local residents chatting away. We had a chance to sample some of those buffet dishes upon the owner’s request and found ourselves noshing on hearty (albeit a tad greasy) home-style delicacies with just the right amount of salt, and a subtle but lingering kick. In the words of Kassem: It’s like your mama’s cooking. Continue Reading