West Philly residents have an opportunity to learn more about solar power for their homes at an upcoming Cedar Park Neighbors meeting at the Calvary Center (48th and Baltimore). The meeting will be held on Monday, July 17 from 7 – 8 p.m.

In an effort to make solar power more affordable for all Philadelphians and to provide solar installation training at the School District, a special city-run program, Solarize Philly, has been recently created as part of the Philadelphia Energy Authority. Representatives from Solarize Philly will be at the meeting to explain how the program works and to answer questions.

The program has already been picking up steam in the city, including in West Philadelphia.  Continue Reading

Post Brothers recently purchased Garden Court Plaza at 47th and Pine.

Garden Court Community Association‘s annual meeting will take place on Thursday, June 16, at Mosaic Community Church (123 S. 51st St), and the topic will be development and change within the neighborhood, which stretches from Locust Street to Cedar Avenue and from 45th to 52nd Street. All neighbors are invited.

The meeting will discuss planned rental and retail development in Garden Court, improvements related to the Spruce Street and 52nd Street commercial districts. You can also learn about how Garden Court Community Association (GCCA) participates in the zoning and development process, and how you can get involved in shaping the neighborhood over time.

A panel of speakers will include developers and community and economic development professionals:  Continue Reading

Mantua rezoning proposal.

Community members have a chance to vote on rezoning in the Mantua neighborhood that will protect single-family home ownership, focus commercial zoning along highly-trafficked corridors, and correct zoning for parks, recreation centers, and public-use spaces. The meeting, hosted by Mantua Civic Association and Mt. Vernon Manor CDC, will take place on Thursday, June 2, at Grace Lutheran Church, 3529 Haverford Ave., from 6 – 7 p.m.

About 100 Mantua residents attended last month’s meeting where the neighborhood rezoning proposal was presented. The proposal rezones nearly every parcel in the neighborhood as RSA-5, attached or semi-detached single family homes. Most properties in the neighborhood are currently zoned RM-1, which allows developers to build multi-unit student housing.

 Councilman At-large David Oh

Councilman David Oh will visit West Philadelphia this Thursday (May 5) to host a community meeting on heroin and opioid crisis in the city. The meeting, chaired by Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, will take place at the University of the Sciences (Pharm Tox Building, Room 140, 636 S. 42nd St.), from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m..

Thursday’s meeting is a continuous effort by Councilman Oh to gather community feedback that he will use to shape the City’s coordinated response to the epidemic. Last week, he met with residents of Northeast Philadelphia, Manayunk, and the River Wards in three “emotional at times” community meetings. Another meeting is scheduled in South Philadelphia next week.

The community meetings come as a result of a resolution Oh passed through City Council which authorized the holding of public hearings following City Council’s declaration of 2016 as “The Year to Combat the Heroin Abuse Epidemic in Philadelphia.” The resolution also called for the development of a strategy to effectively address the heroin epidemic as an urgent local health priority.  Continue Reading

West Philly residents, especially those in Powelton, Mantua, Belmont, Mill Creek, and in the former Black Bottom neighborhoods are invited to a meeting this Tuesday (Apr. 19) to talk about neighborhood history and provide input for an online history map of West Philly. You can bring your old photos and personal stories to share. The meeting will be held at New Africa Center at 4243 Lancaster Avenue, beginning at 6 p.m.

The “Black Bottom” was a predominantly African American neighborhood, located between 40th and 32nd Streets and Powelton Avenue and Curie Boulevard. The neighborhood was mostly razed for urban renewal in the 1960s.

This Monday, three important community meetings are scheduled in West Philadelphia, and residents are encouraged to participate.

Cedar Park Neighbors Annual Meeting – 7 p.m – Calvary Center for Culture and Community (48th and Baltimore). Read more about the meeting’s agenda here.

UPDATE: POSTPONED UNTIL MON, APR 25: Friends of Clark Park General Membership Meeting – 7 p.m. – University of the Sciences, Griffith Hall (Lecture Hall A), 43rd and Woodland (see map here). Bring your questions and concerns, and find out what’s happening in the park.

Powelton Village Civic Association Monthly Meeting – 7:30 p.m. – 3500 Baring Street. On the agenda are two Dornsife / Drexel lawyers talking about deed restrictions and ways to sell one’s house to a single family.