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They got it! Neighborhood Bike Works wins $100,000 grant, plans new West Philly hub

Posted on 05 June 2014 by WestPhillyLocal.com

Here’s some great news for a West Philly based nonprofit: Neighborhood Bike Works (NBW), which offers educational and recreational programs and career-building opportunities for youth and adults in underserved areas, was awarded a $100,000 grant this week. Impact100 Philadelphia, an all volunteer women’s collective giving group that funds Philadelphia nonprofits, selected NBW as one of the $100,000 grant winners after they presented their cause on Monday during Impact100’s sixth annual meeting. In total, $328,000 was awarded to five area nonprofits on Monday.

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Neighborhood Bike Works receiving a $100,000 check from Impact100. (Photo courtesy Impact100 Philly).

Thanks to the grant, NBW can now move forward with some of their big plans.

First, a new West Philly hub is planned, which would bring NBW’s two sites, in West and North Philly, together. With the help of the Impact100 grant, this vision will become a reality. The new single hub will enable NBW to expand its programming, strengthen relationships with community partners, increase its retail and instructional spaces, and reduce the overhead costs associated with maintaining two facilities.

NBW will also launch a new program, Freedom to Ride, that will bring their services to the heart of the neighborhoods. NBW staff will go to schools and community centers and involve 100 new middle and high school students in an intensive 10-week program. The students participating in the program will build their own bikes and then go on cycling field trips to explore natural areas, like Bartram’s Garden and Cobbs Creek.

Finally, NBW is planning to launch a series of outreach activities to get families and communities engaged in cycling. They’re planning to train and employ teens as assistant instructors and ride leaders. Teenagers employed by NBW will go to block parties and other community events and will talk to the public about safe riding skills and offer quick bike tune-ups.

For more information about Neighborhood Bike Works and their work, visit: http://neighborhoodbikeworks.org/.

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Video: Transformer blows at 50th and Spruce, power back on

Posted on 05 June 2014 by Mike Lyons

Power was out for many near 50th and Spruce this morning after a transformer blew and caught on fire. Firefighters switched off power in the area to extinguish the fire. A reader, Marino Pagan, sent in this short video of the fire shot across Barkan Park.

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Water main break on 4500 block of Larchwood

Posted on 04 June 2014 by Mike Lyons

Water was gushing up from below the 4500 block of Larchwood Avenue following a water main break Wednesday afternoon. The block was closed to traffic as of 5 p.m.

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New single family house, home-based day care on agenda for Thursday’s Spruce Hill Zoning meeting

Posted on 04 June 2014 by WestPhillyLocal.com

The Spruce Hill Zoning Committee will be meeting this Thursday (June 5) at 6:30 p.m. and both Spruce Hill and Walnut Hill residents are invited to discuss a couple of properties within the two neighborhoods. The meeting will be held at the SHCA center at 257 S. 45th Street.

Here’s the meeting’s agenda, according to an announcement by Spruce Hill Zoning chair Barry Grossbach:

1. Expansion of the number of children enrolled in The Little Green School House, a small home based day care and after school program, from the current six allowed to the number 12 requested. West Philly Local wrote about The Little Green School House last summer when it was preparing to open.

“This operation at 219 S. Melville was given a trial run for a year by agreement of neighbors and the zoning committee when it came before us last Spring. Neighbors wanted to determine the impact of the school on traffic, congestion, and quality of life issues on the block. The applicants have met with immediate neighbors recently, and this is now before the zoning committee with all parties invited to attend and share their views,” the announcement reads.

2. The second item on tomorrow’s meeting’s agenda is the construction of a single family house on the lot at 223 S. 46th Street (between Walnut and Locust). Neighbors in the area have been alerted and all are welcome to attend and share their thoughts, according to Grossbach.

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Lot at 223 S. 46th Street. (Source: Google Maps).

 

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Student shoots alleged burglar near Drexel campus (updated)

Posted on 04 June 2014 by Mike Lyons

Update: Police have confirmed that the man shot was 22-year-old Baron Alexander, son of convicted late-term abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, whose notorious clinic was a few blocks from the break-in. Alexander changed his name from Gosnell in 2012, The Daily News reported. Alexander lived a couple of houses down from the row home where the break-in occurred, according to police.

A college student shot and critically injured an alleged burglar early this morning at a home on the 3700 block of Brandywine in Mantua, according to reports.

Philly.com is reporting that the shooting happened at just before 7 a.m. in a residence shared by several college students a few blocks from the Drexel campus. The 22-year-old man was shot three times and is in stable condition.

 

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The Partnership CDC holding free community workshops

Posted on 03 June 2014 by WestPhillyLocal.com

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The Partnership Community Development Corporation‘s Neighborhood Advisory Committee office is inviting community members to a series of free workshops, titled Community Conversations. There will be two workshops this month. The first workshop is on Wednesday, June 4, and is about the importance of estate planning and avoiding tangled titles.

You’ve probably heard about cases where families are being displaced out of their homes because a deceased family member did not have a will and the person in the home did not transfer ownership. Without the right documentation for the house residents, they are unable to access city resources for home improvements, housing counseling for foreclosure proceedings and tax delinquencies. Tomorrow’s meeting is being held to inform, help and prevent Philadelphia residents from facing these challenges.

Paulette Adams, Director of Community Development for Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell’s Office and a representative from the City of Philadelphia’s Register of Wills will be in attendance to present information.

The workshop will take place from 6 – 7 p.m. at the Community College of Philadelphia West Branch (4725 Chestnut St).

A retirement planning workshop is scheduled for June 25 (see flier).

If you have any questions please feel free to call the NAC Office at 215-662-1612 ext. 12.

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