Matt Wolfe and his wife, Denise Furey (Photo from wolfe.org)

Editor’s Note: This is the third and final installment in a series of Q&A’s with local political candidates before the primary election on May 20. Wolfe is running in a special election for the City Council at Large seat, which every registered voter, no matter party affiliation, can vote in. For more information, visit: http://www.votespa.com.

J. Matthew Wolfe wants to change Philadelphia.

To Wolfe, a local lawyer with a practice near Clark Park, Philadelphia is a city with potential—one that can only shine brighter in the coming years. But, he says, that potential won’t be fully realized with the city’s current administration, which Wolfe claims has made Philly the “poorest big city in America.”

That’s why Wolfe is hoping to shake things up in this famously Democratic city. Running on the Republican ticket, Wolfe is vying for the City Council at Large seat vacated by Bill Green (who resigned to head the School Reform Commission) in a special election May 20th. And, according to Wolfe, a stronger Republican presence in the city government can only make for a better Philadelphia.

West Philly Local had a chance this week to chat with the 58-year-old Wolfe—who has a long, prestigious resume including a stint as Deputy Attorney General—about why he is running, and how he can reform the city he so loves.

West Philly Local: Why are you running for City Council?

Matt Wolfe: There’s a great reason to be optimistic about Philadelphia’s future. I’m out in West Philly, and driving down Chestnut and Market Streets during the day, winding around the hundreds of millions of dollars that are being invested in University City… Developers have enough confidence in our city. They’re coming in. They’re rehabbing things. And they’re doing it for one reason and one reason alone: they believe they can make some money there. … Point Breeze, a decade ago, was one of the most dangerous places in [South] Philly. No longer. And that is all happening in spite of the total lack of leadership at City Hall. Unfortunately, we would admit what we see that is good, we’re still lagging dangerously behind our peer cities—you know, New York, Washington [D.C.], Baltimore, Boston. … We’re behind. There’s no reason that we should be.  Continue Reading

Photo via bicyclecoalition.org.

Here’s a community recreation opportunity this Sunday for Mother’s Day: the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia is inviting bikers of all levels to free rides here in West Philly, as part of CycloFemme, a Global Women’s Cycling Day celebration. Three rides are scheduled and they all begin and end in Clark Park and are followed by a picnic. The starting time is 10:00 a.m. Here are more details from the Bicycle Coalition website:

• FREE – but please RSVP!

• Meet at Clark Park in West Philly on May 11 (Mother’s Day) at 10a.m.

• 3 ride levels: Beginner, Intermediate, and Fast-ish, All will be “no drop” – no one will be left behind. You can choose which one you want to do that morning if you’d like! 1-1.5 hrs of riding.

• Exact route TBD, but the slow ride will stay in West Philly, on bike lanes and paths, and the faster routes will head over to the Schuylkill River Trail.

• Picnic to follow! All levels of riders are invited to return to Clark Park for a picnic after the rides. There are lots of options for grabbing food near Clark Park: Milk & Honey Market, Fu Wah Deli, Green Line Cafe, and more!

• Helmets required!

• All genders are welcome to come ride with us, to celebrate women & cycling together!

Click here to RSVP. For more information, call 215-242-9253.

The “Love Your Park” week kicks off tomorrow in Philadelphia and everyone is encouraged to participate in cleaning, greening and celebrating neighborhood parks. Some fun events, as well as park clean-up and beautification projects will be happening in some West Philly neighborhoods, too. In addition, the Spruce Hill Community Association is organizing the annual May Fair at Clark Park this Saturday, so we hope many of our readers will stick around and join their friends and neighbors at this annual celebration of the Spruce Hill community. Guests are welcome!

Details for local events in the next few days are below. More great events are scheduled for next weekend (stay tuned). NOTE: Volunteers are wanted for some of tomorrow’s projects.

Spruce Hill May Fair, Clark Park (43rd and Chester)

Saturday, May 10, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

The annual Spruce Hill May Fair features live music from local bands, food from some of the best trucks, and a raffle with terrific prizes. There will also be many local artists and craftspeople with gifts for graduations and Mother’s Day, plants on sale by the UC Garden Club, used books for $1 each, and groups and organizations offering information about their causes. Kids can enjoy a big inflated obstacle course, a bounce house and other games. Raffle items include gift cards from local cafes and restaurants, a 60″ Samsung Plasma TV, a free weekend night at Homewood Suites, free yoga classes and more! For more information and schedule for the music groups, click here.

Planting Extravaganza!, Cedar Park (49th and Baltimore)

Saturday, May 10, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Volunteers are needed for planting trees, perennials and annuals throughout the park. The tools will be provided. The garden beds are composted and mulched so all is ready to go. If you can lend a hand for an hour or so, please RSPV:  tatemch@aol.com

Work Day at Clark Park (45th and Regent)

Saturday, May 10, 9:00 a.m.

Help is needed with spreading some mulch and other work. And you can spend the rest of the day at the Spruce Hill Community Association’s Mayfair. Meet at 9 a.m. by the shed, on 45th St where Regent Street ends, south of Chester. Snacks will be served. The event is organized by Friends of Clark Park.

Art in the Park, Malcolm X Memorial Park (52nd & Pine)

Monday, May 12, 4:00-6:00 p.m.

The Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation presents Art in the Park, a FREE arts and crafts traveling class. All ages are welcome! For more information, visit: www.philavisualarts.wix.com/camp

(Photo by Annamarya Scaccia / West Philly Local)

Ten years later, and it seems repair work has finally started on the neglected roof where the notorious looming steeple of Christ Memorial Reformed Episcopal Church (4233 Chestnut Street) once stood.

Much like Naked Philly, a reader tipped West Philly Local off about the work last month after they noticed scaffolding erected around the base of the former 170-foot-high steeple, which collapsed in 2004 during an intense storm. According to a permit pulled from Philadelphia Licenses & Inspections, that section is undergoing partial roof demolition and extensive roof repairs, including installations and replacements.

As shown in the photo above, the steeple area of the church on the corner of 43rd and Chestnut Streets is fenced in, with a rubble pile atop the steps, and construction equipment left around on the 43rd Street side. A letter from the City of Philadelphia regarding a permit for equipment placement for building demolition, dated for 11/16/2013 – 1/16/2014, was tacked to the fence.

Currently, the former Christ Memorial Church houses the Media Mobilizing Project, a grassroots community and media-organizing group, and Christ the King Prayer Chapel, which runs a Sunday school and Sunday worship service. The 127-year-old church building was sold to Guy Laren, a local private developer, nearly a decade ago after its former congregation faced legal issues with its insurance company.

-Annamarya Scaccia

Tickets are still available for the University City Arts League‘s annual fundraiser, “Spring Fling,” happening this Saturday, May 10 at the University of Pennsylvania’s Hall of Flags (Houston Hall, 3417 Spruce St). Traditionally, the fundraiser includes a silent auction featuring many great items and dinner. The online portion of the auction is also still open (closes tonight at 10 p.m.). You can choose from a number of unique experiences, classes, works by local artists and more. To view the auction items, to bid, and to buy tickets, go here.

The Spring Fling fundraiser will take place on Saturday from 6 – 9 p.m. and here are some more details (from ucartsleague.org):

Times

6 p.m. – Cocktails and Silent Auction; 7:30 – Dinner (by chef Greg Salisbury); 8 p.m. – Live Auction.

Parking

Free parking will be available at the Penn Museum Garage at South St and Convention Center Blvd. A shuttle will be running from the garage to the Hall of Flags from 6 to 7 p.m. and then from the Hall of Flags to the garage at the end of the evening.

Child Care

The Arts League will be offering an evening of pizza, movies and activities for children aged 5 to 12 from 5:30 to 9:30. Cost will be $35 for the first child and $25 for each additional child for the evening. Please contact the Arts League Office to make arrangements for child care.

Sample of Auction items

• Six oriental carpets including beauties from Tibet and Pakistan will be available at the Auction plus two silk on silk wall hangings. Winning bidders can also get free custom padding for their carpets at Woven Treasure.
• An iPad from the University of Pennsylvania Computer Connection, one of the special items to be auctioned at the Arts League auction.
• Gift certificates to numerous local restaurants including the White Dog Cafe will be available.
• Numerous spa services.

For more information, call 215-382-7811 or email: info@ucartsleague.org.

Neighbor Kate Krauss, one of the organizers of “Fund for Phil” set up to help Philippe Holland, the pizza delivery driver shot by police near 51st and Willows on April 22, has sent us an update on Philippe’s condition, the fund and a couple of other important messages:

“Philippe has been transferred to a rehab hospital in Newark, New Jersey. He read the original card we sent for the first time three days ago and was very touched. His mother says that she can’t even find the words to express how grateful she is. So let’s keep this going–we will continue to collect money at Mariposa through June.

We have $969 in the PayPal account, so today is a great time to try to reach $1,000… Here is the link: https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/send-money-online [please enter “FundforPhil – at – Gmail.com”].

[Bindlestiff Books owner] Alexis Buss has already collected about $400 at Bindlestiff Books…”

We also hear that a Channel 3 news reporter is coming to Bindlestiff Books (4530 Baltimore Ave) tomorrow (Thursday) at 11:00 a.m. to do a little spot on the neighborhood’s response to the shooting of Phillipe Holland and those who donated money are welcome to stop by.