SEPTA has erected metal fences around the 40th Street portal in preparation for the potential workers strike, according to the University City District (UCD). The exact purpose of the fences is not clear.

The strike was expected to begin as early as today (Nov. 8), right after the expiration of the contract between SEPTA and the Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 234, but since some progress was made during the negotiations of the new contract in the past couple of days it has been postponed.

“After months of bargaining we finally began to make some progress over the past couple days, but we simply ran out of time. We’re willing to go the extra mile and grant additional time to reach a fair agreement,” TWU Local 234 President Brian Pollitt said yesterday. “However, let me be clear if SEPTA’s managers fail to meet our demands, we will be on the picket line by the end of the month.”

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A great West Philly tradition, the Peoplehood Parade & Pageant, is returning on Saturday, Nov. 9. The family-friendly event, featuring giant puppets created by Spiral Q as well as drumlines and banners, will kick off at 1 p.m. at the Paul Robeson House (4951 Walnut St). The line-up begins at 12 p.m.

The parade will proceed to Clark Park at 45th and Kingsessing, where performances will take place, starting approximately at 2:15 p.m.

The annual event, which has been held since the 1990s, promotes diversity, civic engagement and creativity. The longtime organizer is the West Philly-based arts organization, Spiral Q, which works with artists, activists and community members and groups to create the giant puppets and banners for the event.

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Clean & Green Philly, a local organization that helps community groups clean and green vacant properties to reduce gun violence, is offering a new workshop in partnership with the West Philadelphia non-profit Hope PHL. The workshop will help explore hands-on strategies for activating vacant spaces.

Session 1 of the workshop will be held at Wonderspring – Powelton Village (3939 Warren St.) on Thursday, Nov. 14, beginning at 6 p.m. To RSVP, please click here or scan the QR code in the flyer below. Seats are limited.

Clean & Green Philly’s research shows that greening and cleaning vacant properties is one of the most effective interventions available to reduce gun violence in a neighborhood. Philadelphia has nearly 40,000 vacant properties. Continue Reading

Photo by Albert Yee for Fairmount Park Conservancy

Over 100 Philadelphia parks need help preparing for the winter season and will host clean-up service events during Love Your Park Fall Weekend (November 8-10). Love Your Park is a program of Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and Fairmount Park Conservancy, in partnership with the Park Friends Network, made up of 140 volunteer groups who steward their neighborhood parks.

Love Your Park Fall Weekend is dedicated to service and celebration in Philadelphia’s parks. Every fall, thousands of volunteers mobilize over the course of one weekend to care for their neighborhood green spaces by planting trees, raking leaves, cleaning up litter, and more to help prepare parks for the winter.

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Here’s an interesting shakeup at the storefront located at 4508 Walnut Street (near 45th and Walnut), which was until recently occupied by Lulu Cafe. The cafe specializing in Taiwanese street snacks and bubble tea, has recently closed its doors on Walnut and announced its move to 28-30 S. 40th Street, the space formerly occupied by the Green Line Cafe. The space on S. 40th Street is currently under renovation and Lulu is expected to reopen at this new location next month.

While the space at 45th and Walnut has been vacant since late August, a new sign appeared in its window, announcing that a new restaurant, Urban Sushi & Kitchen, is going to open there soon. The new establishment will serve halal food, according to the sign. So far, no additional information is available. We’ll let you know when we have more details.

Keswick Cycle opening in University City in 2011 (Archived photo).

Keswick Cycle has unexpectedly closed its University City location on Locust St. near 40th after 13 years of operation. There were no prior announcements about the closing on their social media, but there is a message on their website that reads simply:

“We are saddened to announce the closing of our University City location.”

The last post on the store’s Facebook page is dated Oct. 15. Some operations at the store are still temporarily ongoing for those who have pending order pickups.

The business was founded in 1933 in Glenside. The University City shop was their only location in Philadelphia. Two other remaining shops are in Glenside and Paoli where customers are now referred to by Keswick Cycle.