The Philadelphia Streets Department has announced street improvement work on some West Philadelphia streets, including the 3800 to 4600 blocks of Spruce Street, for the week of June 11. The work schedule includes temporary, full street closures and parking restrictions (weather or special events in the area may alter the resurfacing schedule).

Work will be completed in separate phases – milling and adjusting of manhole covers and resetting of utility boxes – which will take place in separate activities over the course of the week.

Temporary ‘No Parking’ signs will be posted in advance of each scheduled activity. Residents are urged to move their cars from the work sites when temporary ‘No Parking’ signs are posted, so that vehicles are not towed. If your car is towed, please contact your local Police District to determine its location (also check this earlier post about where a towed car was found).

Go here to see the list of streets where improvement work is scheduled for next week. To view the complete list of streets scheduled for improvements during the 2018 Paving Season, click here.

West Philadelphia Skills Initiative, the program that connects unemployed West Philadelphia residents with local employers, is partnering with Chesterbrook Academy Preschool of Drexel University to recruit individuals for a new job training opportunity. The program participants will be trained to be Preschool Lead Teachers and Preschool Assistant Teachers.

Chesterbrook Academy Preschool is part of a national network of more than 180 private schools offering preschool through 12th grade education. This is the second cohort that the Skills Initiative is running in partnership with Chesterbrook Academy Preschool of Drexel University.  Continue Reading

Philadelphia Black Restaurant Week, a new initiative that brings a spotlight to Black-owned food establishments in the city, will be held from June 10-17, and it’s great to see some West Philly restaurants participating in the event.

The Philly Black Restaurant Week (BRW) will include special dining options at participating restaurants, plus workshops, cooking demonstrations, competitions and other events.

In West Philly, the Center for Culinary Enterprises (310 S. 48th St) will hold AROMA, a culinary panel discussion, where guests can learn strategies and tips from leading industry experts about owning a successful restaurant business. Featured panelists will include:  Continue Reading

Photo courtesy of University City District.

The first Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll this summer will be held Thursday, June 7. Businesses will be offering $1 items – from food to drinks to theatre tickets – from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The event will stretch from 43rd Street where select Clark Park farmers market vendors will be offering $1 deals, all the way to 52nd Street, where Greensgrow West will have some plants for sale for just one buck. The event will also feature live music and family entertainment along Baltimore Avenue.  Continue Reading

SEPTA will conduct a track renewal project on a portion of its Route 13 trolley line from June 8 – June 15, 2018. The project will take place on Chester Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets, on the eastbound and westbound tracks. During the track renewal project, buses will replace trolleys along the Route 13 from Darby Transportation Center (9th and Main Streets) to the 40th Street Trolley Portal. Passengers can board any Route 11, 34, or 36 trolley for service between the 40th Street Portal and Center City.  Continue Reading

Some of you have probably noticed blue bikes popping up in the last month at several locations in West Philly. They are actually a part of a multisite public art installation by Japanese American filmmaker and visual artist Rea Tajiri. Titled “WATARIDORI: birds of passage,” the project is part of the Asian Arts Initiative’s 25th anniversary celebration and “activates real and speculative histories” of Japanese immigrants in Philadelphia.

Check out this art installation at the front of the house at 4238 Spruce Street:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiwnzRWhpR6/?taken-by=westphillylocal

Other locations for Rea Tajiri’s public art installation include:  Continue Reading