UPDATE (Thu, April 14, 2016): Another armed robbery attempt took place on Monday night on the 200 block of S. Melville St. (between Locust and Spruce) by the same person, police believe. It happened at around 9:20 p.m. A 27-year-old woman was walking up to her door on the block when a man approached her from behind, said that he had a gun and demanded money. The woman ran into the house and closed the door, and the man fled. Nothing was taken and no injuries were reported. In this case the suspect was described as a black male in his 20’s, thin build, 5 foot 7 inches, short hair, no facial hair. He was wearing a dark jean jacket.

April 11, 2016, 14:52 p.m.: The Southwest Detective Division is investigating a series of gunpoint robberies and robbery attempts on Walnut and Pine Streets in the past two months that may be connected.  The most recent incident was reported on Thursday, Apr. 7.

The first happened on February 18, when a man was walking near 47th and Walnut at around 6 p.m. and was approached by an unknown male who stated: “I have a gun, give me your wallet.” The man said “No” and the suspect threatened to shoot him, according to a police report. The victim then elbowed the attacker and ran to his residence a short distance away. Nothing was taken.

The suspect was described as a black male in his 20s, 6 feet tall, with medium length dreads, wearing all black.  Continue Reading

The developers who want to build a 21-unit apartment building at 46th and Spruce make another presentation at the Spruce Hill zoning committee last night.

The owners of the property that includes a burned-out building at the corner of 46th and Spruce were back in front of the Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA) zoning committee last night with their plans for a new 21-unit apartment building that had many nearby residents concerned about parking and aesthetics.

The proposed brick and metal panel building at 4534-36 Spruce St. would include 21 mostly two-bedroom apartments, ground-floor retail and a rooftop deck. The developers need several variances from the Zoning Board of Adjustment, including one to build 21 units and another for the building’s height – 44 feet.

A point of contention between some nearby neighbors and the property’s owner is over whether the site, which is actually several smaller parcels, is where an apartment building should be allowed regardless of size. It is zoned for single-family duplexes and minimal retail. But the property owners are arguing that the current building, which was most recently a transitional housing facility and at one point a small grocery store, and the construction of apartment buildings on adjacent properties have long ago made that designation practically obsolete.  Continue Reading

The issue of free speech has, over the past year, become a highly charged one on college campuses across the country. Free speech — once seen as an uninflected, universal value — has been re-framed. Now, there is a feeling among some students and faculty that unfettered speech can create an environment that marginalizes certain groups and impedes learning. The result has been a series of confrontations on campuses from Connecticut to California.

On April 21, 2016, the Center for Cultural Media in the Pennoni Honors College at Drexel University will host a special event, The Smart Set Forum 2016: Free Speech on the College Campus, to explore this controversial issue. The Forum will feature talks by cultural critic Camille Paglia and noted legal scholar Laura Beth Nielsen, with respondents from the Drexel faculty to their respective positions. The event will also include a panel of Drexel students who will address the free speech issue, drawing on their own perspectives and experiences.
Possible topics to be discussed will include the Yale Halloween costume debacle, the reach of Title IX policies, the value or harm of trigger warnings and safe zones, and the difficulties attached to defining hate speech and harassment.  Continue Reading

Parklet outside of Fu-Wah Market at 47th and Baltimore.

Spring is finally here, and University City District has begun reinstalling Parklets, temporary outdoor seating platforms with tables, decorated with planters. Overall, six Parklets are being installed around Spruce Hill and Cedar Park, all of them next to popular businesses:

• 4040 Locust St. (hosted by Ramen Bar)
• 261 S. 44th St. (hosted by Honest Tom’s Tacos and Lil’ Pop Shop)
• 4239 Baltimore Ave. (hosted by Green Line Cafe)
• 801 S. 47th St. (hosted by Fu-Wah Market)
• 4903 Catharine St. (hosted by Little Baby’s Ice Cream)
• 125 S. 40th St. (hosted by Hai St. Kitchen, Jake’s Sandwich Board & Zesto Pizza)

The Parklets will stay until October or early November, depending on the weather.

Just a reminder that Parklets are public spaces open to everyone, and you don’t have to eat at the restaurant where the Parklet is located in order to use it.

Continue Reading

Along with Caribbean Cuisine Week, which supports young Caribbean athletes participating in this month’s Penn Relays, Dining Out For Life will also be held this week – on Thursday, Apr. 14.

Proceeds from Dining Out For Life go to fund ActionAIDS, an organization providing education, prevention and comprehensive support services to people living with HIV and AIDS throughout the Delaware Valley region.

Started by an ActionAIDS volunteer in 1991, Dining Out For Life is now held in several cities throughout North America. Last year more than 200 restaurants and thousands of diners raised nearly $200,000, and this year, about the same number of participating restaurants will donate 33 percent of their day’s food sales.  Continue Reading

USciences unveiled plans to build a large dormitory on the site of the former Alexander Wilson School at a public meeting last month.

UPDATE (April 14, 2016): After reading this post, SHCA zoning chair Barry Grossbach wrote to clarify the new boundaries. He wrote:

“Read your description of our proposed boundary expansion and it might be a bit misleading. It suggests that we are expanding into neighborhoods south of Woodland Avenue. To the contrary, we specifically said that we did NOT want to encroach on West Shore, and that our concern was to have some say on development on the south side of Woodland Avenue. There are specific criteria that City Planning has to use in drawing RCO boundaries, so they followed the procedure that imposes the most minimal intrusion into any residential area ( a block or two adjacent to USciences campus).  Almost all of what would be designated as West Shore is NOT included in this proposed expansion.”

The Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA) passed a resolution on Tuesday night that extends its jurisdiction as a “registered community organization” (RCO) to the neighborhoods south of Woodland Avenue. That means it now will likely weigh in on important zoning issues along Woodland, including the University of the Sciences’ plans to build a large dormitory complex on the site of the former Alexander Wilson school at 46th and Woodland.

RCOs are in place around Philadelphia to facilitate public debate over proposed development and while their recommendations are not binding, they are considered during Zoning Board of Adjustment hearings.

SHCA zoning chair Barry Grossbach told the organization’s board last night that the city’s Planning Commission supports the boundary extension. The commission will have to approve the resolution.

SHCA’s boundaries as an RCO, which had previously stopped at the northern side of Woodland Avenue, will extend south to the train tracks south of the USciences’ campus. USciences plans to construct several buildings over the next decade or so and it has been unclear which RCOs would consider the proposals.

– Mike Lyons