As many of you know, the 115-year-old Frank Furness-designed church building at 47th and Kingsessing was saved from demolition last year and is currently undergoing renovation. Developer Guy Laren is planning to re-purpose the building by opening two local day care centers, Little Learners and Children’s Community School, in that location after the renovation has been completed. Rezoning is necessary for this plan to come to life, and the first community zoning meeting for the church conversion project will take place this week.

Community members are invited this Tuesday, April 14, at 6 p.m. to Kingsessing Recreation Center at 50th and Kingsessing to hear more about the project and provide their feedback. The meeting is being organized by the Registered Community Organization (RCO) for the area – Southwest District Services.

The project stakeholders also asked community members to show their support of the church conversion project by signing a petition last month. Over 250 people have so far signed the online petition on Change.org. Tuesday’s meeting is another opportunity to gauge the amount of support of the plan by the community.

The locked gate of Squirrel Hill Falls park at 48th and Chester.

Squirrel Hill Falls Park, a pocket park which was built in the 1990’s but has been closed for years, will reopen for several hours this Saturday for a spring cleanup. The organization that owns the lot at 48th and Chester, Friends Rehabilitation Program (FRP), has allowed the Friends of Squirrel Hill Park community group to enter and clean up the park from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Taking into account the park’s deteriorating condition FRP has two requirements though: Anyone wishing to help in the cleanup has to sign a waiver, and because of safety concerns minors will not be permitted to participate in this cleanup. The Friends of Squirrel Hill Park will have copies of the waiver on hand.

Anyone wishing to help with the cleanup is welcome to join the Friends. The tools will be provided, but you can bring your own rake or set of gloves.

Read more about the latest efforts to reopen the park for community use here.

UPDATE (April 10, 12:43 p.m.) Two men have been charged in the shootings that resulted in the lengthy shutdown of the 40th Street trolley portal late yesterday afternoon. A witness who was sitting in a South Philly park told police he heard several gunshots and saw two vehicles parked side by side near 25th and Wolf streets. The vehicles then fled in opposite directions. One vehicle was found at 40th and Woodland, near the trolley portal, with several bullet holes. A passenger in the car had been taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and is listed in stable condition. That person, a 22-year-old man, is under police guard at the hospital and faces firearms and other charges. A second man, 26 years of age, who police say was in the other vehicle was also apprehended and faces similar charges.

UPDATE (8:30 p.m.): Trolley service resumed around 7 p.m. with residual delays. There are conflicting reports about where the shooting took place. A car with bullet holes was found near the portal, and the driver was taken to the hospital. We’ll update when we have more information.

Several trolley lines were diverted at about 5 p.m. following a shooting near the trolley portal at 40th Street and Baltimore Avenue, according to police.

Philly.com is reporting that an argument between two motorists near 25th and Wolf streets in South Philadelphia ended in gunfire in West Philadelphia at the trolley portal. One person was reportedly injured and has been taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Trolley lines 11, 13, 34 and 36 in both directions have been diverted.

Alumni from the Yale Russian Chorus, a storied all-male singing group that specializes in Russian and Slavic songs, will perform at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church (3916 Locust Walk) on the Penn campus on Saturday, April 18.

A small group of students studying Russian at Yale started the chorus in the 1950s, during the early days of the Cold War when more Americans were trying to understand the culture and people of the then Soviet Union. The group took its first of many trips to Russia in 1958 where members performed impromptu concerts on Moscow street corners. They were soon dubbed “Yale’s singing ambassadors.”

Under the musical direction of co-conductors Brock Holmes and Bruce Lieberman, Saturday’s concert will be a rare opportunity to enjoy seldom-performed Russian and Eastern European musical masterpieces for male-voice choir. “Expect powerful music, thrilling solos, exceptional ensembles, and top-notch musicianship,” according to a press release from the chorus.

The chorus sings folk and religious music in Russian, other Slavic and East European languages, and occasionally in English. Its repertoire includes works by Kastalsky, Rachmaninoff, and Tchaikovsky.  Continue Reading

Photo by Annamarya Scaccia / West Philly Local.

48th Street below Spruce is becoming a sort of culinary hub with a number of small and start-up artisan food businesses calling the block and its Dorrance H. Hamilton Center for Culinary Enterprises home.

The Enterprise Center, which supports local minority entrepreneurs, was already providing a helping hand for start-up businesses, but with the unique nature of the food industry and the lack of a kitchen facility at the initial site, there was a need to create a subsidiary. The Hamilton Center for Culinary Enterprises opened in 2012.

The businesses operating out of the Center or using its state-of-the-art shared-use commercial kitchen include:

48th Street Grille
Herban Quality Eats
Really Fresh Vegan
Red Fox Gourmet
Smackaroons
Sugar Philly
Taco Angeleno

“What we found was that there’s a particularly high threshold for food entry for food businesses in Philadelphia. It’s an expensive and complicated endeavor. An incubator kitchen lowers that threshold making it easier for food businesses to get their start in the city,” says Brett Heeger, Food System Director at The Enterprise Center.

The Culinary Center’s shared-use commercial kitchen (Photo from theenterprisecenter.com)

Heeger broke the process down to three steps: business development, product refining and access to capital. The Enterprise Center has been known for bringing in influential guest speakers and advisors over the years, which have inspired culinary entrepreneurs and many first time business owners. The products are refined with the help of a panel of scientists from the Drexel Culinary food sciences along with extensively trained chefs, using commercial grade equipment that they would not have had access to otherwise. Finally, the businesses are given access to grants and seed funding which is exclusive to small businesses that are a part of the program.

The Culinary Center is located at 310 S. 48th Street in the Garden Court neighborhood. The Center has improved the neighborhood through several ways: There were physical improvements to the area, the site where the center is currently located was originally an abandoned supermarket. There has also been financial empowerment within the neighborhood, as the center also tried to hire candidates from West Philadelphia. The idea is to increase community engagement and involvement.

On Tuesday, May 19, the Culinary Center will host the 2nd annual “Cooking Up Success!” culinary competition among local food entrepreneurs. The winners will be awarded up to $50,000. Early bird tickets ($75) are available until April 17. To buy tickets, go here.

– Rana Fayez

Get ready, get set, go! A bike package from Spruce Hill business Keswick Bikes (kids’ 20” bike, helmet, bell) is just one of the exciting auction items featured at the 11th annual Saint Mary’s Nursery School (SMNS) “Spring for Our School” Silent Auction & Cocktail Party Fundraiser. SMNS is a non-denominational, Reggio Emilia – inspired nursery school and afterschool program located at 3916 Locust Walk.

The fundraising event will include catered hors d’oeuvres, Yard’s beer, wine, great community, and an exciting silent auction to benefit the program. The after party will take place at City Tap House from 8:30-10:00 p.m. Proceeds will help SMNS make essential playground improvements including an organic “green” shade for the playground.  Continue Reading