Fifth Street: Small Businesses Nourish the Neighborhood
North Fifth Street has been busy with small business, shoppers and community activists for years. The small businesses on the street have a waterfall effect that has nourished the neighborhoods it runs through. According to one store owner along the strip, a main concern is safety – providing a safe environment would allow for more […]
North 5th Street: Five Cuisines to Experience
The North 5th Street corridor running through Feltonville and Olney is an economic driver in the community. There are more than 20 blocks with businesses ranging from furniture stores to pharmacies but above all, there are plenty of restaurants to explore. What’s most remarkable is the wide array of flavors. Some of these businesses have […]
Roxborough: Former Phillie Donates $95k to Philadelphia Agricultural School
W.B. Saul High School of Agricultural Sciences will renovate their greenhouses, thanks to a $95,000 donation from The Hamels Foundation, co-founded by former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels and his wife Heidi. Teacher Lisa Blum runs the greenhouses, which have been in need of repair for some time now. “It’s been a frustrating 14 years here […]
Hunting Park: Bodegas and Bodyshops Revive The Economy of North 5th Street
Specks of sawdust shimmered in the sunlight as the shrill of power tools echoed throughout the skeleton of a body shop. The sight is no longer uncommon along the 5th Street Corridor of North Philadelphia, between Luzerne and Wyoming streets, but rather serves as evidence to the recent economic influx of Hunting Park. “I’ve been […]
Queen Village: Artists Draw On Their Talents To Engage, Improve Community
Art is being taught, seen and bought in a plethora of ways in Queen Village. The Fleisher Art Memorial, which is one of the oldest community art schools in the country, has more than 70 art classes – 20 of which are free – and serves more than 5,000 students each year. Fleisher also has […]
Hunting Park: Latin Music Lessons Transcend The Classroom
Salsa rhythms pulsate beyond the basement of Esperanza College and flow into the streets of Hunting Park. The Caribbean-based beats resonate from Artístas y Músicos Latino Americanos (AMLA), a non-profit arts and artist’s organization established in North Philadelphia. Accentuating Latin composition, the music school, which was founded in 2006 by Grammy-nominated music producer Jesse Bermudez, recently […]
Olney: Philip Green Works To Revitalize North 5th Street Corridor
Philip Green is the co-director of the North 5th Street Revitalization Project, alongside Stephanie Michel (below). The mission of this organization is to keep the streets clean and safe, support the merchants with business services, and bring activities to the community. They use a grassroots approach in order to grow and maintain close relationships with merchants and […]
Logan: Entrepreneur Hopes Orchard and Market Plan Will Bear Fruit in Triangle
Helen Hutchins attempted to sow wildflowers on the site at which her house sank into the earth. Hutchins’ residence was one of nearly 1,000 homes formerly located in the Logan neighborhood in an area known as the Logan Triangle. A muddle of weeds and trash now extends across the forsaken 35-acre tract of land clutched […]
Olney: Music School Serves as Cultural Beacon for Residents
Situated on the crowded commercial blocks of Olney dwells one of the last bastions of music education in the community. The Gibson School of Music and Arts seeks to preserve musical tradition in the community through inspiring its youth by teaching them the value of the creative arts. This year marks the institution’s 20th anniversary. According […]
Olney: Abu Edwards Says He’s Always Felt ‘Pushed to Advocate for People’
Dressed sharply in a dark suit and tie, Abu Edwards sat adjacent to Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas Judge Paul P. Panepinto. The room emanated ceremony, muted in tone and tenor, with rows of forward-facing benches. Nobody banged gavels or swore in witnesses. Yet the two men each endured scrutiny from the small gathering […]