Housing: How Ceiba Guides Immigrants Seeking A Home
As a product of collaboration between four other Latino-focused groups (Esperanza, Norris Square Community Alliance, Concilio de Organizaciones Hispanas de Filadelfia and Finanta), Ceiba is an organization which offers a range of services, including advocacy work and financial literacy programs. Another Ceiba program assists immigrants with a fundamental need: housing. It connects a variety of people […]
Housing: Octavia Hill Association’s History Of Offering Immigrant Housing
As waves of immigrants from European countries poured into a crowded Philadelphia, the Octavia Hill Association (OHA) was founded in 1896 to help them find housing. Now, 122 years later, OHA is still around and still manages some of the same properties. In 19th century London, England, Octavia Hill — displeased with her city’s housing situation […]
Bella Vista: An Immigrant Himself, Eugene Desyatnik Now Serves As The Bella Vista Neighbors Association President
Eugene Desyatnik is the president of the Bella Vista Neighbors Association. Desyatnik, a naturalized citizen hailing from the former Soviet Union, has lived in Center City for more than 12 years, recently moving to Bella Vista with his wife and children. The BVNA, a nonprofit organization, helps facilitate various city services to a very diverse […]
Immigration: A Snapshot Of The Korean Immigrant’s Experience In Philadelphia
In many ways, Bok Won Kang’s immigration story is like that of many Korean immigrants to Philadelphia. Kang, who is now the officer of civil affairs for the Korean American Association of Greater Philadelphia, first came to the United States as a student in 1968 during his high school years. Kang liked his experience in […]
Brewerytown: Residents Adapting Alongside New Developments, Businesses
Brewerytown is an attractive neighborhood to people looking for the cool, new hot spot to live. Its accessibility by public transportation and its proximity to Center City and Fairmount Park have made it an enticing area for developers and new residents. It’s no question that Brewerytown has seen changes in recent years. New apartment buildings […]
Politics: Philadelphia Protestant Home Residents Helping Encourage Statewide Change
Since 1890, the Philadelphia Protestant Home has been welcoming residents into its doors as a non-profit senior living community tucked in Northeast Philadelphia. The facility currently holds more than 600 residents ranging from different levels of care including independent living, personal care, skilled nursing, and rehabilitation. According to AARP, 65 percent of all residents living […]
Brewerytown: Local Business Owner Embraces Changing Landscape
Max Ochester, owner of Brewerytown Beats at 27th Street and Girard Avenue, moved to Brewerytown in 2010, a few years before it became the “up-and-coming” neighborhood that it is now. In late 2014, Ochester’s developer friends bought a property in Brewerytown and asked if he would like to open a small business in the location. He […]
PhiladelphiaNeighborhoods.com Magazine
In the summer of 2017, through a generous donation from Lew and Janet Klein, PhiladelphiaNeighborhoods.com invited five former students (Jonathan Ginsburg, Jared Phillips, Ramona Roberts, Brianna Spause and Bob Stewart) to participate in a fellowship program to continue reporting throughout the summer. Each week we posted stories online about the happenings of particular neighborhoods from […]
Strawberry Mansion: Property Developers Strive To Improve Neighborhood
When walking through Strawberry Mansion, you may notice an overabundance of vacant properties and abandoned houses. It was not always like this. Due to redlining, a racist collusion between banks and city government, where people of certain races were prevented from buying homes in certain sections of the city, the historic neighborhood on the edge […]
Brewerytown: Greg Parker Gives Back To The Neighborhood That Raised Him
Greg Parker was born and raised in Brewerytown. As a young adult, he bought a property in his neighborhood for about $5,000 and sold it for $75,000. Parker feels he was a pioneer for the area, where he and his family usually work on flipping 15 to 20 properties at a time. But Parker’s impact […]