Juniata Park: Different But Still a Place to Appreciate
Residing in the heart of her neighborhood, Kate Clarke is the president of the Juniata Park Civic Association. The community-based organization meets the second Tuesday of each month to discuss and mitigate community issues. How did you first get involved in Juniata Park’s community affairs? Well, I’m a lifelong resident of the neighborhood. I grew up […]
Hunting Park: Program Leader Gives Back to the Next Generation of Lenfest Center Learners
As a youth in Hunting Park, Kysheen Wilson was always looking for a place that he could get excited about. In 2007, the Philadelphia Police Athletic League began to use the building on N.10th St. in Hunting Park for athletic activity for youths from ages 6-18. Wilson started taking advantage of the programs offered there almost […]
Philadelphia: Aging at Risk of Financial Exploitation
Much has been said about impact of the millennials, which can make it easy to forget that baby boomers will soon reach retirement age. From 1999 to 2009, the nation’s aging population grew from 35.3 to 39.6 million and will reach an estimated 55 million by 2020, according the World Health Organization. Philadelphia is no […]
Mayfair: Q&A with a Business Leader Fighting a Changing Neighborhood
Angela Vanni is a Philadelphia native and an owner of Giggles Gifts, a retail gift shop which specializes in candies, cards, seasonal decorations and other possible presents. Located at 7400 Frankford Ave., it was founded by the Veneziale family in 1983 and opened during an era when these types of businesses were a common sight in Mayfair. Now, the times have changed, […]
Mayfair: Civic Association Leader Renews Interest in Splitting 15th Police District
For nearly 30 years, Mayfair residents have been urging the Philadelphia Police Department and the City of Philadelphia to split the 15th Police District. Largely owing to a collaboration between Donny Smith (above), president of the Mayfair Civic Association, Councilman Bobby Henon, who represents Philadelphia’s 6th Council District in Northeast Philadelphia and Joe DeFelice, chairman […]
Mayfair: Q&A with Jerry Bolzak, Executive Director of Northeast Victim Service
Jerry Bolzak, a Philadelphia native and executive director of the nonprofit Northeast Victim Service, has been helping victims of crime in Mayfair for the past 15 years. The organization, which originally launched in 1992 following the Victims of Crime Act of 1984, provides financial assistance with medical expenses, funeral costs and counseling services for victims and witnesses in Northeast Philadelphia. The […]
Northern Liberties: With Increased Crime Comes Self-Defense Classes
After a 20-year-old waitress named Sabina O’Donnell was beaten, raped and strangled in Northern Liberties five years ago, Lawrence Whitaker, chief instructor of at Urban Defense on 6th Street near Fairmount Avenue, knew he needed to do something so the same wouldn’t happen to others. He started a class, Defense for Women, which teaches women the skills […]
Strawberry Mansion: Recreation Center Helps Children Learn and Grow
Children gathered their backpacks and lunches as they got ready to leave the Cecil B. Moore Recreation Center. The recreation center, located near the corner of 22nd Street and Sedgley Avenue, provides children with a safe learning environment where they can take part in various activities. C.B. Moore, a three-floor facility, sits on 6.2 acres […]
Point Breeze: Activist Promotes Unity in the Community With Events, Dialogue
Anton Moore, 29, aspires to be the peacekeeper in Point Breeze and beyond by organizing events and other outreach via his nonprofit organization Unity in the Community. What exactly do you do? My organization is Unity in the Community. So we put together a yearlong initiative to stop the violence but also promote peace and bring […]
Port Richmond: As Violence Drops, Problems Linger
Philadelphia Police Capt. Dan O’Connor characterizes Port Richmond as a neighborhood in transition. It’s a section of Philadelphia that houses some generations-old families that have never left. Other residents have arrived from quickly gentrifying areas like Fishtown. Others are among Port Richmond’s well-documented population of Eastern European immigrants, including a thriving Polish-American population, a Lithuanian […]