Mount Airy: Redevelopment Projects Look to Eliminate Blight, Improve Livelihood of Historic Neighborhood
Dating back to the 1680s, when it was a just small part of Germantown, the neighborhood of Mount Airy has a rich history that has shaped the diverse and tight-knit community that it is today. In 1750, William Allen, a chief justice for the province of Pennsylvania, built an estate at the corner of modern-day […]
Chinatown: Officials Weigh Competing Proposals for Development at Parking Lot Site
Cecilia Yep has served the Chinatown community for decades. As one of the founders of the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corp., she has fought what she considers intrusive development, including a proposed stadium near the Vine Street Expressway and Chinatown’s northern border. And on March 6, in a overflowing meeting room at 1234 Market St., Yep […]
Point Breeze: Community Organization Seeks Neighborhood Engagement
Alice Shockley has lived in Point Breeze for the past 79 years and has no plans of leaving. The 85-year-old retired nurse has been an active member of Neighbors in Action for the past 10 years, where she currently serves as vice president. Shockley has witnessed the largely residential Point Breeze community undergo demographic shifts affecting […]
Brewerytown: Girard-Dream Garden An Attempt To Integrate Bordering Neighborhoods
In 2011, the Brewerytown CDC and the Fairmount CDC collaborated to turn an abandoned lot into a space the two neighborhoods could put to use, creating the foundation for the community run Girard-Dream Garden. With the help of a grant from the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, the Fairmount CDC was able to select and […]
Strawberry Mansion: Tyrone Williams of NAC Teaches Community To Use Its Voice
Now the head of community engagement at the Strawberry Mansion Neighborhood Action Center, Tyrone Williams has worked his whole life trying to better his community. From a young age, Williams took an active interest in reaching out to people. He estimated his history in community outreach went back to when he was 11-years old and a […]
Logan Square: “Like Living and Having a Classroom Outside of The Classroom”
The Logan Square Neighborhood Association is an all-volunteer community organization comprised of residents and organizations in the Logan Square area who hope to keep the area a beautiful and safe place to live and visit. In order for the organization to run smoothly, it needs strong leaders who can recognize the needs of the community. […]
Manayunk: Kevin Smith Fights for Development that Makes Sense
Kevin Smith is president of the Manayunk Neighborhood Council, a not-for-profit civic association dedicated to promoting a unified and sustainable community in Manayunk. Smith, who was raised in Southern California and moved to Manayunk about 20 years ago, sat down at Volo Coffeehouse on Main Street to discuss some of the issues and projects the […]
Fairmount: Community Development Corporation Director Has Big Plans for the Future
Kevin Moran is the executive director at the Fairmount Community Development Corporation, located on 2712 W. Girard Ave.. He is also a Fairmount resident. As executive director, he develops research and policy agendas. The organization’s goal, according to its website, is the improvement of the residential, commercial and social fabric of the Fairmount neighborhood, while preserving its character […]
Point Breeze: CDC Executive Director Strives to Revive His Neighborhood
Steve Sabo is the executive director of Point Breeze Community Development Corp. (CDC). Sabo has worked for over a year-and-a-half at the CDC, starting there in August 2014. A graduate of LaSalle University, Sabo not only works in Point Breeze, but he has also lived in the neighborhood for nearly seven years. How did you […]
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 […]