Harrowgate: Outsiders Pitch In When Locals Don’t
Longtime community members fight for their neighborhood one block at a time in Harrowgate. Repelling drug dealers, moving addicts along and fighting opportunistic slumlords starts less with city-wide policy and more with in-person communication and leading by example. Local civic association leaders like Shannon Farrell and Jim Ridgway do it neighborhood-wide. But it’s the block captains […]
Mount Airy: Lovett Memorial Library Getting Closer to Completion
In 2013, the Lovett Memorial Library on Germantown Avenue in Mount Airy was selected as one of four Philadelphia branches to be a part of the Free Library of Philadelphia’s Building Inspiration: 21st Century Libraries Initiative. For more than 130 years it has been a staple of the Mount Airy community. Now, nearly four years […]
Mayfair: Local Businesses and Vendors Rally for Small Spending
Mayfair pop-ups may do much to unify a neighborhood, but businesses don’t all see eye to eye on the subject of regular pop-up events. The intent, to bring together community and possibly spur local spending, isn’t an idea anyone would do away with, but some businesses are much more welcoming of the idea than others. A […]
Mayfair: Pop-up Events Bring Community Together
Pop-ups throughout Philadelphia have been gaining popularity. These small, usually short markets come for all sorts of reasons: a beer garden in the summer, to promote a corporate brand or, in the case of Mayfair, to bring a sense of unity to the neighborhood. In 2015, Uwishunu, a tourist destination website, reported more than 20 […]
Mayfair: Mike Scotese Says, “Not Many People Know About Mayfair.” But They Should …
Mike Scotese, president of the Mayfair Business Association, owner of the Grey Lodge Pub and co-owner of Hop Angel Brauhaus, was born and raised in Northeast Philadelphia. Known as “Scoats” to many of his peers, he has lived in Holme Circle, Frankford and Tacony. Scoats said the future of the Northeast neighborhood Mayfair is unpredictable because […]
Frankford: The Future Shines Bright Through Its Boys and Girls Club
The Frankford branch of the Boys and Girls Clubs opened in 1938 and has been serving the youth of Frankford ever since. “I’m 61 years old and I started coming here when I was 10 years old,” said Clarence Miller, unit director of the Frankford Boys and Girls Club. “I went to school to be a gym teacher […]
Mayfair: Same Frankford Avenue, Different Decade
Ruthanne Madway, executive director of the Mayfair Community Development Corporation, and Dan Hoffman, an urban planning consultant, have worked closely with Mayfair leaders to devise a strategy for reviving Frankford Avenue, or The Avenue, it is commonly referred. A conversation about how to improve Frankford Avenue cannot occur without talking about what’s perceived to be wrong […]
Mayfair: Leadership Considers a Business Improvement District
Mayfair residents see the vacant storefronts (above) and recall a time when Frankford Avenue was a thriving shopping destination. “Frankford Avenue used to be the shopping center for everyone in the neighborhood,” said Dana Lambie, a lifelong Mayfair resident. “It’s kind of gotten away.” At a meeting of the Mayfair Business Association, members expressed their […]
Fishtown: FNA Brings Artists and Community Together to ‘Feed the Fish’
The prominent Fishtown art scene has just taken a new role in engaging local residents and utilizing a green approach for a better community through the neighborhood’s very own mascot: a fish. Throughout Fishtown, people will start to see eccentric fish head topped trashcans popping up left and right on every street corner. These trash-gobbling […]
Fishtown: A Haven for Female Musicians
Tucked away on Frankford Avenue, there is a movement growing where girls can tune their guitars as well as tune up their girl power. Girls Rock Philly is the neighborhood spot where girls, ages 9 to 18, not only can gain knowledge in music education, but also learn community, teamwork and girl empowerment in confines […]