Callowhill: A Rail Park To Connect All Philadelphians
Ever since New York City’s High Line opened in 2009, cities around the world have been finding ways to revitalize the skeletons of their industrial past and turn them into green spaces. Philadelphia is moving forward with a project of its own, the Rail Park. One of the major challenges, accord to Friends of the […]
East Kensington: Neighbors Work To Preserve Letterly Green
Stephanie Koenig, 36, moved to the East Kensington area with her husband, Lewis Colburn, in 2009. The couple, both sculptors who found studio space in Philadelphia, bought a house across the street from Letterly Green, an empty plot of land that spans half a block long, two years later. Along with their next-door neighbors, Onais […]
Chestnut Hill: Safety, Community Enhancement are Top Priorities for Business District Executive Director
Martha Sharkey is the executive director for the Chestnut Hill Business Association and is one of the primary people leading the way in bringing new businesses, programs and community safety projects to the local community. Sharkey, who has held her current position for three years, believes that helping bring new people to the neighborhood will ultimately […]
West Oak Lane: Volunteers Want to Keep Up with the Sweep Up for Philly Spring Cleanup
Each spring, brooms, rakes and buckets of paint come alive as the neighborhoods across the city participate in citywide cleanup days. But what about the rest of the year? Vernon Smith and Carlton Williams, legislative assistants and community outreach liaisons to state Rep. Dwight Evans, who serves the West Oak Lane area, helped orchestrate the April […]
West Oak Lane: Planting Seeds For Youth to Help Clean Up Streets
On the corners of many streets in neighborhoods throughout the city, there is trash and other debris strewn around. Events like the annual city-wide spring cleanup day were created to help keep streets clean and also teach kids that they should be keeping their neighborhoods in the best conditions possible. For parents, having their children alongside them […]
East Oak Lane: Organization Makes Use Of Green — and It Isn’t Talking Money
East Oak Lane, William Penn’s first neighborhood, is often called a “Green Country Town” and if you’ve taken a trip to this area, you would understand why. Most of the neighborhood’s streets are lined with beautiful, large trees, some of which have been there for decades, others purposely planted by a group of people who call this […]
Kensington: A Greener Schoolyard for Hackett Elementary
Within the next few years, the schoolyard at Horatio B. Hackett Elementary School will no longer be known as a sea of asphalt, but rather as an educational landmark filled with greens and opportunities the entire community can enjoy. The efforts stem from the combined work to revitalize the schoolyard from the School District of […]
Newbold: Five Neighbors Cleaning and Greening the Community
Cleaning: It’s the one spring trend that never goes out of fashion. For its part, the city makes a valiant effort in cleaning and greening, offering free trees through Philadelphia Parks and Recreation’s TreePhilly program, as well as providing a system of street-cleaning block captains managed by the Philadelphia Streets Department’s Philadelphia More Beautiful Committee. But […]
Hunting Park: Community Garden Brings Residents Closer to Park
The community garden in Hunting Park, one of many revitalization projects taking place in the park over the past year, allows residents to grow their own fruits and vegetables in the usually limited green space found in North Philadelphia. “This is easy enough,” said Carnell Anderson, a Hunting Park resident who has his own plot […]