CPN newsletter June 2011

June 2011

Cedar Park Neighbors Newsletter Presidents Message: Prepare for the Fair!

By Monica Allison, CPN President the calendar must be incorrect.

Iyearthink Isn’t it still spring? This is the time of where the Cedar Park is the place to be. There are many things going on in the neighborhood. Friday Night Jazz started May 27th with Dr. Ketchup, and as always, he didn’t disappoint. So far we have three businesses in the community who have financially supported this season: Elena’s Soul Showcase, The Gold Standard Café, and Philadelphia Federal Credit Union. Thank you all for your continued support. The Philadelphia Federal Credit Union will have representatives at the jazz show on Friday, June 17th, to assist neighbors with their banking needs.

Dock Street hosted the 3rd Annual Philly Beer Week Music Festival on Sunday, June 12, 2011 from 2-6pm.

Returning to Baltimore Avenue, by popular demand, is the Dollar Stroll. The first Dollar Stroll was June 2nd, with the next scheduled for July 7th. Come out and support the local businesses from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and see what you can buy for a dollar. We are pleased to welcome three new businesses along the Avenue. Mood Café, at the corner of Baltimore Avenue and Farragut Sreet, has great carrot juice!

Talking Headz Hair Salon is now open at 4714 Baltimore Avenue and Cedar Park Café is now open at 4914 Baltimore Avenue. The expanding Mariposa Food Coop has also hosted two successful community gatherings at their new location.

As I have been telling you, we are ramping up for our Centennial Anniversary to be held in Cedar Park on Saturday, August 6th, 2011, from noon until 8 p.m. We will be selling raffle tickets during the weekly jazz concerts. We are planning now for a souvenir book, activities for the children, entertainment, vendors, and a good day to just come and visit with neighbors. If you are a business, there is an opportunity for you to take out ads in this Centennial Souvenir book and we are especially inviting blocks who want to

contribute pages to highlight themselves.

Our desire is to obtain stories from our long time residents. We want to know what the neighborhood used to be like, so share your stories with us. You can email memories, photos and contribution pages to contact@cedarparkneighbors.org or you can mail them to 4740 Baltimore Avenue.

We would like to welcome our new board members: Laura Raymond, Courtney Walton and Meg Ferrigno. We thank our outgoing board members, Richard Warner, Fred Kauffman and Bruce McCullough for your service during your tenure. I would also like to thank two people who have been more than helpful in their respective committees and they are Jim Kurtz, chair of Membership and Laura Tate-McHugh, chair of Scholarship. You left large shoes to fill. Finally, on Tuesday, June 7th , we held an update for residents regarding the Next Steps in the Baltimore Avenue Conversation hosted at The Peoples Baptist Church at 5039 Baltimore Avenue. We will continue to report on this important community conversation in upcoming issues.

I look forward to seeing you on the Avenue as we continue to support our local businesses, and enjoy the park and all its activities. And remember ….

There is always something good happening in Cedar Park!

Baltimore Avenue Conversation Update

By Maureen Tate, CPN Property Housing Task Force n Tuesday, June 7, CPN hosted O an update to bring residents back together following the publishing of the Baltimore Avenue Commercial Corridor Design Study that emerged from conversations and planning workshops with local residents and businesses that occurred throughout 2010. The Baltimore Avenue Conversation focuses on what residents would like to see in the blighted blocks of the avenue from 49th to 52nd Street.

Approximately 50 residents attended the update held at People’s Baptist Church.

There were presentations by those working specifically in priority areas identified by residents in the plan. Andrew Anderson, of Friends Rehabilitation Program, spoke about their work developing senior housing as well as affordable and accessible housing and considerations that might be relevant to a project in our area. Joe McNulty, Corridor Manager with the University City District, addressed resources available to local businesses for façade improvement and, while his work for UCD is restricted to the boundary of 50th St, he is able to facilitate applications with the City’s program for façade improvement further west. Leah Pillsbury shared about the Mariposa Food Coop expansion and how it might address the desire and need for a fresh food grocery which was a particular desire of local residents.

Stephanie Chioriean, of the Philadelphia Water Department, spoke about their ambitious plan to redirect storm water to keep overflows from polluting our local

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watersheds and why we should consider storm water absorption in any planning for streetscape improvements. Danielle Denk and Milan Marvelous of the West Philadelphia Urban Living Forum presented their proposal for a garden center that they would like to locate on the now vacant lots on the southwest corner of 51st Stree and Baltimore Avenue.

Also in attendance, Mr. Francis, of Francis Funeral Home, asked to speak in response to neighbor concerns about his proposal to locate a parking lot for his business at the same southwest corner of 51st and Baltimore. Many residents spoke with admiration for Francis Funeral Home and in support of his parking lot proposal.

Others, while appreciating the value of the funeral home to our community, questioned whether a parking lot at this location is a strategic use of land since it would not increase foot traffic, put eyes and ears on the street and would detract from the goal to revitalize the retail corridor on these blocks. Others proposed alternative sites for additional parking for the funeral home that should be considered.

The meeting concluded with a strong recommendation from some in attendance for parties interested in this parcel of land to meet and see if some compromises or alternatives might be acceptable to all and result in improvements to this neglected portion of our community.

CPN will continue to report to members on this developing conversation. If you would like to read the Design Study report it is available for review on the CPN Website under “Baltimore Avenue Conversation”.

Cedar Park: The Cool Place to Be This Summer he past few months have been active T ones in Cedar Park. The spring season opened in April with a very successful Go West! Craft Fest. Local artisans displayed a variety of wares and the beautiful day was a draw to folks ready to be outdoors.

Our very own Cedar Park baby boom was also in evidence and the children enjoyed their own special program with musician Jay Sand. There was lots of joyful noise as children joined in with instruments on hand.

Local artisans display their wares at the Go West! Craft Fest.

Our annual Love Your Park event benefited from local garden volunteers as well as an enthusiastic group of volunteers who found us through Philadelphia Cares, including one group of nurses connected with Children’s Hospital. This was followed the very next week with a Centennial Tree planting event in collaboration with UCGreen, our Cross Baltimore Tree Tenders and an energetic group of middle school volunteers from West Philadelphia’s Educational Advancement Alliance. Ten trees were planted around the perimeter and in the interior of the park to replace those that were lost in last year’s storm.

Several of the trees are unusual specimens for the city, including two Magnolias and one Sequoia, that should grace our park hopefully for another 100 years.

Planting trees? I thought we were digging for treasure!

Friday Night Jazz

Garden Workshops

Garden Workdays

Of course, neighbors are already enjoying live Jazz every Friday night from 6-8 p.m.

The upcoming lineup is:

Come and learn new gardening tips.

July 16th and September 10th, 9-11 a.m.

June 17th The Budesa Brothers & Lucky Thompson June 24th Webb Thomas July 1st Heath Allen July 8th Side by Soul

June 15th, 6-8 p.m.

Edible Gardening in Small Spaces with Erica Smith of Philly Rooted August 5th, 2-4 p.m.

Get your hands dirty by helping at our garden workdays.

Terrarium Gardening at the Cedar Park Fair with Ashby Leavell of the Longwood Graduate Program

Exciting update on Mariposa Food Co-op’s expansion project.

Peter Sachs Collopy, Mariposa Food Co-op Board of Delegates o date we’ve raised over $2.37 million, T 93percent of our $2.55 million expansion project budget. We are on track to start construction at the end of this month and open the new store this October! You are invited to a groundbreaking ceremony and reception at 4824 Baltimore Avenue, on Monday, June 27 at 3 p.m. .

Just two years ago it was only a dream to open a new store five times the size of our current space. Now it’s becoming a reality, thanks to a combination of large loans and grants and a considerable number of grassroots sources. Thank you.

We wouldn’t be where we are without your help. Because of our broad base of supporters we are closer every day to increasing access to fresh, healthy and locally-grown food in West Philadelphia.

Find a detailed picture of our funding at www.mariposa.coop/?p=2326 June 2011

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Still Working for Scholarships

By Laura McHugh, Scholarship Committee n a recent thank you note to the CPN Irecipient community, graduating CPN Scholarship Timothy Baldwin reminds us of the well-know, ever timeless, expression: “it takes a village to raise a child” (read more from Tim below!).

Tim, like many others before and after him, has depended each year on the CPN Scholarship Program to help defray college costs not traditionally covered by other forms of financial aid. The growth of our program over the last few years, coupled with a still struggling economy, has resulted in an influx of new scholarship applications each year.

This year’s deadline for scholarship application submission has officially passed, and we are now in the process of reviewing the many quality applications we received. We are still actively fundraising for 2011-2012 with the hope of being able to fund as many of these applications as possible! To all those who attended our annual Dock Street fundraiser in April, sponsored the event in some way, or

who have already donated through this year’s annual appeal, we are deeply appreciative.

However, if you have not donated to the Scholarship Fund this year, it is not too late! We hope many of you will still consider donating to this year’s program to help support the vast number of young people who have turned to Cedar Park for assistance in realizing their college aspirations. Stay tuned for the announcement of this year’s scholarship award winners in early August.

And the winner is.... Laura McHugh announces the winner of the drawing at the Scholarship Program’s annual Dock Street Fundraiser.

For more information about donating to the CPN Scholarship Program please contact the Scholarship Committee at scholarships@ cedarparkneighbors.org.

Support our young people today!

Rosemarie Certo, owner of Dock Street, accepts thanks from CPN Scholarship Committee member Laurie Friedman.

Greetings from a Cedar Park Scholarship Graduate ello neighbors! My name is Timothy H Baldwin and I am a recent graduate of Shippensburg University with a BS in Exercise Science. It has been a long road to get to this moment in life. On this journey, I have been a part of some amazing things and also had some roadblocks. But as the old saying goes, “it takes a village to raise a child” and I am blessed to say I was raised by the amazing village of West Philadelphia.

The summer I was leaving for college, a fellow church member, Monica Allison from Hickman Temple AME, told me about a scholarship fund available for students who live in the Cedar park area. When I applied, the Cedar Park Neighbors were more than welcoming, and opened their arms with love and support. They sent me off to college with all the hope and encouragement in the world, and I thought that was it.

As I continued through school I learned, like in life there will be times of adversity Page 4

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and everything will not be easy, but it is how you handle adversity which shows your determination to obtain your goal.

And in those times of adversity, my family, my church and Cedar Park Neighbors were in my corner at all times. The support that CPN showed towards me allowed me to overcome my tough times — whether it was the small gatherings they had after every semester, through Facebook, or those much-anticipated care packages.

The CPN Scholarship Committee members are more than just grant givers; they are extended family members.

No words can express the thanks and gratitude my family and I have for the members of Cedar Park Neighbors organization, and I hope they can continue to not only help students through college but change their lives in the process, as they did mine. Take care and God Bless!

Timothy Joseph Baldwin, Class of 2011 Shippensburg University Bachelors of Science in Exercise Science

Cedar Park Neighbors extends congratulations to Tim and to all of our Cedar Park scholars!

Bringing Neighborhood Resources to Schools

By Danielle Denk, CPN Board Member and local schools advocate

to volunteer in the kindergarten classrooms more easily.

ormed last June, the West Philly Coalition F for Neighborhood Schools aims to bring ourvibrant community and all of its resources

Additionally, we have launched “Take the Lea Kindergarten Pledge” campaigns for 2011-12 and 2012-13 on ThePoint.com, a social networking activist website that allows participants to commit initially anonymously.

Once the “tipping point” is reached, information is then shared among the pledge takers.

We ask that parents pledge to consider seriously sending their children to Lea for kindergarten with the tipping point goal for each campaign set at 10 participants.

into our local neighborhood public schools.

Anyone, regardless of parental status or age of children, is welcome to join. To date, our Google Group email list has over 230 members and we have nearly 80 members on Facebook. WPCNS holds weekly playdates/ meetings at rotating neighborhood parks and members attend the monthly Parents In Action Council meetings at the Enterprise Center CDC. This May, WPCNS decided to focus its efforts on Lea Elementary at 47th and Locust because of the relationship with its principal, Dr. Lisa Bell-Chiles, the existing community involvement, strong Home and School Association (a.k.a. PTA) leadership and the school’s enormous potential. Given that Lea Elementary is under enrolled by approximately 200 students, it has room to grow without displacing the current student population.

On May 5th, Lea Elementary and WPCNS hosted a talk by Jacqueline Edelberg, coauthor of How to Walk to School: Blueprint for a Neighborhood School Renaissance, with 125 community members in attendance.

A panel discussion followed with Lea HSA President Maurice Jones, Sterling Baltimore, the director of the Lea Community School (afterschool program), Stanford Thompson, the director of Tune Up Philly and Greenfield Elementary Principal Daniel Lazar, who completed his Penn Graduate School of Education work component at Lea. During the event, Stanford Thompson made the commitment to bringing his afterschool classical music instruction program to Lea. The consensus of the evening was that with increased community and parent involvement, Lea Elementary can become not only a premier neighborhood school but a true meeting place for the surrounding community.

Subsequently, WPCNS helped plan and publicize the May 23rd Kindergarten Open House where 60 community members attended a meet and greet with Lea’s principal and staff, toured the school and visited the classes of its fantastic kindergarten teachers, Ms. McCloskey and Ms. Mykytiuch.

As a follow up, WPCNS has created a system to allow both prospective and current parents

One of the WPCNS’s immediate projects at Lea has been obtaining mini-fridges for the kindergarten classrooms. This will allow the kindergartners to have fresh, healthy snacks that can be prepared in advance.

One mini-fridge has already been donated with a second still needed.

Our LEAmonade Sale on May 28th raised $165 towards window air conditioning units for the south-facing kindergarten classrooms.

We hope to purchase two recent model, gently-used high BTU air conditioners at the Penn Moves sale this month and supplement each of the large classrooms with a donated medium BTU air conditioner. Passive cooling elements such as shade trees and awnings are part of the long-term greening plans we are developing together with the Lea HSA. Given the recent surge of interest in Lea Elementary, it is not possible to succinctly sum up the school’s current enrichment programs and initiatives as well as those in progress. In short, Lea Elementary and WPCNS have already been greatly impressed by the wealth of skills and resources available in the neighborhood and the willingness of community members to donate them. As we continue to direct such efforts and energies towards Lea Elementary, it is only a matter of time before Cedar Park has an excellent neighborhood public school. Please join us!

Upcoming WPCNS Playdates/Meetings (Rotates alphabetically by park):

6/18: Barkan Park, Hansen (1/2 block west of 49th) & Spruce, tiny enough that you can just ask other people if they are there for WPCNS 6/25: Cedar Park, Baltimore between 49th and 50th, tiny enough that you can just ask other people if they are there for WPCNS 7/2: Clark Park, meet at the Tot Lot by the dinosaur June 2011

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What School District Cuts Mean to YOU!

By Monica Allison, CPN President ithin the last month, there has been a W lot of talk around the impending School District budget which had to be in

by May 31, 2011. At the printing of this newsletter and this is subject to change, these are the items on the chopping block: full day kindergarten, comprehensive day care, free transportation, special education, summer school, as well as art and music programs and more. The Central Office of the School District would lose 430 jobs, a reduction of 12% of the teaching force, which is approximately 1260 teachers, 650 noon time aides, 400 custodians, 180 counselors and 51 nurses, as the District attempts to close a gap of $629 million. This could get worse or better, depending on what the city and commonwealth are willing to do for the district. In the K-3 grades, class size would increase to 30 children and 4-12th grade would increase to 33.

As you can imagine, the conversation from all sides has been contentious, to say the least. I tutor some of those students who have been lost in their schools: 7th graders who can’t read past a kindergarten level or do math past a pre-kindergarten level, high school graduates who can’t write an essay to get into Community College, overwhelmed college students who have no idea how to take notes, use

references in papers and the like. And that is before the cuts! As citizens of this city, whether or not we are parents, this is our problem, not just a parental problem.

With all of the cuts that will probably be effective in September, we as a community have an obligation to our neighbors. First, we need to write those elected officials who represent us and let them know how we feel about these cuts. Second, we need to embrace the schools in our community and see what they need us to do to help.

Third, when the children come around with their fundraisers, support them. It is our mandate as a community to do what we can to support our children. Think about this: lack of education in the primary years, leads to lack of education in the secondary years, which leads to lack of employment opportunities, which leads to lack of productive adults, which leads to fewer taxes available to draw from, which leads to the demise of our city! This is not a today issue!!

Contact our elected officials: State Senator Anthony H Williams, 2901 Island Ave Suite 100, Philadelphia, PA 19153, State Representative James Roebuck 4712 Baltimore Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19143 and Councilwoman Jannie L Blackwell City Hall Room 408 Philadelphia, PA 19107.

CPN Membership Committee

By Laurie Friedman, Chair he CPN membership committee is T working to update our membership database. We would like to remind everyone to please be on the lookout for an email and/or phone call regarding renewing your membership. If you are interested in joining one of CPN’s committees or have a question about the status of your membership, please email

membership@cedarparkneighbors.org so we can connect you to the committee chairperson. The membership committee is also looking for new members and ideas; any and all are welcome!

Remember, to join or renew your membership online, please go to www.cedarparkneighbors.org/join-cpndonate/cpn-membership-form/ Thanks so much for all of your support!

CRIME AND SAFETY MONTHLY MEETINGS AT CALVARY Meetings with representatives of the 18th Police District, concerning local crime and safety issues, take place EVERY third Page 6

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Thursday at Calvary Church, 48th and Baltimore Avenue from 6 to 7 p.m. Meetings are held in the lower level. All are welcome.

Cedar Park Neighbors Membership Application/Renewal ● New Member

Name

Name

Address

Address

● Renewal ● Multi-year (max. 3 years) ● ● ● ● ●

# of years_____ $10 Individual $15 Household (2 persons or more) $ 7 Senior/Student/Unemployed $30 Business $40 Sponsor (one free CPN t-shirt!)

Additional contribution: (Write $ amount)

City, State, Zip Phone

Phone

Email

Email

_____ Holiday baskets _____ Scholarships _____ Jazz Series _____ Park Gardens, Activities and Maintenance _____ Other, specify _________________________

● Yes, I would like to receive an email notice with

CPN t-shirt: (Write $ amount if not Sponsor and circle size)

_____ Short Sleeve Adult S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL,4XL, 5XL, 6XL ($15) _____ Short Sleeve Kids S, M, L, XL ($15) _____ Long Sleeve Adult S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL ($20) _________TOTAL ENCLOSED

a link to the current newsletter on the CPN website (and do not deliver a paper copy to my home).

Email Website Phone

contact@cedarparkneighbors.org www.cedarparkneighbors.org 267-531-4147

Return form with check to: Cedar Park Neighbors Calvary Community Center 4740 Baltimore Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19143

Check your areas of interest for potential participation: ● Block Organizing: Maintain list of Block Leaders, organize forums etc. ● Block Improvement Grants Committee: Review applications, help awardees implement projects etc. ● Board of Directors: CPN leadership and decision-making body. ● Cedar Park Fair: Publicity, children’s activities, venders, entertainment, etc. ● Cedar Park Garden Tenders: Plant and maintain gardens at Cedar Park. ● Clean-up Committee: Promote participation in block clean-up days and Tire Round-up. ● Education Committee: Interaction with local schools and parents on issues. ● Fundraising: Special events, grant writing. ● Holiday Baskets: Coordinate and assist distribution to needy Cedar Park families. ● Hospitality: Provide refreshments for community meetings and special events. ● Membership Committee: Promote membership to residents and businesses. ● Newsletter: Writing, publishing, photography, distribution. ● Property/Housing Task Force: Strategize/respond to issues of deteriorated property. ● Scholarship Committee: Raise funds, promote program, and select awardees. ● Website: Technical support, maintenance, updating info/pictures etc. ● Zoning Committee: Monitor & communicate issues to residents;

appear before Zoning Board of Adjustment, coordinate meetings.

Cedar Park Neighbors is a 501[c]3 not-for-profit organization. All contributions are fully tax-deductible for federal income tax purposes.

June 2011

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c/o Calvary Community Center 4740 Baltimore Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19143

CPN Mission Statement: Cedar Park Neighbors is an association of diverse households and businesses based in the Cedar Park neighborhood of West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The purpose of the association shall be to foster collaboration among all persons living and working in the Cedar Park neighborhood, to promote community development, to provide a forum for communication and community education, to respond to neighborhood concerns and to advocate for and promote the general welfare of the Cedar Park community.

Newsletter Editors Maureen Tate & Judy Lamirand Newsletter Design Judy Lamirand, Parallel Design To Contact Cedar Park Neighbors or submit Newsletter items: contact@cedarparkneighbors.org www.cedarparkneighbors.org 267-531-4147

Enterprise Center Hosts Summer Camp for Teens he Enterprise Center is proud to announce Leaders About Business Youth Camp: Summer TEC-LAB 2011, which will be held June 27th through 30th at 4548 Market Street. We are excited about Summer TEC-LAB 2011 and hope that a teen you know will be able to join us.

T

Summer TEC-LAB (formerly knows as Business Boot Camp) has been improved to not only inspire campers to build their business understanding, but also to develop their leadership skills, improve their character and help them walk away with a better view of themselves and the world around them.

We realize that every spring, parents are faced with the choice of where they will

send their child to camp. A week of summer camp is such a valuable experience for everyone. We think Summer TEC-LAB is the camp parents are looking for to provide a safe and valued experience for their child.

We encourage you to share this information with teens in your area. The Summer TEC-LAB costs $40 and includes t-shirt and lunches. You may even be interested in sponsoring a teen’s attendance to Summer TEC-LAB.

Campers must be 13 to 18 years of Age. For information and application, please call Nafeesha Mays at 215-895-4051 or nafeesham@theenterprisecenter.com.

Thanks for supporting this issue of Cedar Park Neighbors Newsletter.

Serving home buyers in University City and Greater Center City.

O’Donnell Real Estate, Inc. 4534 Baltimore Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19143 www.odonnellre.com 215-222-9500 X 7 Page 8

CPN Newsletter

CPN Board President Monica Allison 1st Vice-President

Michael Froehlich 2nd Vice-President Naomi Fiordimondo Treasurer Karen Allen Secretary Dorothy Welch Berlind Directors

Algernong Allen Michael Clapper Danielle Denk Sean Dorn Meg Ferrigno Laurie Friedman Lisa Johanningsmeier Theresa McCole Manzi Jessica Naugle McAtamny Sheri McFarland Ray Murphy Sara Nissley Laura Raymond Beverly Rouse Neil Toensmeier Courtney Walton