The Spirit of the Riverwards - June 22, 2016

H Y PERLOC AL

DON E DI F F E R E N T LY

FISHTOWN + KENSINGTON + NORTHERN LIBERTIES + PORT RICHMOND + BRIDESBURG

THIS

WEEK JUNE 29, 2016 VOL. 13 NO. 24

CLEAN PLATE A recipe for fig and goat cheese muffins.

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MUTUAL BURIAL GROUND OF KENSINGTON We update the situation at 1338-48 Frankford Ave. following historic designation committee meeting.

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WHAT IS THAT?!

A little bit of history about the Ampere Electric Building on 2200 E. Norris Street.

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WPPM 106.5 FM Philly's getting a new community radio station, and its airwaves cover the Riverwards.

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“Go get the picture of it for me,” Sandy Salzman calls over to Ed McColly. Salzman is the Executive Director of New Kensington Community Development Corporation (NKCDC) and McColly is an NKCDC Real Estate Development Associate.

After a few moments pass, Ed walks through the door with a tattered flier dated September 27, 2003, deeming the property at 2434 Coral Street in East Kensington dangerous and unfit for human occupancy, ordering it either to be demolished or repaired. After a year of planning, this is how Coral Street Arts House, the rehabbed East Kensington factory turned low income living space for artists we happen to be seated in, almost nev-

er happened.

Now, Coral Street Arts House is celebrating its 10 year anniversary of residency.

The factory that would become Coral Street Arts House was once Integrity Mills, a factory last leased by a company called New Threads, a company that sold unused clothing to shops in Germantown, Chestnut Hill, and eventually to developing countries in need. While a factory handling clothing seems to be one of the least messy factories one could renovate, Continued on Page 6.

ACCU-REGGIE Seven day forecast for the Riverwards.

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COMMUNITY CALENDAR Local events, meetings and more.

12-13

HOT OFF THE

PRESS

B

ang! Pop! Boom, boom, boom! Crack! These are just some of the onomatopoeia used to describe gun shots. (And Adam West-style Batman brawls of course. Take that, Joker!)

Pow! Boom! Crack! Crackle! Bang, pop, snap! That’s what you get for fireworks and other explosives.

Car backfiring? Guess what? Same sounds.

Now, all of the sounds are different to a trained ear. Add in some context, and even the untrained can make some inference. Is it 9:30 PM on July 4th? Well, you’re likely hearing fireworks. Was the loud sound preceded by a man yelling, “F$%# you, Moth#% %&#er!” and followed by shrieks

and cars racing away? Go ahead and call your friendly neighborhood policeman. Was the shade tree mechanic down the street cursing up a storm at his brother-in-law on a Saturday afternoon while working on his 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass 442? If there’s a loud bang a hour or two later it’s likely a car backfiring. You may hear a couple more choice words after that backfire, but if there’s a dead body involved someone probably used a tire iron or the timing chain they were fussing about, “30 degrees before top-dead-center, jack@$$!”

Continued on Page 9.

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The Spirit of the Riverwards – June 29, 2016 THE

local lens

BY THOM NICKELS

I

first heard the name Carlton Willers while interviewing author Victor Bockris, when Bockris was in Philadelphia to introduce an early (and bad) Andy Warhol film entitled “Kitchen.” Willers, Bockris told me, was Andy’s first intimate friend. Not only that, but Willers actually lived in Philadelphia. A few days later I found Willers’ name in the white pages and called him to introduce myself.

Talking with Willers in a Center City café, I tried to imagine what Andy Warhol saw in him so many years ago when the two met in the New York Public Library. When they met, Willers was 20 years old and working as the secretary for the curator in the picture collection. Andy used to come to the library all the time to borrow photographs for his work.

“Lots of artists came in there. Andy was one of them and that’s how I met him,” Willers said. “One day he came up to me and said, ‘You wanna go on a picnic with some people in Central Park?’”

The year was 1953. After the picnic, Willers says he went to Andy’s apartment almost every evening.

“I often stayed there because Andy would work all night,” Willers said. “He was doing ad work in those days and making lots of money doing it. There weren’t that many galleries then. It was a lot of fun for me and I helped him with a lot of that, as did a lot of people. He loved to go out to the theater. He would never go alone and I would always go with him. He liked the wonderful musicals of the 1950s. It was a lot of fun for me, a kid from Iowa, who entered the Air Force, then went straight to New York. Andy was a lot of fun in those days. He was playful.”

In those days Andy was living in a top-floor apartment with his mother, Julia. Willers remembers Julia as being extremely funny and kind. He said that everybody loved her because she was even more playful than Andy.

“She was innocent and spoke this broken English and was always taking care of Andy,” Willers recalled. “She was this old Czech lady. She was as funny as Andy and she loved to laugh at funny things. Andy had many cats then, eighteen of them. They were all named Sam. Some of them were inbred and many of them were getting a little queer; they were cross-eyed, some of them. In those days Andy had a mess of stuff around him. There was always paper and art work because he was busy doing advertising and the cats would come along and knock over whole bottles of India ink, but Andy never got upset. Then his mother would come in with this big bucket and mop — she just looked like a Czech chore woman. She had her bedroom in the back and she’d go to her Byzantine Catholic church every Sunday.”

Willers says that Julia would cook, though she’d never eat with him and Andy. “She was always very nice to me but the only time Andy and me had any time together was late at night after she had gone to bed and fallen asleep in the bedroom in the back,” Willers said. “She also called me Andy’s boyfriend. To her a boyfriend was just a chum.

To her, I was just staying over because I was helping him with his work. She was special because I don’t think she understood much about Andy’s world. I don’t think she understood the gay thing at all.”

Julia, of course, had just come to New York one day on a visit and never left. She also kept trying to get Andy interested in girls. “Andy thought this was hilarious,” Willers said. “Sometimes people would come to the studio and she’d see them and point out a girl and say, ‘Andy, why don’t you get married to her?’”

“Andy’s ad drawings were very elegant and beautiful in those days and everyone knew it. Here’s this little boy — he really was a boy in those days with his cap on… literally, his shoe laces would always be broken and his tie would be askew but he’d walk into the Bonwit and Teller Ad Department and everybody loved him. He already had an image of himself, a persona,” Willers said.

Willers believes that he was Andy’s only authentic boy-

friend. “He was kind of asexual, but gay. He didn’t have a gay life though, he had a thing about beautiful people.

I think he might have intimidated people — I wasn’t intimidated. I saw there was no line there. I just went right across it and I think he was very touched by it in a way,” Willers said, adding that, “He was certainly not passionate. He was more passionate about food and eating. He loved going to certain restaurants where he liked the people. I think he loved having me there every night because otherwise he was alone with his mother.”

Willers said that once in a while, while cuddling, Andy would cry. “This would usually come unexpectedly or spontaneously about something in his past that was sad,” he said. “And he did have a somewhat sad past. They were very poor. His mother was always kind to him though. He was her favorite.”

Sometimes when Willers was with Andy there would be mild arguments but these happened when friends of Andy’s would say, ‘Let’s go to this party,’ and Andy would say no because he would not like somebody who was going to be there.

Andy was obsessed with becoming famous and he’d often say, “Gee, I wish I could be famous,” though Willers doesn’t think that Andy ever thought he’d become as famous as he did.

He was also insecure about his looks. “I thought he was much too self-conscious. He hated being bald and his tendency to put on weight. He liked sweets a lot. Often after he was out running around the town he’d buy all these voluptuous cakes and pastries and he liked ice cream, and that got him through the night sometimes.” To hide his baldness, Andy wore caps in the 1950s. “He wouldn’t take the cap off,” Willers says. “We’d go to rather nice dinner parties with rather nice prestigious people and he wouldn’t take his hat off. He wouldn’t even take his cap off in the theater. One day I said, ‘Andy, why don’t you get a hairpiece or something?’ He actually did. He went to some place and got a very nice, well-matched hairpiece.

He looked great in it. It looked like his real hair. Later, as his hair got completely white, he started going for white hairpieces.”

Willers said that when he started at Columbia he didn’t see Andy on a regular basis, that he was too busy studying and working. When he finished at Columbia he was offered a teaching job at Carnegie Tech, Andy’s old alma mater. “Andy was intrigued by this. When I went out there I’d get cards from him and I’d visit him when I visited New York.”

But something had changed. Andy was no longer the little blond boy with the untied shoe laces walking around with his ad drawings, but had taken up with a film crowd and was now dressing in leather. “He remade himself,” Willers said. “He didn’t really look good in leather. He was a totally different person. People who had known him before didn’t know how to treat him because he wasn’t the old Andy. They realized they were part of Andy’s old world and not a part of the new world. It didn’t bother me. He was starting to get famous for his pop art work and then started to make these films. The film people changed him.

He almost didn’t want to recognize you in the street when he ran into you. That happened to me several times but it truly didn’t bother me because I didn’t want to be in that world anyway. I knew he had to be in that world. But I still ran into him from time to time when he wasn’t with those people and he was still the same old Andy.”

After this, Willers said, the wigs got crazier and crazier.

When Willers moved back to New York and opened a small art gallery, Andy came to visit from time to time.

Willers would also run into him a lot at auctions. “He would often be alone, buying art. That’s when I would run into him and we would talk and he was very much the same.”

When Andy died, Willers was invited to the private memorial mass at Saint Patrick’s cathedral but opted not to

THOM NICKELS IS A PHILADELPHIA BASED AUTHOR, JOURNALIST, POET, FILM CRITIC & FEATURE WRITER FOR SPIRIT NEWS.

go. He wasn’t ready for all the hoopla. “Once you get to a certain point,” he said, talking about Andy’s fame, “it feeds on itself and it gets bigger and bigger. Andy didn’t deal well with this towards the end of his life. He tried to keep up this persona. Had he lived to be old, where would that have gone? How could he take off these masks and be himself again? This would have been very difficult… everybody wanted him to be Andy Warhol. I think this happens to people who become famous and some people deal with it well and some don’t.” •

Tribute to Father Lendacky

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(St. Agnes-St. John's Parish) Written by Mary Dankanis

o everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under the sun. A time to be born and a time to die." Eclesiastes 3.

This is a reminder as we mourn the loss of our beloved priest, Father Francis Lendacky. He served the parish of St. Agnes-St. John faithfully for 40 years and the parishioners were faithful to him as well. Father was a humble, gentle, soft-spoken man of God. His entire existence can be summed up in the teaching of the New Baltimore Catechism: "Why did God make you?"

"God made us to know, love and serve him in this world and be happy with him in the next." And so it is.

His last mission on earth was preparing for morning mass and we found him in the sacristy of the church. In other words, doing what he loved most. We should not grieve, he is exactly where he would have wanted to be.

I began this tribute with a quote and will end it the same way: "Well done, good and faithful servant. Come and share your master's joy." Matthew 25:23.

Rest in peace, Father Lendacky.

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The Spirit of the Riverwards – June 29, 2016

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The Spirit of the Riverwards – June 29, 2016 S E V E N D AY F O R E C A S T F O R T H E R I V E R WA R D S

accu reggie

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TWITTER: @ACCUREGGIE • FACEBOOK: ACCU-REGGIE

T

he summer is off to a rather nonchalant start. We are experiencing average summer temperatures and we haven't had any crazy thunderstorms or rains to talk about for a while. We are actually running dry around here, behind by almost 2 inches for the month! The week ahead is much like last week; some rain, some heat, but nothing extreme. Temperatures will remain mostly in the 80s, but we will flirt with or surpass 90 on a couple of the days.

We have a few chances for rain this week but none look big. Thunderstorms are likely on Friday with a front, and light rain is possible Saturday night and Sunday. I’ll be

monitoring these rain opportunities but right now these events look more like something to yawn about than worry about.

We start the forecast on Wednesday on a warm note as temperatures climb through the 80s with sunshine. Showers and clouds clear out in the morning.

Thursday will be warm and sunny with temperatures in the upper 80s.

Friday brings chances of morning and afternoon thunderstorm. Of course, it won’t be raining the entire day so the sun may make an appearance or two.

Temperatures try to pop to 90 degrees on Saturday as

clouds increase later in the day. Light rain will try to move into the area in the late evening.

Sunday looks wet at least for the first half of the day. It also looks to be the “coolest” day of the week as temperatures struggle to get to 80.

Monday and Tuesday will be the hottest days of the week; temperatures at 90 or more both days with sunshine and no rain to cool us off. These are the dog days of summer indeed!

The weather winner of the week is the Wednesday; the weather loser is Tuesday (too hot!). •

FINANTA

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The Spirit of the Riverwards – June 29, 2016

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WRITTEN BY JOHN HENRY SCOTT

kensington graveyard UPDATE ON HISTORIC DESIGNATION MEETING FOR MUTUAL BURIAL GROUND OF KENSINGTON

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ast month, Spirit News ran an article about a 19th-century cemetery known as the Mutual Burial Ground of Kensington. In addition to providing an in-depth look at the history of the site, the piece briefly detailed local historian Ken Milano’s efforts to have a portion of the grounds of the former cemetery protected by a designation from the Philadelphia Historical Commission (PHC). The purpose of this designation would be to preserve the site pending an archeological investigation for what Milano and his colleagues estimate to be dozens, perhaps hundreds, of unremoved bodies.

However, there is a conflict with Milano’s application.

The portion of the cemetery it concerns is limited to the land underneath a couple of garages at 1834-48 Frankford Avenue. This property was recently acquired by developer Ori Feibush and is slated for demolition. A historic designation could present a costly interruption for this project and Feibush believes that Milano’s application is a personal attack on his business.

On June 15th, the Designation Committee held a public meeting to determine whether to bring this application before the PHC proper. The Designation Committee is a panel of scholars with backgrounds in preservation, architectural history, and/or archeology. They advise the full board of the PHC which is made up largely of political appointees (the heads of Housing, Licenses and Inspections, City Planning, etc).

Milano was present at the meeting with several colleagues including, Jed Levin, the head archeologist at Independence National Historical Park; Aaron Wunsch, an assistant professor in The University of Pennsylvania's preservation program, and Andrew Fearon, a preservationist and Riverwards local. Feibush was present with his attorney.

Milano spoke first, summarizing his application with an emphasis on the lack of evidence of bodies being removed from the land.

Feibush’s attorney opened by saying, “we are dismayed by this nomination in bad faith,” going on to accuse Milano of trying to stymie development for the sake of a personal vendetta against Feibush. The attorney also asserted that there have been archeological investigations on this site, conducted by the developer and that his client

PHOTOS BY PATRICK CLARK

keeps Cultural Heritage Research Services (CHRS, a private archeological research firm) on retainer specifically for this purpose.

“We know what to do if we find a body,” he said.

The attorney went on to call Milano’s project “a fishing expedition” several times, as well as repeating that it was “motivated by malice not history.”

“I have a thirty year history of historical preservation, I have a zero year history of malice,” Milano responded.

Feibush himself gave a statement in which he outlined his history with Milano and Fearon, saying that he asked them if this land was historically significant before he made plans to develop on the property. Feibush claimed both men said specifically it was not significant and that they would not nominate the property at 1834-48 Frankford.

In what was easily the longest presentation of the day (the Committee had about 20 other applications to discuss in this meeting), the moderator asked several times for everyone speaking to please be more concise with their arguments.

Levin, Wunsch, and Fearon all gave brief statements testifying to the historical significance of the property. Levin recounted a few specific cases in which many bodies were found under less-than-likely circumstances, buried very deep and en masse.

Feibush and his attorney restated some of their concerns and then the Committee voted 3-2 to bring the matter to the PHC. The next meeting will take place July 8th and will offer a conclusion on this confusing chapter in the Riverward’s historic preservation effort. •

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The Spirit of the Riverwards – June 29, 2016

Continued from Page 1. the task of transforming the building into livable spaces was daunting. The leftover clothing presented its own array of unique problems.

“The windows were all open and birds began roosting in here,” Salzman said. “We had to have a hazmat team come in to clean it.”

“Imagine being exposed all those years, all that mold… ” McColly added.

Those renovations began in 2004, and Coral Street Arts House took its first step towards the vision Salzman and McColly had: 27 units of living and work space. Transforming a biohazard into 27 apartments is not cheap, however. “$7.5 million, I used to choke when I would have to say that number,” Salzman said, laughing.

While the renovations of the space are indeed dramatic, the seeds of Coral Street Art House’s existence were planted in the late 90s when Salzman noticed the northward migration of artists in east Philadelphia.

“Artists were moving north,” Salzman said. “They started off on South Street, moved up to Old City, then moved to Northern Liberties. We recognized that chances are we were going to be the next neighborhood to get hit only because we were on the waterfront and had the same kind of amenities that Old City and South Street and everybody had.”

It was at that point that Salzman and NKCDC decided to try to work with the Commerce Department to get Frankford Avenue named an arts corridor. Salzman knew it was a little bit of a gamble. “There wasn’t any coffee shop, there wasn’t any art galleries, there wasn’t many artists,” Salzman said, “but we wanted preparation for it, we wanted to encourage them [to move here].”

All this seems to be, at the very least, a risky undertaking for what Salzman herself calls “an underfunded CDC.” So why do all this work for artists? Salzman believes artists are more than just residents that add color to a neighborhood. “We knew artists would move into low-moderate income neighborhoods that are safe, that they are change agents. After they come in and stabilize neighborhoods, then other people that are not as daring come in and start changing the neighborhood even more,” Salzman said, “They’re willing to come into a neighborhood, they’re willing to take risk, they’re willing to get their hands dirty and clean up neighborhoods. And that’s true of arts groups all around the country, not just here. We recognize that to be true.”

Property in East Kensington and Fishtown held little value for decades prior to the current revival. “The industry left, the stores left, once that happened the neighborhood started to deteriorate,” Salzman said. “Houses [began] deteriorating in the 50s and 60s, people weren’t moving into the neighborhood, they were moving out. This census tract we’re sitting in here, 161, between 1950 and 1960 lost half its population. They left because most of the factories shut down, Cramps Shipyard shut down, The SugarHouse was only running at half capacity.”

McColly adds, “It was the great suburbanization of America.”

Salzman, a lifetime resident of Fishtown, was disheartened by what she saw in her home. “The land was all trash filled. It was a disgrace,” Salzman said. “Much of the land was purchased by people in the 1920s and they’re all dead and their families are to the four winds.”

Some of the families, when their aged parents living in Fishtown and Kensington passed away, would collect the assets and sell the homes if they could. If they could not, abandoned lots would become overgrown, long forgotten properties like Integrity Mills would begin falling apart from exposure to the elements, and houses would become targets of vandalism and theft. People began gutting the properties for the old copper plumbing to sell. The push to move artists into Fishtown and Kensington was more than just a real estate opportunity, but a personal attempt to make Salzman’s home a better place.

“I’ve lived in this neighborhood all my life. I went to Holy Name,” she said. “I’ve always cared about making a difference in this neighborhood. I’ve always wanted to see this neighborhood improve.”

While Salzman and NKCDC were working on preparing the neighborhoods for a northward migration of artists, another employee of NKCDC, Sarah Thompson, found some inspiration out in the Midwest. “Sarah Thompson, who was working for our Economic Development Department at the time had heard about this group called Artspace in Minneapolis,” Salzman said. "They were doing artist living space in old factories, so we went out to see what they were doing. It was an economic development driver but was also housing for low income artists, and we thought that would really work in our community.”

The final push that made Coral Street Arts House happen came from Rose Gray, Senior Vice President of Community and Economic Development for the CDC Asociación Puertorriqueños en Marcha (APM). Gray, having experience with low income tax credit deals, convinced Salzman

Ed McColly (left) and Sandy Salzman (right)/Sean Kearney

that NKCDC’s vision for Coral Street was entitled to the same deals, even if there was not a precedent for it at the time in the eyes of the IRS. With Gray’s encouragement, the NKCDC’s lawyers showed there was indeed precedent for such tax deals. Soon enough, the decrepit factory was no longer the former New Threads factory — It was finally Coral Street Arts House.

Salzman and NKCDC made some goals for themselves once the Coral Street Arts House opened in an attempt to build up the community in a sustainable way. They encouraged their residents to try to buy houses in the neighborhood once they were ready. “One of our goals for the first 10 years was to get 5 people to buy houses in the neighborhood,” Salzman said. “We surpassed that in the first 5 years.”

Not only are Salzman and McColly satisfied with how Coral Street Arts House evolved as a real estate project, but they seem to adore their residents as well. “These are artists that put Kensington on the map,” Salzman said, “We’ve had people go on to wonderful careers. We’ve had PEW award winners…”

“At least two PEW awardees,” McColly adds.

“And they’re so modest they don’t tell us when they win,” Salzman laughs.

Keeping artists in the neighborhood, however, is becoming harder. The elephant in the room when discussing housing in East Kensington and Fishtown is always the same: gentrification. East Kensington and Fishtown are no longer the up-and-coming locales people have been calling them for years. They have arrived. According to the data collected on the website Trulia.com, the median age of Fishtown/Northern Liberties is 36, the median income $68,000 per year, the median rent for apartments is $2,200, and the median listed price for a house is $362,000. Now, obviously, one has to handicap the data a bit as including Northern Liberties drives these medians

up, but even if one lopped off $100,000 from the average price of a house and $10,000 from the median income, the demographics appear to be that of a young, solidly middle-class populace with plenty of credit to throw around. Zillow.com puts the average house price in Fishtown at $206,000, with housing prices rising 9.3 percent between last year and this year. Salzman herself has seen these drastic jumps in housing prices right on her block.

“I live on Marlboro Street, my house was $7,000,” Salzman said. “Houses across the street from me are [selling for] $450—500,000.”

The site also predicts housing prices in the neighborhood will increase 4.6 percent within the next year — and even those figures seem dated. Raw data aside, the migration of artists has spread north since costs pushed them out of Old City into Northern Liberties. This trend has shown no signs of slowing.

“The thing we wanted to have, that was really important to us, is we didn’t want the artist to have to move on because they can’t afford to stay here,” Salzman said. “We wanted to make sure there are ways we could put into place, and we’re still looking, ways to keep the artists here. We’re now starting to see on Frankford Avenue the artist is starting to get stressed. People don’t have long term leases for example and they’ve only been renting the buildings. People are getting outpriced with their rent.”

As the housing market booms in Fishtown, more and more residents are continuing the trend of northward migration, turning this time to Port Richmond and deeper into Kensington for cheaper rent. Appropriately, 10 years after the Coral Street Arts House opened, Salzman and NKCDC have their own plans for northward migration quite similar to what it did with Coral Street Arts House — this time beginning development of the Orinoka Mills factory in Kensington, a project that intends to turn the hulking abandoned factory into a 51-unit, $17.8 million living space. While they may not be able to turn the tide of soaring house prices in the more developed neighborhoods, Salzman and the NKCDC seem determined to turn wherever we may end up — even condemned factories — home. •

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The Spirit of the Riverwards – June 29, 2016 WRITTEN BY SHANE ENGLISH

Eye on Business

UPDATED APPLICATION INFO FOR THE CITY’S BUSINESS SECURITY CAMERA PROGRAM

B

usinesses seeking to install security cameras Support webpage. Crucially, the cameras must be able to photo by matthew weive via creative can still apply to be reimbursed for up to $3,000 record in the dark, either via infrared settings or external (http://flickr.com/mattwieve) from the City of Philadelphia. lights. The DVR that stores the recordings must be able to The Business Security Camera Program is store 15 days of recording without sacrificing video qualfunded by the Department of Commerce which encourag- ity. es business to take advantage of the the City’s offer to help In order to be reimbursed by the city, businesses must keep their businesses and streets safe. follow the steps exactly as they are laid out. According to The program, established in February of 2015, has been the program application and guide, deviating from the under-used by local businesses. A combination of the pro- steps can prevent businesses from being reimbursed. • gram’s requirements and the upfront cost may dissuade business owners from enrolling, said Sgt. John Massi, of the 26th Police District.

The program requires businesses to first get estimates from at least two contractors licensed to work in Philadelphia. If approved, the city will inform the business of the exact amount that will be reimbursed following the installation of the camera system.

In order to be reimbursed, the business must register its cameras with the City of Philadelphia’s SafeCam program.

SafeCam, launched in 2011, aggregates a list of business and neighborhood security cameras that the Philadelphia Police can ask to pull footage from to help solve crimes.

The Philadelphia Police do not have direct access to the camera feeds nor can they compel camera owners to share footage but by signing up for the program, camera owners are signalling that they may be willing to share their security footage if it’s needed by the police.

According to the Philadelphia Police Public Affairs office, over 3,000 outdoor surveillance cameras are registered with the SafeCam program and have aided in hundreds of police investigations.

Despite the benefits of the program, Massi said that few people enroll. He was unsure whether a lack of interest of knowledge of the program was to blame.

Besides having to provide the city with estimates and register with the SafeCam program, the security system must meet the city’s technical standards. The complete details Somers Team Spirit Half Page Ad 2 copy.pdf 1 5/2/16 8:13 AM can be found at the Department of Commerce’s Business

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Page 8

The Spirit of the Riverwards – June 29, 2016 WRITTEN BY CASEY ANN BECK

clean plate RECIPE FOR FIG AND GOAT CHEESE MUFFINS

I

n my recent attempts to be fiscally responsible, I try to make coffee at home and bring my breakfast and lunch to work. Since our office becomes pretty casual in the summer, I’ve altogether adopted a more free-spirited mindset and have found it difficult to stick with my plan to be financially reasonable and resourceful.

On Friday, I completed the work-week by eating all three meals - breakfast, lunch, and dinner - at coffee shops or restaurants, guiltlessly accomplishing the trifecta of dining out. Thanks to DiBruno Brothers, I started my day of frivolous spending on the right foot with something sweet; their fig and goat cheese muffin, perfectly baked by Metropolitan Bakery, is a great with a morning cup of coffee and, speaking from experience, pretty delicious as a lunchtime snack or after-work treat, too.

It’s been fun allowing my palate to tour all of the dining options within a four block radius of my office but, seriously, this is the week I really buckle down. My travel mug is ready for home-brewed coffee, I’ve got Greek yogurt with all the fixin’s for breakfast, and even bought my favorite dressing as motivation to bring healthy, homemade salads for lunch.

And, I’ve even baked a supply of fig and goat cheese muffins. Though slightly different than those made by Metropolitan Bakery, they are just as tasty and will certainly hold me over until I’m ready to splurge again.

Fig and Goat Cheese Muffins Adapted from Running with Spoons Crumbles ½ cup all-purpose flour 1½ tablespoons brown sugar 1 tablespoon granulated sugar ½ teaspoon baking powder pinch of salt 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature Filling 4 oz. soft goat cheese 2 tablespoons honey 1 teaspoon grated orange zest Muffin batter 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon salt 1 large egg, lightly beaten 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil ¼ cup applesauce ½ cup honey 1 cup plain Greek yogurt 6 oz. dried figs, chopped

Make the crumb topping: mix together the flour, both sugars, baking powder, and salt.

Then, mix in the butter until ingredients are combined and the mixture clumps together when pressed. Set aside in the refrigerator as you prepare the muffin batter. Preheat oven to 425 and line a muffin pan with paper or silicone liners. In a small bowl, prepare the filling by combining goat cheese, honey, and orange zest. Stir until fully combined and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a medium sized bowl, combine egg, oil, applesauce, honey, and Greek yogurt.

Stir until fully combined. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just combined (do not overmix). Fold in figs. Spoon batter into muffin tins until about halfway full. Add about one teaspoon of filling to each tin, and cover with more muffin batter.

Make sure the cheese filling is fully covered. Generously top each with crumbles. Bake muffins for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges start to brown. When finished, allow to cool in pan on a wire rack. •

WRITTEN BY JIM MCGOVERN

penn treaty park C E L E B R AT I N G T H E D I V E R S I T Y O F F I S H T O W N ' S H I S T O R I C PA R K

P

enn Treaty Park was jumping on this glorious late June Saturday. There were dogs chasing balls and Frisbees. Meanwhile, a mom, pop and their little girl rode bikes — the girl struggling at times (she took one spill rounding a circle). Plenty of folk were fishing; one older gentleman with a motorcycle was the only one to catch anything worthwhile, which he tossed back anyway. The swings and the sliding boards were all in use.

But the neatest thing I found this great day was a bunch of people dolled up in elegant outfits that were as vintage as the bicycles some of them were riding (Great Gatsby here we come!). They were all part of the Philly Seersucker Vintage Bike Ride and Picnic Social and besides looking as sharp as all get out, they sure seemed to be having a wonderful time. Their bike ride had taken them through all the city's historical district and they rode for over two hours. They were winding down by the time I encountered them, but their enthusiasm had not waned at all.

On the other side of the park was a huge celebration, which included a piñata that might as well have been made of canvas. After some little kids and some not-solittle kids had their go at it, a couple of adults has no luck getting the thing to burst. Finally one adult held the thing and another ripped it open. The rush of the kids to the fallen candy looked like a flock of pigeons pecking up a spilled back of corn chips.

The very pronounced diversity and camaraderie of Penn Treaty Park always impresses me. Except for a little one being scolded once in a while, I’ve never seen anything even

close to a fight or an argument when I am there. Squeezed up against the river with the casino to the south and the old deserted electric company building to the north, it is almost as if the violence, the angst and the danger of the city never make it across Delaware Ave. With images and statues of the peace-loving William Penn on display, one can guess his pleasure out of what has become of the place where he and the Natives made their historic treaty.

I spent the morning and early afternoon at a recovery program training to help families of the addicted cope so that the addicted person does not totally ruin their lives.

The maturity and parenting (often single), care and love I see at that park makes me feel these Penn Treaty Park youngsters will avoid the inner city demons who parade on far too many corners. I realize my idyllic impression of the people in the park is seen literally at a place that is all about fun and games. But seeing kids tossing a football or a baseball, running to here or there and taking a break from their cell phones and tablets does my heart good.

So life goes on. If you’d like to find out more about the bicycle club, go to phillysearsucker.com. If you want to spend an afternoon rich in fun and diversity, head down Columbia Avenue until you get to the river. They’re open every day until darkness falls.

Jim McGovern is a local writer whose stories and op-eds have been published in the Philadelphia Inquirer and other local publications. He can be reached at ‘12stepsforall.com’ or at batesius33@gmail.com. His latest book Inclusion can be purchased through Amazon.com. •

Page 9

The Spirit of the Riverwards – June 29, 2016 Continued from Page 1.

In 2015 the 26th Police District received 162 calls for gunshots that did not result in a shooting victim. Separately there were 60 shooting victims over that time. The 162 calls without a victim could have been anything, including an actual gunshot.

“Sometimes we get a report [that someone heard gunshots],” said Sgt. John Massi. “But a three-block radius makes it tough to find a shell casing.”

Some other officers, who didn’t to go on the record, said that experience with the different sounds is key and that they’re rarely wrong when they hear them.

“Sometimes I’m finishing up a call somewhere and I hear shots in the distance,” said one officer. “I think, ‘Oh I’m getting called for that.” Nine times out of ten I’m getting dispatched within a minute or two. Other times it’s just easy to tell is firecrackers.”

The fireworks will often have an accompanying sound, hisses, crackles, or whistles for example, the officer explained. Also, if the incident is close enough people may be heard and the difference between cheering and screaming help the officers know what to expect.

But a retired Philly cop, who used to patrol the 26th, was a little skeptical of the confident officers. Noting that while some gunshots are distinct, there are just too many calibers and gun types to be sure. He also mentioned that M-80 firecrackers don’t have the extra “firework” sounds with it.

Officers in Philadelphia have to go to the shooting range for retraining on operating their firearms. Interestingly enough, several officers agreed that just approaching the range for that training allows the officer to hear what gunshots sound like at varying distances. The Philadelphia Police Department used to only allow 9mm Glocks or .38 Revolvers as service weapons, but in 2009 began allowing Glocks in .40 and .45 calibers.

Massi added that different outside temperatures can mean sound travels farther, like in the cold dry air. But those are times when people’s windows are up and they're inside.

When the weather is warm and nice, folks are out or can hear things from outside easier.

While some of the officers in Philly seemed confident in their hearing, there have been tragic situations in other towns. Back in 2012 a Cleveland police officer thought he heard a gunshot as a car drove by him. He turned around to pursue and the driver sped away.

The result was a multi-officer, city-wide pursuit, which ended up with police shooting and killing the occupants of the car. No shell casings or weapons were found. It is believed that the victim’s car, a 1979 Chevy Malibu, actually backfired.

Newer cars are much less likely to backfire. According to John Cinque, owner of Johnny’s Auto Repair in Tacony, “It’s not [usual to have] a car from the late 80s [and on] backfire.”

But the older ones without computers can run in poor condition, building up unburnt fuel, rather than stall out via an emissions control. Car backfiring also tends to move down the street and beyond, atypical of common shooting incidents and celebratory fireworks.

Frequency of the sound can also help.

“Typically you’re not going to hear just one shot,” said one officer. “It won’t be 15 either.”

Asked to put a usual number, he hesitated but said two to five is legit. Even our skeptical .retired cop agreed that gun fire comes in spurts of about that many. r Data collected by companies who develop gunshot detection technology and equipnment supports the officer’s guess-timate. e ShotSpotter (SST) is one of those companies. In 2013 they detected 51,357 incidents, in dwhich 159,696 rounds were fired total. That’s about 3.1 shots per incident. t The company also documented a serious uptick on two days of the year. Take a guess .which two: Ding, ding! Congrats, you guessed it: New Years and July 4th (heads up!). In -fact, in the SST coverage area, 10 percent of all of the shootings in the 3 month period of yOctober to December 2013 occurred in the last 6 hours of Dec. 31st thanks to morons and .celebratory gunfire (Congrats, pal, it’s a new year and you’re still a degenerate!). e l photo by kazu end via creative commons license (https://stocksnap.io/photo/TMG0QUW3BN)

The retired officer said policing for celebratory gunfire shouldn’t be with ears, but rather record keeping. “If you got multiple reports of shots at one intersection on New Year’s Eve,” he said. “You put two cops there the next year because most likely the same assholes live on that street.”

A spokesperson for SST added, “Celebratory gunfire… has wounded hundreds and killed dozens in recent years in the U.S. alone.”

As the technology improves, larger and larger cities are exploring gunshot detection services.

In the meantime, the cops all agree on this: When in doubt, let them check it out. Give them as much info as you have and stay safe and away from the sounds — whatever they are. •

9mm

glock with muzzle flash/ photo by kazu end via creative

commons license (https://www.flickr.com/photos/dad_and_

clint/231620905) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/2.0/)

photo by jan erik waider via creative commons license (https:// stocksnap.io/photo/3615D2AE7F)

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Page 10

The Spirit of the Riverwards – June 29, 2016 WRITTEN BY JORDYN CORDNER

Home Grown Airwaves WPPM 106.5 FM, THE NEW COMMUNITY RADIO STATION FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE

I

n the basement of the old Bok Technical High School on S. 9th Street, technical volunteers from hackerspace Hive76 and PhillyCAM work, with vigor, on refurbishing old donated radio studio consoles. They clean the oxidation off of the edge connectors of circuit board “fader” modules that plug into the consoles, and wipe the “dust, bugs, and dead skin” from both the guts and the controls.

These consoles will lay at the hands of the community members who will make up WPPM 106.5 FM community radio, which is part of PhillyCAM, a non-profit designated by the City of Philadelphia to operate its public access cable television network. WPPM's studio space is being constructed upstairs at PhillyCAM's facility at 699 Ranstead Street in Old City, which will beam programming via a donated microwave link to a transmitter site about half a mile north of there at 3rd and Spring Garden. The resulting FM signal, they hope, will reach a large percentage of Philadelphia's neighborhoods and into New Jersey.

The transmitter was tested briefly in early June for FCC compliance and passed with flying colors. Range testing will begin on July 1st when members of the public can help by tuning in the 106.5 MHz FM signal and sending their signal reports to the email address announced on the air to earn a special commemorative WPPM postcard.

“A lot of this is about learning,” said Ed Cummings, aka hacker bernieS, who has worked with various commercial, noncommercial, college, and pirate radio stations. Cummings is one of the driving forces behind WPPM 106.5, but hesitates to take too much credit. Cummings explains that the success of the station is a culmination of the effort of many volunteers, rather than just his own.

“We know how to do this stuff, but we want to teach other people how to do it,” he said.

WPPM 106.5 FM aims to be a hands on, community-made asset, inviting regular folks to take up a slot in the station's programming schedule. They seek to find and cultivate creative, unique radio content based in the community, and to cater to residents whose needs and interests are not being met by other local radio stations.

“The concept of community radio is not ours, it has been around for many decades,” Cummings said. “In fact, the FCC offered what they called ‘Class D’ radio broadcast licenses to schools and nonprofits for decades until the late 1970s, when NPR successfully lobbied the FCC to stop doing that so they could have those FM frequency slots instead for their own network.”

Cummings added, “When PhillyCAM knew the FCC application window would finally open for Low Power FM (LPFM) construction permits in Philly, it took the necessary steps to apply for one.

PhillyCAM's mission of electronic media education will be enhanced by teaching members of the community about producing radio programming, in addition to its existing public-access cable TV programming education program. PhillyCAM's executive director Gretjen Clausing and community radio consultant Vanessa Maria Graber were instrumental in that proocess.”

Cummings has been political throughout his radio career, having engineered at Radio Mutiny, a community FM pirate station that illegally provided innovative and eclectic radio programming to much of Philly in the late 1990s, “until the Chief of Enforcement from the FCC in Washington came to West Philly with a warrant (after four previous FCC visits without one) and an armed posse of U.S. Marshals to shut us down in 1998,” he said.

After Radio Mutiny was shut down, the community's efforts were channeled into starting the Prometheus Radio Project, an organization which successfully got the FCC and Congress to allow for a limited number of new, low-power 100 Watt FM (LPFM) community radio stations in 2000. Continued grassroots lobbying eventually opened up additional LPFM channels in metropolitan areas after President Obama signed the The Local Community Radio Act in 2011. The long-awaited passage of that law made WPPM’s existence possible.

The project faced many challenges outside of the legal realm: PhillyCAM hired a radio engineer from Hawaii who specializes in writing LPFM station engineering proposals for FCC review. Then a local team of volunteer engineers, technicians, hackers, and others was assembled to plan the station build-out in collaboration with former Prometheus engineer Andy Gunn, who specializes in building LPFM stations around the country. A quest for suitable FCC call letters took several months, until the U.S. Coast Guard was persuaded to relinquish its mothballed callsign WPPM--which had had been assigned to the cutter Galatea which was built in Camden in 1933 to intercept “rum runners” during prohibition. Now the callsign WPPM will serve a new public service mission for “People Powered Media.”

Now the WPPM radio studio is being constructed and the newly-refurbished consoles will be moved from Hive76 to PhillyCAM this week. Various pieces of studio equipment will have to be purchased, but the public is welcome to donate good-quality turntables, CD players and cassette decks. The station is required by the FCC to go on air on

Ed Cummings aka bernieS (left) works on old radio equipment at Hive76/ Jordyn Cordner

by July 12, and the 106.5 Mhz FM signal should be heard several miles in all directions from the antenna tower in Northern Liberties — an area that will encompass neighborhoods like Fairmount, Brewerytown, Strawberry Mansion, North Central and more.

“We wanted to cover as much of Philadelphia's population as possible and our transmitter location near Old City and basic radio physics determined what neighborhoods WPPM would cover,” said Cummings.

The station’s possibilities are endless, but Cummings certainly has a vision for what it could be.

“Many people have stopped listening to radio because corporate interests and media consolidation have turned it into homogenized mush, but the medium isn't inherently bad,” Cummings said. “Now Philadelphians can make radio as good as they want it to be.”

He added, “My vision for WPPM is just one of many people's visions… I envision WPPM as a grassroots nonprofit local radio station with programming produced by volunteers, that won't broadcast frequent commercial-like 'underwriting’ announcements like certain 'public radio' stations do, or play commercials like all the commercial stations in our market do. I want WPPM to play music by local artists who other radios stations won't play. I want WPPM to have DJs who have the freedom to play whatever music they want that isn't being played on other local stations. I want to hear progressive news and commentary and political satire about our local politics. I want WPPM to inform and entertain like no other local radio stations does.”

Interested in helping WPPM get off the ground? The station is looking to raisefunds and is asking for the public’s help in doing so. Visit https://www.generosity.com/community-fundraising/invest-in-philly-s-newest-community-radio-station to donate today. •

Here's a map of WPPM's coverage area.

WRITTEN BY ALEXA ROSS

gin blossoms

N

G I N B L O S S O M S T O A C T U A L LY P E R F O R M I N T H E R I V E R WA R D S

ineties rock sensations the Gin Blossoms will be performing at SugarHouse Casino. The Arizona-based band will be bringing the nineties back to the Riverwards on Friday, August

12 at 9 PM. But this is not the first time the Grammy Award winners have been linked to the community.

John Paul Titlow, Fishtown resident and freelance journalist, garnered attention with his Facebook event entitled “Gin Blossoms LIVE at Applebee’s of Port Richmond,” detailing a show on Sunday, June 5 from 9 PM to 4 AM. The event description included the use of “youse,” half priced appetizers, the “passionate hits” of the opening act Ed & Dean from Collective Soul and some of the Gin Blossom’s hits, including the “grotesquely underrated ‘Follow Me Down.’”

Spirit News reached out to Titlow for comment. He says that the Applebee’s in Port Richmond was the obvious choice for his event because of its local reputation.

“There’s just something funny about the Port Richmond

Applebee’s. It’s a quick stop. We love it, but we also make fun of it for being a local trope,” said Titlow.

He only invited a few friends originally, but never expected the response to the event that he received. “I was quite surprised to see several hundred people taking interest in the event,” he admits.

Though the intention of the event was to be a joke, a few people took it seriously, writing on the event’s wall or even messaging Titlow on Facebook, including an Applebee’s worker saying, “Hey man I work at the Applebee’s at Port Richmond and I think that event you created is great. Me and the other servers could sure use a night of better clientele. Hope people actually come.”

Titlow does not think he influenced the Gin Blossoms show at SugarHouse by any means, but believes it is “an amazing coincidence,” that the group booked a Riverwards show following his parody event. Even though he did not make the difference for SugarHouse’s scheduling, he will “totally go” jam to the Gin Blossoms.

“The Gin Blossoms are going to amp up the Event Center

and put on a show the audience won’t forget,” said Wendy Hamilton, general manager of SugarHouse Casino.

Even so, it definitely won’t be the same as a hometown Applebee’s show. • aramingo applebee's/patrick clark

Page 11

The Spirit of the Riverwards – June 29, 2016 W R I T T E N B Y B O B S T E WA R T

What Is That?!

I

d n -

AMPERE ELECTRIC BUILDING, 2200 E. NORRIS STREET

f you’ve walked by the corner of Norris and Sepviva and wondered, “What the heck is a Sepviva?” you are not alone. You may have also wondered about that building on the southeast corner of that intersection.

The structure dates back to the 1860s. While current in- formation indicates it was constructed in 1860, the newsy papers of the day point to the summer of 1866. s The building was originally constructed to be a Hose House (what we would call a Fire Station today) by the s Friendship Fire Company, which was relocating from 3rd and Brown Streets. That explains those tall, rounded, e archways on the front of the building, which would be d necessary to roll the steam engines out safely. Otherwise - “Frederick Friendship” may’ve busted his head open site ting on top of the horse-drawn pumper-truck on the way out to a three-alarmer. I think the treatment for concus- sions back then consisted of rubbing dirt on the bump. t An article in the March 12, 1866 Public Ledger said, - “[Friendship Fire Company] intend[s] to erect a hande some building, four stories high.” The May 7th Evening ' Telegraph added some more detail, “... with French roof, l [38] feet-front and [102] feet deep. The principal room will y be [35 by 65] feet. No expense will be spared to make the t building complete in all respects.”

- Back then, Philly didn’t have an organized, paid fire l department, so property owners contracted with private y fire fighting companies. If you didn’t have a contract, the M companies often would battle over the rights to put out s your house fire in order collect the insurance money, even

n n o

ampere electric building/thomas weir

cutting each other’s hoses in the process. The Evening Bulletin once retrospectively characterized the situation as, “Hoodlums ran fire companies.”

But apparently the original “Feeling the Bern” came in the 1860s and was actually more like “Feeling the Burn.”

The City “socialized” fire protection on March 15, 1871 and Friendship was incorporated into the city’s new professional department as Ladder 3 (now located at 2422 N. 2nd Street).

After Friendship moved to a new hose house in the 1870s, 2200 Norris Street became a whore house, allegedly. Little is known about the time that the building served as a brothel, except that it was reportedly, well, a brothel, according to a recent owner. It post-dates the infamous, “Guide to the Stranger” a “bed house” pocket guide booklet for visitors to Philly, so, like most of the time with a rub-n-tug, we’ll just have to imagine.

Not long after the building was pimped out, it served as a post for the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.), which was basically a VFW for Civil War veterans. Post 51 was founded in 1874 and named after Captain Philip R. Schuyler, a Philadelphian who was mortally wounded in the Battle of Antietam when he was about 22 years old.

Most records of Post 51 are kept at the The Historical Society of Pennsylvania. But the Grand Army of the Republic Civil War Museum is located in nearby Frankford and they have much of the swag on site.

The G.A.R. Museum has one photo of the building onhand. According to Andy Waskie, the museum historian,

who volunteers there and teaches at Temple University,, it is from about 1898. It depicts an army medical unit in Spanish-American War uniforms lined up in front of the building and receiving a salute from the old veterans of the Civil War, who can be seen in the windows of the building. You can visit the museum other G.A.R. related stuff from the River Wards. They also have Abe Lincoln’s actually blood. For real.

Those who frequented Post 51 seemed to be a fun-loving bunch and were active participants in the annual G.A.R. conferences held across the nation. Several out-of-town publications saw fit to acknowledge the Post 51 members' musical abilities and enthusiasm at the events.

They were also a loyal lot. In 1897, one of their members, a police officer named Harold Spray, was sentenced to three years at Eastern State Penitentiary for larceny. The crew banded together, showed up en masse to the Board of Pardons hearing in Harrisburg and forced the Governor to release their veteran brother based on circumstantial evidence. It was apparently unheard of at the time to get a pardon for low-level crime.

The G.A.R. guys took advantage of the splendor that Friendship Fire’s “no expense will be spared” attitude provided and rented out the hall to various groups. One meeting was actually noted by the Public Ledger in 1868 regarding a unionization attempt focused on trying to get brick hod carriers wages on par with plasterer hod carriers wages. What’s a brick hod and why do people carry it?

How should I know? Just kidding, it’s a three-sided box that holds bricks and it’s like really hard to hold and carry or something. Sorry, that’s all I got.

Post 51 eventually relocated and the building became a Post Office for a few decades. Wait until you here all the great stories about the years it was a Post Office. No, seriously, wait. Wait for someone to have nothing else to do but tell you century-old anecdotes about a neighborhood Post Office. I actually went to the National Archives building in Philly and the historians there looked at me like I had three heads when I told them I wanted to find out about a neighborhood Post Office. And they had nothing.

Eventually someone looked at the building and thought something like, “You know what? This would be an awesome place to rebuild worn out electric motors and stuff like that.” So he applied for the zoning variance in 1964.

He also asked for a variance to make canvas bags for some odd reason. And for some even more odd reason, Philly approved the motor variance at that time, but not the canvas bags. This city is so weird. You just know it had to be that some councilman’s brother-in-law made canvas bags too. Anyways, the owner of the building stayed around for 50 years re-winding electric motors under the name Ampere Electric until he finally couldn’t compete with child labor or something and sold it to a developer.

Today, a new developer is turning the space into residential units with a large commercial space. And guess what? They’re preserving and restoring the exterior! They actually applied for approval of their planned alterations to the Historical Society and got the “a-okay.” One variance is the addition of a pilot house so an elevator could be installed for access to the roof deck. Believe it or not, elevator motor’s were one of Ampere’s specialties. •

Page 12

The Spirit of the Riverwards – June 29, 2016 COMMUNITY

CALENDAR N E W S @ S P I R I T N E W S . O R G • 1 4 2 8 E . S U S Q U E H A N N A AV E • 2 1 5 . 4 2 3 . 6 2 4 6

m eet ing s NKCDC OPEN OFFICE HOURS NKCDC is hosting open office hours in the 19134 zip code at two locations. They will be at the Firm Hope Baptist Church on Tulip and Auburn Streets every second Wednesday of the month from 4-7PM. They will assist you with signing up for benefits like SNAP, connecting to housing counselors for any housing needs, rent and property tax rebates, food referrals, health insurance and safety or quality of life issues in your community.

For further information contact Tess at tdonie@NKCDC.org or 215-427-0350 x 139.

AL-ANON AT HOLY NAME CHURCH HALL Meetings are held every Monday night from 7-8PM at Holy Name Church Hall at 701 Gaul Street. Anything shared at a meeting stays there and everyone is welcome to attend.

Al-Anon meetings are free, anonymous and confidential.

NETWORKING MEETINGS Philadelphia Mastermind Group – Every Friday, 8-9:30AM, B2B Networking at Front Street Café (1253 N Front St.) HAPCO/DIG/GPAR – 2nd Thursday of the Month, 12:001:30PM. Lunch & Learn, real estate meetup at the Greater Philadelphia Association of realtors (341 North Delaware Avenue, Suite 200) DIG/HAPCO – 3rd Wednesday of the Month, 6:30-8:30PM. Philly Riverwards Sub-Group, Diversified Investors Groups meet up at Front Street Café (1253 N Front St.) For more information contact Joe Scorese 215-2905108 or jscorese@firstrust.com.

events June 26-July 2 PERFORMING ARTS CAMP AT SUMMERFIELD-SILOAM UNITED METHODIST CHURCH A summer camp for children entering grades 2-8. Kids will learn acting, music, movement, and other skills in the retelling of timeless Bible stories. Normally $145, now only $25. Full scholarships available. Lunch included.

For more info, call 215-634-1372 June 27-September 1 2016 EVA RUBIN MEMORIAL WINDOW BOX AND PLANTER CONTEST Once again the FNA is holding a window box and planter contest to reward the best flower boxes helping to keep the neighborhood green and beautiful. The contest entry deadline is September 1st. Submit entries to beautification@fishtown.org, or to FNA’s Facebook or Instagram page with the tag #FNAFlowerBox. Be sure to include a photograph and the address.

June 28-August 4 SUMMER PROGRAMS AT BEACON (2364 E. CUMBERLAND STREET BETWEEN MEMPHIS AND CEDAR) Join us at Beacon this summer from 6/28-8/4 in the yard for two fun programs: Open Yard on Tuesdays from 122pm (games, reading, fort-making & more) and Garden

Hour on Thursdays from 2:30-3:30pm (urban gardening education). Both programs are free, drop-in, non-religious, and open to all (children under 5 must be accompanied by an adult). Questions?

For more info , email info@thewordatbeacon.org or call 215 423 6216.

Thursday, June 30, 7:00PM-9:30PM SEXY SADIE A Beatles Tribute band will play two sets with a brief intermission between sets at Powers Park, 2601 Ann Street, behind the Richmond Library.

For more information visit facebook.com/powersparkconservancy or email the Powers Park Conservancy at powersparkconservancy@gmail.com Wednesday July 6, 20, 27 10:30AM LITTLE LEARNERS PLAY DAY AT FISHTOWN FREE LIBRARY Read, talk, write, play, and sing at the library’s open play hour! Recommended for ages 0-5. Note: This event is on the 3rd floor and the elevator is out-of-service.

Wednesday, July 13 5-7:30PM A WELCOME PICNIC FOR NEW AND CURRENT ADAIRE FAMILIES! At Penn Treaty Park, Join Friends of Adaire for a potluck picnic in a fun, relaxed setting and meet other families and friends about to join the Adaire community this Fall.

Bring any toys you want; we'll bring some. Same with food: Bring any food you want, we'll bring some too! Rain date TBD. Facebook invite here: https://www.facebook. com/events/798426860291552/ Please RSVP (and include food allergies) to Kate Hughes & Denis Devine at friendsofadaire@gmail.com Wednesday, July 20th, 5:30-7:30PM PLAY-DOUGH AND PIZZA PLAY DATE! At the Fishtown Rec, join Friends of Adaire as we host our first play date for preschoolers/kids entering kindergarten in 2017 and 2018. We’ll have time for art and food, and hopefully some outdoor fun! We'll bring playdough and toys, but feel free to bring your favorite playdough toys to share!

Please RSVP (and include food allergies) to Kate Hughes & Denis Devine at friendsofadaire@gmail.com

Thursday, August 25 8PM CAT-A-STROPHE AT THE PAPERMILL THEATER (2825 ORMES ST.) Opening on August 25 and running indefinitely, CatA-Strophe will run Thursday-Sunday (5PM curtain on Sunday) at the Papermill Theater. Cat-A-Strophe is a play by Yoel Wulfhart. Tickets are $15.

For more information, contact the Papermill Theater at thepapermilltheater@gmail.com.

FISHTOWN LIBRARY EVENTS Glitter Tattoos for teens/tweens on Tuesday July 14th at 2PM Scott Prior’s Snake Party! Tuesday, July 19th at 2PM Philadelphia Federal Credit Union Presents: Understanding Credit Tuesday, July 26th at 6PM Face Painting with Miss Stacy at Fishtown Free Library - Come get your face painted by Miss Stacy! Recommended for ages 3-12. Supplies limited; first come, first served. Thursday July 7, 2-4PM Mondays 6:30-7:30 PM ST. MICHAEL’S LABYRINTH On Good Friday during Holy Week this year, St. Michael’s Church at Trenton Avenue and Cumberland Street opened their doors to walk the labyrinth that was installed on the second floor in the sanctuary of their church. Monday evenings from 6:30 until 7:30 the doors are open on Trenton Avenue for anyone who would like to experience the labyrinth. There is no right or wrong way to walk the labyrinth, and there is plenty of literature available that offers suggestions for your walk. You are also welcome to bring a journal or do art in that allotted time. Come one Monday and meet Yvonne Walker who will answer any questions you might have on the labyrinth and take the walk to bring faith, hope and love into your daily life.

Contact St. Michael’s Church at 215-423-0792.

Thursdays POWERS PARKS FARMER’S MARKET Come attend the Farmers’ Market on Thursdays from 3-7PM at Powers Park (Ann & Almond Streets). Fresh food available from local farms and kitchens.

More information (vendors, etc.) is available on the Powers Park Conservancy Facebook page.

Wednesday, July 20 AMERICAN LEGION POST #152 CASINO TRIP Trip to Resorts Casino in Atlantic City, NJ. Tickets are $26, you get $25 back. Bus leaves from Post #152 (3524 Thompson Street) at 11:30AM. We will leave Resorts at 7PM, be back in the neighborhood by 8:30PM. For more info, call Walt at 215-426-1056

2016 CAMPBELL SQUARE EVENTS While every effort will be made to reschedule events cancelled by bad weather, we cannot guarantee that alternate dates will be scheduled. Please call John at 267-886-8799 or Susan at 215-426-3766 on event dates for possible cancellations, or check us out on facebook at Friends of Campbell Square.

Sunday, August 7 EIGHTH ANNUAL 2ND STREET FESTIVAL The 2nd Street Festival, held between American and Green Sts. will feature over 150 vendors and food trucks.

Additionally, the bars and restaurants along 2nd St. will be serving beer and cocktails in outdoor tents. Art Star will host its Craft Bazaar on the block between Fairmount Ave. and Green St.

July 13th, Weds., 7-9PM CHARLIE GRACIE BAND July 27th, Weds. Dusk-FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT (tentative) Interested in volunteering? We want YOU! For example, help with scheduled gardening and maintenance at Campbell Square on Wednesday nights, 6:30-7:30PM, Spring/Summer park events and all year round! CIONE

Page 13

The Spirit of the Riverwards – June 29, 2016

children TOT REGISTRATION Due to construction at Cione playground, registration for our tot program will be available by phone. Call Cione at 215-685-9950 to obtain registration forms and information. Call between the hours of 9AM and 12PM. or leave message and we will return your call.

LEPRECHAUNS SIGN UPS Leprechauns Sports Association is now accepting registration for Football and Cheerleading. This is open to boys ages 5-14 and girls age 6-14. The clubhouse will be opened Wednesday nights from 6-8 pm and Saturday mornings 10 am-12 pm..

The clubhouse is located at 2973 Gaul Street 19134. For more information call 215-423-6309 Check out our website http:// leprechaunsysa.wix.com/leps#!blog/chi3, or find us on facebook.https://www.facebook.com/Leprechauns-Sports-Association-347773417784/ TIGERS SIGN-UPS Sign up now for the Port Richmond Tigers upcoming t-ball, softball, and baseball seasons at the Tiger's clubhouse (Chatham & Ann) Mondays through Fridays from 6:30-7:30PM. Softball and baseball are travel leagues. A copy of the child's birth certificate, a wallet sized picture, and a small deposit are required for registration. Roster room is limited so sign up now.

For more information call Tom Mack at 215-275-8838.

NOLIBS SUMMER CAMP The NoLibs Rec Summer Camp is the perfect place to send your children to camp in Philadelphia. Our wonderful camp staff ensures that the camp environment is both safe and fun. We do activities, such as music, art, swimming, reading, and activities & games in the gym and playground, on site. We also go on weekly trips. Buses transport the children to bigger trips, and we also go on walking trips to the Rodriguez Library, Everybody Hits (batting cages), North Bowl, and Liberty Lands. The camp is for kids ages 6-12.

For more information and to register, visit NoLibsRec.org.

SIXERS NEIGHBORHOOD BASKETBALL LEAGUE Hancock Rec has more openings for players in their SNBL league held at Moffett Elementary School. For more information please contact Coach Larry @215-685-9877, or come to Moffet to register on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 4-6PM. Wednesdays PRESCHOOL STORYTIME AT RICHMOND LIBRARY This program is intended for children ages 1-4 and their caregiver. Siblings are always welcome. Daycares should call for separate appointments. Richmond Branch of the Free Library, 2987 Almond Street.

For further information call 215-685-9992.

CIONE SIGNUPS Summer Camp for Cione Playground is now full. We are no longer taking applications.

Arts and Crafts for Kids – Meetings for 5-12 years old. Arts and crafts have no cost and takes place every Wednesday from 6-7PM. Zumba – Adult classes are on Fridays from 7:30-8:30PM, and the cost is $5 per class.

Chess Club – For beginner to advanced players of all ages.

Meetings take place Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:308PM.

seniors Sundays SUNDAY BINGO St. Anne Church will host bingo on Sundays in the Social Hall, Memphis and Tucker streets. Doors open at 4PM; bingo starts at 6PM. Cost is $12.

Call 215-739-4590 for more details.

LUTHERAN SETTLEMENT HOME EVENTS Lutheran Settlement House Senior Center, 1340 Frankford Ave. Computer Classes: Level 1: Tuesdays from 9-10AM and Thursdays from 12-2PM. Level 2 Classes take place on Mondays from 1-3PM and Thursdays 2-4PM. Dancercise with Rita, Mondays at 9AM and Tai Chi with Milt on Wednesdays at 12:30PM. For further information call 215-426-8610.

Fridays ART WORKSHOP FOR SENIORS St. Anne’s Senior Center, 2607 E. Cumberland St., is offering an art workshop for people age 50 and older. “Clay Creations” will meet weekly on Fridays, from 12:30-2 PM Participants will learn about the art of hand building to create pots and other clay forms. Those interested should register in advance.

For more details call 215-426-9799.

SENIOR EXERCISE CLASSES Exercise classes for people 50 and older will be offered at St. Anne’s Senior Center, 2607 E. Cumberland St. Class schedule will be Enhance Fitness on Mondays and Thursdays at 9:30 AM, Chair Yoga on Tuesdays at 9:30AM, Tai Chi on Wednesdays at 10AM, and Line Dancing on the first and third Friday of every month.

For more information call 215-426-9799.

faith Wednesdays FIRST PRESBYTERIAN BIBLE STUDY GROUP A Bible study group meets at First Presbyterian Church, 418 E. Girard Ave at 7PM . Come and bring a friend for informative, exciting and lively open discussions. As always, everyone is welcome.

Pet ADOPTION Lab lovers - take a look at Midnight! This happy-go-lucky lady was surrendered because her people were moving, but the typical lab/retriever personality shines through and she's as smiley as ever! Midnight is five years old, 70 pounds, and she has a docked tail. This causes her to wiggle her whole rear end when she sees you! Midnight has lived with other dogs in the past and she appears to be house trained. Can you open your home to our playful, sweet girl? Come down to meet Midnight today! Labs are really smart, sweet, and easy to train -- Midnight is a ready-made perfect family member!

Thursdays ST. ANNE WEEKLY NOVENA St. Anne weekly Novena Thursday evening service, 7:30PM Church of Saint Anne, Memphis St. and Lehigh Ave. Tuesdays PRAYER MINISTRY First Emmanuel Prayer Partners Church, 711 W. Girard Ave. Prayer Ministry is looking for Prayer Partners. Everyone is Welcome to come pray with us.

For further information call 215-456-9974.

sign ups Thursday, June 30th FISHTOWN AC ALUMNI ASSOCIATION SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE The Fishtown Athletic Club Alumni Association offers $1250 in scholarships for members of the Fishtown Athletic Club or for students living in the 19125 zip code.

Please visit facalumni.com for more information or stop by Spirit News for a copy of the application.

BRIDESBURG REC CENTER (4625 RICHMOND ST) Zumba – Classes are Mondays and Thursdays from 7-8PM, and the cost is $4.

Beach Photos - Beach photos by <rs. Gooden will be taken in early June. Save the Gas! Beach photos will be taken at the Rec in an air conditioned room.

Bridesburg Nursery School - Boys and Girls ages 2-4 as of September 1, 2016. 2’s Mon. and Thurs., 3’s Thurs. and Fri., 4’s Mon. and Wed. Food Pantry - Please donate nonperishable food and clothing for needy in the neighborhood. Drop off donations at the Rec weekdays from 9AM-9PM. Scrapbooking – Scrapbooking group meets on Wednesday evenings from 6:30-9:30PM. The cost is $5 per class and everything will be supplied except a book and photos.

For more information call Miss Jackie at 215-685-1247.

SUMMER ARTS PASS AT PORTSIDE ARTS CENTER Purchase you children, teen or adult Summer Art Pass and

​ et access to multiple classes and workg shops throughout the summer of 2016! www.portsideartscenter.org/summerarts-pass

For more info call (215) 427-1514 or http://www.portsideartscenter.org/ FREE ENGLISH & CITIZENSHIP CLASSES Can you or someone you know benefit from English as a Second Language (ESL) or Test for Citizenship Classes?

The Richmond Library at 2987 Almond St. presents free English and citizenship classes. Tuesday and Thursdays from 6-7:30PM at the Richmond Library.

For more information, call the Library at 215-685-9992.

WALKING CLUB The Playgrounds and Rec Centers in Parks and Recreation District 2 are starting a Walking Club. Exercise as you wait at your child’s program. There is no cost to sign up, and the first 100 participants get a free t-shirt. Stop in and sign up at the Bridesburg Rec Center at 4601 Richmond St. For more information and to register, call the Center at 215685-1247.

Email, call or drop off your calendar event to The Spirit. news@spiritnews.org 215-423-6246 1428 E. Susquehanna Avenue

Midnight is located at ACCT, 111 W. Hunting Park Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19140 If you would like to stop by and meet Midnight in person, ACCT's adoption hours are: Monday to Friday; 1pm-8pm; Saturday and Sunday; 10am-5pm.

If you have dogs of your own, please be sure to bring at least one of them in to meet Midnight just to make sure they will like each other. Please also bring proof that you are allowed dogs/cats at your home if you rent!

If you have any questions about Midnight, here's ACCT's contact information: Phone: 267-385-3800 (ask for the Lifesaving Department) Email: adopt@acctphilly.org or petfinder@acctphilly. org More About MIDNIGHT Pet ID Number: A31760695 House trained • Current on vaccinations • Coat Length: Medium

Is there something going on that’s a little funky in your neighborhood? Anything you want us to look into? Have something juicy you want to leak? Know of something fun or interesting going on that you think we should know about?

We rely on sources like you for news that effects our neighborhoods. No tip is a bad tip.

Drop us a line at news@spiritnews.org.

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The Spirit of the Riverwards – June 29, 2016 COMMUNITY

CLASSIFIEDS A D S @ S P I R I T N E W S . O R G • 1 4 2 8 E . S U S Q U E H A N N A AV E • 2 1 5 . 4 2 3 . 6 2 4 6

Advertise With Us! By placing an advertisement with the Spirit News, you connect with the residents of Fishtown, Northern Liberties, Port Richmond, and Kensington.

AD S @S PIRITN E WS . ORG

THE FINE P RINT:

1 4 2 8 E . S US QUE H AN N A AV E

We reserve the right to edit, refuse or classify any advertisement.

Advertising is a privilege which must be protected against misuse. All classified advertisements subject to pre-payment. It is the responsibility of the advertiser to check the advertisements each time it is published.

No responsibility is assumed by the newspaper for errors. Errors will be rectified by reinsertion in the following issue only.

215.423.6246 The deadline is Friday at 5pm for display ads, and Monday at 12pm for classifieds. All advertisements must be paid for in advance.

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FOSTER PARENTS Good, Loving homes needed for children of all ages.

PLEASE CALL 215-203-8733 or 1-877-NFI4KID or visit nfi4kids.org

REAL ESTATE SALES: new or experienced; free training program.

Call Mike Dunphy at 215-840-8399

FOR RENT Available June 1st. Newly renovated 1st Flr Apt. 3BR, 1 BA, HW & ceramic flooring throughout, full size W/D, granite counter top, DW, garb. disposal, CA, refrig. & micro.

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215-416-6945 FOR RENT Fishtown 2 bedroom house$1300 Richmond 2 bedroom house$900 1 Bedroom Apartment- $775 Plus utilities No Pets, Credit Checks, Application Fee Call 215-425-3086

Rooms for Rent 30xx Frankford Ave., $475 25xx Frankford Ave, $515 215-941-3000 32xx Frankford Ave. efficiency $550 + electric Immediate possession, no pets 215-840-8399

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Sulimay's Urban Salon in Fishtown is looking for a new stylist.

If interested, please call Cindy 267-858-4711

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Up to $1,100 cash for cars or trucks with bad engines or transmissions. $550 CASH for any complete junk car or truck with or without title. Call 215-669-1000

Childcare in home with stay-home Mom. Reasonable rates. Short or Long term. For info call Tiffany @ 267-750-8577

YOU HAVE A NICE SET OF WHEELS BUT CAN’T FIND A PLACE TO PARK THEM.

Landlords must allow you to make reasonable accommodations to ensure full use of your apartment. Telling you that you can’t install grab bars and ramps is against the law. You can fight back.

If you suspect unfair housing practices, contact HUD or your local Fair Housing Center. Everyone deserves a fair chance.

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The Spirit of the Riverwards – June 29, 2016

Page 15

WRITTEN BY SPIRIT STAFF

GPAR

G PA R D O N AT E D M O R E T H A N $ 2 , 2 0 0 T O B E N E F I T L I T E R A C Y P R O G R A M AT K I N D E R G A R T E N G R A D U AT I O N

O

n June 21, 2016, the Greater Philadelphia Association of REALTORS® (GPAR) and its Affiliate Membership Committee presented a donation over $2,200 to benefit the Lewis Elkin Elementary School, located at 3199 D Street Philadelphia, PA, to the school’s principal at their kindergarten graduation ceremony.

The kindergarten to fourth grade school has nearly 900 students in the East Kensington Area of North Philadelphia. Only 27% of students are reading on grade level and almost all live in poverty. The donation will go towards the purchase of literacy software for the school. Last month, GPAR’s Affiliate Committee hosted an event to raise funds for today’s donation.

“The Lewis Elkin Elementary School family faces a tremendous amount of obstacles,” said Kim Porto, Chair of the GPAR Affiliate Committee. Porto further added, “Principal Evelyn Nunez has an infectious enthusiasm for her students and a plan to help them succeed. She has identi-

fied the need to increase the literacy level of her students as a top priority and believes that instructional literacy software can play a key role in accomplishing this goal.

The funds raised from our event will help Principal Nunez purchase the needed software for her students.

Additionally, the Affiliate Membership Committee of GPAR has chosen to focus its future charitable work to benefit Lewis Elkin Elementary School.”

“Today is about the future,” said Heather A. PetroneShook, Vice President of the GPAR Board of Directors.

Petrone-Shook added, “The Lewis Elkin kindergarten students are the future of Philadelphia. We are happy to share in this special occasion and to aid the efforts to make Lewis Elkin students the best that they can be for future success.”

“We are extremely grateful for the ongoing partnership with GPAR, Principal Evelyn Nunez.” She went on to add, “Elkin is striving to increase the students reading levels.

Research states that the more children read the better

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readers they become. The contribution will be utilized to purchase a school-wide license for “Learning A-Z” for one year. This software will provide our children thousands of ebooks for the in all genres at their independent reading level. The software will provide students with the ability to log on any day and time to read books at their independent reading level. Through this partnership we aim to drastically improve the percentage of students who are reading on grade level and as a result better lay a solid foundation to better prepare the students for middle school, high school and eventually college. Elkin is appreciative of the support they are receiving from the Greater Philadelphia Realtors Association.” •

Left to right: Kim Porto, Evelyn Nunez and Heather A. Petrone-Shook. /Matthew G. Braden

The Spirit of the Riverwards – March 2, 2016

WORDS AND PHOTOS BY THOMAS WEIR

Jonny Lang

S

SINGER/SONGWRITER TAKES THE STAGE AT SUGARHOUSE CASINO EVENT CENTER

inger/songwriter Jonny Lang packed the new event center at Sugarhouse Casino on Friday, June 24th, bringing his tasteful take on modern blues, rock and soul to an enthusiastic and receptive crowd. Donning blue jeans and a white RVCA t-shirt, the front-man captivated the audience with energetic guitar solos and a voice reminiscent of Philly’s own blue-eyed soul music.

His accomplished five-piece band pulled out all the stops when they opened the show with “Blew Up (The House)” — a poppy yet aggressive blues/rock song with a call and response vibe and feel-good fervor harking back to the roots of his inspiration.

The show took a turn when the band surprised the crowd with a killer cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Living in the City” mid-way through the set. The crowd ate it up as the band delivered an outstanding version of a well-known classic.

The dynamic range went from low to high as the group traded solos while Lang introduced the members of his touring band.

If you like the music Jimi Hendrix popularized and you have a penchant for funk and soul then you should keep an eye out for Lang next time he comes to Philly.

Lang follows sold-out performances from famed country music artist LeAnn Rimes and Daily Show host Trevor Noah in the brand-new Event Center at Sugarhouse Casino. The Event Center is part of SugarHouse’s 2016 expansion rollout, with an expanded gaming floor and seven new food and beverage outlets, including Hugo’s Frog Bar & Chop House by Gibsons Restaurant Group, the casino’s high-end steakhouse. •