The Spirit of Penn's Garden - March 15, 2017 by The Spirit

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WEEK MARCH 15, 2017 VOL. 2 NO. 11

FROM THE GROUND UP Sound Space Dance Studio brings Philly back to tap dancing heyday. 4

MAYOR KENNEY Philadelphia Mayor pens Op-Ed for Spirit of Penn’s Garden readers. 6

CIVIC SATURDAYS

Otto’s Taproom A LOOK INSIDE BREWERYTOWN’S NEWEST WATERING HOLE

North Philadelphia activist starts civic engagement lecture series.

WRITTEN BY KYLE NOONE

ACCU-REGGIE 7-day weather forecast for the region. 3

COMMUNITY CALENDAR Events and happenings in our neighborhoods. 7

HOT OFF THE

PRESS

rewerytown is welcoming a new bar to the West Girard corridor with the opening of Otto’s Taproom and Grille at the corner of 29th and Flora Streets, one block north of Girard Avenue in the building formerly home to Sarah’s Place. The new taproom had a quiet opening on February 8th, featuring a drink menu that focuses on Pennsylvania brewed beers and craft offerings from across the Atlantic. Business partners Stephen Carlino and Randal Mrazik of The Tavern Group wanted to open as soon as possible to get a feel for the neighborhood and how best to serve it, as opposed to going through with full renovations, which could have taken months or more. As soon as the pair and their team ensured everything was operational and up to code, they put the plans in motion to open their doors to the neighborhood. There are no concrete plans for the future, but Mrazik envisions eventually installing a draught system with about 12 taps in addition to a traditional hand pump. Beer will be the main focus at Otto’s but they will also offer wine and a fully stocked bar. The addition of a draught system is one of the group’s first priorities but something they didn’t want to rush to. Currently, they’re getting the job done with two kegerators to provide draughts to early patrons. There will eventually be a food menu focused on grilled foods. The partners envision a simple and fresh à la carte menu to include vegetarian and vegan options. The menu is part of Otto’s philosophy of inclusivity. The mission is to provide a comfortable venue for guests with varying cuisine preferences to come together and enjoy food. In an attempt to differentiate Otto’s from the previous establishments that stood in it’s place while also paying homage to them, the partners have painted over the large pop-art beer sign from the front of the building. For a

while, the low-key taproom didn’t even have a sign in front. Inside, the same floor-long bar that stood in Sarah’s Place remains. The rest of the room has been repainted a clean black. Some tweaks and repairs have been made to the equipment, making sure that the bar is fully functional. Getting operational as soon as possible has let the team get acquainted with the historic neighborhood and its residents. “I want to be a neighborhood bar and restaurant. Otto Wolf lived and worked in that neighborhood.” Mrazik said, pointing to the rich history of Germanic and Eastern European immigrants migrating to the Brewerytown area and shaping the neighborhood in the 19th century. Otto Wolf, the namesake of the taproom, was a renowned Philadelphia architect who contributed more than 60 buildings to the landscape of Brewerytown. He was known to be prolific at designing breweries. Perhaps most famously, he helped create an entire brewing complex that was most recently known as the Red Bell Brewery. Because of the neighborhood’s proximity to Center City Philadelphia and masterful architects like Wolf, the neighborhood once housed 12 different breweries within the modern equivalent of four city blocks. It’s no wonder where the neighborhood got its name. Wolf went on to design almost 500 buildings around the world from Oslo to Havana. The nod to Brewerytown’s history was a natural move for The Tavern Group, as Carlino has made it a priority to reinvent locations while keeping the historical appeal and styling of the building intact. “One of the things that struck me about him from the get-go was that he always wanted to be true to the history of the building,” Mrazik said of CarliContinued on Page 2.

Page 2 Continued from Page 1. no, citing his work at U Bar and Tavern on Camac. “For me, that’s just kind of a fun and cool connection.” The heyday of Wolf’s breweries may have passed, but Brewerytown is in the process of returning to it’s roots. Within just the last few years, local brewing has come back to the neighborhood with the opening of Crime & Punishment Brewing Co. and Flying Fish Crafthouse. Mrazik stated that the makeup of the neighborhood was attractive for the group, citing many friends and associates in the food and beverage industry who are residents of Brewerytown. But even with recent development, the neighborhood is still under-saturated when it comes to bars and restaurants in comparison to some other parts of the city. “It’s not a place where you go,” Mrazik said, “and there’s four or six other places in a one block radius.” Carlino and Mrazik have put an emphasis on catering to the neighborhood and so far, the reception has been warm. Neighbors have been stopping in to say hello since they opened. One neighbor even brought over flowers as a welcoming present. “The reception we’ve had from the neighborhood has been great,” said Mrazik. Carlino and Mrazik hope to return the hospitality in the future. •

The Spirit of Penn’s Garden – March 15, 2017 Otto’s Taproom photos courtesy of Emerson Aniceto

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The Spirit of Penn’s Garden – March 15, 2017

FORECAST FOR PENN’S GARDEN

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his storm sure was a monster! While the Blizzard Warning did not live up to it’s expectations in the suburbs, this was still a high impact storm. Snow and sleet accumulations generally ranged 5-8 inches in Philadelphia with 6-12 inches in the suburbs. Unfortunately, the sleet came in earlier than expected and dominated, otherwise, we would have doubled our snow totals! Looking ahead, this forecast period is much calmer, but still cold. Our temperatures will rise and level out as we head into the weekend, however. The weather has been so wild lately, it’s hard to write off any more snow chances, but the

good news is that the likelihood of snow is dramatically less the second half of March than the first half. Wednesday and Thursday are cold days with temperatures struggling to get to freezing. The wind will make it feel much colder along with blowing snow. Nighttime temperatures will be frigid and in the teens. Friday is a chilly day, but the Arctic air eases as temperatures rebound into the 40s. Clouds increase later in the day. A band of showers comes through early Saturday before things get windier and colder. Temperatures will start the day warm — some places may be near 50 — before colder air works its way in.

A developing coastal storm on Sunday in New England may try push some snow showers our way, but the chances of anything significant are small. Monday is a cool day in the wake of the storm to our north. We will see some showers on Tuesday and temperatures jump to the 50s. As always, follow us on social media for live updates! •

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The Spirit of Penn’s Garden – March 15, 2017

WRITTEN BY SEAN KEARNEY

From The Ground Up S O U N D S PA C E D A N C E S T U D I O B R I N G S P H I L LY B A C K T O T A P D A N C I N G H E Y D AY

est Girard Avenue in Brewerytown has quickly developed into one of the more eclectic corridors in Philadelphia. A short walk down the avenue will take you past a brewery, record store, café, hair salon and a collection of eateries. As of March 3rd, we can add a dance studio to that ever-growing list. When Pam Hetherington, owner of Sound Space Dance Studio, first looked at the second floor of a warehouse at 25th Street and Girard Avenue as a potential home for her new dance studio, there was a lot of work to be done. The windows were open to the elements and had vines growing through them, the walls were exposed grey brick and perhaps most important to having a dance studio, there was no floor. Now the studio, complete with working floor, is open for lessons in percussive dance in such styles as tap, flamenco, lindy hop, African, and classical Indian. “There’s no other wood floor in the city like this,” Hetherington said. So why go through the trouble of essentially creating an entire second floor studio from scratch? Dancing, especially tap dancing, has been ingrained in Hetherington. “It wasn’t enough for me to rehearse once a week or do a show once a year,” Hetherington said. “It’s what gets me out of bed in the morning. Tap has given me so much, the highest highs, I feel in some way I just need to give back and this studio is my way of giving back.” Hetherington, a Northeast Philadelphia native, feels that tap is more than just a personal passion of hers. She believes that it is in the DNA of Philadelphia itself. But after Hetherington returned from graduate school in Charlottesville, Virginia, she felt something was different. “Growing up in Philadelphia, I’ve been tap dancing my entire life. I looked around, and there was nothing happening tap-wise,” Hetherington said. She gestures to an old poster of renowned Philadelphia tap dancers LaVaughn Robinson and Germaine Ingram. “They are two of our tap kings and queens. There was so much happening when LaVaughn was alive. There were shows and all sorts of Tap Dance Day celebrations and, luckily, I grew up in all that.” “Philadelphia is really the tap capital of the world,” Hetherington said, “There were many tap masters of the 20th century that were born here. The way the city was structured, there were so many theaters and jazz bands coming through. [Tap] grew up on Philadelphia street corners. So it’s important for me to keep that vibe happening as much as I possibly can.” Hetherington, at a loss, wondered what she could do to bring the art she loved so much back to the city that taught her to love it. This newfound motivation helped Hetherington launch a series of projects, one of which was producing a bi-annual tap and jazz music showcase where groups of all sizes, experience levels and styles could show their performances on stage. “After my 11th show I had just had my third [child], so I was done with it,” Hetherington laughs. It was then that Hetherington got a grant from Small But Mighty Arts, an organization that funds emerging artists in Phila-

Top - Sound Space under construction. /Courtesy Pam Hetherington Middle Right - Sound Space in it’s current state. /Sean Kearney Bottom Left - Sound Space under construction. /Courtesy Pam Hetherington

delphia. Small But Mighty Arts gave the grant with the intention of using the money to scale up Hetherington’s efforts. Since securing her first arts grant, Hetherington has received funding from Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Philadelphia Cultural fund. What grew out of this was the Philadelphia Community Tap Project. “It’s a free platform for tap dance education and performances. Basically, anyone can join, you don’t need shoes, you don’t need experience, you don’t need anything. Just show up,” Hetherington explained. This year, rehearsals for the Philadelphia Community Tap Project will be held on March 19th and April 23rd from 12PM to 3PM. Performances will be held May 20th and May 25th at City Hall to celebrate National Tap Dance Day. Funding for the Philadelphia Community Tap Project comes from Philadelphia Cultural Fund and Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Turning Sound Space Dance Studio into a community space is especially motivating for Hetherington — it is a motivation that goes well beyond the simple desire to dance. “In fact, this project, I tell people all the time,” Hetherington said, “I don’t make any money at it—I’ve lost money probably every year even with the grant money. I do it because it will bring me to tears every time. You see people get up there and perform and you would never think in a million years they were going to pull it together. There’s something about being in a room with 20 people trying really hard at something. It’s just awesome seeing 20 people making all this music that they didn’t make three months ago.” “I really hope this becomes a community space. There’s

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just such a need for it here on so many levels. Bringing people in to dance and sing and make music with their own bodies is so powerful. I honestly think it’s one of the most political things we can do sometimes is to create good vibes with the music and the dance that’s inside of us.” For more information, visit Soundspace Dance Studios website https://www.soundspacephilly.net/ •

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The Spirit of Penn’s Garden – March 15, 2017

WRITTEN BY STEVE BOHNEL

Civic Saturdays

NORTH PHILADELPHIA ACTIVIST STARTS CIVIC ENGAGEMENT LECTURE SERIES

ast Saturday morning in the basement of Berean Presbyterian Church at North Broad and Diamond Streets, about a dozen people re-learned how separation of powers shape our federal government’s structure. The information presented can be overwhelming and tough to keep track of, but for 26-year-old Malcolm Kenyatta, teaching these eighth-grade concepts to the public is essential. “You have so many folks who assume it’s on auto-pilot,” Kenyatta said about engagement in politics. “Every four years, we put on our jersey for our team, but we assume ultimately, it will be fine. And I think we’re in a very different environment right now … you have this great desire of folks to get engaged and know what’s going on.” In order to further this, Kenyatta created Civic Saturdays, meetings which help re-teach critical concepts of how our government works to Philadelphians. After an opening lecture on the founding of the United States and how its founders created the framework of our federal government, audience members worked in groups to act out scenarios for how each branch of government shapes public policy. All of the meeting was streamed on Facebook Live, and those in attendance were asked to reflect on what they learned in the two-hour session. Gregory Wright, 28, is from West Philadelphia and attended Temple University with Kenyatta. He’s been following Kenyatta’s efforts around the city, and said he wants to help his community become more involved with state representatives. “Just learning what you have the power to do, and the reach to do, is definitely an important step,” he said.

Kenyatta told those gathered on Saturday that citizens have a role to play in the political world alongside elected officials. Holding those officials accountable is only possible by being informed about what they do, he added. Two of those elected officials, state senator Sharif Street and state representative Curtis Thomas, attended Saturday’s session and spoke with individuals about topics ranging from energy use to gerrymandering. Sen. Street, the son of former Philadelphia mayor John Street, told the audience one of the most difficult aspects of being a politician is having to juggle several issues on a daily basis: “It’s like speed-reading everything in the world,” he said. In order to be more civically engaged, Street said he attends as many public events like Civic Saturdays as he can, along with posting clips of state hearings on social media. “People are less patient in the way they want to receive information,” said Street, 42. “My grandparents would sit and watch C-SPAN for two hours if they wanted to find the 15 minutes of what they want. Today’s people,at least who are under 50, they won’t do it.” One of those younger constituents is Rachel Linstead Goldsmith, a 35-year-old from Point Breeze. She attended Saturday’s meeting to re-learn the democratic process with other people. “I want to find a way to be involved that feels meaningful and direct,” she said. “I’m one of those people who gets up everyday and makes a phone call to my representatives, and it doesn’t feel like enough. So this is one way to make it feel like I’m doing more.” Kenyatta said one of the challenges he faces while discussing politics with people is the emphasis on the president, versus the role of Congress and state and local politics.

“I think there’s this misconception that the president decides everything,” he said. “That we have a system more like a king. Maybe our current president thinks he’s a king. But we know through this [discussion] that he’s actually not a king, and the founders very intentionally made the legislative branch the most powerful.” Despite the current divide in today’s politics, Sen. Street wants both sides of the aisle to continue to be open-minded. He told the audience that talking to the other side can lead to finding solutions that benefit everybody. “Then people can see the commonality in their issues,” he told Spirit News. “And all of a sudden, a guy that represents a coal-mining town and a guy that represents North Philadelphia can find we have more in common than we do apart, in terms of our constituents.” • /Steve Bohnel

WRITTEN BY RACHEL WISNIEWSKI

Lemon Hill Cleanup L E M O N H I L L N E I G H B O R S A S S O C I AT I O N O R G A N I Z E S C L E A N U P I N E A S T FA I R M O U N T PA R K

haun Cerborino, 26, has lived in Fairmount for two years now. In that time, he has walked his dog through Lemon Hill almost every day. Each time he noted the “overwhelming” amount of trash on the walking trails and thought to himself that someone needed to do something about the trash. Cerborino had a chance to put his thoughts into action after getting in contact with the Lemon Hill Neighbors Association (LHNA) via “Next Door,” a free social network app on which users can connect with other users who live in their neighborhood. The LHNA is a group of Fairmount and Brewerytown residents who meet monthly to discuss issues facing the East section of Fairmount Park and to plan volunteer activities. Cerborino became a member of the association about two months ago. After meeting with Cerborino, LHNA members Paul Fugazzotto, Miranda Budine and Nissa Eisenberg expressed corresponding interest in creating a monthly event. Fugazzotto, Budine and Eisenberg have all been a part of the association for six years. Though they had personally only arranged “major cleanups” of Lemon Hill in the past, the group had received numerous requests for monthly cleanup events lately and were happy to oblige Cerborino’s wish. The culminating event occurred on March 11th from 10AM to 12PM. It was the first in a series of monthly park cleanups that are now slated to occur on the second Saturday of each month. Despite blistering temperatures and a stiff breeze from the Schuylkill, about fifteen people showed up to aid the LHNA in their cleaning quest. Interestingly, the weather actually aided their efforts, as the lack of vegetation in the park made the rubbish more visible in addition to muting its odor. With hot coffee, hand warmers and trash pickers provided by the LHNA, the team of community members and their children that arrived split up amongst the Lemon Hill walking trails and began filling trash bags.

After picking up everything from cigar wrappers to used needles, beer cans and even a discarded mattress, the group wrapped up the afternoon with over twenty trash bags filled with litter. Cerbornio and the LHNA hope that as the park continues to become cleaner with each monthly event, Philadelphia residents will become more aware of the beautiful atmosphere that Lemon Hill offers. With any luck, an increase in public attention will cause an even larger difference in litter. The next cleanup is scheduled for April 8th as a part of the city-wide 10th Annual Philly Spring Cleanup. The exact meeting place is yet to be determined. • Fairmount resident Abby McShea, who lives “across the street” from Lemon Hill Park with her husband and daughter, places a piece of found trash into a bag. Besides her stands her daughter, Paige, 2. /Rachel Wisniewski

Dan Christo (left, Shaun Cerborino’s roommate) aids LHNA member Miranda Budine in removing a discarded mattress from a trail. / Rachel Wisniewski

Paul Fugazzotto speaks with community members about the dates of future park cleanup events. /Rachel Wisniewski

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The Spirit of Penn’s Garden – March 15, 2017

ASK KENNEY: Op-Ed by Mayor Jim Kenney

ince I took office in January 2016, I have partnered with a different neighborhood paper each month to answer their readers’ questions. Spirit News asked if this time, instead, I would write an op-ed on the budget I proposed to City Council on March 2nd and the Philadelphia Beverage Tax. With regards to my budget proposal for fiscal year 2018, I asked City Council to invest in two major areas: health and human services that will uplift our most vulnerable; and job-creating initiatives that will create economic opportunity for all Philadelphians. Our health and human service investments are targeted at strengthening our child welfare system and combating lead poisoning, opioid addiction, and homelessness. The job creating initiatives outlined in the budget are focused on spreading Philadelphia’s resurgence to all our neighborhoods and to assisting Philadelphians facing barriers to employment. Most notably, Rebuild, the City’s $500 million project to renovate parks, rec centers and libraries funded by the Philadelphia Beverage Tax, will kick off this summer. I also announced a plan to borrow $90 million over the next six years to build a cap over I-95 and transform Penn’s landing into a civic and economic hub. The budget also seeks to make Philadelphia stronger economically across the board by continuing the city’s

reduction of wage and business taxes, instituting pension reform, and by making important investments in transportation and public safety. Perhaps most excitingly for residents, these investments in transportation include an additional $170 million investment in street repaving. I will use the remainder of this space to answer some of the frequent questions we receive regarding the Philadelphia Beverage Tax. Where is the tax revenue going? I heard most of it actually isn’t going to pre-K, schools, parks, rec centers and libraries. Those programs are still ramping up, so this year, 75 percent of the tax revenue is going towards pre-K, community schools and Rebuild (the investment in parks, rec centers and libraries). When those programs are fully operational in two-and-a-half years, they will receive 97 percent of the tax revenue. The remaining 3 percent of revenue is spent on the Healthy Stores Tax Credit, which was passed in the spring to help small businesses negatively impacted by the tax, and to cover costs to collect the tax. To date, the tax has funded 2,000 free, quality pre-k seats which has in turn created 251 jobs in the early education sector. The number of seats is expected to grow to 6,500 over the next five years. The tax is also currently supporting nine community schools that serve 4,500 students, 75 percent of whom are living at or below the poverty line. Community schools address the issues our children face outside the classroom that often inhibit them from learning, like hunger, poverty or trauma. The tax will also support the renovation of parks, rec centers and libraries through a program called Rebuild. That program will launch in mid-2017. Pepsi and other soda sellers are saying the tax is causing mass job lay-offs. This is the same industry that spent $10 million and made

plenty of misleading claims trying to kill the tax, and is now funding a lawsuit against the city over it, so we should be skeptical of any unverifiable numbers that they put out. It’s particularly tough to accept their claim that they have to lay off workers now when they are still spending hundreds of thousands on advertising, lobbyists, and lawyers. While a decline in sugary drink sales is what health experts want and expect, it is not at all a reason to expect business or job losses. In Mexico, a soda tax was followed by a drop in sales of sugary drinks, but that fall was balanced by an even bigger increase in the sales of bottled water and other untaxed beverages. Philadelphia has also seen with its liquor and amusement taxes that while people initially drive outside the city in anger, they eventually stop commuting because of the time and expense required to make those trips. I heard the tax is regressive. The soda industry disproportionately advertised in low-income, minority communities for decades and, as a result, those communities suffered from regressive, expensive diseases like diabetes and obesity. This tax asks industry to give a little money back to those they’ve profited off for decades so the city can fund critical anti-poverty programs, namely pre-k, community schools and parks, rec centers and libraries. Why are juices and milk substitutes taxed? 100 percent juices are only subject to the tax if the phase “added sugar” is on the label, or if they have an added sweetener, which you can tell my reading the nutrition label. Unsweetened milk substitutes are also not taxed and even sweetened substitutes that are nutritionally equivalent to milk are not taxed. To find a list of non-taxable juice and milk substitute brands, go to phillybevtax.com •

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The Spirit of Penn’s Garden – March 15, 2017

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 FREE BIKE PICKUP AND DELIVERY FOR TUNEUPS FROM FAIRMOUNT BICYCLES Fairmount Bicycles is offering free Sunday afternoon pickup and delivery with purchase of full tuneup. Get your bike tuned up without leaving the house and help keep your local bike shop busy this winter! One week turnaround. Here's how it works: 1. Call Fairmount Bicycles to schedule at 267-507-9370 2. They’ll pick up your bike on Sunday 3. They’ll call with an estimate, tune up your bike, take payment, and then... 4. Your bike arrives back at your house the following Sunday! Offer good through the end of February. Delivery range within 2 mile radius of Fairmount Bicycles. March 15th, 6PM-7:30PM GAMBA U: COMMERCIAL LENDING FAQ'S Meet and mingle at the next GAMBA U event on Wed., March 15th from 6-7:30pm at 1642 Fairmount Avenue. This month’s event will be hosted by Univest Bank and Trust Co. and will provide an opportunity for guests to hear from Frank Pizzo, Small Business Relationship Manager about commercial loan products, steps to prepare a loan application and expectations on time frames. Great information for anyone considering growing their footprint, upgrading equipment or expanding lines of business. Complimentary snacks, soft drinks and wine will be offered. Following the brief presentation, enjoy time to network with other local businesses and discuss how we collectively improve the environment for doing business throughout the Art Museum Area. March 16th, 6PM STRANGE BEAUTY: BOTANICAL COLLECTING IN THE VICTORIAN TROPICS For Victorian naturalists, tropical plants presented a challenge and an opportunity. It was difficult to find and transport these strange and beautiful specimens, but doing so could mean a lifetime of professional security for a young explorer. On March 16th at the Wagner Institute, Elaine Ayers will share the stories of the middle-class women collectors who went to great lengths to collect, preserve, and display tropical plants—specifically moss, orchids, carnivorous pitcher-plants, and the giant corpse flower—while exploring what these plants represented to society at the time. The Wagner's historic natural history museum will remain open until the talk begins at 6:00 PM. For more information, call (215) 763-6529. March 17th+18th, 8PM ST. PATRICK'S WEEKEND CELEBRATION WITH ROCK ON POINTE DANCE COMPANY Performance Garage will feature a celebration of Irish dance this weekend with Rock on Pointe Dance Company. The group will bring some Irish flair to this performance series including pointe-work to songs by Aerosmith, The Eagles and Jackson Browne. Special guest performances by award winning Irish Dance Group from the Emerald Isle

Academy of Irish Dance on Friday and Thom Moore playing Irish favorites on the bagpipes on Saturday. Free non-alcoholic refreshments will be available for all or BYOB. This is a family event! For more information, contact rockonpointe@gmail.com. March 18th, 8AM-4PM INDOOR FLEA MARKET There will be an indoor flea market at 820 Spring Garden Street on Saturday March 18th. Antique and vintage merchandise only. For more information visit philafleamarkets. March 19th, 2PM-4PM ESP INSIDER: BOOK DISCUSSION Eastern State Penitentiary will be hosting an informal discussion of Just Mercy, a true story written by lawyer Bryan Stevenson. Research and Public Programming Manager Annie Anderson will lead the discussion. This is a members-only event, and space is limited. If you want to become a member today, visit http://www.easternstate.org/shop/ membership. March 22nd, 6:30-8PM UHURU HEALTH FESTIVAL AND FLEA MARKET COMMUNITY MEETING All are welcome to bring their ideas and suggestions to an upcoming community planning meeting for the Uhuru Health Festival and Flea Market. For more information, call 267-875-3532 or email philly_ flea@yahoo.com March 25th, 12PM-4PM PLAY-A-PALOOZA 2017 As “Spring fever” spreads, Smith Memorial Playground & Playhouse will celebrate Play-A-Palooza, its seasonal playground grand opening party on Saturday, March 25, 2016 from 12pm - 4pm. Families will enjoy nature exploration, carnival games, arts and crafts, and other special activities in the 6 1/2 acre Playground before the official start of Playground season. Play-A-Palooza is free for Smith members or $10 per child for non-members (accompanying adults free). For more information, please visit www.smithplayground.org. March 26th, 4:30PM-6:30PM COFFEE AND POLITICS: SESSION 1 The Philly UP Elections Committee would like to invite you to join them for coffee, tea and some conversation about local politics at Mugshots Coffeehouse. This will be the first installment in a series of talks during the 2017 election. The discussion will center around the various levels of judgeships that are up for election this year. What they do and why they are important to us. Organizers will also talk about what a City Controller does. Arm yourself with the tools needed to make critical decisions on election day. Know what you are voting for!

March 30th, 7PM FAIRMOUNT CIVIC ASSOCIATION MONTHLY MEETING Join the Fairmount Civic Association for their monthly meeting at The City School (860 N. 24th Street) and hear about the latest happenings in Fairmount and the surrounding area. Meetings take place on the last Thursday of each month at 7PM. For more information, visit fairmountcivicassociation.org/. April 8th, 10AM-1PM FAIRMOUNT SPRING CLEANUP On April 8th, the Fairmount Civic Association Neighborhood Improvement Committee will host the 5th annual Fairmount Spring Cleanup. Attendees are invited to help the FCA make a difference in the community with an extensive cleanup to beautify the neighborhood. To register, visit eventbrite.com and search “Fairmount Spring Cleanup”. Sign-in will be at the ESP Playground at 22nd and Brown Streets. For more information, visit fairmountcivicassociation.org/. April 15th, 10AM THE SPRING GARDENS ANNUAL EASTER EGG HUNT Check out The Spring Gardens on April 15th for their annual easter egg hunt! Eggs will be filled with candy, stickers and tokens for special gifts. Suggested donation is $5. RSVP by emailing sprouts@thespringgardens.org with the number of children and their ages by April 7th to make sure there are enough supplies. Mondays, 6-8PM TOUR AMBASSADOR TRAINING PROJECT The Strawberry Civic Association is looking for young and young at heart folks to come out to Mander Rec Center (33rd and Diamond St.) to learn Philadelphia history, Fairmount Park history, museum and trail information, etc. Tourism is a lucrative industry…. Be prepared. For more info call 215-765-9500 Tuesdays, 7-8:30PM SUPPORT GROUP FOR PARENTS Learn about substance use and mental health disorders every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month at Rodeph Shalom (615 N Broad St). This group is for parents living with adolescent and adult children living with addiction and brain disease. Those affected can share experiences and resources as well as how to support their children anonymously. For further information contact Caron at 800-854-6023 or Rabbi Jill Maderer at (215)-627-6747 x216 or rabbimaderer@ rodephshalom.org. Tuesdays, 7-9PM OPEN MIC NIGHT Mugshots Coffeehouse (1925 Fairmount Ave.) hosts an open mic night every Tuesday. For more information visit Mugshots Coffeehouse on Facebook.

Did you know that Spirit News has it’s own radio show? Tune into Spirit News Radio every Wednesday night on WPPM - FM 106.5 from 6-6:30PM. We discuss local news, arts and entertainment pertaining to the various neighborhoods we cover across Philadelphia. Can’t tune in live? You can download our radio show each week in podcast form on iTunes, SoundCloud and Google Play. Do you want to have your company or product sponsored on Spirit News Radio’s Podcast? Reach out to ads@spiritnews.org today! Thanks for tuning in!

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The Spirit of Penn’s Garden – March 15, 2017

WRITTEN BY STEVE BOHNEL

Canoe house

TEMPLE ROWING HOUSE DEDICATED TO LONGTIME TRUSTEE

fter nearly two years of renovations and repairs, the East Park Canoe House will be available for use by Temple University’s rowing teams this fall. The building was dedicated last Thursday to Gerry Lenfest, a longtime university trustee who heads a foundation that has given $3 million to the project. The Philadelphia Police Marine Unit will share the space with Temple. Kathryn Ott Lovell, commissioner of the City’s Parks and Recreation Department, said the canoe house is invaluable to Temple and the city. “Parks and Recreation is dedicated to preserving historic structures within our park system,” she said in a prepared statement. “The East Park Canoe House is an incredible asset to the City of Philadelphia and Temple University. I am very thankful for Mr. Lenfest’s contribution to ensuring Temple University Rowing has the high-quality resources it deserves.” The Temple News reported last April that the university’s rowing teams would be able to move into the building last June. Delays in construction and renovation, however, prevented use of the canoe house during the fall season. The building’s exterior, locker rooms and public restrooms were all updated, and there is also a new public dock which was paid for by the university and members of the Philadelphia Rowing and Regatta communities. Temple President Richard Englert lauded Lenfest for his contribution to the project. “This dedication is only possible because of the amazing philanthropy of our Trustee, Gerry Lenfest, who stepped in to save our crew and rowing teams and breathe new life into this historic canoe house,” he said in a prepared statement. “The revival of this beautiful structure shows what can happen when Temple and the City of Philadelphia work together to benefit the community and create a truly excellent

Parks and Recreation officials and Temple rowers reveal a commemorative plaque at the dedication of the newly renovated East Park Canoe House. / All photos courtesy Alain Joinville venue that will serve students for decades to come.” Along with Lenfest, the city contributed $2.5 million to the building. The project is a 2017 Grand Jury Award winner by the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, which acknowledges its work in the region for historic preservation. The East Park Canoe House is on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places. Murphy Quigley Company was the lead construction group on the project and SMP Consultants led design efforts. Other companies included Heritage Design Collabo-

rative, BHG Consulting, Mulhern Electric Company, Dolan Mechanical and General Asphalt Paving of Philadelphia. Before the boathouse renovations, the crew and rowing teams stored their boats in outside tents, The Temple News reported. Poor weather conditions exposed them to damage. “The boats bake in the summer and freeze in the winter,” Temple crew coach Brian Perkins said. “There’s no shelter from the elements at all. •