President's letter
Celebrating 50 Years of Service to the Community by Eleanor Ingersoll, QVNA President
Hello Neighbors, appy winter solstice. December means that the leaves have turned and fallen and the holiday season is in full swing. As many are preparing for the new chapter a new year brings, Queen Village Neighbors Association begins a new chapter as well: we’re celebrating a halfcentury of stewardship, advocacy, and service to our community. So with this milestone, we will be looking back throughout 2020 to the foundation of the Association; the goal that first brought Queen Village neighbors together and continues to do so today: preservation. Fifty years ago the community banded together in an unsuccessful eminent domain battle over the construction of I-95 through the river wards, which demolished 300 historic homes in Queen Village alone. So in the late 1960’s, when the City pushed plans for the Crosstown Expressway, proposed to connect the Schuylkill River to the Delaware river by cutting through Queen Village via South Street, residents already knew how to spring into action to protest and preserve their neighborhood. QVNA’s second president Marge Schernecke, a lifelong Queen
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Village resident, explains in this issue how powerful a community can be when it comes together for common goals. Another anchor that unites our community: neighborhood schools. QVNA continues to support the work of those advocating to clean our schools of asbestos and lead paint. Former Meredith Elementary Principal Cindy Farlino explains in School Bell how a mesothelioma diagnosis for a member of our neighborhood schools family gave renewed urgency to the push for healthy schools throughout the district. This 50th anniversary year will also see QVNA participating in plans to create a memorial for the historic Bethel Burying Ground, located in the southwest corner of Weccacoe Playground. Because of a thoughtfully researched proposal by the Friends of Weccacoe, a resized and redrawn tennis court, (to accommodate the boundaries of the Memorial), will also be coming to the playground. Neighbors supported the proposal at the October 16th community meeting. And in the spring, we’ll have the ceremonial co-naming of the 600 block of East Passyunk as Avenue of the Roots. South Street at Passyunk is the loca-
tion where two native Philadelphians, Tariq Trotter (Black Thought) and Ahmir Thompson (Questlove) started as street performers, and years later shot a music video. Along with commemorating the “roots” of The Roots, the new street sign will preserve the artistic and funky heritage of South Street. There will be plenty of other opportunities for stewardship and preservation throughout 2020, as QNVA and other river ward civics continue to uphold the zoning overlay for developing a beautiful and publically accessible waterfront, as well as preparing for the reconstruction work of the I-95 corridor between the Franklin and Whitman bridges. Lastly, the call to preserve the fabric and character of this neighborhood is answered by volunteers. Please take a moment to meet the Board and its new officers and directors on page 12, and a very hearty thank you to all of the volunteers who contribute their time and talents to preserve the neighborhood’s vibrant personality. It really does take a village. Thank you one and all, and happy new year.
Queen Village Quarterly Crier // PAGE 7
