Rain, Rain Flows Away, No Longer Puddles at Malcolm X Park

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Rain, Rain Flows Away, No Longer Puddles at Malcolm X Park Rain, rain flows away, no longer puddles at Malcolm X Park By Meir Rinde Thursday, August 2, 2018 As happens on many blocks around the city, heavy rains used to turn the southeast corner of Malcolm X Memorial Park in West Philadelphia into a deep puddle. Water flowed down from the surrounding streets and collected around a sewer drain often blocked by leaves, mud and trash, or just too full to take in any more. “When it rains in the summertime, you have those thunderstorms come out. At 51st and Larchwood, it was like a swimming pool,” said Gregorio Pac Cojulun, longtime president of the group Friends of Malcolm X Park. ​ ​ “Water used to rise all the way up to the entrance of the park. It was kind of crazy.” “But they got it now, and it seems to be doing good, so far.” That's a side benefit, he said, of a Philadelphia Water Department environmental project aimed at improving natural infiltration of stormwater into the ground. After several years of planning and months of construction, the park has sections of new sidewalk on three sides and 29 new street trees, as well as new underground plumbing. Rainwater runs through inlets into buried tree trenches under the sidewalk, rather than pooling in the road or overloading the sewers. For Cojulun and the many others who come to Malcolm X Park to enjoy its playgrounds, pavilion, and popular jazz concert series, the $620,000 project is just the latest improvement to a public space that has become a vital resource for the neighborhood since its revitalization in the late 1990s. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was planned for ​ ​ ​ Thursday, Aug. 2, to unveil the new trees and sidewalks. For the Water Department, the construction advances a long-term effort to prevent sewer overflows and keep polluted water out of the city’s rivers and residents’ basements. It also represents an expansion of the department’s Soak It Up Adoption initiative, a nine-year-old grant program that brings in community organizations ​ ​ as partners in maintaining green-stormwater infrastructure and educating residents about why it’s there. The partner for Malcolm X Park is Greensgrow West, a branch of the Kensington-based urban-gardening nonprofit. Greensgrow already helps monitor stormwater infrastructure at four schools and a recreation center, removing waste and alerting the city to damage or other problems with the trees or the trenches. “This partnership program is kind of showing people how important these things are, picking up the trash and making sure they’re functioning properly, and has a really important education piece, so people understand that this infrastructure is really important to all of our health as residents of this city,” said Ryan Kuck, Greensgrow’s executive director. “We love Malcolm X Park,” Kuck said. “We are excited about all the changes and hope it continues to be a wonderful place for the neighborhood.” Other organizations monitoring Soak It Up Adoption sites in West Philadelphia include Southwest CDC, Urban Tree Connection, and Centennial Parkside CDC, said Dan Schupsky, an outreach specialist who is a contractor for the Water Department. Citywide, 16 partner groups monitor about 110 sites. Partners receive annual grants of about $1,500 to $6,500, depending on the number of sites and amount of work they take on. The funds go to buy equipment like trash-grabbers, brooms, gloves, dustpans, and safety vests, and to pay for public-engagement activities like meetings, event tabling, email newsletters, and social-media posting, Schupsky said. Though the partners may employ volunteers or their own paid staff, some use the grants to pay senior citizens, young people, or other community members to work as site monitors for a few hours a week. Soak It Up Adoption's annual budget is about $70,000, Schupsky said. In the first half of 2018, participating groups picked up 21 tons of trash and engaged with more than 1,600 residents. “To do all that for $70,000 is really impressive, and it says a lot about how hard the partners work,” he said. “It’s very grass roots, a very boots-on-the-ground kind of organization.” The Water Department views Greensgrow and the other organizations as extensions of itself, serving as ambassadors of its Green City, Clean Waters program, Schupsky said. “They’re working to help keep their hyper-local environment looking really good and that stormwater infrastructure functional. One thing I say to them is, ‘You’re basically part of the Clean Water Act, sort of. You can say that you’re helping with this really big problem of these CSOs, these combined sewer overflows.’ As long as the green-stormwater infrastructure is working well, they’re helping reduce the amount of polluted water that’s going out to our local waterways,” he said. Kuck said Greensgrow will eventually encourage Friends of Malcolm X Park to join Soak It Up Adoption itself and begin monitoring the tree trenches, if the group’s volunteers are interested. That came as a surprise to Cojulun. “I’ve got enough trees in my park to take care of, but they’re welcome to come to one of our meetings, talk to me, talk to my group and see what they say,” he said. “It all depends on my group -- whatever they say, goes.” The tree-trench installation at Malcolm X Park is one of more than 1,000 projects the Water Department has sponsored as part of Green City, Clean Waters. Established in 2011 to comply with a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency mandate to reduce sewer overflows, Green City, Clean Waters deploys tree trenches, planted curb bump-outs, sidewalk planters, permeable pavement, green roofs, rain gardens, and rain barrels to slow the movement of stormwater into the sewer or keep it out entirely. The department also performs traditional sewer-infrastructure upgrades. The alternative would have been to spend nearly $10 billion to build a 34-foot diameter, 30-mile-long tunnel under the Delaware River that would have stored sewer overflows and pumped them to wastewater plants for treatment after storms, according to Howard Neukrug, who was the city’s water commissioner when Green City ​ ​ ​ was launched. More than 40 of the green projects are at parks, and several more are in the works, Schupsky said. They include an extensive project under construction at Cobbs Creek Park that will include tree trenches, bump-outs, a stormwater basin, and rain gardens. Projects at Carroll Park and at Elmwood Park in Southwest Philadelphia are in the design phase, he said. The young plantings around the perimeter of Malcolm X Park join dozens of older trees that shade the 6-acre site and create a tall burst of green amid the neighborhood’s tightly packed rowhouses, churches, and small businesses. On a walk around the park earlier this week, Cojulun pointed out the improvements he has helped shepherd over the decades. With funds and assistance from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Citizens Bank, and the Parks and Recreation Department, Friends of Malcolm X Park was able to clear dead trees and plant new ones, reroute walking paths, build a playground and tot lot, and put in new benches and the lighted pavilion. Restrooms are in a small building painted with a mural of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz. Previously called Black Oak Park, it was popular and well-used in the 1960s, but by the 1990s drug dealers and prostitutes moved in and families no longer felt comfortable there, Cojulun said. The park’s name changed in 1993, neighbors set up the Friends group, renovations began, and the park was rededicated in 2000. ​ ​ Now, the park bustles with noisy crowds of children from several day-care programs in the morning and hosts a wide variety of other activities, he said -- weddings, birthday parties, church services, Thursday night jazz shows, dance performances, movie screenings, the occasional gubernatorial campaign event, and much more. ​ ​ ​ As Cojulun walked across the park, a father and son bicycled in circles around the pavilion, and several benches were full of people hanging out. “It just grew and grew and grew. It’s probably one of the most sought-after parks in the city of Philadelphia,” he said. “We try to help the children out. That’s our goal, to make sure they have a place to play, safe and sound.” .
Recommended publications
  • The Philadelphia Story Learning from a Municipal Wireless Pioneer
    The Philadelphia Story Learning from a Municipal Wireless Pioneer Joshua Breitbart, Author Naveen Lakshmipathy, Appendices Sascha D. Meinrath, Editor NEW AMERICA FOUNDATION 1 The Philadelphia Story Learning from a Municipal Wireless Pioneer Joshua Breitbart, Author Naveen Lakshmipathy, Appendices Sascha D. Meinrath, Editor Washington, DC Contents Executive Summary ...........................................................................................................................................1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................................................3 Keys To Successful Municipal Wireless Network Deployment......................................................................4 Welcome To Philadelphia ............................................................................................................................................7 About This Report ..........................................................................................................................................................8 Philadelphia A Case Study..........................................................................................................9 Pilot Project.......................................................................................................................................................................9 The Executive Committee .........................................................................................................................................10
    [Show full text]
  • Green2015-An-Action-Plan-For-The
    Green2015 Advisory Group Conveners and Participating Organizations Michael DiBerardinis, Department of Parks and Recreation Commissioner, co-convener Alan Greenberger, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, co-convener Amtrak Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future Delaware River Waterfront Corporation Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission Fairmount Park Conservancy Fairmount Park Historic Preservation Trust Friends of the Wissahickon Greenspace Alliance Natural Land Trust Neighborhood Gardens Association Next Great City Coalition Office of City Councilman Darrell Clarke Office of Councilwoman Anna Verna Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Pennsylvania Environmental Council Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations Philadelphia City Planning Commission Philadelphia Department of Commerce Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections Philadelphia Department of Public Health Philadelphia Department of Public Property Philadelphia Department of Revenue Philadelphia Housing Authority Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation Philadelphia Office of Housing and Community Development Philadelphia Office of Sustainability Philadelphia Office of Transportation and Utilities Philadelphia Orchard Project Philadelphia Parks Alliance Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Commission Philadelphia Water Department Redevelopment Authority of Philadelphia School District of Philadelphia Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation
    [Show full text]
  • Summer in Fairmount Park Press Release 2021
    PRESS CONTACT: Cari Feiler Bender, Relief Communications 610-416-1216, [email protected] Choose Your Own Adventure in Philly Parks This Summer Fairmount Park Conservancy Encourages Healthy Fun in Philly Parks with Free Events, Movie Nights, and More May 20, 2021, PHILADELPHIA, PA – Fairmount Park Conservancy is encouraging the exploration of spots both known and unknown in Philadelphia’s parks this summer. The non-profit champion for Philadelphia parks is offering a variety of ways to encourage exploration of Fairmount Park and FDR Park, from scavenger hunts to guided hikes and kayak tours to free movie nights. “Philly parks have always been there for us, offering space to seek solace or enjoy each other’s company,” said Maura McCarthy, Ph.D., Executive Director of Fairmount Park Conservancy. “This summer, Fairmount Park Conservancy wants to encourage Philadelphians to choose their own adventure in their park, whether it’s by exploring Fairmount Park with the family on a scavenger hunt, or by appreciating art in the park at the Hatfield House.” HEALTHY ADVENTURES Park Hubs in Fairmount Park and FDR Park: To enhance the visitor experience this summer, “Park Hubs” will return to Fairmount Park in June. Six spots throughout the park will include wayfinding signage, portable restrooms, and hand-sanitizing stations that serve as helpful jumping off points for exploring the park. Park Hubs will also be installed throughout FDR Park in late June. In Fairmount Park, park-goers can start or end their exploration of various trails, natural areas, and historic structures at one of these six locations: ● Lemon Hill Mansion: 1 Lemon Hill Drive ● Mount Pleasant Mansion: 3800 Mount Pleasant Drive ● Woodford Mansion: 2300 North 33rd Street ● Concourse Lake: South Concourse Drive and Belmont Avenue ● Centennial District: 41st and S.
    [Show full text]
  • Philadelphia Neighborhoods Or a Recommendation of Particular Resources
    A Guide to Philadelphia Neighborhood Resources for Infants, Toddlers, Preschoolers, & their Families City of Neighborhoods: A Guide to Philadelphia Neighborhood Resources for Infants, Toddlers, Preschoolers and Their Families (2007) Parents need to have a vision about where they see children participating and what they see them doing in the future. It is important for parents and professionals to have a vision of children participating in educational AND community-based opportunities. This guide focuses on assisting parents and professionals to envision a child in community-based opportunities. It is intended as a starting point to inspire thoughts about including children in community-based opportunities. Professionals can use it as a reference that can be carried with them as they visit children and families and work together with caregivers to identify general community resources that support the development and participation of all infants, toddlers and young children in everyday learning opportunities. A special thanks to the parents and professionals who contributed to the creation of the first edition (2002) of this guide and its 2007 revision: Mary Mikus, Suzanne Milbourne, Mary Muhlenhhaupt, Kimberly Rayfield and Jean Ann Vogelman. There are many comprehensive guides and directories that are available in Philadelphia to help professionals find a variety of resources for specific needs. This guide is not intended to replace the wide number of available resources. Nor, is it intended to be a comprehensive listing of all resources in all Philadelphia neighborhoods or a recommendation of particular resources. City of Neighborhoods: A Guide to Philadelphia Neighborhood Resources for Infants, Toddlers, Preschoolers & Their Families (2007) Envisioning children in the community ...........................................................................................................3 Examples of Community Resources............................................................................................................3 Where to begin .
    [Show full text]
  • DAILY/040<UNTITLED>
    Join your neighbors to spruce up city’s SPRING GREENING open spaces t least 90 parks will par- land was donated to the North- worked with Liberty Lands’ or- Aticipate in Saturday’s LOVE ern Liberties Neighborhood As- ganizers to create a sustainable Yo ur Park event, sociation, which has storm water management sys- getting tender lov- nurtured the 2-acre tem, which prevents rain runoff ing care from vol- If you want to volun- multi-use park that from overwhelming the city’s unteers committed teer on Saturday — brightens 3rd Street sewer system. to keeping Philadel- or any time through- today. Here’s how it works: Cap- out the year — to phia’s green spaces Among the park’s tured rainwater runoff moves make your neighbor- features are picnic through an inlet on 3rd Street beautiful. hood park a greener, Liberty Lands more welcoming tables and benches, a and travels under the side- on 3rd Street in space, register at playground, a butterfly walk to be funneled into a rain Northern Liberties gpcares.com. For a garden, two murals, a garden. It then drains into an is one of them. list of participating Native American herb underground cistern, so that Built on an in- parks, visit garden and more than gardeners can use it to irrigate dustrial brownfield phsonline.org 180 trees. The neigh- the park’s community — the site of the or call 215-988-1611. borhood association garden plots. ★ long-gone Burk hosts several musical Brothers Tannery festivals there each — the soil was deemed safe after year and during the summer the Environmental Protection hosts a lawn chair drive-in movie Agency removed waste nearly series.
    [Show full text]
  • NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN 2016 Table of Contents
    SHAPING OUR FUTURE WALNUT HILL NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN 2016 Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Background 10 Introduction 12 History of Walnut Hill 13 Planning Process 16 Community Engagement 17 Existing Conditions 23 Demographics 24 Housing Burden Trends 28 Crime 30 Zoning and Land Use 31 Built Environment 34 Business Landscape 35 Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Constraints 37 Strengths 38 Weaknesses 42 Opportunities 43 Constraints 45 Shaping Our Future - Walnut Hill NeighborhoodShaping Our Future - Walnut Plan 2016 Summary and Future Considerations 46 Neighborhood Vision, Goals, & Objectives 47 Built Environment Objectives 48 Streets Objectives 51 Community and Economic Development Objectives 54 Key Performance Indicators 70 2 What is Shaping our Future? Executive Summary “Shaping our Future” is the brand that encapsulates the purpose of the plan. Through this, we hope to show that Walnut Hill and its Overview The Walnut Hill Neighborhood Plan 2016 was the culmination of nearly a year of residents are taking an active role in determining research and engagement. The 2016 Plan builds upon the progress created through how the neighborhood will develop over time. the original 2007 Neighborhood Plan while helping to illustrate a unique vision for the It is also a call to action. It aims to challenge neighborhood. The plan will serve to guide the development of Walnut Hill through those involved to think about what the future the year 2021. The 2016 Plan was facilitated by The Enterprise Center – Community Walnut Hill should look and feel like, and take Development Corporation, with financial and technical support from Local Initiatives the steps necessary to achieve it.
    [Show full text]
  • West Philly Penn Students Live in These Beautiful Homes! Among Many Other Investments
    Woodland Terrace | Off Baltimore between St. Andrew’s Collegiate Chapel | Spruce 2 40th and 41st streets 7 Street between 42nd and 43rd streets PennTracks This small neighborhood is on the National Register of Historical Philadelphia Divinity School, now recognizable as St. Andrew’s Places. Here you will see Italianate style houses. This distinct Collegiate Chapel, was founded in 1921. The site was the location architecture became popular during the 19th century and spread of the developer Clarence Clark’s mansion. Clark, after whom from England to the United States and Australia. Believe it or not, Clark Park is named, developed what is now known as ‘beige block,’ West Philly Penn students live in these beautiful homes! among many other investments. The original plan for the Divinity School called for a quadrangle which would have filled the entire Overview: square block; however, only six buildings were completed. The This tour will take you through beautiful Victorian Clark Park | 43rd and Baltimore streets site now houses the Penn Alexander School and the Parent Infant neighborhoods to great ethnic restaurants and a great 3 Center. park—all in Penn’s backyard. Welcome to West Philly! Clark Park is one of the great public spaces of West Philadelphia. West Philadelphia began as the site of summer homes for In the warm months it hosts community festivals and a weekly colonial elites and then became Philadelphia’s first suburb farmer’s market. The park boasts the world’s only life-sized statue in the late 19th century after the creation of the electric of Charles Dickens, a secret community garden, and a fountain streetcar.
    [Show full text]
  • Return on Environment
    RETURN ON ENVIRONMENT The Economic Value of Protected Open Space in Southeastern Pennsylvania PREPARED FOR GreenSpace Alliance Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission FINAL EDITION January 2011 The Economic Value of Protected Open Space in Southeastern Pennsylvania January 2011 FINAL EDITION Produced for GreenSpace Alliance Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission By Economy League of Greater Philadelphia Econsult Corporation Keystone Conservation Trust February 2011 Greetings, Southeastern Pennsylvania has an enviable collection of protected open spaces, including parks, working farms, trails, nature preserves, and historic and cultural landscapes. When we think of the beauty of Greater Philadelphia, these areas often come to mind. They give us our “sense of place”. Some might think that their value stops there, but this study, Return on Environment – The Economic Value of Protected Open Space in Southeastern Pennsylvania, quantifies the many ways in which these open spaces actually save us money and support our economy. Commissioned by the GreenSpace Alliance and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, funded by The Lenfest Foundation and Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, this report, conducted by Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, Econsult Corporation, and Keystone Conservation Trust, shows how we: • Increase our property values by being close to protected open space; • Avoid spending money to artificially replicate the vital environmental functions provided by protected open space; • Save money from free or low-cost recreational activities on protected open space; • Create jobs related to the open space. Just glance through the executive summary - we think you will find the magnitude of the savings and value added impressive. The Greater Philadelphia area has done a great job in preserving open space in the past.
    [Show full text]
  • Follow Achieveability on Social Media
    Newsletter for West Philadelphia funded by Quarterly Newsletter • June 2021 • Volume 2, Issue 2 In this Issue Spring has sprung and it has been over a year since the onset of COVID-19. The last year has been challenging for our community, but Page 2: in true West Philadelphian fashion we have remained resilient and can see the light at the end of the tunnel. COVID-19 vaccinations are • NAC Highlight available to all Philadelphians 16 and older. Philadelphians 12+ are also eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine. Check out page 3 for • Employment Corner vaccine resources! • Community Spotlight ACHIEVEability team members have been so happy to reconnect with you over the last several months through distribution days and in-person services at our new office, New Market West (5901 Market Street, Suite 410)! Look out for the reopening of our free, • Shephard Rebuild community computer lab in June! Project We are also looking forward to celebrating Juneteenth safely this summer! Philly will be hosting several events such as the Philadelphia Juneteenth Freedom Day Float House Page 3: Competition, Juneteenth Freedom Day March along 52nd Street, and Philadelphia’s first Juneteenth Freedom Day Exhibit in Malcolm X Park. Follow @juneteenthphila on • Business Highlight Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to learn more about upcoming events. • Repair. Restore. The last year has given us so much to be thankful for and celebrate! Please join Renew. ACHIEVEability as we acknowledge our collective strength and look forward to the year ahead through West Philly Strong: Rising and Thriving! This free event will be held • Vaccine Resources virtually on Wednesday, June 16 at 4 pm.
    [Show full text]
  • Historic Context Statement for University City Planning District 2012
    ARCHITECTURAL RESEARCH AND CULTURAL HISTORY HISTORIC PRESERVATION CONSULTING HISTORIC CONTEXT STATEMENT FOR UNIVERSITY CITY PLANNING DISTRICT 2012 HISTORIC CONTEXT STATEMENT FOR UNIVERSITY CITY PLANNING DISTRICT EMILY T. COOPERMAN, PH.D. Introduction The University City Planning District (figure 1) is understood today as a community related to a group of academic institutions that have grown in the eastern portion of West Philadelphia beginning with the relocation of the University of Pennsylvania from Center City in the period after the Civil War. The area is defined today by the campuses of these institutions and their surrounding residential and commercial community. The University City district, however, encompasses areas that, while they have common historical threads and share a geographic relationship to the Schuylkill River and Cobbs Creek, were not understood historically as a single zone in the way that some other planning districts of the city were (the Lower Northeast, for example). Thus, the present community brings together a number of zones with different historic patterns of development and uses. This planning district is one where a notably large number of historic districts have been created, largely through the incentive of the Investment Tax Credit program by the former Clio Group, Inc., whose offices were located in the district. Further, the history of the area has been extensively documented through efforts of the staff of the Archives of the University of Pennsylvania (http://www.archives.upenn.edu/histy/features/wphila/history/history_tc.html). These documents cover such important facts as the specific styles of architecture and demographics related to the development of residential areas in Powelton, Hamilton Village, and Garden Court.
    [Show full text]
  • West Philly! West Philadelphia Began As the Bath Products, Jewelry, Vintage Furniture, and Other Collectibles from Around Into Account the Family Automobile
    WEST PHILADELPHIA 1. The Woodlands 6. Baltimore Avenue 4000 Woodland Avenue Baltimore Avenue between 45th and 48th streets This National Historic Landmark is a fantastic federal-style mansion This street is an old turnpike that went from Philadelphia to Baltimore surrounded by a beautiful, botanical garden. The Woodlands is perhaps and is one of the major arteries through West Philadelphia. The trolleys most famous for its Victorian cemetery. Here lie many famous Colonial that still run down the street are what made this neighborhood the most American and Civil War fellows, as well as members of old Philadelphia desirable suburb of Philadelphia in the decades after the Civil War families. Thomas Eakins, Joseph Campbell (of soup fame), and Samuel because the streetcars provided easy access to jobs in Center City. Gross are also buried here. WALKING Great restaurants pepper the historic avenue including the popular 2. Woodland Terrace Ethopian eatery – Dahlak on 47th Street. If you are more in the mood Woodland Terrace (Off Baltimore between 40th and 41st streets) for a delicious Vietnamese meal, then you can try Vietnam Cafe which TOURS OF is practically right next door. In addition, the area boasts Thai, Indian, This small neighborhood is on the National Register of Historical Places. Caribbean, and bar food. PHILADELPHIA Here you will see Italianate style houses. This distinct architecture became popular during the 19th century and spread from England to the United 7. Garden Court States and Australia. Believe it or not, Penn students live in these beautiful 47th looking down Larchwood and Osage streets homes! The Garden Court neighborhood is on the National Register of OVERVIEW: 3.
    [Show full text]
  • Focp-Summer-2008-Fin
    Summer 2008 Brian Siano, Editor Frank Chance, Publisher PO Box 31908, Philadelphia, PA 19104 Telephone 215-552-8186 Website: http://www.clarkpark.info Blog: http://community.livejournal.com/clark_park/ New Basketball Court Opens; Park ‘A’ Gets Large Grant Largest Infusion of Public Monies into Clark Park since 1960s. by Tony West The sun was shining extra-hard infrastructure since the 1960s. pumped-up park users. “If it unites, it on Clark Park on a late-spring Satur- Speaking at the ribbon-cutting, Mayor can win and it can turn itself around.” day, June 14. Michael Nutter hailed the partnership that Nutter, who grew up at 54th & Larch- That’s when the park inaugurat- has been striving to improve the park ever wood, said that for him, “the park” was ed a spanking-new basketball court, since a 2001 Revitalization Master Plan always Malcolm X Park. But Clark Park a $100,000+ capital improvement, was adopted by the Recreation Dept. “This has always been important, not only to while scooping up a promise of is the kind of teamwork we need to bring University City, but to all of West Phila- $450,000 more to rebuild the be- about positive changes for Philadelphia,” delphia, he went on. Parks and recre- loved but battered North Park (Park he said. ation have emerged as a priority in his A). Those nearly half a million dol- Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell echoed administration’s first big budget moves, lars will be the largest single infusion the Mayor’s thoughts. “The community compared to the previous 16 years, dur- of public monies into Clark Park’s must be united,” she urged a crowd of 100 ing which Mayors Ed Rendell and John The Clark Park Basketball Court, June 14, 2008: From left to right: Democratic 27th Ward Leader Carol Jenkins, State Senator Anthony Williams, Secretary of DCNR Mike DiBerardinis, Mayor Michael Nutter, a check for one million dollars, Representative Jim Roebuck, Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, Commissioner of Recreation Susan Slawson, FoCP President Frank Chance, UCD Executive Director Lewis Wendell, and Joan M.
    [Show full text]