Detective Joseph Murray has recently received attention for using his twitter feed @TheFuzz9143 to provide over 950 followers with information about burglary, robbery, and other crime patterns in West and Southwest Philadelphia.
“By the time something happens and it comes to me, it’s done. It’s a crime. It already happened, and it’s my job is to solve it,” Murray says, explaining his frustration with the traditional reactive approach of the detective. “I don’t like to think that way. I don’t like to be reactive. I’d rather be proactive. When something comes to me, I look at it from the beginning and wonder how it could have been prevented. That’s my job too.”
Murray posts tips to his twitter feed, like this picture of a suspect's car.
The proactive strategy Murray advocates involves multiple communication tools (among them twitter, community message boards, and community meetings) and three main sources of information: how to avoid being a victim of crime, information about crime patterns, and the importance of networking and community building.
These volunteers with People's Emergency Center had a blast on Saturday cleaning up blocks of Haverford Avenue.
Philadelphia residents came out on Saturday April 14 for a beautiful day of cleaning up their streets, parks, and neighborhoods, part of the city’s 5th Annual Spring Cleanup. LISC wants to celebrate this fantastic community-driven effort, as well as the coordination and work of our partner organizations. Hundreds of volunteers were able to contribute meaningfully to a cleaner and more proactive Philadelphia.
In SCI West, The Enterprise Center CDC and its staff worked with hundreds of volunteers in the Walnut Hill neighborhood, in coordination with neighborhood residents, TEC’s Community Leaders, Drexel University, the Walnut Hill Community Association, and Ready, Willing and Able. On Haverford Avenue, 40th Street and Lancaster Avenue, People’s Emergency Center worked with volunteers from their youth program, the Mantua Community Improvement Committee, and Drexel University.
In SCI Eastern North, neighbors of Rainbow de Colores playground and handball court picked up trash and planted flowers. Ready, Willing, and Able also helped Asociación de Puertorriqueños en Marcha (APM) and residents clean up a park and picked up trash along Germantown Ave near Cousins’ Supermarket.
Congratulations to all of the volunteers who made this year’s cleanup a success. When engaged residents work to improve their communities, sustainable change is possible.
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Photos by David Ferris.
The residents of the 3800 block of Aspen Street, with support from over 300 volunteers and the Green Block Build Coalition, celebrated critical repairs and energy efficiency upgrades to 20 homes, greening and beautification efforts along the block, and a host of other services with a day of hard work, good food, and community building on Saturday, March 31, 2012.
This was the first of five Green Block Parties in 2012, which aim to bring a comprehensive set of services to organized blocks, helping residents and neighborhoods to transition to a cleaner, greener, healthier, and more financially stable future.
“You don’t know what this project has done for me,” said Barbara Hall on Saturday, explaining her appreciation. “I had given up hope.” Hall, who has lived on the 3800 block of Aspen Street for 67 years, is hopeful that she will be able to pass her home to her children and grandchildren. “I want it to be a family home for another 67 years,” she said.
SCI-West convened the partners of the Green Block Build Coalition, including Philadelphia LISC, Partnership CDC, Rebuilding Together Philadelphia, People’s Emergency Center, among others. Students from the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University, in addition to a substantial number of neighbors and residents, provided volunteer labor for the effort.
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Green Block Build Collaborative Gives Mantua Block a Sustainable Facelift: Open House Saturday!
Please join us for the Green Block Build Open House!
Who: Join Congressman Chaka Fattah, Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, Katherine Gajewski, the City of Philadelphia’s Director of Sustainability, block residents, and representatives from the Green Block Build Collaborative’s agencies as they speak about this project.
What: Tour the houses to see the weatherizations and improvements in progress, meet the partners, learn more about healthy homes, hear local leaders and residents speak.
When: Saturday, March 31, 2012, 10:00a.m.- 12:00p.m.
Where:
If it’s raining:
Mantua Community Improvement Committe building, 619 N. 35th Street – between Mt. Vernon and Haverford.
If it’s not Raining:
3800 block of Aspen Street, Philadelphia, PA (in West Philadelphia’s Mantua neighborhood).
For Immediate Release:
Contact
Jamie Gauthier, Program Officer, Philadelphia LISC
jgauthier@lisc.org, 215-923-3801 x. 14
Philadelphia–A coalition of community organizations and more than 300 volunteers are providing home improvements and greening to the 3800 block of Aspen Street in Mantua. A Green Block Party Open House on March 31 will bring volunteers and vendors to the block that will provide critical repairs to 20 homeowners on the block, while greening and beautifying the block as a whole. The program will also educate homeowners about how to make their homes healthier and more energy efficient.
The project is carried out by the Green Block Build Collaborative, a coalition of community organizations including Philadelphia LISC, Rebuilding Together Philadelphia, The Partnership CDC, and a wide variety of other community partners. It is supported by Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania.
The Green Block Build Program developed from LISC’s Sustainable Communities Initiative in West Philadelphia (SCI-West), a comprehensive community development effort focused on housing, income and employment, economic opportunity, education, and health. The Green Block Build strategy is to improve the health and wealth of low-income households, block-by-block, house-by-house by building on the strengths of each partner organization. Participating blocks receive education and a suite of products and services designed to help each participant transition to a healthier life and home.
Barbara Hall, the captain of the 3800 block of Aspen Street recognizes the impact of this project. Her family has lived in her house on the block for 67 years. Several years ago, she paid a roofer to install a new roof on the home. The first time it rained, she realized that the roofer had taken advantage of her; the leaky roof caused significant water damage throughout the home, and her basement and kitchen were crumbling around her.
“Lord have mercy, we’ll enjoy living in our neighborhood again!” said Hall, when she learned about the Green Block Build Program, “This has given me so much hope.”
The Green Block Party idea grew out of a desire to address the interrelated issues of poverty and sustainability. Low-income households in the U.S. spend 17% of income on energy bills, 10% higher than the national average. Simple home weatherization improvements can dramatically reduce this number, saving low-income families money while reducing their environmental impact. The concept has grown into the full Green Block Build Program, which takes the fundamental components of the Green Block Party, and integrates critical home repairs that further help homeowners meet these goals.
Each home on the block will receive multiple critical repairs or energy efficiency upgrades, energy assessments, education around home health issues, and financial education. Other home improvements include the installation of green and cool roofs, rain barrel installation, the removal of allergy and asthma triggers such as mold and dampness, weatherization improvements, and overall greening. The projects will be tailored to specifically meet the needs of each homeowner. For example, one homeowner with physical handicaps will receive repairs to his home that make the bathroom, backyard, and other rooms more handicap-accessible.
Each of the community partners in the collaborative is bringing different skills and resources to the program.
“One of the key things we were aiming for with this project is showing the amount of impact that each partner organization’s services and efforts could have on a household, on a block, and on a community if they were connected and coordinated. We have seen the benefits of collaboration in this community through our SCI-West work, and I am truly excited about the potential of this project,” said Jamie Gauthier, Program Officer at Philadelphia LISC.
Once the renovations are complete, Drexel University will conduct an analysis of the program’s impact, which will help spread this model for improvements and shape the strategic direction of the collaborative.
“These are things that can help you in the long run. If you’re part of the community and they’re building it up, you can take pride in where you are living,” said Patricia Rozier, another block resident, “We are going to maintain our block, trust me.”
About the Partners:
Philadelphia LISC’s Sustainable Communities Initiative was born out of a realization that healthy communities are not just made of bricks and mortar. They also require a strong foundation of communal respect and action, safe and secure families, a skilled workforce, and numerous other quality-of-life measures like hope and faith in the future. Beginning in 2006, Philadelphia LISC embraced a new strategic plan that emphasized comprehensive, cooperative action over transaction- and organization-focused models of the past. The underlying concept behind our Sustainable Communities Initiative is to concentrate efforts in particular neighborhoods, building local coalitions that work across traditional programmatic and organizational boundaries to try to create a critical mass for sustainable growth and development. We partner with local community development corporations and other neighborhood nonprofits to first create a common vision and work plan for the target area, and then to implement it.
The Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) is dedicated to helping community residents transform distressed neighborhoods into healthy and sustainable communities of choice and opportunity — good places to work, do business and raise children. LISC mobilizes corporate, government and philanthropic support to provide local community development organizations with loans, grants and equity investments. LISC also provides local, statewide and national policy support, and technical and management assistance. LISC is a national organization with a community focus. Our program staff collaborate with local community development groups, delivering the most appropriate support to meet local needs.
The Partnership Community Development Corporation develops affordable, for-sale and rental housing for low to moderate-income families in Philadelphia County, and provides home ownership education to first-time home buyers.
We work to retain and attract businesses in West Philadelphia, allowing our communities to be economically independent and viable. The Partnership CDC also undertakes retail development, organizes business associations, provides technical assistance to businesses and community groups and formulates revitalization strategies for commercial corridors.
Drexel University’s mission is to serve our students and society through comprehensive integrated academic offerings enhanced by technology, co-operative education, and clinical practice in an urban setting, with global outreach embracing research, scholarly activities, and community initiatives. Founded in 1891 in Philadelphia, Drexel is a top-ranked, comprehensive university recognized for its focus on experiential learning through co-operative education, its commitment to cutting-edge academic technology and its growing enterprise of use-inspired research.
People’s Emergency Center nurtures families, strengthens neighborhoods, and drives change. PEC is committed to increasing equity and opportunity throughout our entire community. We provide comprehensive supportive services to homeless women and their children, revitalize our West Philadelphia neighborhood, and advocate for social justice. Through its CDC, PEC provides an array of neighborhood preservation, community building, technology, and commercial development projects. On Lancaster Avenue, the neighborhood commercial corridor, PEC has attracted new businesses, improved commercial facades, and enhanced the streetscape.
The mission of the Energy Coordinating Agency (ECA) is to help people conserve energy and to promote a sustainable and socially equitable energy future for all in the Philadelphia region. ECA is a large provider energy of efficiency services and job training services, thus filling a critical role in the region.
Mantua Community Improvement Committee was formed in 2000 as a vehicle to keep the streets of Mantua clean and safe. Since its inception, it has cleaned away literally thousands of pounds of trash and weeds from vacant lots, and off the streets. MCIC is also committed to improving the overall quality of life in the community and to employing as many Mantua residents as possible. Founded by Rick Young on a philosophy of self-help and self–determination MCIC is looking forward to many more years of growth and expansion as it fulfills its mission of helping to maintain a healthy, safe, and clean community for the residents of Mantua.
Rebuilding Together Philadelphia is a local, independent affiliate of a national network focused on preserving affordable homeownership using volunteer resources. RTP concentrates much of its work in West Philadelphia, Germantown, and North Philadelphia. Through its critical home repair projects, including energy efficiency upgrades, as well as its safe and healthy home projects, RTP has helped over 1,050 low-income homeowners and over 45 community agencies since its founding in 1988.
Neighborhood Advisory Council (NAC) is housed at The Partnership CDC in West Philadelphia. We guide people to city services. We create opportunities for citizens to have a voice in what happens in their communities. The Neighborhood Advisory Council (NAC), is an interactive information and service center that is funded by the Office of Housing and Community Development. There are four NAC’s in West and Southwest Philadelphia. NAC has been operating in Philadelphia for almost 35 years.
Op-Ed in Detroit Free Press Highlights LISC and HUD’s Struggle to Preserve Affordable Housing
Federal funding for meeting human needs is under attack. The threat is more dire than few of us have ever seen before and it is particularly acute for affordable rental housing. LISC is taking a leadership role with HUD and others in the national effort to preserve funding for affordable rental housing. This editorial from the Detroit Free Press is an indication of our message and an example of the success that advocates can have in drawing media attention to the issue:
Please read the full article here:
Creativity as Engagement
Art can be a powerful tool in collective action. In fact, creativity is central to building sustainable communities, which requires organizing residents across social and economic boundaries, to revitalize their communities. Creative organizations work to bring people together to do this important, difficult work: using the arts to bridge divisions in the community, engage residents in meaningful dialogue, and create a strong sense of place.
In West Philadelphia, several organizations are using the creative arts to bring people together. Additionally, CDCs like the People’s Emergency Center (PEC), are incorporating creativity and public art into their community engagement and development strategies.
Residents participate in creative activities at PEC open houses.
The Rotunda (4014 Walnut St) is a community arts venue offering space for regular arts events, classes, and shows. Founded by students at University of Pennsylvania, the Rotunda’s has a strong commitment to providing a space for almost any proposed community-based arts endeavor. Their culturally diverse repertoire attracts people from nearly every segment of the community.
Gina Renzi, Director of the Rotunda, wants to use the programming to create meaningful partnerships and catalyze social change. She encourages those who use the space to talk with others who have similar interests, to collaborate on events and performances, and to work to reach out to a diverse group of people.
Another local program that demonstrates a commitment to the role of the arts in community revitalization and social change is the Artists in Residence program (AIR). AIR awards West Philly artists 1 year of free studio space at 4007 Chestnut St, in exchange for their participation in community-based art projects – leading workshops, teaching classes, exhibiting in the area, etc. AIR addresses the challenges that working artists face, and provides them with stepping stones: tools to support their work and free up their time so that they can contribute creative value to the community.
Another key organization in these efforts is West Philadelphia Arts Connect (WPAC), which provides a space for artists and arts organizations to share information and work together.
WPAC received a SCI-West small grant to team up with Neighborhood Bike Works and local youth to create “bike art” to showcase in the New Kensington CDC’s annual Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby. The partnership worked out so well they will be working together again this year.
These efforts of artists and arts organizations to build community across constituencies, according to Renzi, is essential to community development. “We need to make art accessible and connect the arts to people’s daily lives.”
The SCI-West CDC partners are working to incorporate lessons from arts and community-based organizations in West Philly, like the Rotunda and AIR, and from other organizations city-wide. The People’s Emergency Center (PEC) in particular, incorporates the arts into their work in many ways. Kira Strong of PEC echoed Renzi’s sentiments: “Art is a part of vibrant cultures and vibrant communities, and always has been historically. It remains a vital component.”
Young people enrolled in digital literacy training at The People’s Emergency Center (PEC) use their digital media skills to help serve local businesses. Several students have created promotional videos for businesses along Lancaster Avenue. (check out ‘Doughnut Heaven’ http://youtu.be/PBjt9_SnlE4)
PEC is using creative methods to engage residents in community planning. They held an open house to coincide with the LOOK! on Lancaster art exhibitions to attract more residents. PEC used hands on mapping, drawing, photo booth, and other creative activities to stimulate and capture fresh ideas.
PEC utilizes art to draw residents to neighborhood planning open houses.
PEC also uses local events and public art to foster a sense of community and cut through the divisions that exist among community residents.The Lancaster Avenue Jazz festival in Saunders Park has become a source of neighborhood pride.
PEC and its partners also use placemaking improvements to engage residents while beautifying the neighborhood. Improvements at 39th and Lancaster were particularly successful. They combined public art installation, greening, and building and infrastructure renovations. The project engaged a wide array of community partners: residents shared ideas for the mural, the artists worked an auto body shop on the corner, and local youth helped paint the mural.
Placing this public art at a major gateway into the city from the suburbs was strategic. It assured that pedestrians and car drivers from outside the neighborhood would see an ongoing transformation. The public art demonstrates a sense of pride in a place often portrayed in the media as crime-ridden. The project used an effective collaboration of community partners: PEC, LISC, other SCI-West partners, Bank of America, the Mural Arts Program, and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.
Community stakeholders participated in the artistic additions along Lancaster Avenue.
This combination of art, greening, and building renovations proves more effective than pursuing any of these improvements alone. A tree and bench can provide aesthetic benefits that a beautiful building cannot; meanwhile an artistic addition can transform buildings and landscapes in a fresh way. “Art brings a certain spiritual element that may be lacking in a really nice landscape design,” McNulty says. “Art gives you reason to linger.”
Strong reiterates this sentiment. “While folks may disagree on what is beautiful,” she says, “public art installations provide an excuse for public interaction and conversation.”
Ultimately, creativity and the arts can foster community engagement in multiple ways: making, exhibiting, and performing art; supporting artist collaborations; using creative and artistic methods of community planning; engaging artists in community development work; and engaging residents through place-making public art.
The effect of a comprehensive arts strategy that combines these benefits would, “generate goodwill and excitement,” McNulty hopes. “It gives people a reason to come here and stay here, a reason to be engaged and involved with their neighbors.”
Residents and visitors flocked to Lancaster Avenue for LOOK! this past fall.
In October and November, hundreds of residents and visitors flocked to the Lower Lancaster Avenue galleries, restaurants, public spaces, and businesses.
They were here for LOOK! on Lancaster Avenue, a two-month program sponsored by the People’s Emergency Center (PEC) and University City District (UCD), that brought art installations to the windows and storefronts of vacant buildings, group art shows to galleries and public spaces, and public performances to various locations along the Avenue.
“Lancaster Avenue is a perfect example, where art can be an intermediate step between a vacant building and a completely thriving local economy,” explains Joe McNulty, Commercial Corridor Manager with University City District. “The Look on Lancaster project changed people’s perspectives about those blocks of Lancaster that have been empty and desolate for years. It was a way to bring people walking back down here and say: ‘This could be a really thriving corridor.’”
Lancaster Avenue is not alone. Across the SCI-West target area, organizations are using the arts to strengthen development on commercial corridors. Corridor managers like McNulty work with residents, businesses, business associations, and Community Development Corporations (CDCs) to revitalize the commercial corridors in West Philadelphia: Lancaster Avenue, 40th Street, Spruce Street, Baltimore Avenue, and 45th and Walnut Streets.
These stories of creative efforts on West Philadelphia commercial corridors reveal the effectiveness of including arts initiatives into any commercial development strategy.
Lancaster Avenue
LOOK! on Lancaster attracted hundreds of people to visit Lancaster Avenue, view the work of local artists, and spend their money at businesses all along the corridor. Its other benefits are real, but less quantifiable. “Events like these create interest in the area, and promote a sense of pride in the neighborhood,” said McNulty.
LOOK! on Lancaster also draws attention to an already engaged art community. Artists around Lancaster Avenue have been active in neighborhood revitalization for nearly four decades: renovating properties, exhibiting art, and performing locally.
“Having folks like that who really bought into their own community, with their own sweat equity and real money, promoting art has been really valuable for Lancaster Ave,” said McNulty.
Another SCI-West partner, the People’s Emergency Center (PEC) promotes the arts through a larger event. For the past five years, (PEC) has hosted the Lancaster Avenue Jazz and Arts Festival. The event attracts hundreds of families to Saunders Park with live jazz, dance, spoken word, art exhibits, workshops, and an open-air market. The annual event celebrates the rich history of arts in Philadelphia, stimulates the local economy, and energizes the community.
In warmer months, PEC and UCD host Second Friday events on Lancaster Avenue to showcase galleries and exhibitions. They dropped the event a few years ago due to budgetary restrictions, but have since revived it on a shoestring budget, citing its many benefits for the corridor.
A number of creative organizations have served as artistic anchors for the Avenue as well.
Audiences from all over attend performances at The Community Education Center (CEC), founded nearly four decades ago by community members looking to use art and culture to inspire creativity and goodwill. “Art enriches the lives of families in this community,” says Terri Shockley, [position] of the CEC. “The arts are about making individuals and communities stronger and more resilient.”
The Gwendolyn Bye Dance Studio has also engaged young people in dance classes since 1986. A local coffee shop, The Green Line Café, showcases the work of local artists. A number of other galleries and studio spaces provide space for artists to create and exhibit work.
Ultimately, these artistic efforts are changing the conversation about Lancaster Avenue. “The message is,” says McNulty, “That this is a viable neighborhood. This is a place where you could raise a child, you could open a business. You could do anything here.”
The art installation "Value Added" remains on a Lancaster Avenue storefront.
40th Street
At the crossroads of historically distinct communities, 40th Street embodies the diversity of West Philadelphia. Here the arts play a critical role in speaking across boundaries of race, class background, and generation.
The corridor is anchored by two key arts organizations: the Rotunda (at 4014 Walnut St) and the Artists In Residence (AIR) program (at 4007 Chestnut St). (See “Creativity as Engagement” for more on their efforts)
It was also on 40th Street that West Philadelphia Arts Connect was born. The collaboration of artists and arts organizations across West Philly originated from Friends of 40th Street meetings.
Looking forward, UCD and PEC plan to collaborate on several projects around 40th Street. The organizations hope to encourage pedestrian traffic and development, including public art installations that will coincide with tree planting and beautification efforts. Projects will include pole painting, public sculpture, and art installations on and in vacant buildings.
Baltimore Avenue
The artistic efforts and commercial amenities on Baltimore Avenue improve the quality of life for residents across West Philadelphia.
In February, West Philly was one of 20 cities to host a Fun-A-Day art show, organized by the Artclash Collective and exhibited at Studio 34 on Baltimore Ave. Thousands of people visited the two-day exhibition.
Even arts businesses are finding a home in West Philly. Aside from the galleries on Lancaster, there’s Vix Emporium, a “general store” selling the handmade gifts and art of mostly local artists using a consignment system. Emily Dorn, manager at Vix, says, “This area needed a place like this: a place to buy a gift.” Because these gifts are local, special, and practical, Vix is creating a win-win for local artists and consumers.
UCD promotes the arts on Baltimore Avenue in many ways. They organize Second Saturdays, a monthly arts fair outside Dock Street Brewing Company that brings foot traffic to the neighborhood and helps support local artists. Additionally, they have invited artists to contribute designs for new Baltimore corridor banners.
There are clear benefits to the arts, McNulty says, including engaging residents in community issues, improving the image of the neighborhood, attracting residents and visitors to patronize local businesses, and inspiring entrepreneurs to open businesses that can serve community needs.
“Ultimately, we are looking to make our neighborhoods more livable.”
PEC's proposed development will offer artist live-work space in place of a vacant lot.
Aiming to preserve both affordable housing and a community of local artists, the People’s Emergency Center (PEC) is looking to develop affordable live-work space for low-income artists in West Philadelphia. The project would transform a large vacant lot at 4050-66 Haverford Avenue into a space for artists to live, create art, and exhibit work in the community.
The design and plan of the proposed development is a collaborative effort. PEC included many partners in the process, including: neighbors on the block near the proposed development, West Philly Arts Connect (WPAC), West Philadelphia Traction Company, and architect Teddy Cruise.
“We see [this proposed development] as a way to preserve the artist community and create a bit of a hub and generate some energy on that part of Haverford Ave,” explains Kira Strong from PEC.
Existing conditions at 4050 Haverford.
PEC has submitted an application to the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) for Low Income Housing Tax Credits to complete the development. With the tax credits, PEC would be able to move forward on a project that has been a vision for nearly a decade.
“We are really lucky to work in communities that have had a long history of artists who reside and work here,” says Strong. In the early 2000s, PEC began partnering with artists living in their communities of Belmont, Mantua, Mill Creek, Saunders Park, and West Powelton.
In 2006, PEC conducted a study to examine art and cultural resources in the community and identify opportunities for using the arts as an engine of community revitalization. Participation from the artist community exceeded expectations. Some 40 West Philly artists contributed to the study through surveys, focus groups, and interviews.
Drawings of the proposed artist live-work residence.
The study showed that artists were attracted to neighborhoods in West Philadelphia for their large stock of affordable housing, variety of active arts groups, and proximity to institutions like Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania.
A significant need came to the surface as well. “What we heard resoundingly was that there was a need for affordable live-work space,” said Strong, “Many artists were either being priced out or in fear of being priced out.”
Since the study, neighborhood conditions have continued to change: real estate values have risen, due to an influx of Drexel and University of Pennsylvania faculty and other higher income home-buyers.
Driven by its mission to serve and strengthen the existing communities, PEC was emboldened to figure out how to maintain its resident base, which includes local artists, while attracting additional amenities to the community.
While this unique artist live-work residence may be a few years away from ribbon-cutting, PEC will continue to preserve this population of artists “who are often the generator of neighborhood change, but less often its beneficiary.”
Citizens Bank Donates to LISC
The Citizens Bank Foundation has donated $40,000 to the Philadelphia Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) to support its Sustainable Communities Initiative in West Philadelphia and Eastern North Philadelphia. The grant will help launch Financial Opportunity Centers in the target neighborhoods which will provide families with employment, financial education, and benefits access. It will also promote green development.
Pictured from left are Dan Fitzpatrick, Chairman and CEO of Citizens Bank of PA, NJ and DE, Bill Smith, Senior Vice President of Community Investments at Citizens Bank and Andy Frishkoff, Executive Director of LISC.
