An online zoning meeting this Thursday will focus on a proposed 83-unit apartment building on the site of a shuttered dog park and other properties near 48th and Chester, adjacent to the Renaissance Health Care & Rehabilitation Center.

Renaissance seeks to combine several properties it owns – including an empty lot at 4720-24 Chester Ave. (formerly the Chester Avenue Dog Park), and adjacent properties at 1115 and 1119 S. 48th St. The properties are zoned RTA-1, RM1, and Commercial Mixed-Use (CMX-2). The proposal also seeks a single zoning designation for the new lot.  Continue Reading

Newly constructed Bookers’ Greenhouse Patio (Photo from Bookers’ Instagram page).

The City of Philadelphia has declared all Fridays in December as a “Shop Black Business Friday“, an initiative that aims to support Black-owned businesses, which have been hit very hard during the pandemic. One of the ways to support Black businesses in your community is to order food from Black-owned restaurants.

There are so many great Black-owned restaurants in West Philly. Some of them, like Bookers’ Restaurant and Bar (50th and Baltimore) and 48th Street Grille (48th and Pine) are still open for outdoor dining, as long as the weather is not too cold. Bookers’ recently built a greenhouse patio with open air flow, heaters and socially distanced tables (see photo).  Continue Reading

The SEPTA Trolley Tunnel that connects West Philadelphia with Center City will be closed every night from 12 a.m. until 5 a.m., beginning Sunday, Dec. 13 until further notice, SEPTA has announced. During the closure hours, SEPTA crews will be working on COVID-19 maintenance, which includes deep cleaning of the stations.

During the overnight tunnel closure, Route 10, 11, 13, 34 and 36 trolleys will be on diversion to 40th and Market streets where riders can transfer for free to or from Market-Frankford Line trains or the overnight MFL Owl buses at the 40th Street Station for travel to/from Center City.

Trolleys will continue to operate on their regular route throughout West and Southwest Philadelphia.

When shopping for holiday gifts this month please remember to support small local businesses. This year it’s more important than ever because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which cut down revenues at many local restaurants and shops by as much as 90 percent. On top of that, many neighborhood businesses have been struggling to stay open after this year’s civil unrest.

Gift cards from local shops and restaurants is a great idea for a holiday gift and you can buy them safely online at many businesses. Please check your local business association or neighborhood community organization for more information on businesses in your area, such as Baltimore Avenue Business Association, Lancaster Avenue Business Association, 52nd Street Commercial Corridor, Garden Court Community Association, Cedar Park Neighbors, and more.  Continue Reading

The Cedar Park Neighbors community organization has launched their 2020 Holiday Food Drive, the event held annually since 1985. This year, the food drive and volunteer event that brings holiday meals to dozens of neighborhood families every year, has some changes due to health safety reasons for both recipient families and volunteers and the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This season, in lieu of holiday food baskets, CPN will work with their community partners to distribute grocery store gift cards safely to families.  Continue Reading

              Photo courtesy of Penn Museum

Philadelphia libraries and museums have closed their doors again due to the COVID-19 pandemic until at least January 1, 2021, but it doesn’t mean that all events and activities are cancelled. The Free Library of Philadelphia is offering many programs virtually and maintains digital resources – ebooks, audiobooks, movies, TV, music, and more – that you can access anywhere with your library card.

Several Free Library locations, including Walnut Street West Library, have also started offering contactless material pickups and returns. Please visit this page for more details.

Many museums, including the Penn Museum, continue to hold events online, many of them free, for adults and children alike. Check out the Penn Museum’s events calendar for upcoming virtual events and programs.  Continue Reading