Police are investigating an overnight shooting in the Mantua section of West Philadelphia, which left four people injured, one critically. An unidentified gunman opened fire near 39th and Melon at around 11:15 p.m. Sunday, just as a block party was winding down nearby. Four people were taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds. One victim, a 24-year-old man, was shot multiple times and was listed in critical condition, according to a police report.

The other three victims, an 18-year-old man and two 21-year-old men, were listed in stable condition, according to police.

A total of 31 shell casings were recovered at the scene of the shooting, according to police.

Police say the gunman fled the scene in a vehicle. The motive is currently unknown and no arrests have been made.

The old two-story brick building at the corner of 41st and Chestnut may soon become home to an Amazon warehouse, according to a recent report by Naked Philly. The approximately 35,000 square feet building with a large parking space was purchased in 2011 by Campus Apartments, but has been sitting vacant since then. Before the purchase, the building had been occupied by Graphic Arts Inc. for decades.

No more information is currently available, like what type of warehouse it will be (general storage or Amazon Fresh grocery delivery service) and when it might open. We’ll keep you posted when we have more details.

Just a reminder that Amazon also opened a pickup store on Penn’s campus last year.

Scribe Video Center’s Street Movies! program returns this month for its 20th season with free outdoor film screenings and live performances. All events are family-friendly and take place in neighborhoods across Philadelphia, including in West Philly.

Scribe Video Center partners with local organizations for Street Movies! to guide the selection process and choose the best film programs for their communities. This August, the traveling series will feature a range of short films, from internationally recognized award-winning fiction, documentary, and animation to local community- and youth-produced works.  Continue Reading

Illegally dumped tires near 50th and Warrington (Archived photo).

Philadelphia has a serious problem of illegally discarded tires, including in West Philly (see photo). This month, there’s a chance for local block captains and community groups to dispose of illegally dumped tires and also earn some money for their future projects by participating in the Streets Department’s 2017 Tire Round-Up program.

The event will take place on Saturday, Aug. 26 in West Philadelphia, and registered participants may drop off their illegally discarded tires at the following temporary tire drop off locations:

• 51st Street & Woodland Avenue
• 49th Street & Parkside Avenue  Continue Reading

Photos West Philly Local.

Theatre in the X last night staged the premiere of Running Numbers, the tale of a graduating high school senior trying to navigate his way through obstacles in his neighborhood and his family to get his way into college and, just as importantly, pay for it.

In our decidedly unsophisticated opinion, it is really, really good.

The play follows CJ, a brilliant student, as he tries to figure out how he is going to pay for a Penn education. He could get student loans, but his mom doesn’t want to sign the forms (she wants to hide her under-the-table earnings) nor does she want him saddled in debt for the rest of his life. Or, he could go work for the local pimp and drug dealer and make fast cash. Both options weigh heavily on CJ, but he takes the second option and we find him in the opening scene undergoing police interrogation after his arrest.  Continue Reading

The one-story building on the southeast corner of 46th and Spruce, the former Transition to Independent Living Center, will be demolished soon, six years after it was gutted by a fire. A permit for the demolition of the building was issued on July 19, 2017.

The proposal for construction of a mixed-use apartment building in that location was approved by the Zoning Board of Adjustment in June 2016. The developers presented their plan to build a 21-unit, mostly two-bedroom apartment building at 4534-36 Spruce St. in a series of public meetings with the Spruce Hill Zoning Committee in early 2016. According to the proposal, which was approved by the ZBA, it will be a four-story building, with a roof deck and three ground-floor retail spaces. You can see the building rendering in this photo: