The University City District (UCD) and the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) received an award from the MetLife Foundation this week for their “extraordinary partnership to improve community safety.” The $20,000 award was presented on Monday at the UCD office at 39th and Chestnut by MetLife Managing Director David Fleisher.

The UCD-Philadelphia Police partnership was selected from more than 540 applicants nationwide for a MetLife Foundation Community-Police Partnership Award, a program administered by the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). This is the second time the partners are being honored by MetLife Foundation and LISC. In 2004, UCD and the PPD were recognized for their successful revitalization and safety work for the Baltimore Avenue Commercial Corridor Initiative.

“UCD recently completed a 15-year analysis of crime trends in the neighborhood, and determined that—while serious crime in the entire city has fallen by more than 20% since 1998—serious crime in University City has been cut in half over that same time period…This stands as a testament to the incredible partnership between the Philadelphia Police Department and UCD, as well as the major investment in policing and public safety by Penn, Drexel and many other University City institutions,” said UCD executive director Matt Bergheiser.

West Philly Local is proud to present a series of vignettes of local block captains drawn from Them That Do, a multimedia documentary project and community blog by photographer and videographer Lori Waselchuk. We profiled Waselchuk in 2011 upon the release of her book Grace Before Dying. She lives in West Philadelphia and Them That Do begins with stories close to home. West Philly Local will publish a ten-part series featuring a block captain profile every Wednesday.

Waselchuk is an award-winning photographer and author. She began Them That Do as a 2012 Pew Fellowship for the Arts.

Thirty years ago Gregory Pac Cojulun walked into his first neighborhood meeting. He walked out a block captain. “I was ambushed,” Cojulun said with smile that hinted that all was forgiven. “I just wanted to see how things were going and they nominated and voted for me.”

Now in his sixties, Pac Cojulun needs a cane to walk, but rarely sits down. He is still the block captain, but his bigger commitment is given to Malcolm X Park.

Cojulun likes to network on behalf of his neighbors. “I’ve met a lot of different people in different agencies. I’ve gotten to the point I can call people up and they recognize me.” He is also the president of the board that maintains Malcolm X Park, which he says can demand 60-70 hours of his time a week.

“Our park was a thug park in the 60’s and 70’s. Nobody wanted to come through it,” said Cojulun. Through a grant from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society nearly twenty years ago, a small group of residents began to clean up and restore the park. Today the park is an active cultural and social center in West Philadelphia. Cojulun says that it has been a slow process to revitalize Malcolm X Park and the board’s ability to plan programming and make improvements depends on donations.

Cojulun’s pride, though, is apparent. During a recent theater event, he walked slowly around the park’s centerpiece, a large round gazebo, checking in on young and giggling high school actors. He proudly watches and greets them as they prepare for a theatrical performance. “We try to make sure everything is done right, and make sure the people are happy,” he said.

We can’t get enough of Philly Thriller. The popular local community dance project has grown since its introduction in 2009 and this year included 34 dancers and a long waitlist of those who wanted to be part of the project, according to its founder Rashida Holmes. If you missed Philly Thriller perform this Halloween check out the video below shot by Rich Wexler of Project Arts. Rich also spoke to Rashida about her project and chatted with some Philly Thriller dancers. Enjoy!

Kùlú Mèlé African Dance and Drum Ensemble / Photo credit: Canary Promotion.

From November 6 to 9, West Philly’s Community Education Center in partnership with Drexel University will present the first-ever DanceAfrica Philadelphia, a four-day celebration of traditional and contemporary African dance, music, art and community.

Philadelphia is the sixth major city to present this spectacular event promoting the preservation of African dance and culture. Created by Charles “Baba Chuck” Davis in 1977 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, DanceAfrica has evolved into a weeklong annual celebration of African culture in New York with additional presentations held in cities around the country.

Local performing groups include Kùlú Mèlé African Dance and Drum Ensemble, Kariamu and Company: Traditions and Illstyle & Peace Productions, plus special D.C-based guests Farafina Kan. The Philly festival will also include the Afro Beauty, Health and Wellness Marketplace, the Philadelphia Folklore Project exhibition “Honoring Ancestors of Rhythm, Movement and Place,” family workshops and a lecture on African dance in America.

The festival events will take place at the Community Education Center, Drexel University (3141 Chestnut St) and Philadelphia Folklore Project (735 S. 50th St). Tickets range from $5-$25 and can be purchased online at brownpapertickets.com/event/428884. For more information, call the Community Education Center (3500 Lancaster Ave.) at 215 387-1911 or visit: http://www.cecarts.org/wp/danceafrica/.

At least five gunpoint robberies took place in the area between Locust Street and Baltimore Avenue and 46th and 50th Streets over the weekend and police are looking for the suspects, according to tweets by Joe Murray of the Southwest Police Detectives.

The robberies happened on the 4700 block of Hazel Ave (on Friday around 8:30 p.m.), 4900 block of Locust St (on Friday, around 9 p.m.), 4800 block of Osage Ave (on Saturday, around 9:20 p.m.), 4600 block of Baltimore Ave (on Saturday, around 10 p.m.), and 4800 block of Larchwood Ave (on Sunday, around 6:10 p.m.), according to the Crime Reports map. There was also a robbery on the 4600 block of Locust St on Saturday at about 8:40 p.m. (see map image), but it’s not clear whether a gun was involved.

There are no more details available at this time. We’ll post more information when we have it.

Today is Election Day. Public schools are closed, bars are open and, despite the misleading ads that are running again, the Voter ID Law is NOT in effect (unless you’re a first-time voter or voting in a new district, then you’ll need a valid ID).

Notable races (and there are few this time around) include City Controller and District Attorney. There is also one spot open on Pennsylvania’s Superior Court.

Incumbent Allan Butkovitz faces Terrence Tracy in the race for City Controller, while Seth Williams is running against Daniel Alvarez for District Attorney. This is Philadelphia and Butkovitz and Williams are Democrats, so basically these contests were (spoiler alert) decided in the primaries.

Here is a complete rundown of candidates for the various judicial offices from the Committee of Seventy and you can find your polling place here and your registration status here.

Problem at the polls? Call 866-OUR-VOTE. Polls close at 8 p.m.

– Mike Lyons