George Patrick Weiser fishes in the river with his uncle, Robert Weiser. Photo/Michelle Alton

See the slideshow below from the park, with photos taken by Bill Achuff and Michelle Alton.

If you didn’t know about Pleasant Hill Park, you probably wouldn’t be able to find it.

Tucked behind busy State Road, Torresdale’s waterfront park might be one of the city’s best-kept secrets. But navigate your way beyond the factories and prison and the police academy, and you’ll find a bustling green space on the Delaware River filled with boaters, picnickers and fishermen. 

Bait and poles were in hands Tuesday as the Department of Parks & Recreation celebrated improvements to the park made possible through a $318,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The money was used to rehab the fish ponds and walkways, improve fencing and create a new picnic area with a shade pavilion.

The event was marked with a ribbon-cutting and youth fishing competition.

Whether you love your Northeast Philly neighborhood, or you’re one of our commenters who laments the changes you’ve seen over the years, you should read this piece from Hidden City contributor Sandy Smith about Philadelphia’s middle class neighborhoods. No surprise, the piece devotes a lot of attention to the Northeast.

“While many of us celebrate the reversal of the city’s declining fortunes as indicated by rising population and house values, especially in the center, that declining middle is a sign of potential trouble down the road, for it has historically been the middle class that has been the backbone of our economy. Which is why anyone who cares about the future of Philadelphia should pay attention to the state and fate of the Northeast.”

Smith’s argues the city should be paying more attention to the new residents coming in from other countries. “Immigrants may start out with relatively meager incomes, but they take jobs and build businesses that soon lift their incomes upward, to their benefit and that of the city as a whole.”

It’s an interesting point in a story worth reading. We do have to call Hidden City out on one thing, though.

In Smith’s discussion of Northeast neighborhoods, he mentions Port Richmond and Kensington. Both are below the Tacony-Frankford Creek, and therefore not in Northeast Philadelphia. It’s important to recognize the value in a city-wide publication paying attention to the rarely newsworthy Northeast. But in a piece that calls on the city to take notice of what’s happening for the sake of improvement, we’ve got to get the geography right. The first step in identifying — and ultimately solving — issues is to understand where they are.

Smith finishes his piece with this:

“Perhaps it’s time the rest of us rethought our vast in-city suburb–not only in terms of strengthening its urbanity, but in terms of keeping it the kind of place other cities would love to have within their borders, where those in the middle can grab on to the good life still.”

We look forward to more coverage of the Northeast from Hidden City.

A:  In the Multiple Listing Service Trend, there are 268 homes listed for sale today in Northeast Philadelphia for $100,000 and under. Out of those homes, there are 116 active listings that are noted as “Average +”

Properties can be listed in the MLS by realtors as one of three ways:

• “Average +” means it is average or above.
• “FixUp/TLC” means it needs work.
• “Shell” means it the building needs to be completely rehabbed.

You can find everything from one bedroom condos in Delaire Landing to three bedroom single homes in Tacony. There is a wide variety of homes at a wide variety of prices in Northeast Philadelphia, from a $34,000 home in Northwood to $100,000 in Castor Gardens. If you decide on a condo, don’t forget to factor condo fees into your budget.

While you won’t find much more than condos in Far Northeast neighborhoods like Somerton and Parkwood at this time, you will find more than 100 worthy candidates for sale in the 19135 and 19149 zip codes and, to a lesser extent, the 19111 and 19136 zip codes.

Good Luck!

Stacey McCarthy is a real estate agent with the McCarthy Group of Keller Williams. Her Real NEastate column appears every Wednesday on NEastPhilly.com. See others here. Read other NEast Philly columns here.

Champ at his dog school graduation in June 2011. He’s missing in Somerton.

Champ has gone missing in Somerton. He was last seen by his owners around Loesche School/Gifford Playground on Tomlinson Road near Bustleton Avenue, but has not returned home since running away. If you’ve seen champ, please leave a comment below or email info [AT] neastphilly [DOT] com with the subject line: Champ.

Calling all Catholic school alumni: Philadelphia magazine is inviting former Catholic school students to share photos from their school days.

The request follows an article from the May issue by Michael Callahan, a magazine staffer and 1977 graduate of Resurrection of Lord School in Rhawnhurst. The piece is a trip down memory lane, as well as a look into the future of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and its grade schools.

The photo submission task is simple. Send your photos in via Facebook for a chance to have them featured on the magazine’s website, as well a chance to win a free subscription.

Officers recovered five dogs from 326 Van Kirk St. from the homeowner, who reports indicated has previously been cited for mistreating animals.

Also found in the home were harnesses, leashes and other equipment believed to have been used to train dogs to fight. The suspect faces felony charges.

Photo/eForce Compliance

Old computers, broken air conditioners, outdated TVs — any and all electronics will be collected at a May 11 e-cycle event that will benefit St. Hubert High School.

The public can drop off their old appliances for free curbside at the school’s Ditman Street entrance (between Cottman and Bleigh avenues).

Don’t have time to erase the data from your old laptop? The company managing the recycling event, eForce Compliance, can do that for you. Volunteers will be at the school between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. to help you drop off your stuff, and the school will receive a monetary stipend per pound of equipment collected. All proceeds will go toward the Faculty Scholarship Fund for student assistance.

Items of all sizes and in all conditions will be accepted, from household appliances all the way down to batteries.

Short dumping in industrial areas of Holmesburg and Tacony has community leaders worried about quality of life issues and fires. Photo/Steven Mitchell

This is the second in a two-part series about quality of life issues in Tacony and Holmesburg, and the neighborhoods’ approach to growing stronger together. You can read the first part here.

Short dumping is a problem all over Philadelphia, and in some Northeast neighborhoods, the issue is weighing down the community.

Short dumping is the illegal act of disposing trash and debris on a street or vacant lot. Industrial areas — like those along Torresdale Avenue and State Road in Holmesburg and Tacony — tend to be dark at night, which allows for people to come and dump their trash and other items in this area.

The railroad tracks at James Street and Bleigh Avenue is a particular hotspot for short dumping. There, you’ll see trash and other debris, as well as abandoned tires.

ConRail, which owns the tracks, says the issue is being looked into.

Steve Alper, owner of Alper Automotive at 7384 State Rd., said he wishes the area would get cleaned up. While he said he doesn’t think it affects customers coming in, he said he knows it doesn’t look appealing to customers and that the mess makes the community look worse.

Mike Rossetti, owner of Rossetti’s Auto Collision Service, shares the building with Alper. He declined to comment on the situation but said dumping in that area is nothing new and has been a problem for years.

Nick Grigoras, president of World Auto Service at 4763 Rhawn St., has his shop right along the train tracks and has had a problem with short dumping as well. Grigoras was warned by the city a few months ago because someone went and dumped close to 700 tires on his property over night.

“It cost money to clean it up,” Grigoras said. “It looks bad for the neighborhood and it looks bad for my business.”

Since the tires were on his property, Grigoras had to pay to have them removed. He is currently working with an architect to build a wall so no one can dump anything on his property again.

“I had no fence,” Grigoras said. “It took me a long time to clean it up. Now I have to spend money to get a wall so people can’t get in.”

Who should clean it up?

A representative from the office of congressman Bob Brady, D-1, met with ConRail recently to get the area cleaned up. Another meeting is scheduled for mid-May.

“Regarding additional trash at the site, ConRail said that it may have been dumped by a business located next to the site,” according to a statement from Brady’s office. “ConRail will investigate whether or not the business was rented from ConRail.”

John Enright, ConRail spokesperson, confirmed that ConRail is investigating to see whose property the tires are on. Enright said if it is ConRails property, then the company will clean up the site. ConRail is currently looking into finding the people responsible for the short dumping.

Rich Frizell, president of the Holmesburg Civic Association, said he is aware of the problem at James Street and Bleigh Avenue. He said that he is talking to one of the businesses about a possible solution.

“If we get cameras up there, then maybe we can stop some of the dumping,” Frizell said.

Alper has cameras on his building, but said they can’t see the people doing it because it’s so dark back there at night.

“If there was a street light there it would help,” Alper said. “You’d be able to see them. We can see the car coming around and dumping the stuff, but we can’t see what kind of car it was because it’s dark. People might just see that it’s lit up and then they wouldn’t want to do it in the light.”

The Tacony CDC announced Tuesday the “SAFECAM” grant program will help qualified Torresdale Avenue business owners install security cameras that can be remotely accessed by the Philadelphia Police Department.

“Where there’s short dumping, there’s graffiti”

Besides short dumping, graffiti is also a growing problem in Holmesburg and Tacony. The same lack of light that contributes to the ease of short dumping also invites vandals.

Christina Nicoletti, vice president of the Tacony Town Watch, said she wants the graffiti problem to stop. Nicoletti works with the 15th District so they can control the graffiti problem in the area. The district was unable to comment on the issue because of the ongoing investigation.

Councilman Bobby Henon, D-6th, said short dumping and graffiti go hand in hand. He said he notices the graffiti problem is at its peak during the spring and summer months.

“It invites kids and people who think you’re already in a blighted neighborhood that’s already ruined so they graffiti,” Henon said. “It continues to be an issue. Where there’s short dumping, there’s graffiti.”

Many in the neighborhoods praise the Community Life Improvement Program for its Graffiti Abatement Team — a free service that comes out and removes graffiti on public and private properties in the city. Thomas Conway, CLIP’s deputy managing director, said graffiti can only be maintained.

“We will never be able to eliminate graffiti vandalism,” Conway said. “The best we can do is maintain it by removing it as soon as possible.”

Tacony ranks as one of the worst areas in the city in regards to graffiti issues, Conway said.

“Tacony has a bigger graffiti problem than Holmesburg,” Conway said. “We collect graffiti data by ZIP code and 19135 is in the top 10 graffiti removal ZIP codes in the city.”

Henon said that a solution to short dumping and graffiti will take a community effort. He said he wants people to call him or the police if they see any of these illegal activities occurring instead of taking actions into their own hands.

“Tacony needs some tender loving care,” Henon said. “There are some parts in this city and in this district that could use a little TLC.”

Steven Mitchell is a student reporting for Philadelphia Neighborhoods, the publication of Temple University’s Multimedia Urban Reporting Lab.

Tacony business owner Mark Whited is part of the community effort to revitalize the Torresdale Avenue business corridor. Photo/Raymond Boyd

This is the first in a two-part series about quality of life issues in Tacony and Holmesburg, and the neighborhoods’ approach to growing stronger together.

With similar missions but different approaches, Tacony and Holmesburg are seeking a better future for their residents. Tacony is taking a business-first approach, while Holmesburg is looking to take advantage of its history.

Both neighborhoods understand that they must work in collaboration to make their goals a reality as they try to stand as pillars of Northeast Philadelphia.

Business-minded

Tacony, like many other small working-class neighborhoods, is looking to bounce back from the economic recession that hampered business back in 2008. Tacony’s leadership sees the economic potential of the neighborhood as a vital piece of revitalizing the neighborhood.

The commercial future of Tacony lies on Torresdale Avenue. Tacony Corridor Manager Alex Balloon said he understands that businesses on Torresdale Avenue have not fully bounced back from the recession.

“We went from about 107 retailers in our Tacony area to 77,” Balloon said. This drop in businesses has left a number of abandoned storefronts in the area, which is crippling the businesses still on the avenue.

“If I’m a baker and I’m next to a butcher, we can both sell to the same customer,” Balloon explained of the co-tenancy concept. “If I’m next to a vacant building, I don’t have the opportunity to pick up that extra sale from someone who might be shopping at another store.”

The issues for Tacony’s business corridor go beyond vacancies. The businesses that still call the area home are facing problems with connecting to customers in the neighborhood. Balloon cited the changing demographics in the neighborhood as an obstacle that some business owners have yet to navigate.

Many of the businesses along Torresdale Avenue are long-standing specialty shops that operate on a 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. business model. That might be fine for older shoppers, but for working families with young children, it simply will not work. “I’m working with those business owners to help them improve their business and to look for ways we can help grow business here in Tacony,” Balloon said.

The effort to strengthen Tacony business is an initiative called the Historic Tacony Revitalization Project. One of the business owners that Balloon is working closely with is Mark Whited, the owner of Bull’s Eye Darts Supplies at 6917 Torresdale Ave. Whited brought his business to Tacony four years ago after opening in Frankford in 1997.

“This is a great place to do business,” Whited said. “It’s convenient to Center City. It’s close to I-95 and New Jersey, so it’s easy to get to.”

Whited said he hopes the revitalization efforts will lead to improved business for himself, as well as his fellow business owners in Tacony. “If we improve the storefronts, maybe people will take a little more pride in the neighborhood,” Whited said. “Everyone seems to be excited about it and everyone seems to be cooperating and pulling together to make this thing work.”

Balloon cited design, counseling and promotion as the keys to the plan. Small business counseling is available through this effort, and the neighborhood is seeking to enhance promotion through initiatives like ShopTacony.com and the Tacony Hoagie Trail, which is a collaborative advertising campaign featuring three of Tacony’s best sandwich shops.

The Hoagie Trail is one example of the attitude of current business owners in Tacony. The main objective is not competition. It is for all businesses to work together to strengthen Torresdale Avenue.

Showcasing history

Though Torresdale Avenue businesses are getting much-needed attention, other aspects of the neighborhood are just as important to the community’s well-being.

Tacony Civic Association Vice President Joseph Sannutti pointed to the seldom-referenced historical side of Tacony. “We are in the process of placing plates on the historical homes, while reaching out to the people who live in this area to let them know about the history of our neighborhood,” Sannutti said. “We’re trying to bring people together to have value for our neighborhood.” Sannutti also pointed to the goal of fostering a community that asks what the leadership can do for them and what they can do for Tacony.

Overcoming obstacles

Holmesburg wants to reconnect with its past, as well. The Pennypack Park area at Frankford and Solly avenues is a scenic destination that’s been the focus of several beautification efforts. Community leaders are trying to make the most of the area, especially since the Pennypack Creek Bridge received historical recognition last fall. This part of the park is often attributed to many of the neighborhood’s issues, including litter and drug use.

Holmesburg Civic Association President Rich Frizelll said he wants to see this area reach its full potential. “One of [The Holmesburg Civic Association’s] main focuses is reclaiming this park,” Frizell said. He sees a ton of potential in the park and touched on the fact that individuals from out of town often come in and talk about how beautiful the area could be if properly tended to.

One aesthetic obstacle the HCA is trying to work around is the ConRail-owned train trestle that runs across Frankford Avenue above Pennypack Park at Solly Avenue. The rail is rusted and unpainted, but after some tension between the HCA and ConRail, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

“[Congressman Bob Brady] has got Conrail to agree to allow us to paint the bridge,” Frizell said. “They’re going to waive all the fees, registrations and insurance.” Conrail has agreed to let Holmesburg paint the rail if they can find the resources. “They’ve finally loosened up.”

Frizell holds a deep affection for the park that sits just three blocks away from his Holmesburg home. Frizell has made it a personal mission to make sure Holmesburg gets the help it needs to save the park.

 Raymond Boyd is a student reporting for Philadelphia Neighborhoods, the publication of Temple University’s Multimedia Urban Reporting Lab.

The most likely scenario is the owners defaulted on their mortgage and subsequently, the mortgage lender foreclosed on the home. Perhaps they owed too much to sell it and didn’t consider their options. If what they owed was too high of a price to pay off the mortgage, the Sheriff’s Sale probably wouldn’t have been able to procure a proper buyer. So the bank then took possession of the property. These types of homes are considered “distressed” properties.

What took the bank so long is anyone’s guess. Red tape, I suppose. Or maybe they were waiting for values to level off. Seemingly, many banks aren’t too quick on the turn around time on these bank-owned properties, as there are quite a few homes like you describe in neighborhoods around the Northeast, and on my street as well. It’s a sad and all-too-common story these days.

Since the property has been empty for such a long time, it is probably in need of repairs, even if it was a nice house back when it was occupied. There could be mold or any number of problems since it has been closed up for so long. Homes like these are generally, and rightfully, priced below market value. I’ve frequently seen properties like this one snatched up quickly by an investor who will spend the time and money to fix up the home and hopefully sell it for a profit.

Stacey McCarthy is a real estate agent with the McCarthy Group of Keller Williams. Her Real NEastate column appears every Wednesday on NEastPhilly.com. See others here. Read other NEast Philly columns here.