http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/forum/ en Wed, 22 May 2013 10:09:02 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/forum/images/styles/DeFraction/misc/rss.png http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/forum/ http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/forum/west-philadelphia-university-city/36639-u-c-h-s-may-19th-house-tour.html Sat, 11 May 2013 23:30:52 GMT *U.C.H.S. May 19th House Tour Highlighting Renovation and Restoration Projects* *Sunday, May 19th, from 1 - 5 p.m.* is the date for the University... U.C.H.S. May 19th House Tour Highlighting Renovation and Restoration Projects

Sunday, May 19th, from 1 - 5 p.m. is the date for the University City Historical Society’s spring House Tour. Visitors will see renovation and restoration projects, large and small, in the historic Victorian “Streetcar Suburbs” of Spruce Hill and Cedar Park.

Wear comfortable shoes! This walking tour will take visitors from 42nd St. to 49th St., within a few blocks north and south of Baltimore Ave.

Projects range from recent major restorations, to ongoing work, kitchen renovations and outdoor greening. Homeowners will show and describe the unique features of their houses and relate stories from their projects.

House Tour tickets are $20. They can be purchased on the day of the tour, from 12:30 - 3 p.m. only, at the UCHS ticket table outside Milk & Honey Market, at the corner of 45th St. & Baltimore Ave. ]]> West Philadelphia / University City Swinefeld http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/forum/west-philadelphia-university-city/36639-u-c-h-s-may-19th-house-tour.html http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/forum/west-philadelphia-university-city/36628-mystery-demolition-42nd-brown.html Fri, 10 May 2013 22:45:43 GMT Three years ago, the west side of North 42nd Street between Brown and Parrish was almost completely filled with two-story rowhomes. Today, a large... Three years ago, the west side of North 42nd Street between Brown and Parrish was almost completely filled with two-story rowhomes. Today, a large chunk of land in the middle of the block is vacant.

It appears that L&I demo'd at least five of these homes in August 2011 and the last one in the middle was demo'd last month. All of them appear to have been owner-occupied according to OPA/BRT records. Although at least two were clearly abandoned, the rest seemed far from collapsing (see 826 North 42nd Street, Philadelphia PA - Trulia -- neither the OPA records online nor Google streetview have been updated since the demo).

Yet almost all of these houses were slapped with violations on April 15, 2011 for bulging walls or collapsed roofs and then were demolished four months later. The other one, #826, was cited for a bulged wall (categorized "unsafe," not the more severe "imminently dangerous") and demo'd in April. The kicker is that L&I then slapped another round of violations on the vacant land for not being cleaned and maintained.

This mass teardown seems curious in a city that lets properties fall into abandonment and slowly deteriorate for decades before taking action. A fire would be the most logical explanation, yet the L&I files don't mention any fire damage. The only other plausible cause I can think of is that the bulging walls were caused by a sinkhole or weak sedimentary foundations below the houses (a la the Logan Triangle), but even that seems a stretch -- wouldn't the city buy out the homeowners and acquire the properties first?

Is it possible for structural problems in one row house to carry over to the adjacent properties? Or am I to assume the worst and conclude that L&I is way too cavalier about demolishing even marginally damaged properties? ]]> West Philadelphia / University City carloss http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/forum/west-philadelphia-university-city/36628-mystery-demolition-42nd-brown.html http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/forum/west-philadelphia-university-city/36590-1100-block-s-divinity.html Wed, 08 May 2013 00:56:32 GMT Anybody from or familiar with that block? Saw a listing of interest. Its the first street on right after you go past 49th St west on Chester Ave Anybody from or familiar with that block? Saw a listing of interest. Its the first street on right after you go
past 49th St west on Chester Ave ]]> West Philadelphia / University City Kool Earl http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/forum/west-philadelphia-university-city/36590-1100-block-s-divinity.html http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/forum/west-philadelphia-university-city/36586-site-allows-you-stay-connected-students-university-pennsylvania.html Tue, 07 May 2013 19:03:26 GMT Hello everyone, I would like to introduce a platform for students of the University of Pennsylvania. The purpose of the site is to allow students to... Hello everyone, I would like to introduce a platform for students of the University of Pennsylvania. The purpose of the site is to allow students to stay connected to each other wherever they are in Philadelphia to share with students who are in the USA or other universities in the world. The site helps students who are expatriates in Philadelphia to find more easily. The site is called bigappol. ]]> West Philadelphia / University City supermario http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/forum/west-philadelphia-university-city/36586-site-allows-you-stay-connected-students-university-pennsylvania.html http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/forum/west-philadelphia-university-city/36561-parking-bike-lanes.html Mon, 06 May 2013 16:48:57 GMT EDIT: Can this thread be moved to the 'Philadelphia Transportation and SEPTA' board?

Not sure if there was a thread about this before, but i'm just going to post this.

I'm glad the East Coast Greenway's extension to Bartram's Gardens is near complete, but the new bike lanes are a blessing and a problem.
On the bridge over the SEPTA tracks on 58th street in between Elmwood and Woodland, the traffic lanes were shifted to the left to accommodate a two-way bike lane and a 2ft divider. This is great, but also, at the end of the bridge is a junkyard, and there's cars and trucks parked in the bike lane almost all the time. This causes a problem because my school is right near the end of this route. Getting to-and-from school on my bike means that either if have to take a different route down 54th street to avoid that trouble spot all together, or merge with already-merging traffic to go around the cars, up the junkyard driveway, and down the sidewalk to get back on the trail.

I even took pictures on some days when I decided not to ride my bike, and walk to SEPTA to get to-and-from school.
(click to enlarge)





I'd like to see something done about soon... this is a reoccurring problem that must be fixed. I mean, granted, some people don't care about bikes, but cops patrol around here all the time, can't they give out parking violations or something? ]]> West Philadelphia / University City RiXeN http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/forum/west-philadelphia-university-city/36561-parking-bike-lanes.html http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/forum/west-philadelphia-university-city/36549-thrive-fitness-group-pt-training-2-year-anniversary.html Sun, 05 May 2013 00:54:31 GMT Thrive Fitness & Wellness Group Personal Training classes turns 2 this month. Come and celebrate with us and receive 2 free weeks of classes and a personalized Nutrition Coaching session. You need to check out these fun, fat burning classes! This is the only indoor and outdoor Group personal Training/ Bootcamp in University City!

Thrive Fitness Group Personal Training classes in University City is also now outside (weather permitting) throughout the summer. Come join us for a great workout, whether you are new or advanced in your fitness! Contact me for more info. ]]> West Philadelphia / University City ThriveFitness http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/forum/west-philadelphia-university-city/36549-thrive-fitness-group-pt-training-2-year-anniversary.html http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/forum/west-philadelphia-university-city/36537-so-has-begun-protest-signs-presidential.html Fri, 03 May 2013 18:43:09 GMT I just noticed around noon that signs(maybe 20 or so in number) have been placed all along Presidential Blvd[thanks boognish]. Though I neglected to get a picture (I'll try to do so if they're still up later on), they said various things to the effect of "Don't rent here" and "Post Brothers takes away area wages and benefits".

There's no, at least from what I saw, names as far as who is taking responsibility for it, though one would think the unions may be behind this, considering it's Post Brothers. ]]> West Philadelphia / University City WingDoctor http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/forum/west-philadelphia-university-city/36537-so-has-begun-protest-signs-presidential.html http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/forum/west-philadelphia-university-city/36493-project-rehab-ryan-spak-ucd-l-i-coordinating-fix-blight.html Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:35:37 GMT Good article explaining the good work UCD's Ryan Spak has been doing assisting owners of long-blighted residential structures to fix up or turn over very long-term abandoned homes.
http://flyingkitemedia.com/features/...ity043013.aspx ]]> West Philadelphia / University City seand http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/forum/west-philadelphia-university-city/36493-project-rehab-ryan-spak-ucd-l-i-coordinating-fix-blight.html http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/forum/west-philadelphia-university-city/36451-missing-dog-andorra-section-roxborough.html Fri, 26 Apr 2013 20:10:21 GMT http://www.petamberalert.com/poster/getpdf.php?id=103929554 http://www.petamberalert.com/poster/...p?id=103929554 ]]> West Philadelphia / University City Hillary B http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/forum/west-philadelphia-university-city/36451-missing-dog-andorra-section-roxborough.html http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/forum/west-philadelphia-university-city/36427-searching-nanny-share-child-care-exchange.html Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:03:11 GMT Hi,

We're searching for a nanny share for our 7-month old son. He is very social and loves other babies and little kids. We're looking for 20 hours a week, ideally 4 hours a day, but we have some flexibility on the schedule and would be willing to work with another family's needs. I would also be open to exchanging care (I would watch the kids for some amount of hours, and then you could watch them for some amount of hours.)

Anyone in the neighborhood searching for something similar? ]]> West Philadelphia / University City blueflower http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/forum/west-philadelphia-university-city/36427-searching-nanny-share-child-care-exchange.html