TONIGHT: Community/Police Meeting on African Cultural Center(Nightclub?) 50th/Springfield

[annie]

I urge anyone with issues regarding events at the African Cultural Center (50th & Springfield) to attend the upcoming 12th Police District PSA#4 meeting, which will begin at 6:30pm tomorrow (Thursday 5/31) at the 12th Police district, (65th & Woodland) and voice your opinion to police. Over the past several months a number of folks have been consistently calling police, the PA Liquor Control Board, and the DA's Nuisance Task Force regarding late-night events, noise, public urination etc at the property, and it appears to be working insofar as we have their attention. There are events advertised at the center most weekends throughout the summer, so our work at getting a response/action from the owner and city officials on whether or not they have the proper permits, liquor license etc, is only just beginning.

I don't think there have been any threads on this place yet.

[thoth]

[MariusPontmercy]

There was a shooting there last year, right?

[annie]

There was a fatal shooting at the intersection. The targeted person was in a parked car. I don't ever remember hearing anything about it being connected to the ACC.

Depending on your viewpoint there's either some amusing or irritating immediate cries of RACIST GENTRIFIERS! on comments of the WPL article on this:

Some residents near African Cultural Center say they have had enough | West Philly Local

[seand]

Its an unlicensed club operating in a residential area. The issue relates to these big club nights not even aimed at the West African immigrant community.

Its entirely reasonable for neighbors to complain about the impact of spill out from a large night club dance night renting a catering hall in a residential area.

[randomuser]

This isn't even remotely University City or West Philly. 50th and Springfield is pretty damn far into Southwest. It's crazy to think how far newcomers have gone into Southwest even. I have to admit I never thought that would happen.

Centers for Africans are necessary in Southwest because of the problems they have had fitting into not just the city but the whole metro. There are cries of "racist gentrifiers" for a reason. I personally don't see what's so bad about the events themselves though I do definitely understand how they can lead to problems when the wrong kind of people attend, but obviously if it's actually a nuisance then I can understand the need to deal with it. However, you need to understand that the actual centers for various ethnic groups in Southwest and elsewhere provide a service that those people very much need. All efforts should be taken to make sure that they themselves don't get shut down.

[seand]

This isn't even remotely University City or West Philly. 50th and Springfield is pretty damn far into Southwest. It's crazy to think how far newcomers have gone into Southwest even. I have to admit I never thought that would happen.

This building is most definitely part of Cedar Park. Its just east of where Springfield goes under the R3 tracks. Contrary to what you are saying 49th and Springfield, St. Bernard and Springfield (where this building actually is) has had a pretty noticable "newcomer" representation for at least 15 or 20 years. Historically the R3 tracks are the official boundary between Cedar Park and Kingsessing and there are more than a smattering of "newcomers" between the R3 and 52nd these days, but thats more recent.

Centers for Africans are necessary in Southwest because of the problems they have had fitting into not just the city but the whole metro. There are cries of "racist gentrifiers" for a reason. I personally don't see what's so bad about the events themselves though I do definitely understand how they can lead to problems when the wrong kind of people attend, but obviously if it's actually a nuisance then I can understand the need to deal with it. However, you need to understand that the actual centers for various ethnic groups in Southwest and elsewhere provide a service that those people very much need. All efforts should be taken to make sure that they themselves don't get shut down.

You obviously know very little about this situation. The owner of this establishment has been tinkering with various businesses since about 2000 but its never, despite the name, been a community center. Its been an African grocery store with a place for West African immigrants to send money back home the longest. He also tinkered with copier repair so there was a time when you went in and there were several dozen copiers around. Then he installed a commercial kitchen and turned it into a private catering hall, which it is now. The issue if you look at the flyers mentioned in this thread is not with the sort of wedding banquets, etc. that he started out doing in the catering hall. More recently he's found it more profitable just to rent it to some hip hop club promoters who throw crowded club nights that are aimed at a rowdy African American party crowd, not West African immigrants at all. The issue is with dude turning his business over into an unlicensed night club in a residential neighborhood more recently.

Neither the owner of the business, nor the neighbors complaining are particularly new to the neighborhood. Whats new is that the owner has been renting to younger non-immigrant club promoters and its become a defacto full time hip hop nightclub, with troubles spilling out into the surrounding residential neighborhood.

[boognish]

It's amazing that no matter how ignorant of the situation people can be, the intellectually lazy will still throw out the "gentrification" card. What a bunch of crap.

Even if the complaints were due to gentrification, which of course if they aren't, by no means should people be allowed to illegally hold their communities hostage to 3am noise and violence so someone can make a few quick bucks.

[annie]

This isn't even remotely University City or West Philly. 50th and Springfield is pretty damn far into Southwest. It's crazy to think how far newcomers have gone into Southwest even. I have to admit I never thought that would happen.

Oh my, expert of West/Southwest Philly. If 50th and Springfield is "pretty damn far into Southwest" where does Southwest exactly start? Clark Park? Not that anyone living here was ever taking you all that seriously.

[the_wza]

50th and Springfield is pretty damn far into Southwest.

I hazard a guess that you've never been to 70th and Woodland.

[seand]

Years ago, back when he was selling groceries out of the building, the owner was actually on the board of Cedar Park Neighbors briefly.

[helix]

This isn't even remotely University City or West Philly. 50th and Springfield is pretty damn far into Southwest. It's crazy to think how far newcomers have gone into Southwest even. I have to admit I never thought that would happen

when was the last time you were around this area?


good freaking grief!

Centers for Africans are necessary in Southwest because of the problems they have had fitting into not just the city but the whole metro. There are cries of "racist gentrifiers" for a reason. I personally don't see what's so bad about the events themselves though I do definitely understand how they can lead to problems when the wrong kind of people attend, but obviously if it's actually a nuisance then I can understand the need to deal with it. However, you need to understand that the actual centers for various ethnic groups in Southwest and elsewhere provide a service that those people very much need. All efforts should be taken to make sure that they themselves don't get shut down.

thanks for the lesson

[seand]

Again, the African Cultural Center, despite the name, is and has always been a private for-profit business owned by one guy. Actually to be a stickler, its been an often changing array of different for-profit businesses all owned by one guy.

[MariusPontmercy]

This isn't even remotely University City or West Philly. 50th and Springfield is pretty damn far into Southwest. It's crazy to think how far newcomers have gone into Southwest even. I have to admit I never thought that would happen.

Centers for Africans are necessary in Southwest because of the problems they have had fitting into not just the city but the whole metro. There are cries of "racist gentrifiers" for a reason. I personally don't see what's so bad about the events themselves though I do definitely understand how they can lead to problems when the wrong kind of people attend, but obviously if it's actually a nuisance then I can understand the need to deal with it. However, you need to understand that the actual centers for various ethnic groups in Southwest and elsewhere provide a service that those people very much need. All efforts should be taken to make sure that they themselves don't get shut down.

lol ok, thanks for clearing that all up for us

we don't live here or anything...

[Beer is good]

I'm sure they will be preaching on how not to snitch on the community folk

[seand]

I'm sure they will be preaching on how not to snitch on the community folk

What are you talking about?

The guy who owns this building is a West African immigrant business man. Although there are and have been a number of groceries in the area geared towards West Africans, he had some aspirations to make his particular warehouse building more than just a place to buy Fufu mix and the latest DVD releases from Lagos or Dakar. He wanted a one-stop shop for all kinds of services to the immigrant community. So he picked a somewhat misleading name to reflect these larger aspirations. When he converted to a catering hall, the name sort of fit in that people may rent the local Lituanian-American Hall for a wedding banquet who are not in fact Lithuanian-American.

Now he rents it somewhat irresponsibly to club promoters who have nothing to do with the local West African immigrant community and some of their club goers are very inconsiderate of the surrounding residential neighbors. Its a classic problem with catering halls skirting zoning for nightclubs in all kinds of neighborhoods and frankly it has very little to do with all the junk people are putting on it.

[borntochill]

Judging by the poster, if it were a licensed nightclub, it would be a strong candidate for this list:

The 25 Douchiest Bars in Philadelphia | Complex