Saturday, May 12th - 10am-2pm
Childs Elementary School, 15th and Wharton

Join your neighbors, friends, and students of Childs Elementary School this Saturday as we clean and green their garden and parking lot behind the school.  If you have any seeds or seedlings you want to donate or swap with your neighbors, bring them too!

Newbold Neighbors will be lending cleaning supplies (gloves, brooms, shovels, and rakes) and giving away bags to anyone interested in sweeping their blocks.  Tools are due back to the school by 1pm.  Don't forget to put all trash bags on the nearest corner for the Streets Department to pick up!

Join your neighbors for 4 hours of bowling, beer and music at PEP Bowl!  Tickets are $27 (plus a service fee) and are available online through TicketLeap.

If you have any questions, please contact the Fundraising Committee chair, Jim Resta.

5:30PM - Tuesday, May 1st, 2012
Upstairs, Free Library @ Broad & Morris Sts.

It's getting warmer, and that usually means an increase in home break-ins.  Whether you're new to the neighborhood, or have lived here for ages, its never too late to learn new ways to help protect your home and property.

Come get safety tips and learn about home safety products, ask questions and get lots of information. Bring your friends and neighbors! The more the merrier!  For more information, contact Becky Marx, Town Watch Committee chair.

Note that Newbold Neighbors Association is a 501(c)3 organization and does not endorse any candidates.

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Candidate: Jordan Harris

Q: What do you envision as the role of the state representative in the neighborhood?

As State Representative I will advocate for members of this community in Harrisburg. Additionally, my office will be a place of information as well as a place to troubleshoot the government’s bureaucracy. On a personal level, I wish to maintain visibility in the community once in office. My goal is for community members to have direct access to me as an elected official.

Q: What do you consider to be the biggest problem facing our neighborhood, and do you have any proposed solutions?

Public Safety is a major issue in the community, the problem with addressing public safety is that it can’t be singularly addressed. To address public safety we must also address education and job opportunities. In the short term we can provide better lighting to dimly lit areas of the community. Additionally, providing funding to community based police programs like Town Watch would assist in putting my “eyes on the streets” to protect our communities.

Q: What are your first three legislative goals?

I would like to actively pursue the proper taxing of Marcellus Shale revenues. The income from taxing of Marcellus Shale could help balance the state budget and provide additional funding needed for educational programs as well as programs for seniors.

Philadelphia’s illegal handgun epidemic is unique in comparison to its surrounding counties. Because of this, I would like to readdress the concern of Philadelphia having the ability to create its own gun legislation.

I’m very interested in reviewing legislation and the creation of legislation that provides a “2nd chance” for those who once were involved in the criminal justice system. Currently, more than 73% of citizens who were incarcerated will be rearrested within 2 years of their release. One reason for this is the lack of job opportunities that are provided to those with criminal records. My thought is those whom were arrested for non-violent offences should be given a 2nd chance if they have refrained from criminal activities for a period of 10 years. This 2nd chance would come in the form of their criminal record being sealed to employers.

Q: What are your plans for supporting the area schools and police in this district?

I believe we need to create more public/private partnerships. E.M. Stanton located at 17th and Christian street is a great example of these types of partnerships. By building these partnerships we could provide needed funding for schools and police while not increasing the burden on the tax payer.

Q: What are your priorities in terms of spending state money in the district?

Educational funding is important and we need to work aggressively to restore the funding that was cut during the last budget cycle by the Governor and the legislature. Additionally, we must look at the spending of the School District of Philadelphia and charter schools to ensure that tax dollars are being spent properly.

Public Safety funding would be a priority for me as State Representative. We must ensure that our law enforcement agencies have the funding needed to work at full capacity. Additionally, we need funds for community policing and restorative practices that will ensure not just short term decreases in crime rates but long range solutions.

Clean streets are important to members in our community. As State Representative, I would look to provide grant dollars and build partnership for more Big Belly Trash Reciprocals in our community and look to create a system that provides small stipends to keep high traffic corridors clean.

Q: Is there a way you would be able to help members of the community purchase abandoned properties? What is your advice for this matter?

While abandoned properties are mainly a city issue, my office would be open to helping community members purchase abandoned properties. The more properties in our community with people in them the more funds we will have for our tax base. Additionally, the more eyes on the streets the less crime we would see in our community. My state website would also be a great resource to members of the community on finding the owners of abandoned properties and the process for purchasing.

Q: What solutions would you propose for problems the City hasn't found an adequate solution for yet, such as illegal dirt bikes, bandit signs, litter outside of businesses, etc?

I would encourage and support members of my community to work with different city agencies to address these issues. I would also look into the creation of dirt bike parks as an alternative to those who enjoy riding these motor vehicles. Finally, I would look to provide funding for the placement of speed bumps on residential streets. The speed bumps would help cut down on the traffic of dirt bikes in the community.

With regards to bandit signs and litter outside of businesses, I would work with city officials to provide more funding for the enforcement from the city department responsible for these issues (i.e streets department and others).

Important Information:

• You must now bring government-issued photo identification to vote. For a full list of acceptable forms of ID, click here
• To find your voting poll location, click here  or call: (215) 686-1591
• To see a map of all of the areas the 186th District covers, click here 

Saturday, April 14th 9am - 2pm
Main location DiSilvestro Rec Center (15th & Morris Streets)

This is your chance to make a real difference in Newbold all year long! This year we are using the first cleanup to kick off our NNA Adopt-a-Lot/block contest!  Is there a vacant lot littered with trash or frequently used for short dumping in your neighborhood? Is your block particularly bad where litter is concerned?  Is there a business nearby that is not storing trash properly or is frequently surrounded by litter?  Rather than just sitting back and commenting on it how bad it is, how about pitching in to make it better!

We are asking our residents to take ownership of their own spaces and to become ambassadors for change. What does this mean and are we asking you to do? We want you to identify an area near you that needs help and agree to report issues to 311 or 911 where appropriate (i.e. short dumping. illegal activity, businesses not complying with disposal laws, etc). Get together with your neighbors/friends/block captain and clean the problem area at least on the scheduled city sponsored clean-up days or more if possible (additional clean-up dates will be posted soon). Take pics and document your progresses. Report back to us with how many bags of trash you have collected and the progress you have made. The hope is to have enough people participate that we can make it a little bit of a friendly neighborly competition with prizes at the end of summer for things like most bags of trash collected, most reports to 311 and things like this.

Are you ready to take a stand and adopt a lot/block in Newbold? If you are, please contact the Clean Committee with your name, address and phone number as well as the location of the lot/block you are adopting.  We will provide supplies all year long as needed for the cleanups.  On April 14th, we will have a central location to pick-up supplies from and then we will ask that you go get started at your location. This is a great opportunity to start making a lasting difference in our neighborhood and try to set an example to get other people involved.

Need another reason to come out?  Zipcar is encouraging Zipsters to get out and keep up the sweep up with a $10 driving credit for volunteering for the Philly Spring Cleanup.  Click here for more information.

The Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation’s TreePhilly campaign is giving away free yard trees. South Philly’s Yard Tree Giveaway is 4 to 7 p.m. April 27 and 1 to 4 p.m. April 28 at Mifflin Square Park, 500 Wolf St. The deadline to apply is March 31.

Your yard space must measure at least 10-by-10 feet for a small tree, which can grow up to 30 feet tall, and 30-by-30 feet for a large tree, which can grow up to 70 feet tall. The tree species can be chosen at pickup. There is a limit of one per address.

To sign up for a yard tree, the property owner may fill out the application. It’s also available in six other languages.

The TreePhilly initiative also will take care of stump removal and fill any empty pits. To request those services, fill out the Tree Maintenance Citizen Service Request Form To request a street tree in front of your house, download the application and e-mail it to green@newboldneighbors.org.

To volunteer for our spring tree planting April 21, RSVP on Facebook or e-mail green@newboldneighbors.org.

President: Andrew Marx
Vice President: Tivoni Devor
Secretary: Beth Mohan-Resta
Treasurer: Mary Faustino

Cleaning Committee Chair: Cara Ketchum
Greening Committee Chair: Amanda Snyder
Planning & Zoning Committee Chair: Hannah Angert
Town Watch Committee Chair: Becky Marx
Community Outreach Committee Chair: Jen Devor
Fundraising Committee Chair: Jim Resta

You can contact any of the board members through our contact page.  Thanks to everyone who voted at our February general meeting!