Northwood leader
has grave concerns

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

Northwood Civic Association president Joe Menkevich has a knack for getting a rise out of people.
Menkevich is proud of his neighborhood and does not want it to go downhill. In his opening remarks at last week’s monthly meeting, he cited a neighboring community as a particular eyesore.
"We’re part of Frankford," he said, "but we don’t have to look at Frankford."
At that, two women in the front row burst to their feet and stormed out of the meeting.
"Real class act," one of the women said before leaving.
Discussion on the current state of Northwood dominated the meeting.
Menkevich said the neighborhood remains nice, with high property values. He likes the fact that most of the community is covered by a deed restriction that prohibits businesses.
Still, he read a two-page letter from a former resident who said he moved, in part, because of the declining Oxford Avenue business corridor.
The civic leader is also upset at the state of Greenwood Cemetery. He wants the place cleaned up and opposes an effort to add a crematory.
Menkevich read from an old newspaper story that described how City Councilman Rick Mariano and state Sen. Tina Tartaglione worked to prevent a crematory from opening in East Frankford.
No fan of Mariano — who will be sentenced on June 1 on a federal corruption conviction — Menkevich thinks the councilman should have made sure the cemetery was cleaned. It’s now Councilman Darrell Clarke’s district.
The neighborhood activist, who contends Mariano bullied ex-Councilman Dan McElhatton in his first election and civic association secretary Kathleen Fitzpatrick in his last election, said the area needs strong representation in Council, like the days when Harry Jannotti visited the civic group before going to jail on an extortion conviction.
"Him and Jannotti are going to have something in common," he said, referring to Mariano’s upcoming sentencing.
Menkevich does not like some of the nonprofit groups in Frankford. He blames them for supporting a prisoner re-entry program that could bring ex-cons to Northwood. The neighborhood already has a couple of drug-rehabilitation houses, and he fears that halfway houses might open.
"We’re fertile ground," he said, adding that he’d like to build the group’s legal fund to fight future battles.
Menkevich might seek financial help for his group and the Historical Society of Frankford from state Rep. John Taylor, a Northwood resident who has a sometimes-testy relationship with the civic leader.
Taylor, who sits on the board of the Frankford Community Development Corp., defended the FCDC and Frankford Group Ministry against accusations by Menkevich that their boards consist of "a bunch of yes men" who don’t represent Northwood and aren’t accountable for their spending.
"These organizations aren’t rolling in dough," Taylor said.
Neighbors had their own complaints, citing boarded-up houses, illegal parking, unruly behavior by students at H.R. Edmunds School and Frankford High School and kids hanging out late at night.
"This neighborhood is going to hell," one woman said.
Fitzpatrick, the aforementioned civic-group secretary, suggested that neighbors form a "safe corridors" patrol at dismissal.
Another woman passed out business cards encouraging parents to enroll their children in a cyber charter school.
Tony Payton Jr., the leading candidate to replace retiring state Rep. Bill Rieger, promised to help neighbors create a sense of community.
"I want to be proactive," he said.
Sgt. Scott Drissel, of the 15th Police District, said parents need to control their kids better. He noted that curfew is 10:30 p.m., Sundays through Thursdays, and midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
"It’s not an arrestable offense," he said. "We can’t even take them home anymore."
Armed robbery is an arrestable offense, and Drissel said police apprehended someone responsible for 14 holdups of local pizza and Chinese-food deliverymen.
Drissel told the crowd to call the 15th district at 215-686-3150 (51) to report non-emergency crimes, but added that the district does not dispatch officers like 911. The phone number to report outdoor drug sales is 215-686-3152.
In other news from the April 18 meeting:
• Taylor, chairman of the House Urban Affairs Committee, said the Legislature is trying to make sure the city does not enjoy a revenue windfall after it moves to a system that assesses properties by their full value. Right now, the Board of Revision of Taxes uses a complicated formula.
"We don’t want them to use that as an excuse to whack us," Taylor said.
The lawmaker told the crowd he is getting hate mail from businesses unhappy with his legislation that would require profitable corporations with 10,000 or more employees to provide health insurance for workers. Individuals who do not have health coverage through their employer often need state-sponsored assistance.
• Northwood Civic Association will meet on May 16 at 7 p.m. at St. James Lutheran Church, at Castor Avenue and Pratt Street. ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com