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It’s up to us to
clean up our act
As the nice weather approaches and I’m out walking, I can’t help but notice the filth on the streets, pavements, in front yards, back driveways and trash cans overflowing, and wonder what has happened to Mayfair?
I remember years ago people thought Mayfair was for "rich people."
When I walked up to vote on Frankford Avenue on Election Day, I was ashamed to even say I live in Mayfair from all the trash and dirt everywhere I looked. After I voted, I spoke to Councilwoman Joan Krajewski to find out what I could do to improve "the neighborhood." She didn’t even have an answer, although she did recommend the CLIP program, which she organized, but that still isn’t enough.
We as a neighborhood must take responsibility as home "owners" and home "renters" to clean up, pick up and sweep up our streets, curbs, pavements, yards and driveways.
Keep the trash cans in the back or the side of the house. Remind children not to throw things in the street or on the ground.
Take pride back in Mayfair. It shouldn’t take the mayor to declare a citywide cleanup day, especially in our neighborhood!
Donna Taweel
Mayfair
Let’s have an encore
presentation, Mr. Mayor
Dear Mayor Nutter:
I want to urge you to set another date for a Philly cleanup such as the one you had on April 5.
Many years ago, our new mayor at the time, Ed Rendell, had a cleanup of City Hall. I was there and enjoyed the camaraderie that brought all of us citizens together for a worthy cause. Unfortunately, it was never repeated! Let’s learn from the past and not repeat this inaction.
I belong to Friends of Pennypack Park in Northeast Philly, and we started our monthly cleanups of the park in January 1988. If we had only done it once, it wouldn’t have mattered, since trash has a way of reappearing if not cleaned up more often. We’re still doing the monthly cleanup, but it has changed somewhat. We get compliments from users of the Pennypack who have noticed the difference and are helping to keep it cleaner.
Recently, a few friends and I decided to work on a strip mall along Castor Avenue, near where one of our Pennypack members lives. We met there and within one hour, we made a difference in its appearance. We talked to a few store owners, trying to encourage them to work together to keep it cleaner.
I’m not sure the message got through, but if only one person took heed to what we were doing and felt it was a good idea, we accomplished something.
I personally have an adopted tot lot in the park at Verree Road and Tustin Street, and take great pride in its appearance and upkeep. We think it’s the most beautiful and well kept playground in Philadelphia.
The Friends of Pennypack Park is thrilled to have been the ones who found the funds through the city to update this old broken-down tot lot a few years ago. And now, people are coming in droves to enjoy time out with their children. It’s a place we’ll never walk away from, where upkeep is concerned.
One cleanup does not a clean city make. Repeat performances are definitely needed. Take advice from an old lady (75 years old, or should I say young) and schedule another citywide cleanup soon. Last month’s was a resounding success and deserves another day.
Wishing you the very best in your new job. You give us hope for a more beautiful city.
Sheila Grossman
Fox Chase
Ashton Road dump
is far from official
What a disgrace that no matter who I call or write, no one will put the trash receivers at 9400 Ashton Road on a route to be emptied.
It took several years and countless phone calls to politicians to have them put there, and now no one claims responsibility to have them emptied. They are at the Route 19 and Route 50 bus stops and are needed there. They are once again overflowing and trash is all over the street, pavements and many, many lawns in the area.
This is the third letter I have sent out and have given up on the phone calls, because everyone just passes the buck to another phone number and no one seems to have any power to get this done on a long-term policy. No one seems to care that it looks like the city dump outside of my door.
Jackolyn Cahill
Pennypack
A brand new Town Watch
is looking for you!
Are you sick and tired of crime, drugs, violence and blight in our neighborhood? Don’t just complain about it, stand up and do something about it!! Become proactive in your community. It is not everyone else’s problem, it is yours if you become a part of the problem and not the solution.
A newly formed group within the Mayfair and Lower Holmesburg neighborhood that has been trained and certified through the city of Philadelphia’s Town Watch Integrated Services program is actively seeking people over the age of 18 who are really tired of seeing our local neighborhoods fall apart.
Membership is being offered to those who reside in or maintain an interest in our community. There are active patrols by car, bike, foot or simply watching from your own block. Most patrols are during the weekend, but at times, weekdays might be needed. Our only requirement is that you patrol in a safe and orderly manner, be mindful of all Town Watch rules and attend the required training session to become certified.
We are not a hired security company, and all your time is simply appreciated volunteerism. But beware, if you are wanted, have an active warrant or committed a felony, please do not apply.
The Mayfair-Lower Holmesburg Town Watch will patrol the areas between the Delaware River and Rowland Avenue (including Lincoln High School); between Cottman Avenue and Rhawn Street. Their patrols are also combined with and in conjunction with the members of Tacony Town Watch. We are the eyes and ears of the Philadelphia Police Department and work closely with all facets of law enforcement, especially that of the 15th Police District.
If you are interested in becoming a member of this newly formed organization, the Mayfair-Lower Holmesburg Town Watch, or if you want to report a house, business or a problem on your block, please e-mail us at hlmtw@hotmail.com or call 215-335-3438. We will get back to you as soon as we can.
Why put those For Sale signs up and let the criminal win??? Show them that we will no longer tolerate crime in our neighborhoods. Start today. Together we can make a difference.
In addition, anyone in the Tacony area interested in joining Tacony Town Watch, which has successfully existed since 1982, or is in need of reporting a house, business or problem on your block, please feel free to contact us at the same telephone number or forward us an e-mail at Ttw15thdistrict@msn.com. If you have gone to others and the results were not too favorable, then give us a chance. After all, we have been doing this for well over 25 years.
Why not utilize a group that has contacts and is well respected at all levels? This is what we do; we are not a committee for any group — it is our expertise and what we have been trained to do. Both groups meet every third Wednesday of the month at the Tacony Baptist Church, at Disston and Hegerman streets. If we can help you, we will be more than happy to do so. So join us today, become educated and aware of your neighborhood. It is the only way to stay safe in a changing environment. And remember, an unreported crime NEVER HAPPENED!
Remember also that there are no membership fees in Town Watch. We only need your time and willingness to learn, and we have no problem training you. Not a bad deal! So, we are awaiting your call. What are you waiting for?
Angelique Cianci-Hartman
President, Tacony Town Watch
Another officer down,
another call for justice
It has always been my understanding that the primary function of our federal, state and city government was, first and foremost, to protect its citizens.
It is beyond my understanding how any judge or parole board or any other bureaucratic, sympathetic, left-wing realm of our society, can live with the blood of our police officers and other innocent victims of repeat criminals on their hands. This is not a matter of gun control. It is simply a matter of enforcing the many laws that our blind senators and representatives have already passed. Enforce these laws on the guilty parties, then allow the accused their day in court. And if found guilty and sentenced according to the law, put these animals away until their sentences are complete.
How difficult is this? Not very. Am I to feel sympathy for overcrowded prisons? Absolutely not. Am I willing to pay higher, temporary taxes to pay for additional prisons? Oh, yes.
We have the ability and the means to control crime in this city and this country. Do we have the politicians with the intestinal fortitude to stand up for what is needed and what is right? Sadly, not yet.
Mr. President, Mr. Senator, Mr. Governor, Mr. Mayor- ANYONE! Where is our surge?!
We do not have 150,000 pairs of boots on the ground here! But we have a police force that is constantly frustrated by keeping its end of the deal, only to have its hard work flushed by a system that puts the perpetrator’s well-being ahead of those of victims and potential victims. We as a nation have put the cart in front of the horse.
Enforce the laws. Penalize the guilty. Execute the cold-blooded murderers in a timely fashion. Is the death penalty a deterrent? At the very least, to the one executed. Do everything humanly possible to ensure that those on death row are in fact, guilty. Then carry out the sentence. And let no innocent person be executed. But make no mistake, there are far more innocent people killed by repeat criminals than are mistakenly executed by a judicial system that lets an ungodly amount of killers back on our streets.
May God be with the family of Sgt. Liczbinski. And may God help us all.
Brian G. Smith
Burholme
• • •
The tragedy of our loss of Sgt. Liczbinski is staring at us from jail — Mumia Abu-Jamal!
What has killing a police officer gotten him? Twenty-five years of life! Where is the punishment? We need to end their lives as easily as they take out these protectors of the law. We need to stop worrying about their rights and look at punishing them for their deeds.
Carol Malinowski
Morrell Park
Speaker honors
fallen heroes
House Speaker Dennis M. O’Brien on Monday joined hundreds of law enforcement officers and citizens in saluting police from across the state who were killed in the line of duty.
"Today we gather to mourn and to honor the memory of the men and women of extraordinary bravery — those who paid the ultimate price to keep our communities safe and our families secure," O’Brien said.
In a ceremony at the Capitol organized by the Fraternal Order of Police, Pennsylvania State Lodge, all 703 Pennsylvania officers who have died in the line of duty were honored, but particular attention was paid to those who died in 2007.
The fallen officers of 2007 are Officer Walter Barclay of the Philadelphia Police Department, who died on Aug. 19, 2007, as a result of injuries received in a 1966 shooting; Trooper Scott Ball of the Pennsylvania State Police, who was killed while serving with the Army National Guard in Afghanistan on Aug. 27, 2007; and Officer Charles Cassidy of the Philadelphia Police Department, who died on Nov. 1, 2007, a day after being shot when he interrupted a robbery.
The observance also remembered Officer Jorgen Holand of the Upper Chichester Township Police, who died in 1998 as a result of injuries sustained while responding to a call in 1997.
O’Brien said Monday’s ceremony became more poignant following the tragic killing of Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski on Saturday in Port Richmond.
The memorial event drew hundreds of police officers from across Pennsylvania, elected leaders and family members of the officers who died last year.
"We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be grateful," O’Brien said. "There is a special nobility, a special grace, in those who are prepared to sacrifice their lives for others." ••
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