The Take Back Your Neighborhood civic association welcomed Northeast GED Center director Bonnie Kaye to its meeting on Monday.
The center, at 7222 Castor Ave., offers a high school equivalency diploma preparation program and serves as a testing site.
Classes are offered mornings, evenings and weekends, and are available in Spanish, as is the test. The cost is $199.
Kaye said the center boasts a high test pass rate and has more graduates than others in the city.
Call 215-745-0141.
In other news from the meeting
• 2nd Police District Lt. Marc Rutizer and community relations officer Mark Mroz presented crime information. Recent crimes included a robbery on a SEPTA bus on the 6700 block of Castor Ave., vehicle break-ins outside the Planet Fitness at 500 Adams Ave., a residential burglary on the 800 block of Granite St. and hold-ups of Domino’s Pizza delivery men. Mroz suggested that pizza shops take credit card payments instead of cash. The new 2nd Police District, at 7306 Castor Ave., is expected to open in July.
• Hailey Stern, of the Philadelphia Water Department, discussed the Green City, Clean Waters program. The program to keep polluted rainfall out of rivers includes bumpouts, rain gardens, stormwater planters, subsurface storage basins, tree trenches and vegetated swales. The areas near Max Myers Playground and Gilbert Spruance Elementary School are home to some of the green infrastructure. Stern can be reached at 215-683-3406 or Hailey.Stern@phila.gov.
• A representative from the state Department of Human Services provided information on the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Income-eligible people have until April 10 to apply for grants to pay their heating bills. LIHEAP cash grants range from $200 to $1,000. Call 215-560-1583.
• Bushrod Library, 6304 Castor Ave., will close from March 9-21 for renovations.
• Take Back Your Neighborhood will be holding a cleanup on Saturday, April 4, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. To participate, call 267-475-8683. ••
