Accomplishments
This page was initiated in 2019 as a way to report to the community on the activities and accomplishments of the organization. A similar report will be published here for each succeeding year.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS 2020
2020 was a challenging year for Cedar Park Neighbors, for Philadelphia, and for the world. By the end of March, the single most central characteristic of daily life was our response to the COVID-19 pandemic - our response as individuals, as family members, as neighbors, as American citizens, and as members of the human race.
The CPN Board managed to hold a full meeting each month, on schedule, meeting in person through February and then meeting virtually during the remainder of the year.
In February we met with State Senator Anthony Williams and discussed issues important to CPN as a neighborhood organization as well as issues on the Senator’s mind.
In March, the Board, meeting virtually, debated and reluctantly decided on two unpleasant courses of action necessitated by the uncertainties surrounding the impending pandemic: the Annual Meeting and elections to be held the following month had to be cancelled (City regulations regarding the size of gatherings made it impossible to hold elections in our usual way) and all work in preparation of the next series of Friday Jazz Concerts halted (the later course of the pandemic showed that this was a wise, if not happy, decision). A fundraising event for the Scholarship program likewise had to be cancelled. The current Board agreed to continue to function voluntarily until such time as we could arrange for elections to be held in a safe and secure manner.
In June, CPN issued a statement of support for “the human rights initiatives and protections embedded in the Black Lives Matter movement”. This statement was a direct response to the murder of George Floyd and recalled the many similar killings in recent months.
President Renee McBride-Williams kept in touch with State Senator Anthony Williams’s office regarding efforts to support a “rebuilding” of the 52nd Street business corridor, which was damaged during the unrest following (in particular) the killing of George Floyd.
During the middle of the year, our Second Vice President Whitney Martinko submitted an application on behalf of CPN for the organization to become a beneficiary of Mariposa’s “round-up” on purchases, which was designed to benefit non-profits. Unfortunately, CPN’s application was turned down.
In September the Board initiated a discussion of what CPN could do by way of responding to the increasing gun violence in Philadelphia. This is a huge topic which will continue well into 2021.
In November the Board met (virtually) with newly-elected State Rep. Rick Krajewski who represents our area.
Throughout the year, chiefly through the efforts of 1st Vice President Dave Hincher, CPN continued to participate in discussions regarding the future of Calvary Church and the Calvary Community Center . In 2019 CPN had contributed toward a fund to enable Calvary to put together a professionally researched proposal, the goals of which are: to bring in the large grants that would be necessary to upgrade Calvary’s physical plant; and to outline operational changes necessary to realistically ensure that Calvary continues to be a multi-faceted resource serving the entire community.
The Board also worked diligently at its administrative obligations, holding formal votes to approve Treasurer’s reports and minutes of prior meetings.
The Scholarship Committee was able to carry out its work despite the obstacles caused by pandemic lockdown rules. As a result of the committee members’ efforts, over $8000 was raised and ten students received scholarship funding. Sadly, much of the popular social underpinnings of the program – such as the public celebration of the selected awardees – had to be foregone.
The Parks Committee held two Love Your Park events plus monthly workdays with volunteers wearing masks and working in safely distanced tasks around the park. The committee held its meetings virtually which has worked very well. In addition to maintaining park gardens they responded to increased incidents of graffiti and dumping, initiated Spotted Lanternfly education and mitigation strategies and other Tree Care projects. With increasing numbers of volunteers, they continue to carefully tend to the green space at the core of our neighborhood.
The Communications Committee saw to it that CPN’s Newsletter was mailed out each week, largely as an effort to supply neighbors with up-to-date information to help them stay informed about sources of free food sources, help with rent, school, COVID testing, as well as the ever-changing picture of how elections would be held in 2020. The Committee also updated the CPN website cedarparkneighbors.org as needed during the year.
The Zoning Committee, despite the reduced level of activity by the City, kept up with zoning issues in our neighborhood and held or joined in several meetings regarding zoning applications filed for local properties, including:
4631 Baltimore Avenue – Loco Pez Restaurant
4916 Warrington Avenue
4701-15 Kingsessing (Renaissance Nursing Home)
The Transit Committee tracked a number of issues, including the City’s plans to replace trolleys with buses (the costliness of trolleys being another pressure during a year of low ridership). The Transit Committee also kept track of the city’s evolving permits for outdoor dining, which made use of such techniques as “parklets” and street closures (this was part of the city’s response to the pandemic), and developed contact with the operators of the Indego “city-bike” system.
The Holiday Basket Committee adapted the lemons of the pandemic and turned them into the lemonade of a food gift card program, enabling CPN to continue its long-standing program of providing food relief to hundreds of neighbors who would otherwise have had to make do with far less during the holiday season, all the while adhering to the critical health rules imposed by the State and the City.
Accomplishments 2019
During 2019, Cedar Park Neighbors -
(1) - held a Board Retreat in January to generate a broad view of CPN’s activities and goals for the year.
(2) - held its legally required annual meeting and its annual elections in April
(3) - co-hosted a Row Offices Candidates Forum in April with Cobbs Creek Neighbors, Garden Court Community Association, Walnut Hill Community Association, and The Springfield Huddle. A number of candidates for City Commissioner, Sheriff, and Register of Wills made presentations.
(4) - organized and oversaw CPN’s Scholarship Program for the 30th year of this annual campaign. A fundraiser was held in April, and an Awards Ceremony was held in July at which the awardees were presented and congratulated. In 2019, 13 students received scholarships, of whom 9 were returning candidates. The Scholarship Program’s official name is the Gary Bronson Memorial Scholarship Program.
(5) – saw its Transit Committee complete a transit issues survey of those living in the area. Based on 302 responses, the Committee compiled statistics reflecting the respondents’ preferences and concerns regarding various modes of getting around and through the Cedar Park area and environs. The Transit Committee is working on suggestions (to the City) to improve traffic flow of all modes in and around the Cedar Park area.
(6) – sponsored a Spring into Biking event in May, run by the Transit Committee.
(7) - contributed records and photos from its archives to the Temple Special Collections Research Center, where they will be professionally maintained and become available as a resource to researchers.
(8) - participated in discussions regarding the future of Calvary Church and the Calvary Community Center. CPN contributed toward a fund to enable Calvary to put together a professionally researched proposal, the goals of which are: to bring in the large grants that would be necessary to upgrade Calvary’s physical plant; and to outline operational changes necessary to realistically ensure that Calvary continues to be a multi-faceted resource serving the entire community. The CPN Board continues to follow this issue closely.
(9) – through its Jazz Committee, organized its annual series of nine live jazz concerts on successive Friday evenings at Cedar Park, with crowd sizes of several hundred at each event, and a different band featured at each. CPN has offered this series for almost twenty years.
(10)– via its hard-working Parks Committee, held several Love Your Park events between Spring and Fall, during which volunteer neighbors pitched in to keep Cedar Park healthy and attractive.
(11) - held a number of public information events, including:
· Address by Dan Schupsky of the Philadelphia Water Department regarding efforts in the Cedar Park environs to improve capture/retention of stormwater with a goal of decreasing the amount of stormwater that must be averted directly to the rivers. [information session on Cedar Park green infrastructure upgrades]
· Address by Ms. Kyle Lewis, Director of the Recycling Office of the Streets Department regarding the state of recycling in Philadelphia
· Introduction to the Philly Free School, including commentary from several current students
(12) - hired an attorney to act on behalf of CPN regarding a proposed development project at 4820 Chester Ave, and which had raised questions regarding housing density, setback from street, building esthetics, and other issues. This was one of many instances during the year when CPN’s Zoning Committee provided insight into zoning-related issues in the neighborhood.
(13) - published a weekly email newsletter every Monday of the year. The Newsletter informs people of CPN-organized events and organizational activities, and of news and other events (artistic, informational, civic) that might be of interest to a broad spectrum of the community.
(14) - in conjunction with the office of State Senator Anthony Williams, helped spark an opportunity for grief counseling for neighbors and relatives of the Walton Ave family tragically murdered in late October.
(15) - maintained a window-front public bulletin board at 4928 Baltimore, posting notices of meetings and other events, a history of the Cedar Park area, and images both from both recent times and neighborhood history.
(16)- successfully ran CPN’s annual Holiday Basket Drive, delivering bags of food to nearly 250 families in the area, representing over a thousand individuals.