The Nicetown branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia, which also serves Hunting Park, has been a place for kids in the surrounding community to come after school and work on their studies. While the library does offer the LEAP Program to help children with their work a new program has started to teach them chess.
The club, the Nicetown Knights, has been teaching kids of all ages how to play for only two weeks. Started by one of the library’s supervisors, Kim Robinson, the program has been seeing a significant amount of popularity within its short period of time.… Read the full story »

The Salvation Army Kroc Corps Community Center, which is located at 4200 Wissahickon Ave., is a recreational place where community residents are offered many opportunities.
The $72 million community center opened last November. The center has activities for teens from badminton, basketball, dodgeball, computer games and field games. The group exercise activities are aquafitness, and zumba and family “soul line” dancing. In order to benefit from all activities offered, Kroc has monthly membership rates for adults for $39 dollars and family size memberships range from $99  to $119. Kroc has personal training packages for additional money besides the membership’s rates.… Read the full story »

Students from the music program at Multi-Cultural Academy Charter School played to a packed library of parents, supporters, staff and students at their annual spring concert on June 9 .
The students, a mixture of sophomores and seniors, performed a wide variety of songs ranging from classics like Ella Fitzgerald’s At Last to more modern pop songs like Coldplay’s Clocks.
The music program was started two years ago by English teacher Seth Carter and is funded mostly through the Little Kids Rock Foundation and generous donors. Students in the program are taught how to play instruments during the first half… Read the full story »

For more than 10 years Robert Douglas has been behind the counter of Max’s Steaks frying up to 100 cheese steaks a day, six days a week.
A well-known face in the community of Nicetown, Douglas has served famous rappers and football players as they trek up to North Philadelphia in search of the perfect cheese steak sandwich.
“I got a lot of famous people walking in, I got Teri Woods, the author; Rick Ross, the rapper been here and Wu-Tang Clan,” Douglas said.
Located at the busy intersection of Broad Street and Erie Avenue, Max’s Steaks is well known… Read the full story »

Connecting with the community is a common trait shared by all local politicians, but not all have the experience needed to successfully represent their constituency. With more than 20 years of Philadelphia government experience, Democrat Verna Tyner said she has the tools necessary to represent the 8th District in City Council.
Tyner, a 40-year resident of the 8th District, has been helping residents of her community since childhood when she lent a helping hand to those in need. From grocery shopping for seniors to lawn maintenance, helping people has always been a passion of hers.
“I have been working… Read the full story »

If Greg Paulmier wants to send one message to voters in the 8th District, it’s that he knows their problems. “I’ve lived here my whole life, I know what needs to be changed and what needs to be done,” he said.
The candidate graduated from Germantown Friends School and went on to higher education at the Community College of Philadelphia, Philadelphia University and then Temple University.
Paulmier discovered politics at an early age. His father, Lou Paulmier, encouraged him to become a committee person when Greg was 20 years old. Elected at 21, like his father, he became a Democratic… Read the full story »

“I want to introduce a new standard of living,” said William “Bill” Durham, a candidate for the City Council from the 8th District.
Donna Reed Miller has held this position for over 10 years. But Durham said that he has faith in the future.
“We can change this district in two to three years,” Durham, 55, added.
Durham has been a life-long resident of Germantown. After finishing a tour of duty as a medical corpsman during operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and almost two decades of service as a Marine, he dedicated himself to serving the community in one… Read the full story »

The residents of Nicetown/Tioga want young people to save the neighborhood.
“Young people need to know that this isn’t it. They can do better, be better. There are better things out there. They can make it out of Philly if they want. Sometimes they get stuck in all this negativity and don’t realize what else is there,” Miranda Pridgen, a Tioga resident of 27 years.
While the city and state government try to help rebuild the area through Section 8 housing and job programs, the community continues to live in poverty. In 2009, almost 43 per cent of the area’s… Read the full story »

Sarah Solloman, who has lived in Nicetown for more than 50 years, said she and some of her fellow residents aren’t really interested in the city council race for the 8th District, one of the most competitive in recent years.
“People don’t have the enthusiasm they used to,” she said.
She, like several others in the area, remain undecided on who they will vote for on in the May 17 primaries, but they blame their indecisiveness on the candidates themselves.
“I haven’t seen any candidates, no signs on lawns or nothing. If they want to get elected, they got to… Read the full story »

The Nicetown/Tioga area is going through a period of renovation. Old decrepit houses are being rebuilt into new homes and the area itself is being cleaned up. By doing this, the city and investors hope to bring a new life and lure potential businesses to the area. While many are excited for the expected growth, some people are concerned about what such changes might mean to the small businesses that populate the area.
“I’ve been here since 1992. Before all these buildings and hospitals and schools. I’m scared about what will happen if there are chains and bigger known places… Read the full story »