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Perhaps people grew too fond of theories that the world will end in 2012, as this year was certainly one with few certainties. With school violence, seemingly endless snow and stalled entertainment projects dominating the headlines, life in South Philadelphia became a game of “what will we face today?”
There were occasional highs thanks to the Flyers’ run to the Stanley Cup Finals and Roy Halladay’s proving that Philadelphia is again a baseball-frenzied town, but outside of the sporting world, there were struggles. Add Sunday’s snowstorm, and we are again left to wonder what the next 12 months will bring. Before we become too engrossed in prognosticating, here is a look at what fate gave South Philly in ’10.
January
Citizens’ Alliance for Better Neighborhoods, 1137 Wharton St., had its work put on hold while the courts decided whether to disband the nonprofit’s board or revoke its status. Attorney General and Gov.-elect Tom Corbett filed a lawsuit against the nonprofit following convictions for its co-founder and ex-state Sen. Vince Fumo and former Executive Director Ruth Arnao for defrauding the group of more than $1 million.
Pennsport residents had cause to revel with the City’s announcement of a light-rail system. The proposed $364 to $514 million project would connect Center City with the Delaware River waterfront and could one day feature stops at the Navy Yard and sports complex.
A mysterious odor hit the air following an equipment cleaning to a scheduled maintenance project. A spokesman for the Sunoco Refinery, 3144 W. Passyunk Ave., attributed the smell that later drifted into local neighborhoods to oil that had landed on the roof of a large storage tank.
After a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit his birthplace, Haitian-born Ralph Toussaint, a senior at South Phildelphia High School, 2101 S. Broad St., collected donations for the American Red Cross relief efforts as the volunteer aspect of his school project. Meanwhile, area businesses donated a portion of their proceeds to help the earthquake-striken country.
February
The initial Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations’ public hearing to address issues of discrimination occurred at Guerin Recreation Center, 2201 S. 16th St., where students, teachers and parents testified about school violence. The series of meetings was a result of racially-motivated attacks at Southern.
Copious snow totals frustrated residents but allowed their goodwill toward one another to overcome the City’s slow cleanup process. Mom-and-pop businesses profited from the snow’s making many residents reluctant to drive.
South Philadelphia placed two zip codes on a national real estate authority’s list of hot sales locations. The distinction pleased Newbold resident Gerald Ross, an eye doctor whose real estate dabblings have included rehabbing and selling homes in his area.
Shortly after a meeting with Rev. John Calabro, parents of students at Holy Spirit, 1845 Hartranft St., learned their school would remain open. Those with learners at Stella Maris, 814 Bigler St., hoped to hear the same following a pastoral recommendation to the Archdiocese to close their facility.
March
A Vegas gaming mogul announced his involvement in reviving the financially-struggling Foxwoods Casino Project along the Delaware River waterfront. With the backing of Steve Wynn, the chairman and chief executive officer for Wynn Resorts, it was disclosed an affiliate of his would act as a manager and managing general partner, pending the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board’s approval.
The East Passyunk Avenue Business Improvement District opened up Saturday nights as its open-store night. Doors were open at more than two dozen places with free food and beverage tastings, art shows and live performances.
Tasty Baking Co., 3 Crescent Drive, invested more than $1 million in the construction of its new environmentally-friendly distribution complex and bakery at the Navy Yard. As part of Mayor Nutter’s plan to make Philadelphia America’s greenest city, the company began construction on a 350,000-square-foot facility that produces 1.2 million solar modules per year.
April
The Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society opened a low-cost wellness center at 2900 Grays Ferry Ave. The 62,000-square-foot clinic became the organization’s latest endeavor to turn Philadelphia into a no-kill city.
Flavors of the Avenue returned to East Passyunk Avenue after a one-year hiatus. The festival involved 20 local restaurants and more than 30 vendors — all eager to entice palates.
The third annual Philly Spring Cleanup consisted of environmentally-adept residents manning 22 local sites. The five-hour event, dubbed “Keep Up the Sweep Up,” united community volunteers and representatives from civic groups in tree tending, gardening and litter cleanup.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia officially announced that Stella Maris School would close at the end of the school year due to low enrollment. Upon hearing this, parents needed to find a new school for their children and could receive a tuition subsidy if enrolling at Epiphany of Our Lord, 1248 Jackson St., or St. Monica, 1720 Ritner St.
Fifteen cheerleaders at St. Nicholas of Tolentine, 913 Pierce St., crocheted scarves, which went to cancer patients at Northeast Philadelphia’s Fox Chase Cancer Center, as part of their time on a Catholic Youth Organization team.
May
The School District of Philadelphia proposed to shutter George W. Childs Elementary School, 1541 S. 17th St., at the end of the school year. The district cited the school’s 116-year-old building in calling for students to move to Norris S. Barratt Middle School, 1599 Wharton St.
The Tasty Baking Co. opened a 345,000-square-foot facility in the Navy Yard. The 25-acre location cranks out products that have reigned as area staples since the company’s 1914 debut.
Dominiq Gilyard and Reneé Jackson, students at Old City-based Constitution High School had an opportunity to meet 10 Afghan students and their principal through a National Constitution Center project. The international exhibit featured photographs taken by students from both schools and focused on themes such as citizenship, freedom and religious expression.
Mayor Michael Nutter honored a collection of Philadelphia’s wisest elders at the 10th annual Mayor’s Centenarian Celebration. The two-hour celebration, held at Penn’s Landing Caterers, 1301 S. Columbus Blvd., gathered residents from various areas of the city, including three locals, as part of Philadelphia’s contribution to Older Americans Month.
June
Looking to enhance recreational access to the Delaware River waterfront, City officials unveiled the Delaware River Trail, a 1.3-mile, multi-use recreational path starting at Pier 64.
The Splash and Summer FUN d , a pool fundraising campaign in its second year of salvaging aquatic opportunities for residents, celebrated the opening of all 70 municipal pools at Sacks Playground, 400 Washington Ave. The Pennsport site’s pool, along with four other local spots, had been among the 27 casualties from 2009’s budget crisis.
After 56 years of educating many local children, Stella Maris School closed. Students, teachers and parents honored the school’s legacy with songs and prayers in the schoolyard before parting.
Two Arcadia University graduates headed to Louisiana to document April’s oil spills in the Gulf region. Matthew Tucker, a former Bella Vista resident, and a friend created a blog called “Restore the Gulf,” where they photographed, videotaped and wrote of their experiences.
July
Citizens’ Alliance awaited a verdict on whether it could relaunch under a new name following fraud convictions for its co-founder and former executive director. President and CEO of the Center City District Paul Levy recommended renaming the organization Passyunk East Revitalization Corp. and giving it a new, smaller focus.
Broad-Street-and-Packer-Avenue sisters Jennifer and Krystal Tini, along with Third-and-Tree-streets resident Monique Impagliazzo, had their cinematic dreams come true. “Standing Ovation,” a film which they had worked on for two years, enjoyed a nationwide release.
Local chef Siobhan Allgood landed a spot on season seven of Fox’s reality cooking show “Hell’s Kitchen.” The Passyunk Square resident locked horns with chef Gordon Ramsey, who made her the season’s eighth cooking casualty.
Three Virginia-bred sisters offered multimedia opportunities to children on a Grays Ferry block through Positive Minds. The nonprofit offered children the chance to work together and showcase their community via photography, audio and video.
The PSPCA received a search warrant for the property at 739 Earp St. and retrieved 85 Chihuahuas, two cats and two dead Chihuahuas over the course of several hours. The City’s Department of Licenses and Inspections forced the alleged owners of the three-story dwelling, Richard and Franny Rotunda, to vacate the feces-filled property.
August
The Conswiller B. Pratt Apartments, 3001 Moore St., and Wilson Park, 2500 Jackson St., served as two local spots for the Food for Life program. A collaboration between the Philadelphia Housing Authority and Iovine Brothers Produce & Catering, the program sold moderately-priced fruits and vegetables over three months.
Transplant recipients spent six days in Wisconsin as participants in the 2010 U.S. Transplant Games. George Arroyo, of 11th and Shunk streets, celebrated the 10th anniversary of his receiving a kidney by competing in his third competition while Patricia Nelson and her daughter Alison, of Second and Greenwich streets, were spectators at their first in memory of Patricia’s son, David.
Nearly 150 residents of the Pennsport and Whitman rallied to protest their fire-station’s first City-mandated work stoppage. Gathering at Engine 53, 414-16 Snyder Ave., they let the City know their frustrations with the brownout system by displaying signs and voicing opposition.
The Packer Avenue Marine Terminal, Packer Avenue and Columbus Boulevard, welcomed more than 10,000 new vehicles from South Korea. The Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors’ automobiles arrived on 12-story vessels as part of their manufacturers’ consolidated mid-Atlantic business.
September
Back-to-school shopping brought hordes of cost-conscious families to Staples, 1300 S. Columbus Blvd. Many patrons purchased items for, or made donations to, the Do Something 101 campaign that benefited underprivileged children.
The U.S. Department of Justice found merit in an advocacy group’s January civil rights claim against the School District of Philadelphia. The claim stemmed from December ’09 attacks at and around Southern and alleged the district violated the student’s constitutional civil rights and the discrimination-prohibiting Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974.
Charles Y. Audenried Senior High School, 3301 Tasker St., hosted a three-hour workshop on childhood obesity. The school, one of the School District’s 17 high schools with a health program in their Career and Technical Education Programs, joined with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. to discuss the need to develop proper eating habits early in life.
Katie Clark, of the 300 block of Cross Street, pedalled 75 miles from Cherry Hill to Ocean City, N.J., to raise awareness of multiple sclerosis. Raising more than $1,000, she biked in honor of her mother, who has battled the autoimmune disease for 15 years.
Mastery Charter Schools became one of six organizations awarded $1 million from Oprah Winfrey’s Angel Network. One of seven Mastery branches across Philadelphia, the Thomas campus, 927 Johnston St., and its parent organization planned to use the funds as part of its expansion to provide more schools and options for students over the next five years.
October
The Columbus Day Parade returned to South Broad Street following a one-year hiatus. The 52nd parade joined with other weekend festivities in celebrating Italian explorer Christopher Columbus and traditional customs.
Husband and wife Mariano and Joann Mattei opened Philly Sound Studios at Fifth Stone Music School, 2829 S. 18th St. The residents of the 1900 block of Shunk Street hope to make the studio’s primary focus the production of full-length CDs.
Technology and business leaders teamed with Nutter for the opening of Philadelphia Technology Park, 4775 League Island Blvd. Costing $25 million and encompassing 25,700 square feet, the Navy Yard facility was built to offer protection of information technology infrastructure to regional companies.
November
The Philadelphia Clef Club, 738 S. Broad St., honored jazz giant Sam Reed with a celebration. The resident of the 2200 block of Sears Street, has played with and produced material for some of the music world’s most notable acts, including The Four Tops, Teddy Pendergrass, The Temptations and Stevie Wonder.
Puppeteer Joyce Meder of Shalom Inc., a Fishtown-based non-profit, used puppets to demonstrate to first- and second-graders at St. Nicholas of Tolentine School how to manage conflicts and deal with frustration, as part of her organization’s Beginning Alcohol and Addictions Basic Education Studies Program.
Audenried High School opened the South Philadelphia Talent Center to provide free programs in theater, dance, visual arts, academics and health and fitness.
The St. Agnes Continuing Care Center, 1930 S. Broad St., added a new Mercy LIFE facility to its offerings for seniors. At 20,000 square feet, the adult day care center will tend to area residents with health problems that make living at home difficult.
December
A wrecking ball started the deconstruction of the Spectrum, 3601 S. Broad St. Hundreds of loyal followers and dignitaries, including Comcast-Spectacor Chairman Ed Snider, watched the beginning of the end of the 43-year-old arena known as “America’s Showplace,” as an orange wrecking ball made its acquaintance with bricks and windows.
Residents of the Newbold and Point Breeze communities clashed over boundary issues and plans for neighborhood improvement. Established and new residents of the areas sought resolution to territorial attitudes on projects.
Osun Village, 2308-14 Grays Ferry Ave., made Lois Fernandez’s dream of affordable housing for seniors a reality as City dignitaries joined with Fernandez, the founder of the Odunde Festival, to celebrate the 23,000-square-foot, four-story facility’s opening.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board revoked the license for the Foxwoods Casino Project, a stalled four-year venture that would have placed a casino on the Delaware River waterfront. Voting 6-1, the board declined to give investors more time to secure funds. SPR
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