Press Archives - Germantown United CDC

Cleaning Up for a Safer Northwest Philly

We’ve seen that tidying up our neighborhoods can make them safer. That’s why, from June to October 2024, the Safe Steps Northwest initiative will provide weekly block cleaning services to 335 residential blocks in Germantown and Mt. Airy, which have recently been affected by gun violence.

We’re excited to begin work with Reverend W. Douglas Banks, who will lead the project rollout! Stay tuned for cleaning crew job openings and collaboration opportunities.

*Senator Art Haywood taking part in a block cleaning. March 26, 2024 Photo courtesy of James Robinson | Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Caucus*.

This initiative is made possible by funding from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s 2022 Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant Program. It is a joint effort involving Mount Airy CDC, the litter cleaning service Glitter, State Senator Art Haywood, and Germantown United CDC. We are honored to serve as project advisors and support community engagement efforts in our area.

Visit the project website to learn more at shareglitter.com/safesteps.

And, check out this recent article in the Philadelphia Inquirer to learn more about the research behind this community clean-up approach to reducing gun violence.

State Senator Art Haywood spoke at the project’s launch at Waterview Recreation Center along with Mt. Airy CDC Executive Director Philip Dawson, Germantown United CDC Executive Director Emaleigh Doley, an officer of the 14th District, a Germantown resident, and representatives from Glitter, including Program Manager Douglas Banks. Photo Courtesy of Mt. Airy CDC.

Matthew George featured on Iron Sharpens Iron

Listen to Germantown United CDC’s Matthew George’s interview on Iron Sharpens Iron, a podcast where veteran community organizers interview Philadelphians organizing for change in their neighborhoods. Stream the story below.

Matthew is the Business Development Manager at GU and founder of the inspiring grassroots initiative I Love Thy Hood. In this mini episode, he discusses his goal to clean up his corridor in Germantown and all that he has done so far to make it happen.

Iron Sharpens Iron is available on Spotify, Apple Music, Google Podcasts, Anchor, and other major podcast platforms. In each episode, hosts Leon Robinson and De’Wayne Drummond interview grassroots organizers. You’ll hear what they’re doing to change the status quo and what they’ve learned in the process. The show is produced by the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations (PACDC).

Gentrification’s ‘winds of change’ the focus of weekend forum in Germantown

For some Philadelphians, gentrification is a dirty word or — at the very least — an eyebrow raiser.

As they watch their namesake neighborhood creep towards becoming a “choice” spot for newcomers, the folks over at Germantown United CDC decided they want to help prepare residents for change.

Event specifics

On Saturday, GUCDC will host a free, all-day community forum on gentrification inside Mastery Charter’s Pickett Campus, 5700 Wayne Ave.

“The Big G” will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“It’s the elephant in the room,” said board member Yvonne Haskins of gentrification. “It’s something that we need to talk about and figure out if there are ways to manage it.”

Preserving affordability and protecting homeowners and renters from potential bumps in real-estate prices will be a major focus of the forum.

The speakers

Weighing in on those topics and more will be Colvin W. Grannum (president and CEO of Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation), Nora Lichtash, (executive director of the Women’s Community Revitalization Project), Steve Mullin(president of Consult Solutions) and Betty Turner (co-founder of Germantown Community Connection).

In the morning, Alan Greenberger, the city’s deputy mayor for economic development, will moderate a roundtable “Meet the Press” style discussion.

After lunch, participants will break into four groups that will each tackle a different topic connected to gentrification with an eye on possible solutions. Each workshop will be led by one of the four panelists.

Financial literacy, affordable housing and the impact of the city’s new Land Bankwill be among the subjects up for debate.

Participants will end the day by coming together to hear about each workshop’s discoveries.

“We feel the winds of change from the energy that people are showing in their attention to all of these various projects in the community,” said Haskins. “Sooner or later, Germantown is going to be a choice neighborhood. It’s going to be a neighborhood that people want to live in more and more.”

Courtesy of Newsworks

Germantown crowned the ‘Best Neighborhood of the Year’ by Curbed readers

And then there was one! Among 16 Philadelphia neighborhoods, Germantown has been crowned the Best Neighborhood of the Year by Curbed readers.

We’re a little verklempt.

Congratulations, people of Germantown! You’ve got grit, determination, and awe-inspiring character and community spirit, not to mention countless neighborhood treasures. Go, Germantown!

The historic neighborhood of Germantown has come a long way in its long history. It’s one of Philly’s oldest neighborhoods, and its historically significant sites dating back to the American Revolutionary War are neighbors to Germantown’s mom and pop shops and newer retailers and restaurants. The historic neighborhood in Northwest Philly has also seen an interest in revitalization, with programs like JumpStart Germantown launching to help first-time developers work on smaller rehab projects throughout the area, while the community recently rallied to win grant money to restore its African American landmarks located along the Germantown Avenue corridor. Even bigger changes are afoot with the redevelopment of nearly a dozen properties around the Wayne Junction station.
Curbed Philadelphia

The final round of this competition was a real barn burner. A tip of the hat to the folks in Mt. Airy for the friendly fight, especially Mt. Airy CDC, West Mt. Airy Neighbors (WMAN), and East Mt. Airy Neighbors (EMAN). We love our Northwest neighbors, and look forward to your continued partnership in 2018 and beyond. Read the full story >>

Download the press release as a PDF >>

“This is Germantown Heart & Soul” Winter Community Gatherings

Ask Residents to Guide Neighborhood Development in Northwest Philadelphia
Through Creative Participatory Planning Process, beginning November 19th

Germantown, Philadelphia, PA – This is Germantown Heart & Soul, a project of Germantown United Community Development Corporation (GUCDC) and Just Act, will host a series of community gatherings throughout Northwest Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood this winter beginning on November 19, 2016. The Germantown community is invited to participate in a unique interactive group storytelling experience. Unlike traditional civic meetings and town halls, the events – called Story Circles – use theater as a planning tool and center on capturing the wishes, needs, and ideas of residents as they share personal stories of meaningful experiences in Germantown and what they view as essential for growth of the neighborhood’s vibrant but struggling shopping district. A calendar of events is included below, with additional dates to be announced.

Story Circles will be facilitated by a multigenerational “Storytelling Engagement Team” comprised of Germantown residents, with support from the Just Act Ensemble. The collected stories will guide Germantown United CDC’s future work and plans for successful, community-responsive business corridor revitalization and contribute to efforts underway to make the central business district a people-centered main street destination for the Germantown community and visitors from outside the immediate neighborhood.

“This is Germantown Heart & Soul aims to create a shared sense of belonging that ultimately improves local decision-making and strengthens social, cultural, and economic vibrancy,” said Emaleigh Doley, Commercial Corridor Manager at Germantown United CDC. “Germantown is one of the city’s largest neighborhoods, with a population of 44,000. It’s important to recognize that the immediate needs of residents living in the Chew and Belfield area of East Germantown might differ from those in West Germantown’s Penn-Knox section, for example. That doesn’t mean the Eastside and the Westside have nothing in common. We also all share the business district.”

A core goal of the project is to connect both the formal and informal networks contributing to community improvement efforts and operating at the micro level – from block captains to Registered Community Organizations (RCOs) and neighborhood civics with limited boundaries.

Scenes from the This is Heart & Soul pop-up story booth at the Friends of Vernon Park Spring Bazaar, October 8, 2016; Park(ing) Day Philadelphia installation, September 16, 2016; and Maple Village Story Gathering, October 18, 2016.

“These story sharing events build upon an interest and commitment in helping communities adapt and implement positive changes based upon the vision and experiences of all community members and create new opportunities for residents and community stakeholders to meet in-person,” said Lisa Jo Epstein, Executive Director of Just Act.

This is Germantown Heart & Soul made its public debut in the spring of 2016 through a series of successful pop-up story booths held along the business district at a variety of spaces, from the bustling intersection of Germantown and Chelten Avenues to the annual Juneteenth Celebration, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States, organized by the Johnson House Historic Site. The Story Engagement Team was formed in the summer and fall of 2016 and has been meeting regularly to train for and plan the upcoming Story Circles events. The Germantown Life Enrichment Center, a community-oriented recreational and educational facility in the heart of Germantown at 5722 Greene Street, generously donated meeting space for the team and is one of several This is Germantown Heart & Soul sponsoring organizations.

Story Engagement Team training sessions.

With the addition of the more intimate Story Circles series, This is Germantown Heart & Soul will:

Build, diversify, and strengthen resident engagement with and collective participation in civic process to increase impact and positively affect neighborhood-wide planning decisions;
Strengthen resident readiness for, and engagement in the Philadelphia City Planning Commission’s “Philadelphia2035” District Planning process for the Upper Northwest, slated for 2017-2018;
Expand who participates in public processes related to real estate development and neighborhood revitalization by engaging isolated and diverse resident groups;
Cultivate and/or improve relationships, social community cohesion and stewardship of place.

The collected data will also become the highlight of “Community Cataloguing Data Jams” – events in January 2017 where participants will listen to transcripts of stories from their neighbors to collectively identify and catalogue shared visions for what the community values.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

The current calendar of events is included below. Additional dates will be added. All Germantown residents and community stakeholders are invited. Events are open to the public. Food and refreshments will be provided, along with live music and good cheer. Attend one or attend them all. For an up-to-date program calendar visit facebook.com/thisisgermantownheartandsoul. Contact Germantown United CDC at 215-856-4303 or [email protected].

Saturday, November 19 from 4 – 6 p.m.
Location: Providence Baptist Church, 87 E. Haines Street, Philadelphia, PA 19144
Sponsoring Community Organization: Providence Baptist Church

Monday, December 5 from 7 – 9 p.m.
Location: Awbury Arboreteum, 1 Awbury Rd, Philadelphia, PA 19138
Sponsoring Community Organization: Awbury Arboretum Neighbors, Chew and Belfield Neighbors Club, and Awbury Arboreteum

Tuesday, December 13 from 7 – 9 p.m.
Location: Germantown Mennonite Church, 21 W Washington Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19144
Sponsoring Community Organization: Pastorius Community Garden, Men Who Care of Germantown, Germantown Mennonite Church, and Germantown Mennonite Historic Trust

About Germantown United Community Development Corporation

Germantown United Community Development Corporation (GUCDC) is a community-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote and facilitate the revitalization of the business district in the Germantown neighborhood of Northwest Philadelphia through a sustainable, creative, and community-driven approach to economic development. Vibrant commercial corridors or “Main Streets” contribute to strong neighborhoods. They provide a place to work, shop, and meet your neighbors. Through our Targeted Corridor Management Program contract with the city’s Commerce Department, Germantown United CDC provides assistance to businesses, brings planning and resources to the corridor, oversees activities to make the corridor clean and safe, and works to attract new businesses to the area. We are actively working to bolster and reinforce the vibrancy of the business district to meet the needs of the surrounding community and attract visitors from outside the immediate neighborhood. Germantown United CDC is also exploring opportunities to strengthen and diversify the mix of commercial uses in the business district, the potential to reuse vacant or underutilized properties, business and job attraction strategies, and available sources of funding to support recommended revitalization strategies.

Website: http://germantownunitedcdc.org
Social: facebook.com/germantowncdc | twitter.com/germantowncdc | instagram.com/germantowncdc

About Just Act

Just Act is a distinctive hybrid of artistic and community engagement committed to social justice. Our Ensemble of artist-educators facilitate unique theatre-based programs with non-actors that activate and nurture meaningful dialogue, reflection, healing and action around complex, often divisive social issues. Just Act is committed to building and fortifying inclusive, restorative civic engagement through partnerships across sectors and differences. Informed by Theatre of the Oppressed and other art and activist strategies, our work is a creative catalyst for community activism and personal change. In all we undertake, Just Act renews and deepens the capacity of social change seekers and makers to stand up for justice on personal, inter-group and systemic levels with compassion and renewed courage. In these times of anxiety, bustle and disconnection, Just Act offers refreshing, participatory “refuel zones” to creatively pause and attend to tension and fractured relations – particularly around race, culture, and socio-economic disparities – to reweave connections and grow empathy, understanding and action plans.

Website: http://www.justact.org
Social: facebook.com/justact.today | twitter.com/JustActToday

Media Contact:
Emaleigh Doley
Commercial Corridor Manager, Germantown United CDC
Office: 215-856-4303
Mobile: 610-331-3758
[email protected]

Lisa Jo Epstein
Executive Director, Just Act
Mobile: 215-290-9784
[email protected]

# # #

New 2016 Community Grant Program Application Deadlines, Germantown United CDC Announces 2015 “Fund for Germantown” Micro-grants

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Germantown, Philadelphia, PA (March 31, 2016): In an effort to align grant funding for community improvement efforts with the warmer weather months for outdoor projects, Germantown United CDC (GUCDC) is changing the grant application dates for the Fund for Germantown, the organization’s micro-grant program supporting community-driven beautification projects in Northwest Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood. In 2016, the deadlines will be Friday, April 15, and Friday, September 30. Funding guidelines may be found on Germantown United’s website at www.germantownunitedcdc.org. To request an application, email [email protected] or call 215-856-4303.

Germantown United CDC distributes small grants ranging from $100 to $1000 to local organizations, civic associations, businesses, and individuals seeking to beautify the Germantown neighborhood. The grant program is part of GUCDC’s ongoing efforts to promote and facilitate the revitalization of Germantown’s business corridors through a sustainable, creative, and community-driven approach to economic development.

The focus of the Fund for Germantown is to support projects that will have an immediate physical impact on the neighborhood. The fund provides grants for physical improvements across Germantown including, but not limited to, landscaping, signage, painting, reclaiming empty lots, and waste removal.

Germantown United CDC is proud to announce all 2015 grantees

Since the Fund for Germantown launched, 19 micro-grants have been awarded, with funds supporting a wide range of projects from greening to murals, neighborhood bulletin boards, cleanups and other community-building activities.

In 2015, seven projects were funded in the July 2015 round, and two were funded for the December 31 round.

Winning project ideas from 2015 include:

Business owner Lynn Washington will install a ‘Little Free Library’ to the front of Books & Stuff, her bookstore located at 23 W Maplewood Mall.
Residents Clint Steib and Villia Lateef will lead their neighbors in a planting and beautification project on the 4500 and 4600 blocks of Greene Street aimed at traffic calming.
Artist and photographer Tieshka Smith will launch the Peaceful Places public signage project in Germantown’s storied Penn-Knox neighborhood, next to the Central Germantown business corridor
Fitler Academics Plus, a public elementary school in Germantown serving students in grades one through eight located at 140 W Seymour St (at Knox St) will paint ground murals and organized games in the school’s playground
West Central Germantown Neighbors civic association will enhance their community orchard and garden project at the Tulpehocken Train Station, a SEPTA Regional Rail station at 333 W Tulpehocken St (off Walnut Ln and Wayne Ave)
Support to sustain the ongoing streetscape beautification efforts of Men Who Care of Germantown around their headquarters at 180 East Tulpehocken St (at Morton St)
The Imperfect Gallery will install an interactive sidewalk mural outside of the gallery and community space at 5601 Greene St, adjacent to the Maplewood Mall pedestrian plaza and shopping corridor
Freedom Gardens, a project by Germantown resident Susan Guggenheim, will connect local gardeners who would like to share their crop free of charge with Germantown residents looking to improve their diets with home-grown produce; Freedom Gardens will be identified by lawn signs and online via Google Maps
Support to sustain Chew-Belfield Neighbors Club’s ongoing cleaning and beautification projects in East Germantown

The Fund for Germantown us supported through generous seed funding by local real estate developers Howard Treatman and Ken Weinstein. “We are excited to support these small projects that have a big impact”, says funder Ken Weinstein. “These kinds of initiatives are exactly what we had in mind when we envisioned the Fund for Germantown”, said Howard Treatman. “It’s been great to see how Germantown United has been able to empower the community and leverage grassroots efforts.”

About Germantown United CDC

Germantown United Community Development Corporation is a 501(c)3 organization that was created to promote and facilitate the revitalization of Germantown’s business corridors through a sustainable, creative, and community-driven approach to economic development. Founded in 2011, Germantown United CDC’s focus is to work with residents, businesses and community organizations to create an inspirational vision of Germantown’s business corridors and surrounding neighborhoods, create innovative case studies and sustainable business models to attract green-oriented developers, and recruit forward-thinking investors committed to fostering sustainable economic growth and development for all Germantown residents. Learn more at http://germantownunitedcdc.org.

Contact
Germantown United CDC
Andy Trackman, [email protected]
Emaleigh Doley, [email protected]
Office: 215.856.4303

###

Germantown United CDC featured in The Philadelphia Inquirer today

Parks can be a powerful tool to rescue struggling commercial areas. Pulitzer prize-winning writer Inga Saffron, architecture critic for The Philadelphia Inquirer, recently visited Germantown to tour the newly renovated Vernon Park, which fronts Germantown’s central business district. Read her take on the park’s comeback, neighborhood revitalization, and rising development in Germantown.

The article features Ruth Seeley, the president of the Friends of Vernon Park – the organization that courageously led the charge for the park renovations – alongside Germantown United CDC’s new Commercial Corridor Manager Emaleigh Doley, who discussed the challenges impacting efforts to improve the nearby shopping district.

This is an exciting time for Germantown. If you are energized about the neighborhood’s potential, consider joining one of the many civic groups – like Friends of Vernon Park, your local Registered Community Organization (RCO), or GU’s own volunteer committee – and get involved in moving Germantown forward!

read the full story in The Philadelphia Inquirer

read the full story

Germantown In the News: November + December 2015

Germantown is in the news! Germantown United CDC staff pick your must-reads of the month, with a focus on business, economic development, and neighborhood revitalization news.

Favorite quotes

“The ultimate objective is to present a better Germantown.” – Joe Martin, owner of Acclaim Academy

Screen-Shot-2015-10-05-at-1.04.42-AM-577x324 — Joe Martin discussing with fellow Germantown business owner. Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Neighborhoods.

“On the bright fall morning I visited, Vernon Park was performing according to plan. A half-dozen preschoolers dashed around the playground, their parents and caregivers taking in the sunshine. A couple strolled the paths hand-in-hand while a medical assistant walked briskly to do an errand…” – Inga Saffron, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Philadelphia-Inquirer-Inga-Saffron-2015.11.06 cropped — Read the full story in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“Painters and dancers are transforming our Germantown community in the most amazing way. Art is an equalizer. It levels the playing field.” – Jim Hamilton, Rittenhouse Soundworks

rittenhouse-soundworks — Rittenhouse Soundworks, a brand new 74’ x 62’ performance facility with exposed brick walls and a cathedral-style wooden ceiling in Germantown. Photo by Jim Albert/Full Frame Fotography via Chestnut Hill Local.

“Center City is important to Philadelphia’s health and it always will be, but we cannot ignore the commercial corridors that extend beyond that if we want to have a strong, growing small-business community, a meaningful increase in employment for Philadelphians of color, reduced crime, and a more strong and diversified economy for the long term.” – Mayor-elect Jim Kenney

Photo by Monique Brand. Read about Jim Kenney’s vision for neighborhood business districts in PlanPhilly.

Germantown In the News: October 2015

Germantown is in the news! Germantown United CDC staff pick your must-reads of the month.

Suggested reading:

‘Germantown Masjid’ immerses members into full islamic lifestyle by Samaria Bailey, The Philadelphia Tribune
“Imagine a route that followed the river to Germantown’s shopping district on Chelten Avenue.” Changing Skyline: Why Open Streets is not the apocalypse by Inga Saffron, The Philadelphia Inquirer
PCLB hears case against deli near Vernon Park neighbors say is a nuisance by Aaron Moselle, NewsWorks WHYY
PHA says Queen Lane Apartments on track for December opening by Alan Jaffe, NewsWorks WHYY
Mayoral candidate Jim Kenney is excited about Germantown! Kenney discussed the neighborhood’s potential at the Mayoral Debate on Oct. 19.

Crews pour concrete at Queen Lane Apartments. (Bastiaan Slabbers/for NewsWorks)

Seven Grassroots Community Improvement Projects Awarded “Fund for Germantown” Micro-grants by Germantown United CDC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Germantown, Philadelphia, PA (October 1, 2015): Germantown United CDC is proud to announce the next round of grantees for the Fund for Germantown, the organization’s micro-grant program supporting community-driven beautification projects in Northwest Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood.

Since the program launched, 17 micro-grants have been awarded, with funds supporting a wide range of projects from greening to murals, neighborhood bulletin boards, cleanups and other community-building activities.

Through generous seed-funding by local real estate developers Howard Treatman and Ken Weinstein, Germantown United CDC distributes small grants ranging from $100 to $1000 to local organizations, civic associations, businesses, and individuals seeking to beautify the Germantown neighborhood. The grant program is part of Germantown United CDC’s ongoing efforts to promote and facilitate the revitalization of Germantown’s business corridors through a sustainable, creative, and community-driven approach to economic development.

In October, the Germantown Artists Roundtable celebrated the installation of a new arts-focused community message board at the Chelten Avenue SEPTA station, located on Chelten Ave between Pulaski Ave and Morris St. The thematic board, created by the Artists Roundtable, is a Fund for Germantown project, supported by Germantown United CDC. Pictured: Emaleigh Doley, Commercial Corridor Manager, Germantown United CDC, and Paula Paul, Germantown Artists Roundtable.

The latest Fund for Germantown winning projects ideas are:

Artist and photographer Tieshka Smith will launch the Peaceful Places public signage project in Germantown’s storied Penn-Knox neighborhood, next to the Central Germantown business corridor
Fitler Academics Plus, a public elementary school in Germantown serving students in grades one through eight located at 140 W Seymour St (at Knox St) will paint ground murals and organized games in the school’s playground
West Central Germantown Neighbors civic association will enhance their community orchard and garden project at the Tulpehocken Train Station, a SEPTA Regional Rail station at 333 W Tulpehocken St (off Walnut Ln and Wayne Ave)
Support to sustain the ongoing streetscape beautification efforts of Men Who Care of Germantown around their headquarters at 180 East Tulpehocken St (at Morton St)
The Imperfect Gallery will install an interactive sidewalk mural outside of the gallery and community space at 5601 Greene St, adjacent to the Maplewood Mall pedestrian plaza and shopping corridor
Freedom Gardens, a project by Germantown resident Susan Guggenheim, will connect local gardeners who would like to share their crop free of charge with Germantown residents looking to improve their diets with home-grown produce; Freedom Gardens will be identified by lawn signs and online via Google Maps
Support to sustain Chew-Belfield Neighbors Club’s ongoing cleaning and beautification projects in East Germantown

“We are excited to support these small projects that have a big impact”, says funder Ken Weinstein. “These kinds of initiatives are exactly what we had in mind when we envisioned the Fund for Germantown”, said Howard Treatman. “It’s been great to see how Germantown United has been able to empower the community and leverage grassroots efforts.”

This is the third round of giving for the Fund for Germantown, which launched in the summer of 2014 and features two grant cycles per calendar year. The deadline for the next Fund for Germantown grant cycle is December 31, 2015. Funding guidelines may be found on Germantown United’s website at www.germantownunitedcdc.org. To request an application, email [email protected].

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