New hours for the Fumo Family Library

Due to budget restraints, our local Fumo Family Library at 2437 S. Broad Street will now be operating on a reduced schedule:

Monday and Friday – 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Tuesday and Wednesday – 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Thursday, Saturday, Sunday – CLOSED

Our nearby Donatucci Branch (1935 Shunk Street) will be operating on the following  schedule:

Monday and Sunday – CLOSED
Tuesday and Wednesday – 12 pm – 8 pm
Thursday and Friday* – 10 am – 5 pm (Friday hours may be subject to change)
Saturday – 10 am – 5 pm

LoMo Holiday Party – December 17 – Adobe Cafe

Join us as we celebrate the holidays with $1 off drink specials and good eats (including many vegetarian options) at the Adobe Cafe (1919 E. Passyunk Avenue)! Bring a canned good for donation to our local St. Vincent de Paul food cupboard and be entered to win some great prizes. Kids are welcome! Special guest Councilman Frank DiCicco will also be joining us, and so will Santa from 6:45-7:15pm. Don’t miss the fun!

And if all goes as planned, we’ll be announcing the winners of LoMo’s First Annual Holiday Decorating Contest during the party. Don’t forget – the deadline for entries is Monday, December 7. You can download the official entry form and check the complete list of prizes (including a $100 gift certificate to ShopRite!) right here on our website.

Enter LoMo’s First Annual Holiday Decorating Contest!

DECK THE HALLS & WIN BIG !!!
Deadline for entries: December 7
Participation in LoMo’s First Annual Holiday Decorating Contest is open to all residents and small business owners within our boundaries – Broad to Eighth Streets and Snyder to Oregon Avenues. Only the front of the property visible from the street/sidewalk will be judged. A panel of judges will evaluate each decorated property based on the following criteria: Theme & Creativity, Originality, Lighting, and Full use of space. Three top winners will be announced on December 21. Each will be presented with a certificate of honor and will have their pick of prizes, which so far include:

A year of wellness with Debra Mazda of ShapelyGirl Fitness
A $100 ShopRite gift card
A lovely tray of holiday cookies from Cosmi’s Pastries
A massage or facial at All About You Day Spa
12 weeks of free home composting service courtesy of Bennett Compost

To enter, download the official registration form or send your name, address, phone number, and email address to lomophilly@gmail.com by 5 PM, Monday, December 7. Please also indicate whether or not we have permission to publish a photograph of your entry. On the night of judging, participants must present the judges with an “entry fee” of either 2 canned goods which will be donated to a local food cupboard or a $5 donation to support LoMo programs & events.

Fall Tree Planting Results

Over 100 volunteers took part in LoMo’s fall tree planting on Saturday, November 21, including many students from Temple University and the SEPC Youth Leadership Council. Many thanks to everyone who came out and lent a hand! This was our biggest planting yet with 20 new trees introduced to the neighborhood. We joined up with other South Philly civics for a combined tree planting this year which meant that our greening efforts were amplified; Over 150 trees were planted throughout South Philly on the day of the event! The trees were made available to property owners free of charge thanks to the state-sponsored TreeVitalize program – an estimated value of $500! (The next open call for TreeVitalize applications will be announced in a few months.)

Special thanks to ShopRite, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Starbucks, Hot Bagels for supplying food & refreshments for our hard-working volunteers and the Adobe Cafe on Passyunk Avenue also hosted a great after-party. Boy Scout Troop 147 was also on hand in the morning to collect canned goods for their Thanksgiving Food Drive. 

As of our fall planting, LoMo has introduced a grand total of 53 trees to the neighborhood! With the number of trees in our neighborhood growing, LoMo is actively trying to recruit folks to join the ranks of its Tree Tenders group, which is composed of people who are dedicated to caring for our neighborhood’s trees. These folks have completed the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Tree Tenders training course. This free & fun educational series will teach you all you need to know to plant, care, and maintain trees in the urban environment. The next course is coming up in January and will take place over two Saturdays – You can register online here or by calling 215-988-8844. Be sure to tell them that you are a member of the Lower Moyamensing Civic Association’s Tree Tenders group!

A fun Street Furniture Survey?

No, we’re not talking about that kind of street furniture.

 

 

 We’re talking about this kind of street furniture.

By the end of the year the City will issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) to provide, maintain and sell advertising for bus shelters in Philadelphia. The RFP will also invite proposals for additional pieces of street furniture. Street furniture is the collective term referring to objects and pieces of equipment installed on streets and sidewalks that are intended for public use. Transit/bus shelters and newspaper boxes are examples of street furniture currently in use in Philadelphia.

Give the City your two cents and let them know what types of street furniture you would and wouldn’t like to see on our streets. Your opinion counts! Click here to take the quick & actually pretty fun survey, the results of which will be taken into consideration by the Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities.

Philly Fall Leaf Drive

From November 9-December 18, the City of Philadelphia will be accepting leaves along with other recyclables as part of a citywide effort to compost these natural resources!  You can set out your leaves with your other recyclables on your regular trash night but be sure to put your leaves in brown paper leaf bags, which are available at most home improvement stores. LoMo also has a limited quantity of paper lawn bags for residents – Email lomophilly@gmail.com to request some. Please note: Leaves in plastic bags will NOT be collected. You may use as many bags as necessary, up to 40 lbs. each. Be sure not to mix trash or other recyclables with the leaves, as these materials will not turn into compost.

The City will be making the compost available to residents at the Fairmount Park Recycling Center, which is located at 3850 Ford Road. In addition to compost, the other materials available for pick up/purchase at the Fairmount Park Recycling Center are wood chips, shredded wood mulch and herbivore manure. Up to 30 gallons are available free of charge but for additional amounts, click here for rates and hours of availability. Throughout the rest of the year, residents are invited to bring leaves, grass clippings, wood chips, brush and herbivore manure to support the City’s composting & recycling efforts.

SEPTA to issue refunds for unused passes during strike

SEPTA is offering credits for unused/un-punched November 2009 Monthly TransPasses and weekly TransPasses valid during the week of November 2, 2009. Customers can receive the credit at any sales location, preferably from the location where the pass was originally purchased. Customers receiving passes through Employer Programs or through Pre-Tax mechanisms, should visit SEPTA’s website or call 215-580-7800 for further instructions on how to obtain a refund.

Giving thanks and looking ahead

At  our last general meeting of the year on November 4, we were joined by some very special guests – Senator Farnese and his aid, Bob Theil, as well as Tim Bennett of Bennett Composting. At the end of the meeting, we had a chance to think back on all the good things that happened in the neighborhood in 2009 and also to share our hopes for 2010. Here were some of the responses:

“We were thankful for the Mischief Night Party… We’re new to the neighborhood and this gave us the opportunity to meet some great people. We are also thankful for our new tree, coming November 21! We hope to make new friends and get involved in the civic association [in 2010].“

“I was thankful for the opportunity to meet the Mayor during our Philly Spring Cleanup event in April 2009.”

“Late on Mischief Night, a car drove up next door and I heard eggs being thrown. By the time I got to the door, three other neighbors were outside their doors, too. The car sped off. A safe neighborhood is not one where nothing happens, but one that when something happens, people are there to respond. [In 2010], I’d love to see less trash, people not throwing trash (dog poop bags) down the sewer.”

“[In 2010, I'd like to see] more composting!”

“[I am thankful for] the increasing number of new young neighbors who are really involved in improving the neighborhood, enthusiastic, and fun! Welcome! [In 2010, I'd like to see] more trees, less litter; more planters, fewer drugs; more flowers, less poop; more safety, less crime; more collaboration, less graffiti.”

What in the neighborhood would you like to give thanks for in 2009? What are your hopes for the neighborhood for 2010? Please feel free to share your thoughts below!

Report Graffiti Online. Get Results.

The City of Philadelphia has a great Anti-Graffiti Network that responds promptly to requests they receive to remove graffiti.

• Did you know that you don’t have to be the property owner of a graffitied property in order to request that it be removed?
• Did you know that you can report graffiti online, completely anonymously, and that it can be removed in just a few days?

Take down all of the important details regarding the graffiti: Address of the graffitied property, type of surface it is on (brick, concrete, street sign, wood, etc.), what color paint the surface is (if applicable). Then visit www.phila.gov/antigraffiti/removalform.html and provide the info requested. 

Thanks for helping to keep our neighborhood graffiti-free!

Check out the Neighborhood Safety section of our website for more helpful links to report abandoned vehicles, sanitation violations, etc.

Please Take a Moment for Fire Prevention

In light of the recent tragedy on the 2400 block of S. Warnock Street, LoMo is urging all residents to take a moment and test the batteries in your home’s smoke detectors. If you don’t currently have one installed or are in need of a new set of batteries, don’t delay! Purchase them today! Anyone who does not have a smoke alarm and cannot afford one should call the SMOKE DETECTOR REQUEST LINE at 215-686-1382.
 
The Fire Department also offers a “Remembering When” fire and fall prevention training program for senior citizens located at local senior centers and or churches. For more information contact the Philadelphia Fire Prevention Division at 215-686-1382. Be a good neighbor – Take a moment to ask your elderly neighbors if they are in need of a smoke detector. It could save a life.

We will be joined at our next general meeting on Wednesday, October 7, by Capt. Mike Goodwin of local Engine 49 who will give a brief presentation on fire safety and answer any questions on the topic. All are welcome to attend. We commend local Engine 49 for their valiant efforts.

We also would like to take this opportunity to thank Councilman Frank DiCicco who, along with Councilwoman Anna Verna, helped to prevent the shutdown of late-night medic hours of our local Medic 11, housed at Engine 49.

Residents can obtain additional fire safety and education information at www.phila.gov/fire.