Christmas Village presented By NRG Home returns to Love Park for the 2015 Holiday Season with new decorations, expanded seating and a preview


weekend By Haywood Brewster Staff Reporter


T


he Christmas Village in Philadelphia presented by NRG Home will again transform Philadelphia’s LOVE Park (15th and JFK Boulevard) into a traditional, open-air Ger- man Christmas Market, open daily between Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 26, 2015 and Sunday, December 27, 2015. For the fi rst time ever,


the market will open early for a special preview on Saturday, November 21 and Sunday, No- vember 22, 2015. Shop for high- quality, international and local gifts and decorations. Enjoy holiday sights and sounds with thousands of twinkling lights, the LOVE Park Christmas Tree, live music, children’s activities and photos with Santa Claus. Warm up with a glass of warm mulled wine or hot cocoa while enjoying European food and drink. Watch for new decora- tions, seating, vendors and tasty treats! Admission is free, with food, drink and shopping pay as you go. After breaking attendance


records last year with 600,000 visitors, Christmas Village in Philadelphia returns for the holiday season with some special new surprises for the City of Brotherly Love. The special preview weekend will mark the fi rst time ever that the market has opened before Thanksgiving. Other new ad- ditions include the beautiful original Herrnhut Stars (Mora- vian Stars) that will illuminate LOVE Park and the village’s wooden huts, a new food and wine garden behind Indepen- dence Visitor’s Center, Santa’s house moving to the middle of


continued on page 2 StandingTable, Credit Russ Brown Photography


Italian Market area business owners learn more about proposed Business Improvement


District (BID) By Nicole Contosta Staff Reporter


Robert Karchnyak contributed to this article


T NOVEMBER 18, 2015


he neighborhood surround- ing the South 9th


Street Italian


Market could become the city’s latest Business Improvement District (BID). Over fi fty neighborhood resi- dents gathered at Saint Maron Ma- ronite Church Hall to hear more about the BID pro- posal Thursday, November 12th


.


If enacted, the BID would en- compass 421 diff erent properties in an area roughly bounded by Fed- eral to Fitzwater Streets along 8th 9th


, , and 10th Streets.


“I know there have been a lot of questions,” explained Thomas Gilbertson, the BID’s outside consultant. “We want everyone


continued on page 4 University City Review


Philadelphia Free Press


South Philly residents don’t object to height of mixed-used project at 9th


and Washington but express concerns on


parking garage and traffi c S


By Nicole Contosta Staff Reporter


ber 10th


outh Philly residents packed the Saint Maron Maronite Church Hall Tuesday, Novem- . That’s when the Passyunk


Square Civic Association (PSCA) held its monthly zoning meeting. And the redevelopment pro- posal at 9th


and Washington Ave,


which calls for a zoning overlay from Councilman Mark Squilla, was on the agenda.


Midwood Investment and De- velopment owns both the Anastasi Seafood as well as the vacant lot to its left along 9th


Street. It plans to


raze Anastasi Seafood to construct a mixed-use facility there and its adjoining vacant lot. The fi nished project would include 18,000 sq. feet of retail on the fi rst fl oor along both Washington Avenue and 9th Street. It would also include four stories of studio, one and two bed- room apartments as well as two


underground fl oors of 150 parking spaces. Representatives from Midwood Investment and Development were on hand to answer questions. Attorney Peter Kelso presented the plan to the community. “An ordinance has been intro- duced to city council to change the zoning from CMX2 to CMX3,” explained Kelso. “City council scheduled a hearing for the bill. It got a little ahead of us. So I told Squilla to wait because we made a promise that we would meet with the community again.” If approved by city council, the community will have another chance to participate in Civic De- sign Review before Midwood can receive its building permits, Kelso noted.


Regarding the building’s facade,


“We’re trying to match what is already here, the historic fabric of the neighborhood,” Kelso said, ex- plaining this includes, “the mason-


As part of its long- term strategic plan, SEAMAAC has envi- sioned opening “Service Hubs” to off er direct services in a commu- nity center setti ng, and build strong and trust- ing relati onships with communiti es.


@UCReview1


NEW SEAMAAC OFFICE @PhilaFreePress


PAGE 4 NOTES ON MUSIC


Thanksgiving is only a few days away and it would be a very barren occasion for thousands of Philadelphians with life-threatening illnesses if it weren’t for MANNA’s annual Pie in the Sky promo- ti on. This is the chance to buy a choice of fi ve diff erent kinds of homemade pies for a moderate price and each pie sold provides a holiday meal for four deserving.


PAGE 6 FRINGE ARTS FEST: "HOME"


Rendering of the fi rst fl oor for the 5-story mixed-use property at Washington Ave & 9th Photo: courtesy of Midwood Investment and Development


ry, metals and glazing. It will look like a building that would have been constructed way back then. But it’s modern and effi cient.” The project’s design, which bounds Darien Street to the East, also pays tribute to its small scale. “We’re proposing to build three stories of trinity homes on Darien


Streets.


Street. They will run the length of the street,” Kelso continued, explaining, “the homes will be for sale; the apartments rental.” The two levels of underground parking addresses “the dramatic need for parking in the area,” Kelso said, explaining, the major-


continued on page 2


Does home represent a specifi c memory or a parti cular locati on? How does the con- cept of home change for immigrants trying to preserve their cul- tures while assimilat- ing into a new one?


PAGE 8


CRIME/POLITICS ........................3 ALMANAC ...............................10 CLASSIFIEDS............................11


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