Hey Christopher - 

Here's a look at what's happening around the neighborhood this month, including upcoming community meetings, zoning updates, Music in the Park, SEPTA route changes, and information on the Rain Check program.

📅 Upcoming Meetings & Events

🛡️ Safety Committee — Wed, Aug 12 • 7:00 PM • Fishtown Rec Center
Topics for this month's meeting include vehicle break-ins and sidewalk e-bikes

🎵 Music in the Park
Friday Aug 21 (Every 3rd Friday May to Sep) • 6:00 PM • Konrad Square Park

Join us at Konrad Square Park every 3rd Friday at 6 PM starting in May for a great night of live music. Bring a chair or blanket and come hang with neighbors. Here are the remaining performers:
Aug 21st- - Greg Stuart
Sep 18th - Raymond Charles

🌳 Beautification Committee — Thu, Aug 27 • 6:30 PM • Rose Garden
Working together to create a cleaner, greener, and more beautiful Fishtown.

🏗️ Zoning News & Outcomes

Stay up to date on recent zoning activity and upcoming cases in our neighborhood.

📅Upcoming Zoning Events

📍 Tue, Aug 11th • 6:30 PM • Zoom
Special exception to operate water-ice / ice cream-desserts take out business at 223 E. Girard Ave

Register to Attend

📍 Tue, Sep 1st • 6:30 PM • Zoom
Zoning webinar for 1864-66 Frankford.
Register to Attend

Always check our Zoning Committee Calendar for future meetings!

💧Rain Check Program

The Rain Check Program, which offers free rain barrels to Philly residents, just opened up their workshops! Attend a workshop to get a rain barrel, or learn about the other stormwater management stuff they can offer for your house.

Sign up here

Why would you want a rain barrel? Rain barrels collect rain water, which helps slow the flow of stormwater into our rivers. When our old sewer systems get hit with a ton of rain all at once (like in these summer storms), it overloads the system. That excess stormwater (mixed with sewage, yuck), overflows from the sewer system and directly into the river. Every additional rain barrel stops a barrel's volume of nasty water from overflowing into the river.

Bonus? You can use that rainwater to water your plants.
Put the fish back into Fishtown by protecting their habitat

🚍 SEPTA Route 25 Presentation Brings Large Crowd

Beginning on August 23, the SEPTA Route 25 bus will no longer use Cedar, Memphis, Norris, and Palmer Streets through Fishtown and parts of Olde Richmond, and will instead use York Street and Frankford Avenue. The 25 bus will also no longer extend further than Spring Garden Street, with the 76 bus connecting to shopping centers on Columbus Boulevard. Finally, the 89 bus will be eliminated. 

FNA noticed that while the changes may make the route more efficient, the majority of riders negatively impacted by the change were Fishtowners. The most affected area was also the part of the neighborhood with the highest concentration of seniors. 

FNA invited SEPTA to present the change at a community meeting on July 27 at Holy Name. Councilmembers Mark Squilla and Dr. Nina Ahmad also attended and Fox 29 covered the meeting. 

Many residents were unhappy with the change and also upset that SEPTA had implemented this change with little community input. 

FNA has asked SEPTA to reevaluate the change in approximately 6-12 months. 

The new route is shown [below] in blue; the old route in red: 

✨ Thanks for being part of our amazing community!

Fishtown Neighbors Association