Community Network Member: New Kensington CDC

New Kensington Community Development Corporation (NKCDC) is a multi-faceted community development corporation servicing the Fishtown, East Kensington, and lower Port Richmond neighborhoods in Philadelphia.

As a multi-faceted community development corporation, NKCDC has been working since 1985 to produce jobs for our residents and growth opportunities for our businesses, provide housing choices for working families, preserve and maintain playgrounds and green spaces for residents to enjoy, and to develop a community-driven plan for the Delaware waterfront. NKCDC looks forward to working across mayoral administrations to continue achieving these goals.

New Kensington CDC is proud to be a member of The Next Mayor Community Network.

NK CDC's Questions for the candidates:

It is generally agreed that

• Philadelphia’s Planning Commission has too few resources and too little power to provide the city with anything approaching the full benefits of good long-term planning;
• The city’s zoning code is antiquated and results in far too many matters going before the Zoning Board of Adjustment; and
• The Department of Licenses and Inspections confronts a substantial gap between its capacity and the need for its services.  This has resulted in areas of the city where community groups with few resources act as ad hoc land-use planners, architects, and monitors of plan implementation and code enforcement and other areas where these essential functions are barely addressed.

What are your proposals for addressing this situation?

What will you do as mayor to strengthen L&I’s enforcement capacity?  What will you do to make it possible for a complaining party to learn what L&I actually does in response to a complaint?

What will you do as mayor to maintain and increase the cleaning and maintenance of Philadelphia’s vacant lots?  To decrease the number of abandoned homes?

What will you do as mayor to narrow the gap between the need for affordable housing and its production?

What will you do as mayor to reform the financing of city political campaigns?

What will you do as mayor to increase the power of the Planning Commission to plan and control physical development of the city?  Conversely, what will you to decrease the power of the political class to make and benefit from development decisions?

What will you do to increase sewer capacity and decrease flooding? 

What will you do as mayor to either open playgrounds closed (abandoned) by the Recreation Department or sell off these properties so that they are not magnets for undesirable activities (for example, sale and use of illegal drugs)?

What will you do as mayor to reduce asthma due to soot from trucks and buses?

What will you do as mayor to expand recycling?

What will you do as mayor to combat global warming?    

Programs/Initiatives/Services provides by NK CDC for the community:

The Economic Development program seeks to further local business development in order to create jobs and community wealth.

The Real Estate Development program brings life to abandoned buildings and creates affordable housing opportunities.

The Community Organizing program works with a Neighborhood Advisory Committee, the Zoning Committee, and the East Kensington Neighbor's Association to help residents voice concerns to city & state government and facilitates community meetings to provide information and address problems.

The Land Use Management program works to stabilize vacant land through the creation of clean and green open spaces, volunteer greening projects and tree plantings, a community garden center and the maintenance of some of the over 1100 vacant lots.

The Housing Counseling Department expands homeownership opportunities and facilitates assistance for low- and moderate-income families. Current concerns being addressed are foreclosure, financial literacy and increasing tax and energy costs.

Events

April 24, 2007

NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS TO HOST COUNCIL-AT-LARGE CANDIDATES FORUM

Hancock Saint John's Church, located at 1217 N. Hancock Street.

This forum, which is being co-sponsored by the Kensington South Neighborhood Advisory Council, New Kensington NAC, Olde Kensington Neighbors Association, and West Poplar NAC, will begin promptly at 6 p.m.
 
This event will feature a question and answer session where candidates are asked about their positions on topics that effect neighbors the most. The coalition of sponsoring NACs represents a broad range of neighborhoods in the vicinity, including Kensington, Port Richmond, Fishtown, West Poplar, North Philadelphia, and Northern Liberties.
 
Hancock Saint John's Church is located just off Girard, between Front and Second Sts., and is easily accessible from the Market-Frankford Girard subway station.

Check out the New Kensington CDC website for information about a number of exciting and interesting events and special programs.

Additional Information

New Kensington Property List

A comprehensive listing of commercial properties for rent and for sale in the NK-CDC service area.