Thirty-five volunteers donated more than 80 man-hours to beautify some Northeast Philly parkland on Aug. 24 during the monthly cleanup event organized by the Friends of Pennypack Park.
Folks removed 51 bags of debris, three bags of cans and an assortment of other objects from the natural environment. The effort was focused around the Holme Avenue ball field behind Nazareth Hospital, branching out toward the Rhawn Street bridge, behind the former Northeast Community Center, the bicycle path near the park’s Holme Avenue entrance, the traffic island in front of Nazareth Hospital and other nearby locations.
Volunteers included Gabriel, Olivia and Caitlin Nguyen; Gabriel Krutsinger; Katya Rebensky; Kate and Kathy Volack; George Scholl; Daniel and Tara Neal; Chris Krause; Nolan and Marc Harfeld; Tyler and Ken Hoffman; Edward Mahar; Karen Kaczorek; Roland Williams; Audrey Walmsley; Tom Binczewski; Betty Landolfi; Bruce and Louise Kopena; Jim Ryan; Nance Kerns; Bill Henderson; Kevin Sweetra; Joyce Ferrero; and Florence Brodman. Several of the volunteers represented Cub Scout Pack 252. On-duty employees of the city’s CLIP program, Parks and Recreation Department and Police Department also helped out.
Some of the assorted objects removed from the park were a milk crate, a broken folding table, a folding chair, a carpet remnant, a plastic garden turtle, part of a bird bath, a battery-powered wriggling ladybug, a disposable razor, two empty spray paint cans, an empty gallon paint can, a backpack full of empty beer cans, a pair of sneakers, underwear, a tennis ball, pingpong balls, golf balls, a baseball, car parts, a license plate with a 1959 registration sticker, six Pep Boys crates, a bag of dirt, about 135 copies of the Northeast Times in plastic bags, a restaurant menu, a broken barricade and a 24-foot-wide advertisement banner.
The next park cleanup will be on Saturday, Sept. 28, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. along Torresdale Avenue between Enfield Avenue and Rhawn Street. Volunteers should prepare to walk in mud along the creek and bike path in some places. They should wear comfortable walking shoes with closed toes and long pants. Organizers will supply gloves, tools, snacks and refreshments. Call 215–934–7275 for information in case of bad weather. ••
