Abandoned properties and questionable property uses dominated discussions during the Oct. 21 meeting of the Northwood Civic Association’s members.
Joe Krause, the association’s president, said he has noticed signs for “luxury rooms for rent” on a home on the 5000 block of Oxford Avenue.
He said he used the city’s 311 system to report the property, and “they don’t have a license to rent rooms.” If the owner gets cited for being unlicensed, he’d probably get a license, Krause said, which means neighbors would have to go to court to show the owner violated the Burk deed restriction, which prohibits rentals and commercial uses in Northwood.
The neighbors are the people who have to fight it, Krause said, but added that the surrounding properties are trash-strewn, so their owners’ involvement is unlikely.
“If people don’t take care of their properties,” he said, “they aren’t going to care if someone is renting rooms.”
“We get a lot of questions about houses,” said state Rep. John Taylor. “People want to know if they’re being used the right way.”
Taylor said he and his staff hear those questions at their regular Thursday evening sessions at Simpson Playground, 1010 Arrott St.
The representative said he has a three-page description of the Burk deed restriction, which he said makes Northwood unique. “This neighborhood is what it is because most properties are used for single-family homes,” he said.
“We have been able to keep out commercial properties,” he said, but added, “We see a lot of people without renter’s licenses.”
On Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m., the Frankford Historical Society, 1507 Orthodox St., will host a program about deed restrictions.
Abandoned homes are a big issue in every neighborhood, Krause said. They bring down surrounding property values. Some good news, Krause added, is there are some owners in Northwood who are fixing up neighborhood houses and selling them, and, he said, they’re doing it correctly.
“These are the kinds of guys you want in the neighborhood,” Krause said.
In other business:
• “Anybody want to live inside truck parking lots?” asked Tom McAvoy, the association’s vice president. Illegal truck parking remains an ongoing problem, he said. Residents who see those large rigs parked on their streets should report them to 911. “We’re going to have to constantly keep after them,” he said. “We have a whole bunch of independent truckers in the neighborhood. … I’m glad they have jobs, but I wish they would park somewhere else besides our streets.”
• McAvoy also said it appears somebody is using Northwood streets as a used car lot. “This guy scatters his cars throughout the neighborhood,” he said, “and then takes [buyers] to the cars.”
• Keisha Jacobs, the 15th District’s community relations officer, introduced herself and gave out her contact number, 215–685–8698.
• Krause said more Northwood residents are attending Police Service Area 1 monthly meetings at Aria Health’s Frankford Campus, 4900 Frankford Ave. Neighbors can bring crime concerns to PSA sessions and talk directly to the police who patrol their district. PSA 1, which covers the bottom third of the 15th District, which includes Frankford and Northwood, will meet next at 7 p.m. on Oct. 30.
• Taylor said his Thursday sessions at Simpson Playground begin at 5:30 p.m. and run to 7 p.m. ••
