Members of the organization attend a ribbon cutting for Neshaminy Mall in 1968. TIMES FILE PHOTO
Northeast Philly has plenty to brag about.
They say Philadelphia is a city of neighborhoods, and the Northeast has some of the best.
A lot of local Catholics identify their neighborhoods by mentioning their beloved parishes and schools.
While some city charter schools come under fire for various reasons, the ones in the Northeast seem to be thriving.
Volunteers at local youth sports organizations keep kids busy all year round on football, soccer, baseball and softball fields and basketball courts.
We have lots of history, and great historians such as Pat Stopper, Rudy DeFinis and others to remind us of our past.
Then there’s summer block parties and the way we shovel snow off each other’s sidewalks and decorate our houses for Christmas and other holidays and hand out candy to kids on Halloween and keep our lawns tidy and streets free of debris.
But where would the Northeast be without its prospering businesses, both large and small?
“Businesses lay the framework for a strong neighborhood,” said Al Taubenberger, president of the Greater Northeast Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.
Besides that job, which he’s held since 1992, Taubenberger has served for the last 20 years or so as president of the Burholme Community Town Watch and Civic Association. Burholme is a better place, he said, because of the Town Watch, civic association and, yes, its businesses.
The Northeast Chamber membership consists of both large and small businesses. There are numerous breakfast meetings, business card exchanges and other functions throughout the year, highlighted perhaps by the annual Business Expo, set this year for May 6 at Holy Family University.
Taubenberger encourages members to seek advice.
“We have individual game plans for each of our members,” he said.
For instance, if a deli loses its power, its refrigerated goods are at risk. The Chamber has a pipeline to Ed McBride, one of its board members who is also county affairs manager for PECO Energy.
The Chamber, founded in 1922, also counts among its membership major employers such as Nazareth Hospital, Holy Family, Aria Health and the Whitman Square shopping center. All of them have grown, at least in part, due to Chamber support.
A direct beneficiary of Chamber support has been AgustaWestland, a helicopter design and manufacturing company headquartered in Italy and with a location at 3050 Red Lion Road. At one time, the local site had 50 employees and pretty much put the finishing touches on helicopters. Now, there are 600 employees who handle every aspect of the operation.
The growth began when Taubenberger set up a meeting between an Agusta executive and then-Pennsylvania House Speaker John Perzel. That meeting led to discussions with the administration of then-Gov. Ed Rendell, and today Agusta is thriving.
“We were very instrumental in Agusta’s expansion,” Taubenberger said.
There have been plenty of Northeast businesses that have stood the test of time. Friends Hospital has been caring for the mentally ill since 1813. Holmesburg Bakery has been selling cream doughnuts and other goodies since 1900. Henry of Mayfair has been on Frankford Avenue since 1939. Lloyd Sixsmith has been offering sporting goods for 60 years or so. International Coins has been in the Castor and Cottman area for a half-century.
And there’s no shortage of pizza parlors, sandwich shops, pharmacies, supermarkets, diners, convenience stores, bars and retail outlets of all kinds.
“It’s essential for a neighborhood to have a strong, vibrant business community,” Taubenberger said. ••
A Northeast cornerstone: The Northeast Chamber, founded in 1922, consists of both large and small businesses. The group holds an annual business expo, along with other networking events. TIMES FILE PHOTO
