The East Torresdale Civic Association met four days after the first fireworks festival at Pleasant Hill Park.
Overall, the neighbors seemed pleased, though there were negatives.
Complaints included portable toilets not removed for days, some trash on the ground, a man urinating in bushes, drivers parking on residential properties and the fireworks display being too short.
Ryan Keller, a member of the new nonprofit One River Alliance, explained that SureShade largely funded the festival, which included a live band, moonbounces and food trucks. Other sponsors were Philadelphia Federal Credit Union and a few small businesses. There were 17 police officers and 10 security guards on site.
Keller estimated the festival attracted 5,000 people. Some people believe East Torresdale is too small to accommodate that many people, contending that it should have been held at Pennypack on the Delaware, near Rhawn Street.
Keller, though, said the city would not have approved a permit for Pennypack on the Delaware because of a parking issue.
In general, people said there was a nice mix of food trucks and the festival was a positive.
“Everybody enjoyed it at Delaire Landing,” Adelaide Martin said.
Another woman argued a local fireworks show beats heading to Center City, saying, “It was so exciting. Finally, in Northeast Philadelphia, we are celebrating something.”
In other news from the meeting, attorney Shawn Ward represented a developer looking to complete a new home at 4014-16 Primrose Road (near Ditman Street).
Ward explained that his client needed a variance for a two-story addition to the home. The proposed side yard width is 10 feet, while the code requires 15 feet. The project has been ongoing for four years, bogged down by a purchaser backing out and a change in zoning.
Ward was asked to step out of the room as the neighbors discussed the plan. They were eager for the eyesore property to be finished, but expressed a mistrust of the developer and noted that there were no signatures of support from nearby neighbors. Also, there were no specific plans presented and complaints of water runoff.
Members invited Ward back into the room to give him the bad news that they voted 26-0 against granting the variance. The Zoning Board of Adjustment hearing is set for July 17.
The East Torresdale Civic Association will next meet on Monday, Aug. 12, at 7 p.m. at Liberty Evangelical Free Church, 5125 Linden Ave. ••
