There will be fireworks in Lawncrest again this year.
Mark Mroz, community relations officer in the 2nd Police District, announced the fireworks will take place on Saturday, July 6, at dusk at Lawncrest Recreation Center, at Rising Sun Avenue and Comly Street.
Mroz, joined by Capt. Scott DiDonato, commander of the 2nd district, spoke at the Lawncrest Community Association meeting. LCA members are hoping to expand the celebration next year to what it was in past years, with a day full of activities on July 4.
The 2nd district has been dealing with illegal car washes, recently teaming with the city Department of Licenses and Inspections to confiscate $20,000 in equipment from operators of four car washes. Warnings and fines are issued before the car washes are shut down.
The district has also been handling shopping carts taken from store parking lots and homeless people gathering near Rhawn Street and Roosevelt Boulevard. If the homeless leave their belongings, the stuff is thrown out.
In other news from the June 20 meeting:
• City Controller Christy Brady addressed the group. Brady, a Fox Chase resident, spoke of her office’s recent investigation of how the Department of Licenses and Inspections handles imminently dangerous and unsafe properties. The investigation determined that L&I is understaffed. The average residential demolition costs upward of $30,000, but the investigation found the city recovers only about 3% of that cost, leaving taxpayers to cover the millions of dollars spent handling dangerous properties.
• Northeast elected officials and the Greater Northeast Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce will present a government open house on Wednesday, July 10, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Cannstatter’s, 9130 Academy Road. There will be light refreshments.
• The 2nd and 7th police districts will hold a community bike ride on Tuesday, Aug. 6, at 5 p.m., beginning outside Fox Chase Elementary School, 500 Rhawn St. Participants will be entered into a drawing for a new bike. National Night Out will follow at 6 p.m.
• The Lawncrest Recreation Center swimming pool is scheduled to open on July 1.
• A moment of silence was held in memory of Phil Grutzmacher, a resident of the Philadelphia Protestant Home who died on May 30 at age 105.
• Lawncrest Community Association will meet on Thursday, July 18, at 6:30 p.m. at St. William’s Monsignor James E. Mortimer Memorial Hall, Argyle and Robbins streets. The guest speaker will be Justin DiBerardinis, new executive director of the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership. ••
