Fairmount Civic Association

FCA and FESPP are joining forces to bring the neighborhood three “Neighbors Nights” this summer and autumn! The dates are:

July 24
August 28
September 25

We look forward to seeing you there!

Our June community meeting will be this Thursday, June 26th at the City School 860 N 24th Street. 7:00 pm for refreshments and our meeting will begin at 7:30 pm.

Our guest speaker will be Nick Anderson from The Parkway Council. He will be giving an update on the plans for the BF Parkway to improve traffic flow and pedestrian access as well as other Parkway plans and events.

No zoning matters this month, but will discuss potential zoning changes for the 5th district in the current budget bill.

We are working on finalizing dates for the summer social and other summer events including a new Neighbors Night!

Flowering Fronts of Fairmount 2025

ENTRY DEADLINE 6/30!

The Flowering Fronts of Fairmount is back for 2025. This is a free friendly competition that encourages neighbors to beautify their homes and sidewalks for the summer. The only requirements are that you live in the FCA boundaries and do not use professional gardeners. Let’s be real there are some extremely green thumbs in Fairmount that we want to appreciate. Entry is open from now until June 30th at the link below and judging will be in early July. 

Link for Entry Form

We have several categories depending on the size of your front:

• Windowbox(es)
• Small
• Medium 
• Large

We will announce and host the winners at the 2025 summer social.

The Oval 2025

The Oval is back for 2025 and running extended dates this year from June 18 – September 14. It will be closed from June 30 until July 6 for the Welcome America July 4th Celebration.

You can find more info and a calendar of events on their website Parkway to Park Festival The best place to find updates is their Instagram account @theovalphl.

Park to Broad Sidewalk Socials

Park to Broad will be hosting their first sidewalk social on June 25th from 6-8 PM at 27th and Girard Ave. with music, food, vendors and local businesses. 

Be sure to check their Instagram page @parktobroad in case the event needs to be rescheduled due to heat.

Additional dates for the sidewalk social are 7/16, 8/20 and 9/17 with exact locations TBD.

Bache Martin School Street Pilot Project

During the week of June 2 – June 5 22nd street between Brown and Parrish was closed to general traffic during drop-off and pick-up times (8-9am / 2:30-3:30) for a school street pilot program. This was the first pilot for the school street held in Philadelphia. 

If you have any general feedback on the pilot program, please reach out.

From my personal experience at the Kindergarten corner it was a success and I think the organizers and school learned a lot from going through the process. We look forward to seeing the information they’ve collected.

Francisville Pool Now Open

The Francisville Pool at the Francisville Rec Center 1737 Francis Street is now open. 

Pool Schedule is below, but subject to change due to staffing issues.

FIFA Fanfest at Lemon Hill  – Summer 2026

Two board members attended a meeting on 4/29/2025 hosted by PHL Soccer to receive an update on the FIFA Fanfest during the World Cup 2026. Our next scheduled update is August 2025.

The Fanfest event will run from 6/11/2026 – 8/20/2025 which is free and open to everyone.

No parking for attendees or employees is planned at this time. Parking restriction will be in place for the neighborhood but exact details and radius is still TBD.

Many improvements to Lemon Hill are planned including a new playground, restoration of the outlook, and ADA crosswalks and sidewalks are planned for Sedgley and Poplar Dr. The pavilion and concrete slab at the top of Lemon Hill will be demolished.

More details to come!

You can reach out with suggestions, questions, or concerns by responding to this email or at board@fairmountcivicassociation.org

City Announces Road Closures, Parking Restrictions and Other Details for “No Kings Protest” on Saturday, June 14, 2025

PHILADELPHIA – Today, the City announced road closures and parking restrictions for the “No Kings Protest”, a march and rally organized by Indivisible Philadelphia, taking place on Saturday, June 14, 2025. The march is scheduled to start between 12:00 p.m. and 12:30 p.m.  Assembly for the march is expected to take place as early as 10:00 a.m. at Love Park (JFK Plaza), on 16^th Street from John F. Kennedy Boulevard to Cherry Street, on 1600-1700 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, and on 1500-1600 Arch Street.  At 12:30 p.m. the march will proceed westbound on Benjamin Franklin Parkway to the rally location at Eakins Oval and the Philadelphia Museum of Art East Apron.  The rally is scheduled from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. 

Based on expected crowd size, closures of adjacent and proximal roadways may be implemented to ensure public safety. 

Significant traffic delays can be expected during the course of this event. Motorists are advised to avoid the area by using alternate routes and public transportation options including the Market-Frankford Line, Broad Street Line and Regional Rail. 

Road closures, parking restrictions, and additional details can be found below.

Road Closures

The following streets will be closed for setup starting at approximately 3:00 a.m. until approximately 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 14:

The following streets will be closed for march assembly starting at approximately 10:00 a.m. until approximately 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 14:

• 1500-1600 Arch Street
• 16^th Street from John F. Kennedy Boulevard to Cherry Street
• 1600-1700 Benjamin Franklin Parkway

The following streets will be closed for the scheduled march starting at approximately 11:30 a.m. until approximately 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 14:

• Benjamin Franklin Parkway (all lanes) from 18^th Street to Eakins Oval
  • Includes closures of cross streets

The following streets will be closed for the rally starting at approximately 11:30 a.m. until approximately 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 14:

• 2200-2300 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
  • Includes closures of cross streets
• Spring Garden Street from Pennsylvania Avenue to Benjamin Franklin Parkway
• 23^rd Street from Pennsylvania Avenue to Benjamin Franklin Parkway
• Kelly Drive (both directions) from Eakins Oval to Sedgley Drive
• Spring Garden Street Bridge (inbound)

Additional road closures may be implemented based on conditions and public safety considerations.

Road closures will be lifted as streets are cleared of pedestrians and serviced.

Parking Restrictions

Motorists should take notice and must adhere to posted “Temporary No Stopping/Parking” signs. Vehicles parked in these locations during posted hours will be relocated. If you believe your car has been relocated, call the police district of the area where your car was parked.

Public Transportation

SEPTA bus routes will be detoured from their normal routes through the Center City area beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 14 through approximately 4:00 p.m. Detours will be posted, and specific route changes are available on the System Status Page at www.septa.org and @SEPTA on X.

Public Safety Information

Attendees should never leave bags or other items unattended. In the event of an emergency or to report a suspicious person, activity, or item (backpack, package, container, etc.), notify a police officer immediately or call 9-1-1. Do not try to open, move, cover or touch a suspicious item.

In addition, the public should expect congestion in the area. If you are attending the event, make a plan regarding driving, public transit, parking, and supervision of children. It is recommended that attendees wear comfortable, weather-appropriate attire.

For tips and general information about being prepared and ready at special events, read the Special Event Safety Guide before you attend.

Public Safety Alerts 

Sign up for free ReadyPhiladelphia text alerts from the City to get updates on traffic and transit along with public safety updates. Text ReadyPhila (one word, no space) to 888-777.

Follow the Office of Emergency Management @philaoem and Philadelphia Police @phillypolice on X for updates. 

Hello Neighbors!

Our February community meeting of the year will be next Thursday, February 27th at the City School 7:00 PM Refreshments 7:30 start time.

For our February meeting we will be having our second annual potluck. You can see what people have signed up to bring already at the link below. If you would like to bring something, you can reply to this email if you want to be added to the list or just bring it with you to the meeting.

FCA 2025 Potluck Sign Up List

We will have a zoning presentation for 2932 W Girard Ave., for a duplex at the property which is zoned RSA-5 Single Family. 

900 W College Ave – Liquor License – UPDATE

Our state representative Keith Harris and his Chief of Staff Charlotte Brown provided an update. They had been in contact with the PLCB about the liquor license and had been given information that the paperwork for the license was not completely in order and was likely DOA due to those issue. Rep. Harris also was committed to helping should any future issues arise.

FCDC Events

Patrick Sherlock presented at our January meeting and shared some new events for 2025.

The Fairmount Arts Crawl will be Sunday April 27 and the Girard Ave Street Festival will be either the second or third Saturday in May.

You can follow their events or sign up for their email list at www.fairmountcdc.org.

2100 W. Girard Updates 

You can email (2100-girard@fairmountcivicassociation.org) with any pictures / tips / issues you have related to the facility and we will contact administration directly for remediation. This has been successful recently so please don’t hesitate to send a message there if you are having issues with the facility or its residents.

I provided this update at the January meeting and am rehashing here for those not in attendance.

Total capacity and current residents as of January 2025.

1st Floor – No residents Healthcare Services

2nd Floor – Code Blue Homeless Shelter 70/100 bed filled

3rd / 4th Floor – Long term beds for homeless with needs for handicapped accessible rooms 130/130 beds filled

5th / 6th Floor – Philly Home at Girard 162/182 beds filled

As of January there are 362 / 412 bed filled and no additional capacity is planned at this time. There is no plan to transition the code blue facility to a full time facility.

Two of our board members are serving on a community relations group that meets regularly with the facility directors. Other members of the group are close neighbors, representatives from schools and churches near the facility.

We do not have an update on the lease which expires in 2026, but will continue to monitor.

If you witness a crime or there is a medical emergency please call 911 and describe what you are witnessing. It is important to describe the behavior that you witness and not whether the person is homeless or not. If you encounter trash or drug paraphernalia use 311 to report.

As always, feel free to reach out with suggestions, questions, or concerns!