If You Pave It: Multiple projects still up the road for Harrisburg.

June 20, 2017 | by Lawrance Binda

Warn, patched pavement is a hallmark of Harrisburg’s 3rd Street, where a major, delayed road project should begin shortly.

For those wondering about some big road projects promised this year in Harrisburg, city officials have this message—your wait is almost over.

City Engineer Wayne Martin said yesterday that residents should remain braced for widespread roadwork, especially along the important 3rd Street corridor.

“[Construction work] is about a month behind, but will be ready to go out for bid this week,” Martin said.

He said that the 3rd Street project has been delayed because the city needed to coordinate with Capital Region Water, which is installing new drainage pipes, before contractors can begin the milling, paving and intersection improvements. He expects roadwork to start in late August at multiple locations along 3rd Street from Chestnut Street downtown to Muench Street in Midtown and then, Uptown, from Maclay to Seneca streets.

The project will continue throughout much of 2018, he said. Paving will cease once the weather gets cold, from November through March. However, concrete work—new curbs, walks and ramps at each intersection—will pause only for the worst winter months of January and February.

The 3rd Street project also will include 165 ADA-compliant ramps, green infrastructure elements, safety improvements, traffic signal upgrades and select streetlight pole replacements, Martin said. It’s funded with a $6 million grant from Impact Harrisburg, along with a matching $10 million PennDOT grant.

Also in the fall, work is set to begin on the repaving of Industrial Road from Cameron Street to Linglestown Road. The $3.9 million, federally funded project will lay new asphalt over the existing surface, though some milling will occur on bridges, which cannot handle the weight of additional pavement, Martin said.

Smaller projects, which have already started, include maintenance efforts on Reily Street in Midtown, Market Street downtown and Hanover Street and S. 13th streets in South Harrisburg. This roadwork mostly includes patching and selective paving, Martin said. Line-painting also will commence soon along several major thoroughfares, including Maclay Street, S. 13th Street, S. 17th Street and Rudy Road.

In yet another initiative, Mechanicsburg-based Delta Development is conducting a “Bus Stop Optimization” study, Martin said. This could lead to changes where some bus stops are located.

And what about the eagerly anticipated project that will allow N. 2nd Street to return to two-way traffic? It continues to creep forward, Martin said. The city right now is soliciting “letters of interest” from qualified design firms.

“There are so many moving parts to this,” he said. “We need to select a design professional who can move the project forward.”

Besides redesigning 2nd Street north of Forster Street, the project would make significant improvements to Forster, N. 7th and Division streets. Martin explained that this work, which may include everything from lane changes and additional traffic signals to safety improvements and new roundabouts, will require significant coordination over several years.

Another major project on the books is not for a street, but a sidewalk. Earlier this year, the city received a $1 million federal grant to repave the badly damaged river walk along the Susquehanna River. This project includes replacing the concrete for the walk and the top step.

According to Martin, the river walk will be a 2018 project, as the city needs to obtain a clearance from Norfolk Southern Railway and undergo a permitting process with the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Author: Lawrance Binda

Event Central: Harrisburg’s new community calendar offers one-stop event shopping.

June 20, 2017 | by Yaasmeen Piper

Events like art exhibits, such as this one advertised outside of Historic Harrisburg Association, now can be listed on the city’s community calendar.

Do you need to tell the world about your group’s next fundraiser?

Or maybe you’re in charge of promoting a community concert, a neighborhood yard sale or a church bake sale?

If so, Harrisburg has a new resource to help spread the word about whatever community event you need to advertise. A few months ago, the city launched its new community calendar, hoping to turn it into a one-stop shop for events.

Located under the events tab on the city’s website, the calendar lets visitors browse by month and date. If an event is scheduled, a full description and location will pop up.

The calendar is user driven, meaning that it’s up to organizers to go to the website, fill out a form with the details of their function and then send the information to the city by hitting the “submit an event” button.

“We were having a communications meeting and discussing what we can do to get more information to people,” said calendar creator Janelle Walker, Harrisburg’s social media and website content manager. “Then came the calendar for local events and things that don’t always get out to everyone.”

Launched in late January, the calendar is still building an audience.

That’s where Leslie Avila enters the picture. Avila and other students of the Martin Luther King Leadership Development Institute decided to take on the community calendar as part of their final project.

“The problem was that people were finding out about events after they had already occurred or the day-of when they live in another city,” Avila said. “Or event coordinators saw a drop in their attendance because there were other events that same day.”

Avila and her group contacted Walker and other publications and organizations to promote the calendar.

“[The calendar] not only brings the community together to have a fun time, but it also helps the community itself,” Avila said. “It helps people become better community leaders and more involved with the community.”

Avila’s primary target is young people.

“When I was in high school, everyone talked down on their city,” she said. “It wasn’t their fault. They just didn’t know what awesome opportunities were going on. It’s about getting the people of Harrisburg to see the great opportunities Harrisburg has for them. So, we have to make that available for them.”

Avila plans to graduate from the leadership program later this month and continue her work with the city government as an independent project.

“Eventually, I want to see about a Facebook page, especially with social media becoming such a great thing,” Avila said. “We hope that this becomes the ‘go-to’ calendar and all the events in Harrisburg receive better attendance and better advertisements.”

Click here to access the Harrisburg community calendar.

Author: Yaasmeen Piper

Food Trucks & Fireworks: Harrisburg announces July 4 celebration.

June 20, 2017 | by Allison Moody

Outside of city hall, Mayor Eric Papenfuse today enjoyed a Farm Show milkshake, which will be one of the many items available on July 4 during Harrisburg’s “Taste of Independence” food truck festival.

Fourth of July revelers will get a “Taste of Independence” this year, as Harrisburg’s second annual food truck festival pulls up to Riverfront Park.

The festival will feature 40 food trucks serving everything from slow-roasted beef and fish tacos to favorites like kettle corn, fried Oreos and Farm Show milkshakes, city officials said today.

“You will not go home hungry,” Mayor Eric Papenfuse said at a city hall press conference.

The festival attracted more than 25,000 people last year, despite a day of drenching rain. So, Papenfuse said he expects an even larger turnout this year.

In addition to the food trucks, the event will feature family-friendly entertainment with local artists playing at a stage near Market Street and in an “acoustic tent” near Pine Street. Face-painting, caricatures, balloon art and a bounce house all will be offered free of charge.

This event, which runs from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., is sponsored by the Hershey Harrisburg Regional Visitor’s Bureau, which spent $15,000 on marketing alone, according to Communications and PR Director Rick Dunlap.

The festival will conclude with two fireworks displays beginning at dusk. The first will be a fireworks show following the conclusion of the night’s Harrisburg Senators baseball game. A nearly 20-minute, 1,000-shell Independence Day fireworks show will follow at 9:15 p.m., put on by Ashland, Pa.-based Bixler Pyrotechnics and sponsored by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency.

“I believe Harrisburg has the best fireworks display in PA,” Papenfuse said.

On the same evening, the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra will host a free outdoor concert at the Reservoir Park band shell at 7:45 p.m.

Papenfuse encouraged visitors to get to the city early. Metered parking throughout Harrisburg will be free on July 4. Parking on City Island will cost $4, and the Market Street Garage will offer an all-day parking pass for $10.

After the press conference today, some attendees ventured outside, where a few trucks offered “just a little taste of what is going to be a wonderful Fourth of July celebration,” said Papenfuse, who went for a Farm Show milkshake.

At the press conference, Papenfuse also honored Arden Emerick, who received the Mayor’s Award of Distinguished Service for 16 years on the job as he retires as a commercial codes inspector for the city at the end of the month.

“A Taste of Independence” food truck festival runs 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. on July 4 in Riverfront Park, Harrisburg, followed by two fireworks celebrations.

Author: Allison Moody

Affordable Housing: City Council approves apartment development plan for low-income seniors.

June 15, 2017 | by Danielle Roth

This empty lot will be the future home of Paxton Place, a low-income senior building.

An undeveloped lot soon will transform into a new affordable housing option for Harrisburg seniors.

Last night, City Council unanimously approved a development plan to turn 1100 S. 20^th St. into Paxton Place, a three-story, 37-unit dwelling for low-income seniors run by Paxton Ministries, despite a neighbor voicing concerns about the project.

City Councilman Jeff Baltimore, chairman of the Community and Economic Development Committee, declined to recommend a vote for or against the building, urging council members to “vote their conscience.”

“It’s a struggle to balance economic development and the neighborhood makeup,” he said. “We can’t place barriers on development, and we have to find ways as a neighborhood to get along with each other.”

In the end, council voted 7-0 for the project, allowing it to proceed. The city’s Planning Commission and Zoning Hearing Board previously had approved it.

The $8.4 million investment on the empty, 1.6-acre site, which is currently not taxable, would bring in a projected $18,787 in city taxes, according to the resolution. The property sits next to the Paxton Street Home, a home run by Paxton Ministries for adults who need support services.

View of the empty lot from S. 20th Street.

Council’s vote disappointed Hudson Street resident Kay Ann Wetzel, who voiced concerns about neighborhood stability at last night’s meeting.

“I’m not against elderly housing, but I’m against putting that neighborhood at risk,” she said after the meeting.

Wetzel, who said she’s been opposing this development for more than a year, said the low-income housing property would disrupt lifelong residents and attract more traffic to already-congested streets. She also noted concerns about crime and trash, which she said would go along with the low-income project.

“People are going to start moving away,” she said. “I don’t have confidence that this company will maintain the property.”

Council Vice President Shamaine Daniels said the development would increase the city’s housing options for seniors. This would keep residents in the city, leading to more money spent at city businesses, she said.

“I think it’s a good project,” she said. “That area hasn’t had any economic development for a decade. For neighbors, it’s a bit jarring.”

Author: Danielle Roth

Weekend Roundup with Sara Bozich

June 15, 2017 | by Sara Bozich

Happy Almost Weekend!

It’s been somewhat of a busy week, so I’m looking forward to a relaxing weekend. There is SO MUCH going on, though. Of course, you’ll want to catch some 3rd in the Burg action Friday night (Zeroday is featuring a new artist and live music — and Large Ass IPA is back on tap!).

Meanwhile, if you’re into reggae-style beats at all, stop by the GK Visual office tonight for The Ellameno Beat, who are playing a free preview show there ahead of their gig at HMAC Friday night.

On Saturday, I’m thinking of checking out the Honey & Hog Festival at Dill’s Tavern after the morning gym/market visit.

Sunday is Father’s Day, and while it gets decidedly less attention than Mother’s Day, we do have some events to share with you below — might we suggest the Donuts with Dad at The Vineyard & Brewery at Hershey, or perhaps the Beer & BBQ at The Historic Round Barn & Farm Market?

What are you doing this weekend?

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A House Divided: Battle begins for housing funds in Harrisburg.

June 14, 2017 | by Lawrance Binda

Seniors raised their hands tonight at the Harrisburg City Council meeting to show their support for funding the Heinz-Menaker Senior Center.

The annual tug of war over federal housing dollars began tonight in Harrisburg, as City Council introduced an ordinance to fund a handful of social service groups.

Immediately, several residents criticized the administration’s proposed allocation of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, as it does not include any money for the Heinz-Menaker Senior Center in Midtown.

“We went over this same ground last year and the year before that and the year before that,” center Director Les Ford told council, referencing past heated battles to help fund the center through CDBG, a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant program.

Senior citizens packed the meeting in a show of force to demonstrate support for the center. They’ll have at least two more opportunities to make their case. A committee hearing on the proposal is slated for June 20, and a final vote will follow at a subsequent legislative session.

“I’m asking council to look at this proposal,” Ford said. “We will be back. We are vigilant.”

Following the meeting, Mayor Eric Papenfuse explained that his administration made its recommendations based upon a scoring system that ranked funding applications. Heinz-Menaker’s application, he said, did not make the cut.

“Heinz-Menaker was not funded because its ranking is lower than the ones that were funded,” he said.

The agencies that made the funding cut include:

Green Space Clean Up: $53,110
Christian Aftercare Recovery Ministries: $25,000
A Miracle 4 Sure: $25,000
Latino Hispanic American Community Center: $25,000
Fair Housing Council: $25,000
Mid Penn Legal Services: $15,000
Neighborhood Dispute Settlement: $3,900

Like last year, the largest sum is earmarked for debt service to repay a federal loan that the city backed during the tenure of former Mayor Steve Reed for the failed Capitol View Commerce Center, as well to repay another community development loan. These obligations, which total $562,248 this year, prevent the city from offering more money to social service groups, Papenfuse said.

Last year, the administration proposed eliminating funding entirely for service groups due to these debt obligations and to fund the city’s own needs. This year, however, the city refinanced its debt service, saving $80,000, which is helping to fund the groups, Papenfuse said.

In addition to funding these nonprofits, the administration is proposing $381,504 for CDBG administration and $105,000 for the city’s Police Bureau for a police cadet program and a community policing van. Other proposed funding includes:

City Housing Rehabilitation Programs: $330,000
Tri-County HDC: $150,000
City Emergency Demolition: $120,000
City Bureau of Fire: $51,686
Habitat for Humanity Greater Harrisburg Area: $30,000
Rebuilding Together: $15,000

Papenfuse added that he expects HUD to fund the CDBG program for the federal fiscal year that starts in October. However, the Trump administration has proposed eliminating the program after that.

“All of our CDBG funding is in jeopardy for next year,” he said.

Author: Lawrance Binda

Weekend Roundup with Sara Bozich

June 8, 2017 | by Sara Bozich

Hello from Erie, Pa!

Saturday, I return to my regular gym/workout schedule. Man, what a week I’ve had (since this post last week, pretty much). Yard sale, a retirement party for my mom, and I’ve been on the road ever since.

We’re currently in Erie shooting for Poured in PA, so please excuse the abbreviated roundup. I’m looking forward to low-key and restful weekend (and maybe some pool time).

What are you doing this weekend?

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D.R.E.A.M.S. Come True: Harrisburg native hosts first annual African-American history expo

June 7, 2017 | by Allison Moody

Macajah Brown, D.R.E.A.M.S. CEO

Area residents will be able to celebrate and learn local African-American history at the first annual African-American Black History Expo this Saturday at the HACC Midtown parking lot.

Vendors, caterers and local business owners will come together for this event hosted by D.R.E.A.M.S. Minority Business Network. Attendees will participate in kickball, face-painting, a boxing exhibition and a chance to dunk Mayor Eric Papenfuse in a dunk tank to benefit the Harrisburg Baby Cougars Football Team, said Macajah Brown, D.R.E.A.M.S. CEO and Harrisburg native.

“My ancestors are crying and our young people are dying because of a lack of [knowing] black history,” Brown said.

After years of seeing Harrisburg’s need for a black history and culture event, Brown said that Black History Month motivated him to start this event. When he asked students at Rowland and Scott schools about their school’s namesakes, he said many students did not know the schools were named after prominent local African-American leaders.

Last December Brown decided to take on the project himself. Now, he said, the event will be his proudest accomplishment, aside from graduating college.

“This is six months of God’s work coming together,” Brown said. “I’ve been like a little kid in a candy store.”

Each hour, different masters of ceremony, including ABC27’s Janel Knight and Fox43’s Chris Garrett, will discuss topics ranging from spirituality to government.

Ancestors of prominent black community leaders will speak about their family histories and the importance of remembering those who have passed. Ancestry researcher Darlene Colon will be available to field questions about one’s own family history.

Brown said he encourages those of all ethnicities to come and hopes that this event gives residents a chance to learn about African-American challenges and triumphs.

“This event is about the love of being who you are and the love for your family,” Brown said. “I’ve got to instill this in younger people”

The African-American Black History Expo will run from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, June 10 at HACC Midtown’s parking lots on 4^th and Reily streets. The event is free.

Author: Allison Moody

Drug Busts: 25 Harrisburg-area dealers charged in ongoing AG operation

June 6, 2017 | by Danielle Roth

State Attorney General Josh Shapiro

After two drug raids early this morning, Harrisburg residents on Luce and Balm streets felt safe to come out on their porches again, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro said.

“They could come outside again with confidence in their safety and well-being,” Shapiro said at a press conference today. “People are being held hostage in their own neighborhoods by these dealers and by these users who frequent these homes and street corners.”

The morning raids resulted in arrests that Shapiro announced today as part of an ongoing operation with the Attorney General’s Mobile Street Crimes Unit. Since the operation began in November, the unit has arrested 131 dealers selling heroin, the opioid fentanyl, powder cocaine, crack cocaine and other drugs in the Harrisburg region, AG officials said.

“These are serious dealers who were attracting users and crime,” Shapiro said. “These dealers are now out of business.”

Thirteen of the 25 alleged drug dealers whose names were released today are in custody, Shapiro said.

The ongoing operation also resulted in confiscating 17 illegally owned guns, seizing illegal drugs and more than $18,000 since November, Shapiro said.

Shapiro called this morning’s drug busts a “textbook [example] of what went well.”

The unit arrested two dealers on the 100-block of Balm St., near State and Cameron streets, seized $2,900 and nine grams of cocaine. At a house on the 2300-block of Luce Street, near Derry Street, the unit arrested one dealer, officials said.

The unit, which Shapiro accompanied this morning, found three young children, a baby and a mother “looking shocked” in the second home, Shapiro said.

“My heart is broken for the children in the drug-infested neighborhoods,” he said. “We need to do better by these children.”

Mayor Eric Papenfuse and Police Chief Thomas Carter invited the unit into the city to target street-level dealers in November, Shapiro said. Papenfuse called Shapiro a “friend of the city.”

“This is an example of the cooperation necessary to do justice,” Papenfuse said.

The unit works with local municipalities across the state to target street-level crimes, normally related to drugs or gangs, AG officials said.

The Mobile Street Crimes Unit also works with Dauphin County agencies, state police agencies, federal agencies and the local police departments in Middletown, Susquehanna Township, Lower Paxton Township and Steelton.

“As you can see, we all stand up here as one,” Carter said, joined by officials from the cooperating agencies and municipalities. “Everybody has given their word that we will fight this drug war and we will save as many kids as we can. because the future is all about our kids.”

“These communities made it a priority to target street-level dealers,” Shapiro said.

Author: Danielle Roth

Brush with Greatness: African-American history mural planned for side of Jackson Hotel.

June 6, 2017 | by Lawrance Binda

The old Jackson Hotel in Harrisburg, including, at the right, the wall where a mural is planned.

A new mural will celebrate Harrisburg’s African-American history, adorning the side of a building that once hosted such luminaries as Louis Armstrong and Pearl Bailey.

Sprocket Mural Works announced the project yesterday for the former Jackson Hotel and Rooming House on the 1000-block of N. 6^th Street, a building that, decades ago, catered primarily to a black clientele refused service in the city’s major, segregated hotels.

“It will be an African-American historic mural, playing off the history itself,” said Sprocket co-founder Jeff Copus.

The Jackson Hotel painting is one of 10 murals that will be created during the Harrisburg Mural Festival, which Sprocket is organizing for the first 10 days of September.

Copus last night told the Harrisburg Architectural Review Board (HARB) that the mural will feature people who stayed at the hotel, possibly including entertainers like Armstrong, Bailey, Cab Callaway and Ella Fitzgerald. It may also incorporate images of important Harrisburg figures such as Ephraim Slaughter, an escaped slave who fought in the Civil War and later settled in the city.

In August, Sprocket will seek public input for the mural design, Copus said.

Sprocket is commissioning artist Cesar Viveros to paint the mural. Locally, Viveros is best known as the artist-in-residence who helped design and lead the creation of the Mulberry Street Bridge murals.

HARB voted 4-2 to support the mural, the two “no” votes from members who wanted more input into the actual mural design. While HARB must approve a mural project within the historic district, the details of the painting are beyond its purview.

As the building’s owner, HARB member Jeremiah Chamberlin abstained from the vote. Chamberlin bought the building about 18 months ago, hoping to save it from further deterioration. It has been unoccupied for almost 20 years since the death of long-time owner German Jackson, who bequeathed it Dave Kegris, owner of the Jackson House restaurant next door. Kegris eventually sold it to Kerry and Lessa Helm, who then sold it to Chamberlin.

Ted Hanson, a long-time resident of the Old Fox Ridge neighborhood, wanted assurances that Chamberlin would begin work to stabilize and restore the building.

“My concern is that the building is in serious distress,” Hanson told the HARB board. “I am very concerned if stability doesn’t happen very quickly, you’ll be painting a mural on a crumbling property.”

Chamberlin assured Hanson that he would begin work on the building “within the next couple of weeks.”

“I have no desire to see my investment lost either,” Chamberlin said.

Hanson also was concerned that the mural might impede development of the vacant lots next door, as new construction could block the view of the mural. Copus said that Sprocket would not stand in the way of the development of the empty lots at N. 6^th and Herr streets, which are owned by the Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority and by Bethel AME Church, a historically black congregation that lost its church to an arson fire in 1995.

“Hopefully, this will generate interest in that underutilized lot,” Copus said.

Click here for more information on the Harrisburg Mural Festival.

Author: Lawrance Binda

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