Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

Harrisburg–Governor Tom Corbett today announced that the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) recently awarded $450,000 in Keystone Communities grants to support public improvements efforts for downtown redevelopment projects and infrastructure reconstruction in the City of Bradford. “We are continuing to invest in our local communities by supporting public improvement initiatives,” Gov. Corbett said. “These projects will bring new life and preserve the historic treasures within the Bradford community, in addition to providing opportunities for renewed economic growth.” The Keystone Communities program will provide funding for two public improvement grants for the City of Bradford. The Keystone Communities grant award for $400,000 will provide funding to undertake the construction of new housing units and make façade and streetscape improvements in the Elm Street neighborhood, a Second Ward Keystone Community Designated area. Specific project activities incl...

(News Release) Neighborhood residents are encouraged to stay involved with revitalization efforts for the designated 2nd Ward-NPP area by attending the next meeting at 6PM on Tuesday April 15th at First Presbyterian Church (54 East Corydon St.). This meeting will feature upcoming event information as well as committee specific items for neighborhood stakeholders. If you are willing to participate in shaping the future of the 2nd Ward-NPP area please plan on attending this session. “By establishing and maintaining open lines of communication, individuals work together as a team to create safer, friendlier and better prepared neighborhoods in which everyone wants to be a part” Elm Street Manger, Lisa Keck noted “after a thorough assessment of current conditions and concerns we are moving forward with efforts to create a healthier, more vibrant neighborhood.” All neighborhood residents and stakeholders are encouraged to attend and be part of the critical steps necessary in ch...

Representatives from Derck and Edson will be sharing information gained as part of the revitalization strategy planning process for the designated NPP area. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the First Presbyterian Church and will feature statistical information as well as committee specific items for neighborhood stakeholders. If you are willing to participate in shaping the future of the NPP area please plan on attending this session. Lisa Keck noted, “This meeting will showcase the comprehensive data collection and creative approach to neighborhood revitalization utilized in developing a strategy for moving forward with efforts. Everyone is encouraged to attend and be part of the critical first step in changing this community for the better.” Topics that will be discussed during the meeting will include and are not limited to: façade projects, infrastructure improvements, clean-ups, committees, block parties and neighborhood engagement. The news leader of ...

Residents in Bradford's Second Ward Area will soon have an opportunity to help guide Neighborhood Revitalization efforts through a “Community Needs Assessment Survey.” The Downtown Bradford Revitalization Corporation recently received approval of a state Neighborhood Partnership Program (NPP) tax credit application that will provide funding to undertake improvements to the Second Ward Neighborhood annually for a five-year period. The DBRC will partner with the City’s Office of Economic and Community Development (OECD), which will be the administering agent for improvement activities in the selected neighborhood. To help guide efforts a questionnaire covering important aspects neighborhood revitalization including planning, physical environment, economic development and community services will be reaching Second Ward NPP area homes and businesses in the next couple of days. “The primary purpose for conducting this survey is to find out where efforts are doing well and where effo...

In celebration of Earth Day (April 22), and in conjunction with The Great American Cleanup of Pennsylvania, community volunteers will be cleaning up litter in the City of Bradford. The event will run from 10:00 am until noon on Saturday April 21st. This effort is to remove litter and trash from the entire City of Bradford. In an effort to make this event as beneficial for the community as possible the City of Bradford has also committed to holding the Spring Cleanup effort to coincide with this volunteer effort. Spring Clean-up items must be less than 4 feet long and weigh less than 40 pounds and should be set curbside on your regular pick day. There will be a $10 charge for white goods and pick up should be scheduled by calling 362-3884 ext. 21; yard waste will not be part of this pick-up. New this year will be an electronics recycling event. Evolution E-Cycling will be on hand to accept electronic items on Saturday the 21st between 10AM and 4PM at the drop off location/cleanup h...

Mark your Calendar! 6th Annual Cleanup April 21, 2012 10:00 AM – Noon Cleanup Headquarters: Grace Lutheran 79 Mechanic St. Join us to remove litter & trash from our Neighborhoods! This is not a bulk homeowner or household waste clean up! Cleanup conducted in the City of Bradford! New This Year, Comprehensive Electronics Recycling Event ! Items will be accepted at Grace Lutheran between 10AM-4PM Contact: Lisa Keck Elm Street Manager, City of Bradford lkeck@bradfordpa.org www.elmstreetbradford.com 814-368-7170 ext 111 or 598-7098

Building on the success of the Elm Street Neighborhood project, the Office of Economic and Community Development is hoping to receive a Keystone Communities Development Grant. OECD Executive Director Sara Andrews and Elm Street manager Lisa Keck said they have accomplished most of their goals in that section of town, but have about another years’ worth of work to do. During a public hearing prior to Tuesday’s city council meeting they talked about what’s been accomplished and what they’re still looking to do. Keck said they would like to continue infrastructure improvements to complement what has already been done in the area of School, Pearl, Bank and Howard streets and Merrow Avenue. She said they are also looking to continue the façade improvement and housing rehabilitation assistance programs, saying they have more engagement now with people willing to do that. “Working with code enforcement department, we have been able to engage a lot of landlords who hadn’t been interested in pa...

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director Questions about the sale of the Main Street Mercantile were raised during Tuesday’s Bradford City Council meeting. Calvin Court resident Patricia Demjan posed the questions. The Downtown Bradford Revitalization Corporation owned and operated the mercantile, but recently sold it to local businessman Todd Hennard. OECD Executive Director Sara Andrews, who is also treasurer of the non-profit DBRC, said Hennard approached them about the mercantile when he bought the building at 45 Main Street. “We felt it was time that the business be moved into the private sector,” Andrews said. “I think it will continue to grow and be an economic driver in our downtown community.” “It looks really nice,” Demjan said, then asked about the sale price. Andrews said the money the DBRC received went toward paying the old landlord and other expenses. The rest of the money will go toward promoting downtown activities. Demjan also asked why the it wasn’t put out to bid. A...

On Tuesday Bradford City Council held a work session concerning a proposed housing project in the Elm Street/Project Pride area. Ben Lockwood of Housing Visions of Syracuse gave the presentation. You can listen here . Following the meeting Elm Manager Lisa Keck said the name "NewBury" comes from the names of an early settler and prominent citizen, Daniel Kingsbury, and his wife, Mary Newell. ( Note: I assumed this was obvious, but I guess I should not assume things. Her maiden name was Newell. ) Listen to Tuesday's council meeting here .

A community wide National Night Out event will be held Tuesday, August 2nd from 5PM until 8PM in recognition of the 28th annual National Night Out. Sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW), National Night Out (NNO) was conceived with the aim of empowering community residents, and as a unique tool against criminal and drug activity. Along with traditional displays of outdoor lights and front porch vigils, celebrations of National Night Out also feature activities such as block parties, cookouts, parades, flashlight walks, exhibits, contests, youth programs and visits from local police and fire departments. Goals of National Night Out include creating a heightened awareness of crime and drug prevention efforts, as well strengthening neighborhood spirit. NNO 2010 involved over 37 million people in over 15,000 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities, and military bases worldwide. National Night Out 2011 is expected to be the largest ever. NNO is ...

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director Sometimes it’s hard to see the impact grant money has on the City of Bradford, but Sara Andrews is trying to open people’s eyes to that impact. During a hearing prior to Tuesday’s Bradford City Council meeting the executive director of the Office of Economic and Community Development said the city has received more than $5.3 million in federal HOME Program grants since 1992. The projects the money helped fund has realized $5.6 million in new assessed property values for the city. Specifically, $633,000 in HOME investment leveraged the construction of 30 new homes in Colonial Heights, which added more than $2.1 million in new assessed property. On Onofrio Street, $500,000 leveraged the construction of 13 new homes. Add that to the complete renovation of 15 homes and that’s $3.5 million in new property values. “What an impact that had in that area,” she said. Over the last 19 years the city has rehabilitated 134 homes. “If we hadn’t rehabilitated ...

In conjunction with The Great American Cleanup of Pennsylvania, Project Pride residents, and community volunteers will be cleaning up litter in the Elm Street Project Pride area and Main Street. The event will run from 9:00 am until 12:00 pm on Saturday April 30th. This effort is to remove litter and trash from the Project Pride/Elm Street Neighborhood bordered by Bennett Street, Charlotte Avenue, School Street, and Barbour Street as well as Main Street. This is not a bulk homeowner or household waste cleanup, but a concentrated effort to remove litter and trash from the Elm Street Project Pride area and downtown. Grace Lutheran Community Life Center, 79 Mechanic Street, will serve as cleanup headquarters and provide an area for cleanup participants to take a break, grab a light snack and pick up gloves, vests and trash bags. “This event is a perfect activity for our newly created Neighborhood Watch; it encourages community building through personal stewardship while enhancing the leve...

The Bradford Main Street Program is inviting area clubs, groups, residents and Main Street businesses to participate in the 2011 Main Street/Project Pride Clean-up event to be held Saturday, April 30th from 9 a.m. to Noon. “We are hoping for a good turn out of volunteers this year. It is great to see what people can do when working together,” said Main Street Manager, Anita Dolan. “Our event season begins in May, with events such as Lunch in the Square and the Memorial Day Parade, so now is a good time to get everything cleaned up,” Dolan added. As part of the 2011 Great American Clean-up, the nation's largest organized annual clean-up, the Main Street event will include the sidewalks being swept or hosed, followed by trash and litter pick up by volunteers. “We would like to get Main Street and Veterans’ Square cleaned up so that our historic district will look nice for residents and visitors to our area. Our historic district is truly beautiful and we want it to look it’s bes...

The second Community Watch program meeting in Bradford was Wednesday night at Fretz Middle School. Project Pride Manager Lisa Keck said Community Watch deals with more issues than crime. "I think a lot of times people think drugs, guns, robberies," she said, "but there are a lot of other quality of life issues." Keck mentioned code enforcement, pet problems and trash as some of the issues that could be dealt with. "As a group I think we can tackle a lot of different things and use this as a mechanism to do it, get the word out to a lot more people and get a lot more involvment. That's basically what we're hoping for here," she said. If you want more information about the program, you can go to the program's new blog: http://bradfordcommunitywatch.blogspot.com/ or http://elmstreetbradford.com/community_watch.html Pictured, Project Pride Manager Lisa Keck and Bradford City Police Chief Chris Lucco address the people who attended Wednesday's m...

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director Bradford residents are sick of crime and mischief-makers, and they’re not going to take it anymore. That was one of the themes of last night’s “interest meeting” for a Neighborhood Watch program in the city. Issues from drug dealers and burglaries to barking dogs and loud music were discussed by Bradford City Police Chief Chris Lucco, Officer Dave Feely, Project Pride Manager Lisa Keck and Main Street Manager Anita Dolan. Keck said as the program progresses and more people get involved “the comfort level for (the people causing trouble) to be out and doing something and getting away with it should diminish.” She said they will be saying “We don’t want to do this – they’re obviously paying attention.” “We’re not chasing people down the street with a club and hitting them over the head,” Keck said. “It’s coming together and being aware.” Dolan added that people don’t know their neighbors like they used to. This is “a process of becoming more obser...

Business owners, building owners and merchants in Bradford’s downtown historic district are invited to attend the Neighborhood Watch Interest Meeting that will be held at the Bradford Area Public Library, today, at 6 p.m. The Main Street and ‘Project Pride’ Elm Street programs, along with the City of Bradford Police Department will host the meeting. Many residents and business owners have expressed an interest in a sustainable, long term relevant ‘block watch’ network for the City of Bradford. A representative from the Bradford City Police Department will facilitate a discussion about Neighborhood Watches, share safety/observation tips, and answer questions. For more information contact Main Street Manager, Anita Dolan or Elm Street Manager, Lisa Keck.

Many residents and business owners have expressed interest in a sustainable, long term, relevant block watch network for the City of Bradford. In order to have strength in numbers, Project Pride is attempting to organize a Neighborhood Watch for the City of Bradford. A meeting will be held at 6 p.m. January 27 at the Bradford Area Public Library for anyone interested in learning, sharing and finding out how to help. During the meeting, a representative from the City of Bradford Police Department will facilitate a discussion about Neighborhood Watches; share safety/observation tips that can be used right away; and answer residents’ questions. The organizers are looking for input as to what people want to see in a neighborhood watch program, and are looking for people interested in participating by being a Block Captain or member of the Neighborhood Watch. All residents in Project Pride, as well as other city residents and/or business owners, interested in participating are encouraging t...

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director Code enforcement has a new plan. During Tuesday’s Bradford City Council meeting, code enforcement officer George Corignani said he and Merle Silvis want to use the two firemen who are in training at the code enforcement office to find problem properties throughout the city. The plan is to have them go ward to ward throughout the city, take pictures and notes, and report back to Corginani and Silvis, who would act on the problems. Once the First Ward is done, they’ll move to the Second Ward, and so on. Corginani and Silvis would continue to do inspections and answer health-related complaints. “We’ve been jumping around from ward to ward … trying to answer this and answer that. … If we started at one ward and did that ward with the two extra guys, that would give us some relief for us to do the stuff we have to do,” Corignani said. The plan is to pay them with money code enforcement collects from fines and fees. Mayor Tom Riel and Councilman Rick ...

This young man tries to dunk Bradford City Police Chief Chris Lucoo (with a little help from Elm Street Manager Lisa Keck). Lucco and Mayor Tom Riel raised $105 for the McKean County SPCA by volunteering to be dunked. The second annual NNO Pet Parade.

Bradford City Police Chief Christopher Lucco, Lisa Keck and the Bradford National Night Out Committee members encourage residents to spend the evening of August 3, 2010 out and about with your fellow neighbors in recognition of the 27th annual National Night Out. Sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW), National Night Out (NNO) was conceived with the aim of empowering community residents, and as a unique tool against criminal and drug activity. Along with traditional displays of outdoor lights and front porch vigils celebrations of National Night Out also features activities such as block parties, cookouts, parades, flashlight walks, exhibits, contests, youth programs and visits from local police departments. Goals of National Night Out include creating a heightened awareness of crime and drug prevention efforts, as well strengthening neighborhood spirit. NNO 2009 involved over 36 million people in 15,000 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cit...