We are wishing you a very happy New Year! With 2025 rolling in, we’d like to celebrate some of our achievements here at the Tacony Community Development Corporation. 2024 saw us getting closer to our mission to revitalize the neighborhood and commercial corridors through business development, art and design, historic preservation, and environmental action. Let’s look back at some of the big changes!
Organizational Changes
First, the Tacony CDC saw some additions to the nonprofit organization. Amarynth Ruch was hired as the full-time Corridor Manager in April. She started her journey in Tacony as an intern at the Tacony Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia while studying communications at Temple University. Soon after graduating, her skills in research, communications, and her can-do-will-do attitude found her working with other organizations in the neighborhood like the CDC, Tacony Civic Association, and the Historical Society of Tacony. Nicole Huff, a resident of Tacony, joined the team as our Communications Intern this Fall. In her senior year at Temple, Nicole is majoring in Communication Studies with a minor in Public Relations. Since starting with the Tacony CDC, she’s been keeping our online presence thriving and spreading the word about all the great things happening in Tacony! And Xhulio Binjaku, our Executive Director, celebrated his 1-year anniversary with the organization in November. Xhulio says that the best part of his day is when he’s learning about the neighborhood from the many creative and hardworking residents and small business owners who live here.
The Tacony CDC Board of Directors saw some changes too starting with our highly effective Executive Committee. Ashley de Vries became the new Board President after serving as the Interim Director in 2023. She has been a local resident, operating Keystone Sound Works recording studio from the historic Tacony Savings Fund building since 2016 and CDC Board Trustee since 2017. Georgeanne Huff Labovitz, owner of Marie Huff Hairdressing, became our new Vice President after a decade in the President role. Both have been tremendous contributors in helping the Staff thrive and growth. Nicole Costello, our previous Treasurer stepped down to pursue her career in real estate and take care of her young family, as well as her husband at the Jack Costello Boxing Gym. That meant we needed a new member and Treasurer, and that’s when Danilo A. Burgos stepped in. Danilo is a local real estate developer and Tacony resident committed to improving the built environment. Last but not least, after many years of service Scott DeGirolamo, wonder of Computer Guy PC Solutions, was voted as Secretary, forming the last member of our mighty Executive Committee!
Lou Iatarola Sr. and Joseph Sannutti, both local long-term serving members of the organization, transitioned to our Emeritus Board. Meanwhile, Wanda Novales, pastor and founder of City Reach Church and the new Bread Crumbs Bakery, transitioned out of the board to join the Philadelphia Board of Education after being nominated by Mayor Cherelle Parker.
In early 2025, the Tacony CDC and Board will present our new 5-year Strategic Plan that was created with the assistance of the Tacony residents! This plan will help guide the organization to increase the quality of life of the neighborhood. More to come soon!
Business Improvement
One of the main goals of the Tacony CDC is to attract new businesses to the neighborhood and to help existing businesses thrive. We are excited to announce that Thunder Mug Café and Market will be opening soon in early 2025! Board President Ashely got in touch with owner Lizette Apy thanks to the Power Up Your Business Program run by Community College of Philadelphia. This free program helps entrepreneurs grow and expand their business. Ashley knew that Tacony needed a coffee shop and Lizette was ready to expand. It was a match made in heaven!
In addition, the Tacony CDC helped Bread Crumbs Bakery with the design and funding for their brand new facade through the City of Philadelphia’s Storefront Improvement Program. This program is run in partnership with the Department of Commerce and the Tacony CDC to help businesses improve their frontage with signs, lighting, exterior painting, and landscaping. Thanks to this support, Bread Crumbs Bakery is now open six days a week. With a new café and bakery open, Tacony is looking like a tasty destination!
Amarynth led a series of Business Owner Workshops that partnered with nonprofit and City agencies to help 13 local businesses learn about digital marketing, grant and financial assistance, the City’s urban planning process. In 2025, we’d like to expand these services even further, so be on the lookout for more details!
In partnership with the City’s Business Security Camera Program, we equipped 3 new locations with 12 new cameras on our commercial corridors. This brings our totals to 103 cameras total and 25 businesses with exterior cameras accessible by the Police Department.
In the spring, we worked with Dan Lutz Contracting to offer a special free program to clean the awnings and windows of 16 businesses on the corridor. But our commercial corridors wouldn’t stay as clean if it were not for the amazing folks at Ready Willing and Able! In the past year, the “men in blue” have collected over 3000 bags of trash in the neighborhood and work 3 days a week to keep it clean. In 2025, they will be cleaning more streets and sidewalks thanks to a grant expansion from Mayor Parker’s Taking Care of Business Program!
Arts & Events
We love placemaking projects that use arts and events to bring people out and about in Tacony! 2024 kicked off with our Storydale Avenue Project that is transforming Torresdale Avenue into an open-air art gallery filled with the stories and visions of Tacony residents. We hosted four community paint day events throughout the neighborhood where residents got to tell us their favorite stories and paint them on canvas and paper. Then artist Mat Tomezsko combined the work into 7 murals that can be found in and around businesses in the neighborhood. At each location there is a QR code to scan that takes you to an awesome website that Amarynth created where you can start your self-guided scavenger hunt! Special thanks to Feet First Philly and our Councilmember Mike Driscoll, and local representatives Pat Gallagher and Jimmy Dillon for helping us inaugurate the murals!
Throughout the year we hosted several pop ups in some of our vacant storefront! Artist Cody Stuhltrager needed a space to paint a new mural, so we worked with business owners to provide a pop up artist studio in one of our vacant spaces. Cody’s mural was then transferred and installed at the Russo park and presented to the Christa Lewis family.
In another vacant storefront, we hosted yoga and Pilates classes that were free and open to the public! Classes got quickly filled up and we got feedback from participants on how awesome it would be to have a yoga or Pilates studio in the neighborhood. Because the demand was so high, we’ll be hosting more free yoga and Pilates this spring and summer!
Before summer came to an end, we hosted a Parking Day pop up, taking over two parking spots in front of the LAB and turning them into hangout spaces for anyone to join. And with the Tacony Civic Association, we held our first Annual Community Yard Sale. Over 100 homes and residents signed up! Neighbors had just a great time meeting each other that we’re looking to host another one next year!
Then, in October, we hosted our big annual Fall for Tacony festivities. We hosted events such as Ghosts of Business Past where Amarynth gave a presentation on the history of industry and commerce in Tacony; and Spooky Treats with Dee where teens were able to participate in a baking program. Painting With a Treat at the LAB consisted of families enjoying treats while painting together, while Spine Chilling Trivia was for adults to relax and have some Halloween fun. Halloween Movie Night, sponsored by the Far Northeast Small Business Association and Council Member Driscoll was a huge success with over 40 kids and parents bringing blankets, enjoying water ice and popcorn, while watching a scary movie! Sannutti Funeral Home presented us with “Life of an Undertaker,” where we got to meet the owners of Tacony’s local funeral home and learn about the secrets of the mortuary business. The last two events were Family Pumpkin Carving and Costume Making where families were able to take part in Halloween preparation activities to get into the holiday spirit!
This all culminated in the Fall for Tacony Festival on October 26th! We had an estimated 500 attendees at our Halloween Festival who came to enjoy the costume contest, Good Karma food truck, music by Max and the Maniacs and numerous carnival games. Thank you to Ms. Arlene and her staff who ran the craft in the beginning of the day, the library staff who ran the obstacle course and our volunteers from the community who helped to run the costume contest and the carnival. We would also like to thank our local representatives who spoke at our costume contest as well: Councilmember Driscoll, Representative Joe Hohenstein and Representative Pat Gallagher! Special thanks to Joe for getting slimed in our dunk tank!
We wrapped up the events with our classic Winter Wander pop up at Marie Huff Hairdressing, where we showcased our new line of Tacony-themed merch (check out the link for our shopping page). This day also featured a Business Decorating Contest where we offered any business a small stipend for decorating their storefront for the holiday and a raffle box where residents could vote for their favorite business. The winning business and the one lucky shopper who voted both got a $100 prize!
All of these events serve to brighten up the neighborhood and get more people walking and getting to know each other.
Environmental Action
We understand how important our green spaces are in the neighborhood. That’s why Xhulio teamed up with 8 students from Temple’s Master of City planning to create our first ever Environmental Justice Plan. Some of the recommendations from this plan include improving our green spaces with better pathways, lighting, and wayfinding, and better access points and connections to parks. One of the simplest recommendations the plan suggested was using our park spaces for more soccer, which harks back to the Tacony Saw Maker’s Soccer Club winning the 1910 American Cup! That’s when Xhulio started working with Parks and Rec Youth Sports to set up the Tacony Soccer Club for kids to play at the Roosevelt Playground. Every Monday night two volunteer coaches put on free practice 15 to 25 kids that ran during the fall. Be on the look out for spring training!
We regularly partner with Riverfront North Partnership on their walking programs. Amarynth and Gina Craigo hosted a Pokémon Go Walk in the neighborhood where folks of all ages came together for a walk through Disston park to catch Pokémon and take down gyms!
Many residents saw a group of us biking around Tacony and the river. A group of 25 conference go-ers from MPACT Mobility came specifically to Tacony to embark on a history walk of the neighborhood and bike the Delaware River trail. Hosted with Riverfront North, with bikes from Indego, this tour was our first trial run showcasing the connections between the neighborhood and the river.
We worked with the Historical Society of Tacony to upkeep the Christa Lewis Memorial Garden and Arboretum at Disston Park. Currently the side of the hill on Disston Street is acting as a pollinator garden for bees. The park and Arboretum spaces were kept up by Jim Hellings, our long-time local landscaper who sadly passed away this year. Jim was a dedicated landscaper who taught us many things about our natural environments and how best to take care of them. We will miss you, Jim!
Historic preservation
Last but not least, we hosted two historic tours of the neighborhood. Amarynth created a special tour of the Tacony Baptist Church that was built on her earlier archival research. It featured stories and documents dating back to the church’s founding in 1882 and she created a special program for church parishioners to learn about the building, congregation and the history of the neighborhood. She led a tour of the church during the Annual Yard Sale and taught the churchgoers how to give their own tours.
Then, Xhulio and Amarynth had the special honor of leading the family descendants of the Disston family on a personalized tour of the neighborhood. The Tacony Historical Society had set up a special room with artifacts from the Disston Saw Works time period for the family to see. Afterwards, we stopped by Bread Crumbs for treats. The Disston’s loved seeing the neighborhood's history and were wondering what’s next? We’ll see what 2025 has in store for us!
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