Yuku free message boards

Our Councilwoman was at the Frankford Civic meeting on Thursday and talked about it. They did not get a 200,000 grant on time earlier this year. That put them behind. Terry Tobin did the right thing and paid what he could but could not make the payroll last month. The grant now has come through but the delay created a permanent shortfall so they are doing what has to be done. Discussions are happening with 2 or maybe three other parties. So it is possible that it can be reopened under a new organization.

From the Inquirer:
Tobin, who joined as executive director in 1997, said that the center had always been cash-strapped. The trouble began in 2008, when the state's Department of Community and Economic Development failed to approve a $200,000 grant the center had received annually for the previous few years, he said.

DCED spokesman Luke Webber said it was unclear why the state denied the funds after at least three consecutive years of approval.

And while the center was approved this year for the same grant - Tobin expects to receive it in a few weeks - it took on too much debt last year for the money to make a difference now.

The center also relies on funds from private corporations for special projects, which have been harder to obtain since the economy went sour. Most recently, it received a grant from the local St. Christopher's Foundation for Children, with help from City Councilwoman Maria Quiñones-Sánchez, to renovate the center's kitchen this year.

The details are sketchy but at the Northwood Civic Meeting tonight, Anthony Bannister, one of the partners, laid the proposal out that they want to buy the property and operate it as a for profit community center. They do own the apartments at 4712 leiper Street now. Barry Howell, president of the Northwood Civic, will work with them over the next few months to see that the community interests are enforced. The scheduled reopening would be in September of 2010. How do you make a profit doing that? I do not know.