Dear Residents, Spring is nearly here! I'm very excited about major new creative energy that I'm seeing here in the 8th District. No fewer than eight fun spring/summer initiatives are being planned by neighbors.
Read more to find out the details.
As always, please don't hesitate to get in touch if you have a question or concern.
Nathan Field 8th District City Councilman Mobile: 302-530-6626 Email: Nrfield@wilmingtonde,gov For additional updates on neighborhood news in between newsletters, follow @FieldforDistrict8 on Facebook or Instagram.
FUN EVENTS IN AND AROUND THE 8TH DISTRICT THIS SPRING
(1) 170th Birthday Party for Iconic Wilmingtonian
Howard Pyle was a world-famous 19th century artist from right here in Wilmington. His Franklin Street studios are perfectly preserved - still active - and a hidden Wilmington gem. This Friday night its artists are having a party to celebrate his 170th birthday.
All are welcome.
I hope to see many of you there. (2) Celebrating Wilmington's Most Beautiful Landmark
By popular demand, Rockford Tower will be lit up again next winter season.
A few complimentary copies of the commemorative painting by neighborhood artist Rachel Van Wylen remain for anyone who plans to hang it prominently in their home, office, apartment building, bar, restaurant. school or place of work.
A similar promotional painting is in the works for the Wilmington Memorial Day Parade.
More details on that in April.
A suggestion I received from a Highlands neighbor:
"What about something like this at Rockford Tower with a different color for each season or Holiday?"
(3) 1st Annual Trolley Square 5k
The Tap House Social Running Club meets every Tuesday at 6:30 outside of Trolley Square Tap House.
On Saturday April 22nd they are hosting the 1st annual Trolley Square 5k Retro Run/Walk to raise money for charity.
Please consider coming out to run or walk to have fun and support this new neighborhood initiative.
We'd like to get over 200 participants in Year One.
(4) Art of the Cocktail - Delaware Art Museum
I'm looking forward to attending the Retro Run 5k in the morning and the Art of the Cocktail on the evening of Saturday April 22nd. More details here.
(5) New Orleans Vibes at Brew Haha
Brew HaHa on Dupont St has done an amazing job in renovating their back room.
They've added comfortable couches for chatting, lots of new wall art, plus frequent live music on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
(5) New Murals Project this Summer in Trolley Square
The Delaware Avenue Community Association is planning a follow up murals project from last spring's successful project to paint murals on 18 utility boxes in and around Trolley Square (read more about that project HERE).
(6) 8th District Neighbors Behind New Movie Theater
I can't overstate how much this is needed. Read this great article for more details.
(7) Pop Up 8th District Art Gallery
Coming in May or June - the Delaware Art Museum staff is planning for a "Pop Up Art Gallery" in and around the 8th District.
(8) Impressive redesign of Catherine Rooney's
If you haven't been lately, the owners of Catherine Rooney's and Trolley Square Tap House fundamentally redesigned their building.
Read more HERE.
I'm very impressed with the murals artists painted throughout the building.
(9) Coming in May - Pickleball Tournament in Brandywine Park
More details to follow, but the Friends of Wilmington Park will be hosting the first of many pickleball tournaments at the Lovering Avenue courts sometime in May.
(10) Wilmington Bike Loop
Still in the planning stages, but the ability to ride around the entire perimeter of the City of Wilmington will be an enormous new perk for living in the City and very fun for anyone who likes to ride bikes.
See #19 below for more on Bike trail additions.
(11) Promoting Social Events via ARPA money
As part of the Federal American Rescue Plan Act, the City received $55 million. $100,000 has been allocated to each City Council District.
Here are the specific guidelines.
One permitted use is promoting social events aimed at rebuilding community activities and vibrancy, since Covid caused so many of them to shut down.
Do you have ideas?
City and Municipal Updates
(12) Focusing on Senior High Rises
I recently met with seniors living at Luther Towers 1, along with our new State Rep. Nnamdi Chukwuocha.
I'm working on several areas that were brought to my attention (safer crosswalks being
a major one).
One key concern many seniors expressed to me was feeling cut off and isolated especially due to the effects of Covid.
This is a huge problem.
Which is why a top priority of mine in coming months will be coming up with ideas for events/activities that will make city living more enjoyable for seniors living in buildings such as Ingleside, Luther Towers I and 2 and Lincoln Towers.
(13) Your Concerns About Mail Delivery Problems
Constituents from all areas of the 8th District have brought to my attention problems with mail delivery service.
Wanting to convey how serious these concerns are, I met in person with the Senior Postmaster General and discussed each one by one.
In my meetings with the Post master, she made 3 key points:
(1) High turnover due to burnout from Covid led to major staffing issues (2) Surge in packages between November-December for Holiday season, creating a backlog which has just been cleared (3) But - 9 new hires are currently being trained which will help
Because of #3 especially, the Post Office expects performance to improve significantly in the next month or so.
(13) Remember to Take Advantage of 311
Please take full advantage of the City's 311 System. For most issues, 311 is by far the quickest way to get a problem resolved.
(14) Three New City Council Members In Place In a very sad turn of events, 3 of the original 13 members of City Council that started the term in January 2021, passed away and needed to be replaced mid-term. Three are now in place: Al Mills, at Large and Latisha Bracy, At Large. In January, Vincent White replaced the late First District Council member Linda Gray.
(15) Overly Bright Lights in Wawaset Park I have spoken directly with the Mayor to convey the seriousness of this concern. The City has expressed directly to the highest levels of Delmarva that lights in Wawaset Park should look like "the ones on Kentmere Parkway" and that is what is being arranged.
(16) Property Tax Reassessments
Last week the city announced that the process to reassess property taxes throughout the City has begun.
Here are several articles ( here here and here ) with more background on this issue. Please contact me with any questions.
(17) Public Works Trash Collection Policy
Several condos and apartments in the city were recently notified that the city would stop collecting trash and recycling. Here is the press release from 2017 announcing this new change and providing more information. Please contact me with any further questions.
UPDATE ON INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS
(18) When will the Bancroft Bridge reopen?
Last November, the State of Delaware Agency responsible for this area, gave an update (read the details here).
The State of Delaware will be holding a follow up meeting in late March to discuss the latest progress towards replacing the bridge.
As soon as the details of that meetings are set, I will publish them.
(19) Mill Road Trail - On Track for Spring 2023
I$160,000 has been raised to add a new perk for city living by modernizing an old 1800s era factory worker's trail along the Brandywine to make it available for the bikers and walkers of today.
The construction is set to begin sometime this Spring.
(20) Gibraltar As your City Council representative, I continue to monitor in great detail all Gibraltar-related developments. I will continue to immediately inform you whenever there is new information.
There is nothing new to report since my last newsletter other than that the potential developers are studying options that they may pursue.
For updates on neighborhood news in between newsletters, follow @FieldforDistrict8 on Facebook or Instagram.