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work of the Building and Grounds Committee on
this project, and are excited that these areas are
available for use by the residents during the late
summer and beautiful fall days ahead before the
flurries start to fly and we are talking about snow
removal.
Biddle Hall received a facelift with a total of 64
dormer windows, 12 clerestory
windows and 20 skylight
windows replaced.
Residents have also seen
dumpsters and supplies placed
along Admirals Way as the
Strickland HVAC closet
remodels are underway. The
Strickland Committee is hard
at work determining next steps
for new paint and carpeting in
their building.
The Board and management have been working
to address repairs to our historic wall along
Bainbridge Street, a section of which collapsed in
July. We appreciate your patience as we work
through the recovery process.
The Board wishes to acknowledge Molly
Murray’s promotion and is appreciative of her
dedication and service during her tenure here. We
wish her the best in her endeavors as new
community manager in the Philadelphia
region. Also, please join us in welcoming the new
assistant manager, Michele Giannakopoulos, to
Naval Square!
Lastly, the Naval Square Board of Directors
wishes our residents a great “rest of the summer”
and reminds everyone to use
our website for information
about the community and to
send comments to the Board.
The
Mid-Summer
Edition
of the
Naval Square
in this issue
Community Spotlight P.2
Resident Travel Experiences P.3
Coming to Your Neighborhood P.4
Dogs of Naval Square P.5
I S S U E
A u g u s t 2 0 1 6
47 News
Upcoming Events
Mark Your Calendars
SOSNA Triangles Summer Series
Continue Every Thursday 6—8 pm through September 8th
At the Pedestrian Triangles Join your neighbors for live
music and open-air enjoyment
Smooth Jazz Summer Nights Performances begin August 6 and continue every Friday evening throughout the month. The free shows start at 7:30 pm on the stage at the Great Plaza located at the end of Chestnut Street.
PECO Multicultural Summer Fest Events On the Great Plaza Continue Through September: September 18 – Mexican Independence Day September 25 – Brazilian
Day Festival The ethnic heritage festivals include music, food, and arts and crafts!
FROM THE BOARD
September is around the corner, and the
summer of 2016 is flying by!
The pool has been more popular than ever and
it’s been great to see all the families enjoying one
of our nicest amenities. We are pleased that this
year’s pool service included the pool cleaning
which relieved residents from the cleaning duties.
In prior years, the “Pool Crew”, a
small group of Naval Square
volunteers was dedicated to
keeping the pool clean on a
scheduled basis.
The Board and Management
have seen terrific progress in the
projects that were announced in
late spring and early summer.
The landscaping project in the
back of the community is
complete along with a new paver
path and plantings in the peanut garden at the
entrance area. The many improvements to our
irrigation system have helped the new plantings
thrive despite the high temperatures we’ve had for
the past several weeks. The updates to our security
system in the back of the community have also
been completed.
The new directional signs are installed and
we’ve received positive feedback from residents
and delivery personnel. There will be some subtle
changes made to the signs in the days ahead.
The installation of the new patios with pavers is
complete and tables and chairs have been placed at
the front of the community. The main reason for its
placement is the historical nature of the parade
ground and secondly, the location of the irrigation
system and family use. The new remote and quiet
patio space near 200 block of Commodore Court is
also complete and this area is now available for the
community enjoyment. We are grateful for the
Save the Date
Open Board Meeting
Tuesday, September 20 7 PM
Multi-purpose Room Fitness Center
Community Living
2
SPOTLIGHT ON NAVAL SQUARE, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
“Location, location, location.” That’s the
phrase everyone loves to use to describe the
perfect piece of real estate. When talking
about a commercial enterprise, one may find
even the slightest flaw at any location. That
is unless you are looking for a prime center
city home with a suburban feel. Naval
Square is a sprawling 20 plus acre gated
community with all the amenities you could
want in your community. There’s a mixture
of 619 townhomes and condominium style
units to fit any lifestyle which adds to the
variety of demographic within the walls of
these historic grounds. You can walk to
University City or Center City. For those
that don’t like walking or commute
regularly, parking is not an issue. Each unit
has parking in their personal garage,
underground garages, or a parking space that
you own. Hop in your car and go with
access to major highways within minutes of
your home. City residents know the value of
parking! Those that move into Philadelphia
soon learn that value as well.
Originally constructed in 1834 as the
Philadelphia Naval Asylum, Naval Square
also served as the first home of the United
States Naval Academy. In 1971, the grounds
were placed on the National Register of
Historic Places. Some of the first structures
to be constructed are still here.
The crowning features of the community
are historic Biddle Hall and two converted
Each month there is an event to get
residents together - holiday parties, happy
hours, even a Kentucky Derby party! The
Newsletter Committee produces an
informative monthly newsletter highlighting
the events of the month, spotlight articles,
and valuable tips on association living. The
Landscaping Committee is dedicated to an
enhanced curb appeal.
Ensuring all the pieces fall into place is
the executive board. Their commitment to
the community as volunteers is evident by
the progress and evolution of the community
over the years. Spanning almost 10 years
from declaration to the recent final unit sale,
Naval Square has been through the booms
and busts of the real estate market. They
have seen to the challenges of maintaining
such a varying and complicated
infrastructure. Having dedicated volunteers
throughout those formative years has helped
bond the residents though the unknown. The
bar has been set for the future generations of
residents at Naval Square.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andrew Sytnik is the community manager at
Naval Square, a CAI recognized Gold Star
Community. Andrew is employed by
FirstService Residential Mid-Atlantic.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Andrew Sytnik is
the community manager at Naval Square, a
CAI recognized Gold Star Community.
Andrew is employed by FirstService
Naval Square received the Gold Star Community Award from the Pennsylvania and Delaware Valley Chapter of the Community Association Institute
(CAI). CAI’s Gold Star Community program recognizes those communities that work hard to develop and maintain standards, encourage community
participation, maintain fiscal stability and have a positive impact on the quality of life for residents. Andrew Sytnik, our community manager and CAI
member was asked to write an article featuring Naval Square for CAI’s Community Assets magazine. The digital magazine is published bi-monthly by the
Pennsylvania & Delaware Valley Chapter. We would like share the following Community Spotlight article that was published in the July/August 2016
edition of the Community Assets magazine.
mansions. Biddle Hall also features a unique
community room which is known as “The
Rotunda.” This round, domed room is 50
feet in diameter with an 80 foot dome ceiling
with skylights. Once you exit the Rotunda,
to the main steps of Biddle Hall, you get an
amazing view of the “Parade Grounds.” The
Parade Grounds are where families come
together to let the kids play, walk the dog,
and get a brisk walk. The northerly view
captures the skyline of center city. These
parade grounds are surrounded by a large
tree canopy from the many 120+ foot
London Plane trees. Each tree bears a
medallion and number registering each as
having historical significance.
Naval Square’s glory doesn’t lie just in
its past! There’s always something going on
at Naval Square. Active resident committees
and a proactive executive Board keep the
place clean, organized, informed, and
provide many events for residents to enjoy.
Resident Travel Experiences
ideas for an entertaining brochure to
introduce children to the Penn Museum.
A short train ride took us south and east to
Cremona, where music is the main theme.
This small, quiet city was home to the great
violin making families of the 16th to 18th
centuries: Amati, Guarneri, and Stradivari. A
spacious modern museum of stringed
instruments gives music lovers the
opportunity to see and hear the beautiful
creations of skilled craftsmen over the
centuries. Cremona offers a music school,
workshops for makers of stringed
instruments, recitals and concerts, and a
warm, understated charm. It’s a comfortable
place: extended areas are reserved for
pedestrians and cyclists, and the cafe terraces
were open to local soccer fans watching
European Cup games. Cremona has an
impressive Duomo representing several
architectural styles, as well as a glorious
octagonal baptistery where the sun streams
through the dome onto a red marble font. A
day here was not enough.
A longer
train ride took
us further
south and east
to Ravenna, a
W o r l d
Heritage site
that’s justly
famous for its
magni f i cen t
m o s a i c s
dating from
the Roman,
O s t r o g o t h ,
and Byzantine
fifth to eighth
c e n t u r i e s .
A l t h o u g h
considerably
larger than Cremona, Ravenna has a calm,
intimate atmosphere; it’s a walkable city
where bicycles abound and public buses also
provide convenient service. Visiting the
churches of San Vitale and Sant Apollinare
Nuovo, the Arian Baptistery, and the
Mausoleum of Galla Placidia to bask in the
colorful beauty of the mosaic pictures on the
walls and ceilings was a privileged
experience. The poet Dante died in Ravenna
after contracting malaria in Venice, and his
tomb, nestled in a pretty park, is a popular
tourist draw. We took advantage of
Ravenna’s music festival to attend two
Milan, Cremona, Ravenna, Venice: not
the most conventional Italian itinerary but
one that brought balance, new and
surprising experiences, and remarkable
images to my impressions of the country.
I flew to Milan late in June with a
college friend who’s more at home in China
than the Mediterranean world; we were
greeted on arrival by a local train strike!
After locating a bus to the center of town,
we taxied to our spacious, modern hotel and
began to explore.
Milan is a solid, prosperous city. The
beautiful Duomo (cathedral) with a Gothic
facade is adjacent to a handsome, barrel-
vaulted shopping arcade, both set on a lively
piazza. Our excellent tour guide, an
immigrant to Milan from Bulgaria, walked
us to the ducal castle, surrounded by
fortifications, before leading us to the
church of Santa Maria delle Grazie to gaze
at da Vinci’s Last Supper. We had time to
observe its subtleties and take photographs
to our hearts’ content. The staff of the
renowned La Scala opera house allowed us
to take a peek at its red and gold interior
during a suspended rehearsal and then
wander through the memorabilia preserved
in its museum. I thoroughly enjoyed a
special exhibit, housed on the Piazza
Duomo, of wooden models of inventions,
from portable bridges to flying machines,
sketched by Leonardo in his notebooks.
Milan’s archaeological museum, which
displays artifacts from the Roman era and
before in an historic venue, gave me some
concerts, one traditional, the other very
contemporary, ate lots of fish, and relaxed
in a spacious hotel room. Beaches on the
Adriatic are only six miles out of town, but
they’ll have to wait for a return trip. An
American woman I chatted with in the book
shop at San Vitale advised taking Italian
classes in Ravenna for a month to justify an
extended vacation there!
Then north to Venice on the longest train
ride of the trip. We rolled past vineyards;
fields of wheat, rice, and corn; old farm
houses and modern housing developments.
Arriving at the station in Venice in the dark
of night, we hopped into a water taxi on the
Grand Canal and were delivered to the back
entrance of our hotel, where the concierge
lowered a gangplank onto the boat and
escorted us safely ashore.
We followed the traditional tourist route,
visiting San Marco, the Doge’s Palace, and
the Bridge of Sighs. Again we were
fortunate in having enthusiastic, well
informed guides, who conveyed an
understanding of the strength the city
enjoyed for centuries, its wealth, power, and
independence. Left to our own devices, we
got lost countless times, even when armed
with maps, but eventually found our way
around the maze of canals, bridges, streets,
and campos. Sadly, Venice is not only
sinking but also steadily losing population.
Venice’s Jewish Ghetto, the oldest in
Europe, was established 500 years ago; this
anniversary is commemorated in a
fascinating exhibit of manuscripts, books,
maps, and art work. The Peggy
Guggenheim Foundation offers a
spectacular collection of modern painting
and sculpture in a handsome setting. The
Dorsoduro, Venice's Left Bank, is a
neighborhood of students, galleries, and
casual restaurants. We boarded a
“vaporetto* (water bus) to cruise to the
Lido, an island of lovely hotels and beaches,
and Murano, home to the craft of glass
making; there we watched a glass blower at
work and browsed in a museum featuring
beautiful jewelry, figurines, and many
varieties of glassware. The virtuoso
performance of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons”
we attended at San Vidal, a medieval church
with an 18th century facade, still lingers in
my ears. Unquestionably, the highlight of
my stay in Venice was meeting my second
cousin, an immigrant from Croatia who’s a
Continued on page 4
3
On and Off the Beaten Track in Italy...
Nancy Naftulin, Cremona, Italy
Mosaic Ceiling, Ravenna
Around the Neighborhood
4
Coming to Your Neighborhood Soon
The wait is finally over. Center city has a
Target
Everywhere you look you will find
evidence that city living is on the rise. There
are new residential dwellings to replace
demolished structures popping up all over
the city. Along with the influx of city
residency comes the demand for new
businesses and significant revitalization of
retail after many years of decline. Attracting
new businesses is a key component of the
Department of Commerce’s economic
development strategy. New businesses such
as Target, the second-largest discount
retailer, will serve as a catalyst to attract
further development.
The first of three new center city Target
stores opened on July 20, at 1128 Chestnut
Street, will be the smallest location to open
in Philadelphia. This middle of the block
store is 19,000 square feet can be entered
from either Chestnut or Sansom Street. Its
merchandise focuses on smaller items that
accommodate the downtown Philadelphia
community such as apparel, home, health
and beauty items, toys, sporting goods,
small tech items and fresh groceries,
including grab-and-go offerings. The
location also has a pharmacy and Starbucks.
The new stores are what the company
describes as "flexible format" locations,
which have slimmed-down designs and
emphasize order pickups from Target's
website. The new Target models are smaller
and more compact than the retail giant's
traditional box stores in suburban shopping
centers and cater to the urban customer.
The second flexible-format Target store
and the one closest to Naval Square is
located on 1900 Chestnut Street, two blocks
north of Rittenhouse Square, and is scheduled
to open on October 5th. This 19th Street corner
store will span approximately 21,000 square
feet over two floors. Besides the in-store
small item merchandise, it will offer Target
Mobile and order pickup and CVS Pharmacy
services.
A third Center City location planned for
2001 Pennsylvania Avenue is expected to
open in October 2017 in the space that is
currently is occupied by Whole Foods, on
Callowhill Street near the Philadelphia
Museum of Art. It is projected to open after
Whole Foods moves to Rodin Square.
Continued from page 3
practicing dentist in the city, and two of his
of his adult children. We shared a festive
dinner and forged family bonds.
Our final train ride was back to Milan’s
Malpensa Airport in early July: we spent our
last night in Italy in a comfortable Sheraton
hotel that opened directly into the airport’s
departure wing. Quite an adventure we’d
enjoyed! So much of the success of a travel
experience depends on accidentals: the
weather, the people you talk to at an
adjoining table, a pair of earrings that
catches your eye in a shop window.
Candide’s sage words are still very much on
the mark: “You learn a lot by traveling.”
A few observations for potential tourists:
Italians are friendly and helpful. They
like trying out their English and
frequently speak French.
Italian parents are very affectionate
towards their children.
Summer sales begin on July 1.
The two-hour lunch prevails. Don’t
expect to do your banking at midday.
The streets are clean.
Food is fresh, carefully prepared, and
not outrageously expensive. Seafood of
all stripes, tender veal scaloppini,
saffron risotto, and tart, fruit-flavored
gelato rank among my favorite choices.
Prosecco and “spritz” are very
refreshing on a warm summer evening.
Reserve seats in first class train cars if
possible. They cost little more than
coach tickets, and you're guaranteed
ample leg room, air conditioning, and
free snacks and drinks served from a
cart that rolls down the aisle!
—by Nancy Naftulin, Naval Square Traveler
The Fresh Grocer Since the closing of the local Pathmark in
January 2016, most of us have missed the
convenience and savings that come from a
large grocery chain located less than a mile
away. This impacted us greatly and residents
have no substantial options close by after its
closing. Once again the neighborhood has
become a ‘food desert’ with no major chains
to choose from in the area. We now have to
trek to grocery shop at the Acme or Shop Rite
in another part of the city.
Well, the wait may soon be over; the
Fresh Grocer is scheduled to replace the
shuttered Pathmark in the Grays Ferry
Shopping Center. The sign was officially
posted sometime within the last two weeks
and it appears that some property revocations
are underway.
The Fresh Grocer, part of the Wakefern
Family, is a supermarket chain specializing in
providing high quality perishables in urban
a n d s u b u r b a n e n v i r o n m e n t s
with stores operating in the (PA, DE, NJ). It
is a full-service supermarket, started in 1996,
with produce, meat, seafood, baked goods,
frozen foods, snacks and more.
Although no date has been published for
when the Fresh Grocer is scheduled to open,
the fact that we will once again have a larger
grocery store in our neighborhood is exciting
news. For more information about their
amenities go to their website: @
www.thefreshgrocer.com
“You learn a lot by traveling.”
A mural inside the new Chestnut Street
Target, Washington Square West
Community Living
Newsletter Committee Naval Square Executive Board / Committees Jeanette Litts, President Laura Thomas, Secretary Maria Cianfrani, Treasurer Gary Gladstone, Board Member Tim Labrie, Board Member
Buildings and Grounds Committee - Jack Smyth, Jr Communications Committee - Deborah Lyons Finance Committee - Maria Cianfrani Internal Dispute Resolution - Ron Levine Landscape - Ginny Minehart/Doug Linneman Rules & Regs Committee - Margaret Moran Social Committee - Margie Renzi Transition Committee - Wendy Wiesmiller
Debra Homich Aisha O’Connor Jessica Leon Nancy Stinson Deborah Lyons Wendy Steesy Nancy Naftulin Openings Available Send all articles, suggestions and feedback to: [email protected]
5
Jack Russell Terriers are famous for
their boundless energy. Their intensity
comes in handy when hunting foxes, the job
they were bred for. To learn how all that
translates around Naval Square, you must
meet Oscar, but you can call him Oskie.
Oscar — the half rough-/half smooth-
coated little fella — celebrated his first
birthday a few months ago. And if you
know Jack Russells, you’d also like to know
that he’s the long-legged, not short-legged
type. That’s all the more leg for running
around!
Going for “small with a big personality,”
Aisha O’Connor and Tim Fratus decided to
look for a spunky pup to fill the void left by
the loss of their Anatolian Shepherd. Having
once had an Irish Terrier in the family, they
thought that a Jack Russell would fit the bill
perfectly.
Once Aisha and Tim had their sights set,
Aisha set out to find a small, responsible
breeder. Her search area encompassed the
entire East Coast, but it happened that there
was one right in Pennsylvania who had
three male puppies. Two were being kept to
show, but the third didn’t have show-quality
traits, so he was available for adoption.
Aisha and Tim met Oscar (or Murphy, as
he was originally named), at a Jack Russell
Terrier Dog Show in northern New Jersey,
which after a two-hour drive, put them
smack-dab in the middle of Jack Russell
Terrier heaven. Dogs were everywhere:
Dogs of Naval Square: Meet Oscar
some were doing agility (think American Ninja
Warrior for dogs), and others were hanging
with their owners. Yet, among all of the action,
the breeder’s five-year-old son grew quite
concerned when it came time to say goodbye to
Oscar. He’d grown attached to this little puppy,
and was the one who had named him Murphy,
after all.
At first, Oscar was a bit shy and quiet in his
new home. It was very different from the one
he left behind, which was a farm with horses
and several other Jack Russell Terriers.
And he had also never been on a leash
before, so there was a lot for him to get
used to. Over the last year, he’s learned a
lot at doggie daycare, Z Dog Walkers.
They tire him out during the day, so that
he’s ready to chill at night with mama
Aisha. As it turns out, Oscar is a master
snuggler, but a smuggler, too. The family
used to have to keep their eyes on their
snacks, even when placed up high, because
Oscar could jump up onto the dining room
table. He has since been reformed.
Oscar is a nature lover and bird
watcher, so long walks around the parade
grounds and the neighborhood suit him,
but when it’s time to let loose, Oscar takes
to the dog park where he enjoys running
and playing with leash-less abandon.
There’s another Jack Russell Terrier here
at Naval Square that Oscar likes to
exchange barks with, whenever possible,
and he has a special place in his heart for
Board Member Laura Thomas’ yellow lab.
At 13 months, he hasn’t gotten it all
figured out yet, but he’s getting there.
Behaving as a gentle-pup should, while on
leash, is still a work in progress, as is
controlling his enthusiasm around children.
We just need to give him a little more time.
He’s got a lot of natural moxie to manage! If you would like your dog featured, please send us an email: [email protected]
Proper Naval Square Gate Usage Residents should be aware that the vehicular gates are for vehicles only. Do you get tired of the gates breaking down and becoming a huge inconvenience? Most of the time when the gates break down, it's because bicycle riders use the vehicle gate to enter/exit. Each gate has a metal detector which tells the gate that a vehicle is exiting/entering. This detector is designed to pick up a vehicle, not a bicycle or pedestrian. When the gate is activated via your clicker, and the sensor doesn't pick up that a vehicle is in fact present, it can cause malfunctions in the computer system. This causes the gates to be stuck open or closed. As of July 31, Naval Square has spent approximately $16,000 or $25 per owner for gate repairs. Please be a good neighbor and help prevent an increase in your condo fees due to repair costs!
From the Management Office . . .
Oskie - 12 weeks old