BigBelly dumping | church vacancy crisis | improved fresh food access | NoLibs’ rapid transition | Finnegan’s Wake balcony impasse | PPA moves to Market East

East Passyunk’s new BigBelly compactors have become such magnets for residential trash and litter that most are being pulled from the street, the Daily News reports. Neighbors were putting so much household trash in and around the cans that Passyunk Avenue Revitalization Corporation’s cleaning staff spent most of their hours focused on removing the trash. “It got so ridiculous that someone balanced a sofa on one of the cans,” PARC’s Samuel Sherman said. For now the Streets Department will monitor the remaining cans and issue violations.

There are some 300 closed houses of worship in Greater Philadelphia  – particularly Catholic and Protestant churches – awaiting new life as most slowly slump into decay. The Inquirer reviews the vacant church crisis in and around Philadelphia, which Deputy Mayor Alan Greenberger said is “a big problem that does not lend itself to any ordinary solutions.” Greenberger called for a full inventory of closed churches that could help set preservation priorities.

Joani Walsh, USDA undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs, visited Clark Park Farmers’ Market this weekend and applauded the work of the Food Trust and Health Department to increase fresh food access in some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. Through the Get Healthy Philly program they have added markets, enabled the use of EBT cards and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) vouchers, and the Food Trust offers shoppers $2 in “Food Bucks” for every $5 in SNAP spent at markets. Through these combined efforts, “food-stamp purchases [at markets] have more than quadrupled over the last two years.”

Cruise through Northern Liberties’ recent past through a photographic tour on Hidden City Daily for a refresher on just how rapid and dramatic the neighborhood transition has been since the turn of the 21st century.

Northern Liberties neighbors and the politically-connected owners of Finnegan’s Wake remain deadlocked on balconies that the bar has permission to build, reports the Inquirer. First District Councilman Mark Squilla promised the Northern Liberties Neighbors Association that the bar wouldn’t build the balconies until an agreement can be reached on the issue.

The Parking Authority is moving its headquarters to Market East from its undistinguished home at 3101 Market Street. The agency will soon be located on the second floor of the Strawbridge’s building at 8th and Market, reports philly.com.