Mercer Street Friends food distribution in the Franklin Park section of Trenton

On Saturday August 9, 2018 members of the Franklin Parks NE Block Association – FPNEBA partnered with Mercer Street Friends to distribute food, personal hygiene products and literature about the organization to over 100 families.

Located in the Trenton NJ’s South Ward, the Franklin Park neighborhood is bordered by Cedar Lane, Chambers, Broad and Liberty Streets.  This diverse neighborhood has a mix of single family and semi attached homes, small businesses and a park designed by Fredrick Law Olmstead.  Olmstead also designed Trenton’s Cadwalader Park, Central Park in NYC and is considered the “Father of Landscape Architecture.”

FPNEBA members are often seen throughout Trenton supporting events, volunteering and working to make NJ’s Capital City better.  “Partnering with Mercer Street Friends to distribute food, personal hygiene products and literature about the programs available is a no brainer and a natural fit, we hope to expand our efforts and to encourage others to participate and develop a similar program that works for them.” offered President Jacque Howard who is also the creator and host of the Trenton 365 Show, a radio and tv program that promotes civic engagement as way to build a better community.

Mercer Street Friends is a 60 year old non-profit with Quaker values.  Besides being the food distribution organization for the county, MSF offers programs for the whole family including workforce development and community schools.  Executive Director Armstead Johnson recently shared about the organizations forthcoming plans to offer services for individuals and families from “cradle to career and beyond!”   

The following images were from the food distribution in September

Bike To Work Week 2017

This years National Bike To Work Week is May 15-19 and National Bike To Work Day is Friday May 19th.

This year I joined Jay Watson of the D&R Greenway Land Trust and several partnering organizations including Trenton Cycling Revolution and NJ Partnership for Healthy Kids to distribute cards in English and Spanish to encourage biking safety.

Have a listen to my chat with Jay captured at Trenton City Hall one of the distribution sites.

https://soundcloud.com/trenton365/jay-watson-d-and-r-greenway

I spent most of my time at the Trenton Transit Station where I met several people who were riding.   Not everyone was wearing a helmet, some were riding on the sidewalks, most of the bikes were newer and in good condition, most didn't know about riding with the traffic and obeying traffic laws.


https://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-bike-to-work-day-third-friday-in-may/

A few images captured this week.

Trenton Cycling Revolution 2016

Trenton Cycling Revolution is a local Trenton organization dedicated to creating a safe and healthy environment for bicyclists and pedestrians in the greater Trenton area through education, advocacy and promotion. www.trentoncycling.org

2016 marked the 20th Anniversary of the TCR - Trenton Cycling Revolution Bike Tour of Trenton, aka Tour de Trenton.

This annual event was the idea of several people including Lisa Kasabach.  The inaugural ride had a theme of TREES.

Chair Wills Kinsley and other committee members thought it would be good to revisit the orgs. history and theme this years ride around trees as well.

This year marked the first time the Tour de Trenton started and ended in the Fredrick Law Olmstead designed Franklin Park, located in the Capital City's South Ward.

This family friendly event attracted ~100 people from Trenton and beyond including some new friends from NYC.

The morning began with a welcome announcement and free coffee from Abdul Qadir of Trenton Coffeehouse and Roaster

The ride was escorted by several Trenton Police Officers on ATV's, bicycles and in traditional vehicles as well as TCR Ride Marshals.  The leisurely paced ride of ~15 miles gave riders many different views of the City including Riverview Cemetery,  Route #29 Deck Park several neighborhoods, trails and the D & R Canal State Park Path.

SAG - Support and Gear was provided by Knapps Cyclery.  Since 1944 Knapp's has been a fixture and staple as an elite bicycle retail and service shop.

The midway rest stop took place at Cadwalader Park, another Olmstead designed park in Trenton NJ.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadwalader_Park

Returning to Franklin Park, riders and park visitors were met by Saeed's Food Truck owned and operated by Trenton resident Saeed Farraj and his family.

Sticking with the theme of the ride we planted a Blue Spruce tree provided by the Isles Inc. a community development and environment organization based in Trenton NJ and the City of Trenton.

Biking in the Trenton NJ Region is growing and TCR has ambitious plans to keep the momentum going!

Have a listen to several of my chats with members of the biking community in the Trenton NJ Region.

https://soundcloud.com/trenton365/sets/biking-in-trenton-nj