BVTW Annual Meeting
The Bella Vista Town Watch (BVTW) held their annual general meeting at Palumbo Recreation Center on April 29, 2003. BVTW President, Greg Pastore, introduced the organizations officers and board. Each member explained various issues of our business plan. These issues included our current finances, zoning, patrolling, anti-graffiti plans, special events and then the floor was opened to questions from the neighbors.

The Citizen's Alliance for Better Neighborhoods explained what they have been doing in our community and other ways they can assist us in the future. Currently, they have been cleaning a different section of Bella Vista each week using sidewalk cleaning equipment. They also helped remove large balk trash throughout the neighborhood during our last cleanup.

Councilman Frank DiCicco was awarded the Bella Vista Town Watch Distinguished Community Service Award for his fine work not only in Bella Vista, but also for his services to the entire City of Philadelphia. To name a few of his past success mentioned at the meeting, Councilman DiCicco has assisted us with zoning issues, he was key to the reopening of the South Street Police Mini-Station, promoted the ten year real estate tax abatement program that has increased residential living throughout the city, helped with lowering the city wage taxes and created the Citizen's Alliance to fill the gaps that were missing from our current city services. To everyone's surprise, Councilman DiCicco presented a check to BVTW in the amount of $20,000 to be used at the Palumbo Rec Center and by the South Street Police.

The BVTW officers and board promised to launch a new web site to answer many of the common "quality of life" questions that are asked of our group and to keep neighbors informed of current events and issues.

Bella Vista Clean-Up, Saturday, June 7th
Saturday, June 7th is the next Neighborhood-wide cleanup. Since the April 5th cleanup was impacted by rain, we need to really get out for this cleanup. But we need all of your help. Here's what you can do:

1. Contact your Block Captain, and be out there on Saturday to clean up your block. If you are a Block Captain, please reach out to as many of your neighbors as possible to join in the effort. If your block has no Captain, or you're not sure who it is, contact Andy Trackman at 610-257-7994, and he'll try and locate one. If we can't find your Block Captain, then don't hesitate to clean up your street anyway!
2. Town Watch will once again be heading up the anti-graffiti effort. If you see graffiti, please call the Anti-Graffiti hotline at 215-686-0000. Stay tuned for more detailed information on how you can help with graffiti removal.
3. If you notice any areas of the neighborhood that are particularly dirty, and may be in need of extra cleaning, such as an empty lot, blighted building, or neglected block, please let us know, and we can work to arrange extra cleaning help on the 7th.
4. Operation B.I.K.E. The Philadelphia Police Department recently announced a new initiative designed to prevent bike thefts and enhance the recovery rate for bicycles that are reported stolen. Come out on Saturday, June 7th, 11:00 AM, to the Palumbo Rec Center, 10th and Fitzwater Streets, and bring your bike. The Police will mark your bike with a registration number which they will keep on file with your name and address. If your bike is ever stolen, this registration number will help it get back to you. If you have any questions, call 215-627-0057.

ATM Scam: Thieves Steal Your Money
Police are seeing more and more incidents of automatic teller machines that help thieves steal your money.

Rarely do criminals look over your shoulder to get your PIN number anymore. They don't need to. Now, they use fake ATM fronts that they place over legitimate ATMs. The device captures all the info on the magnetic strip and your PIN. The thieves then download it to a laptop and they have enough of your information to make duplicate cards. The Consumer Alert bottom line is that you should always be aware of your surroundings when you're at an ATM and keep tabs on your bank account to make sure all transactions are accurate.