President's Letter - 2008

Friends and Neighbors,

The primary mission of The Neighborhood Club of Bala Cynwyd is to preserve the residential character of Bala Cynwyd. Over the last year I've been impressed with the many different neighborhoods within Bala Cynwyd and the traditions of comity that endure.

I have seen block parties on Derwen Road, Rolling Road, Academy Road, and many others. In the fall, the Fire Department hosts a Halloween parade, some streets are famous for fabulously-themed Halloween "haunted houses," and residents partake in neighborly Sukkot celebrations. There is at least one wild father-son football game on Thanksgiving that, especially when it is rainy and muddy, is a spectacle of joy.

The NCBC proudly sponsors and promotes our Independence Day Celebration, the Beautification Committee's perennial exchanges and sidewalk garden awards, and the Summer Solstice in the Bala-Merion Shopping District. The residents and merchants of Bala Cynwyd are building traditions that enrich our community, raise our spirits, and warm our hearts.

If there is some special tradition of which you are aware, please let me know. We might like to highlight it in The Gateway, our newsletter.

The Directors of The Neighborhood Club volunteer significant time to preserve and further these community ideals. The many Zoning Hearing Board, Commissioners, School Board, Planning Commission, and non-municipal meetings they attend are too numerous to list. Be aware that these outstanding board members show a zest for the quality of life we love in Bala Cynwyd. They all teem with a desire to improve and preserve our town.

Every year NCBC directors confront issues that are pressuring our community. Our borders, specifically Rock Hill Road, City Avenue, and along the river are changing. Developers are moving on Rock Hill Road to add residential and office buildings - aiming for the highest and best use for their property. Aware of this eventuality, The NCBC has been working for years to ensure that this "Gateway" to the Main Line is developed in harmony with preserving the highest and best quality of life for Bala Cynwyd. In addition, as City Avenue modernizes, NCBC Board members sit on a steering committee that is planning the modern vision for this critical border.

Our Board is actively engaged with Lower Merion as the Township works to create The Schuylkill River West Trail, a pedestrian-bike path that will connect Bala Cynwyd to Manayunk, and also extend on our side of the river west to Flat Rock Park and further to our border with Upper Merion. This exciting project - dubbed the Emerald Necklace - will preserve open space and be accessible by many. It should be a reality in the next couple years.

Bala Cynwyd is not Brigadoon, the mystical town that never changes for a century. This GREAT community deserves outstanding representation - and you get that from The Neighborhood Club. Please join The Neighborhood Club. Support your community!

P.S. The Neighborhood Club relies on your membership. Please take a moment to become a member for 2008. Click this link for more information on Membership Dues.