Philadelphia Parks Alliance honors Mt. Airy-based developer

 Mt. Airy-based developer Ken Weinstein will be honored by the Philadelphia Parks Alliance this weekend. (NewsWorks, file art)

Mt. Airy-based developer Ken Weinstein will be honored by the Philadelphia Parks Alliance this weekend. (NewsWorks, file art)

The Philadelphia Parks Alliance will honor Mt. Airy-based developer Ken Weinstein this weekend during its Annual Celebration event.

Each year, the Alliance recognizes someone “who believes in the power of parks and recreation to transform neighborhoods, generate economic, physical and social benefits and create community cohesion,” said Executive Director Lauren Bornfriend.

Why he was selected

Weinstein transformed the Bathey House in East Falls into the Trolley Car Café. The property, the former bath house for a municipal pool, had sat abandoned for six decades and was in complete disrepair.

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Weinstein was also chosen for brokering a deal between PECO and the city that could bring a recreation path to a several-mile stretch of out-of-use train tracks that run to Fort Washington in Montgomery County.

Last month, the city officially took ownership of the Philadelphia side of the project, which starts near Forbidden Drive. Officials in Montgomery County are already on-board.

“It’s kind of cool,” said Weinstein about the honor. “[Parks and recreation centers are] really what makes Philadelphia and our neighborhood of Mt. Airy special. I think a lot of people live in Northwest Philly because of how special the parks are.”

The event is set for Sunday at Lloyd Hall along Boathouse Row from 4 to 7 p.m.

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