Neighbors United is a group of involved citizens in the Northeast section of the City of Lancaster, PA. We try to improve the quality of life in our neighborhood by becoming informed citizens who take an active role in our community. 

Neighbors United hosts special events throughout the year, including mixers, game nights, town hall meetings, fundraisers and National Night Out. 

We are known in the neighborhood for our efforts to bring the LCA Bike Ambassadors to our streets, plant street trees, Adopt a Block litter program, sponsor Little Free Libraries and community gardens, and being overall good neighbors.    

Safer | Greener | Cleaner

In 2014, we embarked on a campaign to make our corner of the city a safer, greener and cleaner place. Through a partnership with the Lancaster City Alliance, we were able to bring together the city's best resources for the benefit of our neighborhood. Many shareholders invested their time, energy and resources to help bring about positive change. Through these efforts, the quality of life in our neighborhood and the City of Lancaster continues to improve.

What will a safer neighborhood look like? Friendly neighborhood Block Captains and Bike Ambassadors will engage the neighborhood.  The Lancaster City Alliance’s Bike Ambassadors enhance the quality of life for people who live, work and visit the City. They are trained to serve as community ambassadors, aiding people with directions, and routinely identify nuisance issues such as excessive trash, graffiti and city maintenance issues. They act as additional eyes and ears in the community, providing an enhanced sense of security, often providing support to first responders. 

How are we making Lancaster a greener place? Last fall, with assistance from nearly 50 volunteers, numerous community organizations and businesses, we planted 27 beautiful street trees. We continue to support efforts to reduce storm water runoff and beautify our city with plans to plant 165 trees along our city streets.
What are the benefits of cleaner streets? Neighbors may adopt a block by picking up litter in their neighborhood. Businesses may sponsor locations for trash receptacles.

Neighbors United is already a shining example of what neighbors can and should do. Just as our homes do not stop at our front door, our city does not stop at the downtown. Other city organizations have formed in the last year specifically following in our footsteps, because they recognize how effective a neighborhood can be when neighbors work together.

Together, we are involved in making our city a safer, greener and cleaner place.  We are making significant progress and will officially launch the Bike Ambassador program on August 2, 2016 during our National Night Out celebration! We thank the many businesses in the Northeast that have stepped up to provide funds. We thank our community partners, who have also raised significant funds through spaghetti dinners, yard sales and pop-up coffee shops.

We are headed in the right direction and are empowered to advocate for a better quality of life for you. We recently reached $55,000 of our $65,000 fundraising goal! Can you help us to the finish line?
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Neighbors United is grateful for our friends at LNP Volunteer Corps. Last fall, we were blessed as many volunteers helped plant beautiful street trees in our neighborhood. This spring, we received the gift of repurposed newspaper boxes to be used as Little Free Libraries. 

Already, we've installed Little Free Libraries at two locations in the Northeast: the 200 block of East New Street and the 500 block of North Shippen Street. Soon, we will add three more boxes on East Clay, East Frederick and North Plum streets.   Let's get reading Lancaster!

Neighbors United was pleased with the turnout for a Community Meeting on February 10, with the Lancaster City Alliance, businesses and residents.

Building on Strength is the Economic Development Strategic Plan for the City of Lancaster, PA. It is important to know that there are 8 focus areas that the City and LCA wish to address over the next 15 years. Our neighborhood area of focus is in the NE along New Holland Ave. including: Plum and Walnut Street Anchor, Ross Street Gateway, and New Holland Ave infill.

After hearing about the plan, we were invited to share our concerns and dreams for the neighborhood. Input from neighbors included (to name a few): a desire for a gathering place for residents, a coffee shop, more pet friendly/outdoor dining establishments, a grocery store, better use of alleys, adding small residential units above alley garages, better street wayfaring, places to safely walk and improvements to our gateways -- especially near the Amtrak bridges, and better attempts at inclusiveness to get more residents involved.

Our city is growing and we wish to continue in the right direction. A plan that focuses on areas beyond the Downtown core is essential. For more information on the plan, visit: http://www.lancastercityalliance.org/building-on-strength/
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‪#‎BuildingonStrength‬

As we seek to change the world one neighbor at a time, we are reminded of our mission to "improve the quality of life in our neighborhood by becoming informed citizens who take an active role in our community.” We are informed citizens who know what is happening in the neighborhood, schools and at home, because we are getting to know our neighborhood, attend meetings, and taking an active role in our community by simply saying "hi" to someone passing us on the street and using our connections for a greater cause. Through these efforts, the quality of life in our neighborhood and the City of Lancaster continues to improve.

A year ago, we embarked on a campaign to make our corner of the city a safer, greener and cleaner place. Through a partnership with the Lancaster City Alliance, we were able to bring together the city's best resources for the benefit of our neighborhood. Noah Miller and Andrew Whalen were recommended to co-chair our organization and have lead us through this transitional time. Many shareholders invested their time, energy and resources to help bring about positive change. 

Today, we look ahead to define our next steps as a neighborhood organization. Many components are coming together due to the leadership of a select group of neighbors. These people attend our regular monthly meetings and wholeheartedly volunteer. As we deliberate what is needed to continue the momentum without spreading ourselves too thinly, we must consider the possibility of forming a well-defined leadership board. This board will be charged with guiding the different parts of our organization with the hope of creating community and placing volunteers into roles where they will thrive. The role of this board will potentially expand in the future as we seek non-profit status for Neighbors United. 

During the next few weeks, Noah and Andrew would like to sit down with anyone who is interested in serving our neighborhood in a leadership capacity. We realize that attendance at our regular meetings is not always possible for some of the most qualified community leaders. Each board member will be asked to carve out a time to meet with other members on a quarterly basis. In addition to the quarterly leadership meeting, time for organization, recruitment and volunteering (as it is related to the area of expertise for each board member) will be expected. 

By January 2016, we would like to fill leadership positions in the following key areas:  

• Block Captains (Neighborhood Safety, Dog Watch, Social Gatherings, Litter/Property Violations)
• Events (National Night Out, Community Yard Sale, Guest Speakers)
• Community and Business Partnerships (Fundraising, Spaghetti Dinner, Event Sponsorship, Lancaster City Alliance)
• Publicity (Social Media, e-News, Flyers, Distribution)
• Beautification (Pubic Art/Murals, Graffiti Removal, Community Clean-Up, Street Trees)

 
We are also interested in coordinating clubs for people to get involved in:

• Bicycle Club (Slow Ride Lancaster, Neighborhood Trips, Riding Partners, and Bicycle Sharing)
• Garden Club (Community Plots, Garden Tours, Workshops, Trading Produce, Growing for a Cause)
• Little Free Library/Book Club (Library Placement, After School Reading Program, Adult Book Club, Book Sharing, Neighborhood Reading List)

Neighbors United is already a shining example of what neighbors can and should do. Just as our homes do not stop at our front door, our city does not stop at the downtown. Other city organizations have formed in the last year specifically following in our footsteps, because they recognize how effective a neighborhood can be when neighbors work together. It is our hope that with the changes we recommend and are moving toward, we become an even better example of success for the rest of the city to follow. 

Shop Small is a movement encouraging people to shop at small businesses, local businesses. Small Business Saturday 2015 will be held on Saturday, November 28th to support small businesses across the country. Founded by American Express in 2010, this day is celebrated on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. 

The public is asked to please shop at our local merchants on this particular Saturday and show their support for the small businesses that anchor the City of Lancaster and strengthen our local economy. 

Lancaster City Alliance and Lancaster Downtown Investment District support this annual event and in partnership with the many small businesses in Lancaster provide links here to various materials small businesses may use to get the word out. 

For more information and additional resources, visit: 
http://www.lancastercityalliance.org/business-resources/small-business-saturday/​ 

On Saturday, October 17th 2015, nearly 50 volunteers representing community organizations and homeowners, planted 27 street trees in our neighborhood. We are grateful for the generosity and support of UGI, TreeVitalize, the Lancaster Rotary, LNP, Ross Street UMC, Save It!, City Arborist Jim Bower, Lancaster City Parks and Public Property workers, the Lancaster County Conservancy Urban Greening, Kristen Thomas and PA Master Naturalists. 

​Visit: http://fox43.com/2015/10/17/volunteers-spruce-up-the-city-of-lancaster

​PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
 
Contact:
Andrew Wesley Whalen
Neighbors United
Phone: (717) 598-7441
E-mail: [email protected]
 
Neighbors Unite to Make City a Greener Place
Alt Headline: Neighborhood Greening Efforts Take Root
Gift of Street Trees Part of Effort to Improve Quality of Life in Lancaster City’s NE
 
Lancaster, PA  – On Saturday, October 17th, neighbors in Lancaster City’s NE will clean up the community and plant 28 street trees as part of an effort to improve their quality of life. Thanks to the support of UGI, TreeVitalize, the Lancaster Rotary and the Lancaster County Conservancy Urban Greening, these trees will be planted free of charge to residents. This is the first phase of a project that hopes to introduce 160 beautiful street trees to the neighborhood over the next three years.
There are over 160 locations in our neighborhood that would benefit from a tree. Did you know that a single tree can prevent 3440 gallons of water from entering our city's combined sewer system each year? In addition, trees provide shade, reduce heating and cooling costs, improve air quality, reduce noise and increase property values. Imagine what 160 trees could do!
For nearly a year, Neighbors United has worked with Kristen Thomas, a local resident, Pennsylvania Master Naturalist trainee and member of LCC Urban Greening, and others who are interested in making NE Lancaster City a greener place. Her team took an inventory of vacant locations in our neighborhood that at one time had a tree (you can see the stumps or holes) and areas where there was no shade at all. Working with the Lancaster City Arborist, they researched trees that were a good fit for the neighborhood, making recommendations based on proximity to power lines and personal preference. With help from the Lancaster City Alliance, they also discovered funding and secured sponsors for the project. Finally, they went door-to-door informing residents when there were good locations in front of their homes. 

Alongside Kristen's efforts, Fritz Schroeder, Director of Urban Greening at the Lancaster County Conservancy, held an informative seminar last spring to educate the community on the benefits of greening the neighborhood to reduce storm water runoff.




Additional Info
VOLUNTEER!
Northeast Lancaster City - Street Tree Planting
Sponsoring organization is the Lancaster County Conservancy working with Pennsylvania Master Naturalists Stewardship Project and Neighbors United

When: Saturday, October 17
Location: Ross Street United Methodist Church, 312 East Ross Street, Lancaster City
Time: 8:30 am start / 1:00 pm (approximate finish)
Goal: Plant 28 Street Trees
Tasks: The city will have already removed the concrete and done an initial planting site preparation. The volunteers will be digging out soil, placing the tree, watering, adding mulch and staking the tree.
Additional Volunteers will be needed to pick up litter, weed and mulch existing tree wells.
 
Links
Website: http://www.neighborsunitedlancaster.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/neighborsunitedLancaster
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nu_lancaster
News Articles:

• http://www.neighborsunitedlancaster.com/news/volunteers-needed-for-shade-tree-planting
• http://www.neighborsunitedlancaster.com/news/ugi-partners-with-neighbors-united-to-bring-shade-trees-to-the-city
• http://www.neighborsunitedlancaster.com/news/neighbors-united-meeting-hosted-by-fritz-schroeder

 
About Neighbors United
Neighbors United is a group of involved citizens in the Northeast section of the City of Lancaster, PA. We try to improve the quality of life in our neighborhood by becoming informed citizens who take an active role in our community.