The newly renovated Dilworth Plaza is expected to drastically improve the look and feel of Center City. But as the construction for the $55 million project continues, right now it’s nothing but an inconvenience for many local residents.

"It's an eyesore," said Courtney Brown.

“It’s taking a really long time,” said William Martinez.

“It’s inconvenient for a lot of people,” said Evon Davis.

The construction project on the plaza, located on 15th and Market Streets on the West Side of city hall, is currently two to three months behind scheduled and $5.5 million over budget. Paul Levy, president of the Center City District, says the issues were caused by trouble underground.

Credit: CCD Philadelphia

“We hit pipes and sewer lines that weren’t on the drawing boards,’ he said.

The city, state and federal governments are picking up the majority of the bill for the reconstruction project while private donors are handling the remaining $15 million. Levy also says he’s relying on the private sector to cover the cost overruns.

“We’re building and actively fundraising so we will have all of the money in place to pay for all the cost,” Levy said. “We will not be asking taxpayers for any more money.”

The newly renovated plaza, set to open next year, will include a public space for 400 benches and chairs, la large lawn, tree groves and a fountain.

For now though, residents will have to deal with the constant construction while looking forward to completion of the future tourist destination.

“I think it’s really going to be nice,” Davis said. “Hopefully it will bring tourists to City Hall.”

Click here for more information on Dilworth Plaza.
 

NBC10 obtained surveillance video of a woman stealing toys meant for needy children.

The Toys for Tots charity set up a donation box at the Wings to Go restaurant on the 500 block of S. Oxford Valley Road in Fairless Hills, Bucks County.

On Monday, around 5 p.m., surveillance video captured a woman walking up to the donation bin. She looked around and then reached inside the box, pulled out a few toys, placed it in a bag and then walked out.

The video also shows a customer sitting in a chair nearby and playing on his phone, completely oblivious to the theft. Store employees didn’t even realize anything was stolen until Tuesday morning when they noticed the donation box was empty.

The General Manager of Wings to Go says the restaurant has collected donations for Toys for Tots for the past 10 years. The manager says that to her knowledge, it’s the first time someone has ever stolen from the donation box.

Despite the theft, employees at Wings to Go did not file a police report and say they want the woman to keep the toys if she truly needs them. Bristol Township Police told NBC10 they are still investigating however after receiving phone calls from people who were angered by the theft.

Click here for more information on Toys for Tots, including how to make a donation.

 

A rally was held Tuesday night in support of police officers accused of assaulting a teen boy.

Last November, the mother of the 14-year-old boy, who was arrested for shoplifting, accused the Tullytown Police Department of roughing the boy up.

Editor's Note: A warning that this story contains graphic images.

"The picture speaks a thousand words," says Marissa Sargeant, who shared several graphic photos with NBC10 that shows her son bruised, cut and swollen.

The teen was arrested by Tullytown Police for retail theft at Walmart last month along with an adult relative.

"What he did was wrong. He was coerced by a 19-year-old. He does know better," said Sargeant.

The teen and his 19-year-old cousin Jordan Gibson were both positively identified by Wal-Mart Asset Protection.

Authorities say after the teen's arrest, and before he was loaded into a police car, he took off running along Route 13 while handcuffed.

Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler tells NBC10 that police officers yelled warnings at the teen and fearing for his safety, they fired a stun gun to subdue him. The D.A. says the Taser struck the boy in the face and with his hands cuffed, the boy had no way to brace himself against falling face-first.

"That doesn't sound right. There's no way, if he was running from behind, that he would get hit with a taser in the front of his face," said Sargeant.

Sargeant says the officers must have hit or kicked her son, and then told him not to tell anyone. The boy was taken directly to the hospital for treatment.

Police aren't offering up anymore information because of the family's threat of a lawsuit.

"I just want some justice. I even pray for the police officers because they need help," said Sargeant.

While Heckler doesn't believe there was any wrongdoing from police, he says his office is now investigating the incident after a request from the Tullytown Police Chief.

Meanwhile, the boy's family hired Center City attorney Fortunato Perri Jr. who plans to file a complaint. Perri Jr. says he spoke briefly with the boy.

"We intend to develop the facts and circumstances a bit further," Perri said. "But just simply with the nature of the injuries that occurred in this case, I think it's clear that the police used excessive force. That's what we're investigating at this point."

A group gathered outside the Tullytown municipal building to show their appreciation to the Tullytown Police Department in the midst of the controversy.

"Society's crumbling," said Peggy Conners of Morrisville. "We have to support our police department. They take care of us."

A suspect allegedly fired at police early this morning launching a police standoff.

According to Philadelphia Police, the man fired at officers responding to a report of screaming along the 500 block of E Courtland Street in the Feltonville neighborhood before barricading himself within a home.

No officers were hit, according to police.

Police didn’t know why the man opened fire around 6 a.m. A woman was also in the home with him but didn't appear to be in danger.

After nearly one hour the standoff continued as SWAT officers responded to the scene.

Several blocks in the area including near the staging area at Whitaker Avenue and Wingohocking Street were blocked off as police responded.

• Get the latest traffic from NBC10.com

Around 7:30 a.m. the man gave up.

"It’s been resolved peacefully," said Chief Inspector Joe Sullivan. "We have one male in custody, he surrendered after extensive negotiations by a sergeant with the SWAT unit."

The woman in the home wasn't hurt.

"There really was no indication that she was in danger at any time," said Sullivan.

The man, who wasn't immediately identified, is expected to be charged with reckless endangerment and other counts.

A man carrying a sawed-off shotgun robbed a group of people as they left a bar early Wednesday.

Investigators say the suspect was waiting for the two employees and two customers after they closed up Loco Pez on the 2400 block of Norris Street in Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood.

The suspect forced the victims back into the bar where he stole $70 from them before taking another $1,000 from inside the business.

The man then fled the scene.

No one was hurt.

Philadelphia Police didn’t reveal any information about the suspect.

This was one of a string of violent incidents in the city overnight including a home invasion in Southwest Philly and a police standoff in Feltonville.

Ocwen Financial Corp., an Atlanta-based mortgage servicer that bought GMAC Mortgage last year, issued layoff notices to 800 employees, including 244 in Ft. Washington, Pa.

The company did not layoff anyone in its Mt. Laurel, N.J. location. The other layoffs included 238 in Waterloo, Iowa and 237 in Dallas, Texas, according to the Ceder Valley Business Monthly Online.

Ocwen officials could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday morning but the company’s Vice President of Marketing, Rick Gillespie, told the publication that the cutbacks primarily affected workers in mortgage servicing jobs in a range of seniority levels and were a result of recent Ocwen acquisitions, including the October 2012 purchase of GMAC Mortgage from bankrupt mortgage company Residential Capital, known as ResCap. Read more about this story on PBJ.com

More NBC10.com stories:

• 2 Charged in Rape of Teen at Hotel
• Woman Steals Toys From Needy Children
• Pa. Closer to Banning E-Cigarettes

For more breaking business news go to PBJ.com

Detectives with the Philadelphia Police Department's Central Division are searching for two suspects responsible for a robbery and attack last month.

On Nov. 10 at about 2 a.m., 36-year-old Nick Forte was walking along the 200 block of South Camac Street in Washington Square when he was struck from behind and knocked unconscious, according to police. A second assailant continued to punch the victim in the face while he lay on the street. 

The attackers stole Forte's wallet, cell phone and a gold necklace with a diamond before fleeing the scene. 

Forte told PhillyGay News that he remained unconscious on the ground until about 3:30 a.m. when a passerby discovered him.  The unknown woman transported Forte to his parents' house in her own car after she was unable to obtain additional assistance or hail a cab driver willing to take him to a hospital, he said. 

Both of Forte's eye sockets and cheek bones were broken, along with his nose and a rib, the PhillyGay News reports.  "They did a real number on me," he said. 

Police describe the first suspect, who was holding a flashlight during the robbery, as a white male wearing a red, white and blue coat, dark colored pants and shoes.  The second assailant is a white male with short hair, who was wearing glasses, a dark colored dress coat, blue jeans and brown shoes. 

A ring Forte was wearing on his right hand is currently being processed for DNA evidence, but a detective says it is unlikely to provide any clues since the item had the victim's blood on it. 

The aggravated assault was the second in the vicinity in the span of four days. A 29-year-old woman was beat, robbed and raped on the 1200 block of St. James Street around 11 p.m. on Nov. 14. 

She was leaving Tabu Lounge and Sports Bar on S. 12th Street to feed a parking meter when an unidentified man assaulted her.

Police hope a sketch they released Wednesday helps them track down a woman who along with two men assaulted a man inside his home over the weekend.

• WATCH: Masked Men Pistol Whip Resident, Ransack Home

New Castle County Police say interviews with a Lynnfield, Del. resident attacked inside his home helped them form the sketch.

According to investigators, the woman and her accomplices were armed with handguns when they burst into the man’s Ridgeland Road home around 10 p.m. Sunday and demanded money before roughing him up.

The suspects then stole undisclosed items before fleeing the home, possibly driving off in a light-colored sedan.

After the assault the victim called police. Investigators searched the area around the home but couldn’t find the suspects.

A composite sketch of the woman allegedly involved shows a woman wearing a hood with a light complexion who stands between 5-foot-8-inches and 5-foot-10-inches tall and weighs around 130 to 150 pounds.

Her most noticeable attribute is a gap between her front teeth.

New Castle County Police asked anyone who recognizes this woman or knows anything about the crime to call Det .B. Shahan at 302-395-8110 or by email. Tips can also be made anonymously online, by texting the keyword NCCPD and the tip to 847411 or by calling Crimestoppers at 800-TIP-3333.

A man turned himself in today after being named as a suspect in the weekend murder of a U.S. Marine.

Timothy Loper, Jr., was shot to death trying to break up a bar fight in Camden early Sunday morning.

"That's Tim," said his wife, Beverly Loper. He's like a peacemaker. He's everybody's therapist in the family."

Loper, 27, had been celebrating a friend's birthday at the 20 Horse Tavern restaurant and bar. He was trying to break up the fight in the parking lot around 2:45 in the morning. Police say Darrell Crone pulled out a gun during the fight and started shooting. Loper was hit several times and died.

The victim's father called Crone a coward on Tuesday and challenged him to do the right thing and turn himself in.

Crone, 31, did surrender to Camden police this morning.

Loper, who served in Afghanistan, was beloved by family and friends.

"Tim had the biggest heart in the world. He would do anything for anybody," said his cousin, Ciara Blue.

Another relative, Faith Murray, was also at the party that night. She said she never thought it would be the last time she'd see Loper.

"I wish I'd taken him [home] with me. It's senseless," Murray said.

Folks in New Jersey might use a few choice words -- that we could never print -- in reaction to a recent state-by-state breakdown on profanity use.

Residents in the Garden State are the third most likely to use curse -- coming in just behind Ohio and Maryland, according to a study by the Marchex Institute. People in Washington State were least likely to curse.

Delaware placed as a “Sailors” state -- one where people are more likely to curse, while Pennsylvanians were “occasionally profane.”

The study by the research wing of mobile advertising agency Marchex was posted back in May, but gained momentum Wednesday thanks to The Today Show, NJ.com and other programs which discussed the study.

The research of foul-mouths looked at more than 600,000 phone calls placed to businesses like auto dealerships, pest control centers and cable companies over the past year.

Men across the board used bad language twice as often as women and, no matter the gender, the caller was more likely to curse the longer the phone call continued, according to Marchex.

The study also looked at how courteous people were during service calls. Folks in South Carolina were most likely to use “please” and “thank you," while people from Wisconsin were least polite.

Interestingly enough, New Jereseyans, while profane, are also among the “very courteous” states, according to Marchex.

A rough holiday season could be ahead for hundreds of workers in Philadelphia that currently supply a vital service for Philadelphia kids.

School bus operator Atlantic Express Transportation Corporation plans to let go more than 500 workers at its Port Richmond facility effective at the end of the year.

Atlantic Express of Pennsylvania, Inc. supplies public and private charter bus services in and around the Philadelphia region including transporting thousands of students in the School District of Philadelphia. Late last month, the company posted a WARN notice that it would permanently lay off 518 workers from its location on Thompson Street as of Dec. 31.

The local corporation is part of the larger Atlantic Express Transportation Corporation, which last month filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

• READ: Full Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing

In court papers, filed in federal court in New York, the nearly 40-year-old company lists millions of dollars in unpaid bills including disputed, contingent and unliquidated claims in excess of $13 million by AFL-CIO transit union employees.

On Monday, the New York-based company that operates in multiple states and is New York City's largest school bus operator, received word that the court approved its bankruptcy financing plan. According to NASDAQ, the $53.5 million in financing from Wells Fargo will help the company keep afloat as it looks to sell its assets -- if the company doesn’t sell, it will be forced to liquidate.

The company hopes to avoid layoffs by having the New York City bus union accept a contract that is  up for vote Wednesday night, according to Atlantic Express spokeswoman Carolyn Daly.

Daly says if the contract changes aren't approved then the liquidation will begin.

Neither local nor national AFL-CIO representatives returned calls for comment.

What does it mean for Philly workers and school students if the company continues on the road to ruin?

Right now, pink slips continue to loom come Dec. 31, said Daly.

Daly said the company is committed to remaining in Philly where it has served customers for decades calling the city one of Atlantic Express' "most valuable" markets. But, because of the "burdensome" economic situation in New York, it might have no choice but to sell off parts of the company.

She said if the company does fold, the Philly wing of the business would be desirable to a new owner and that a serious buyer already has expressed interest.

The Philadelphia School District is hopeful any layoffs wouldn't cause a problem.

In a statement, district spokesman Fernando Gallard said the district "has monitored developments in the bankruptcy proceedings...and remains in contact with the local management team at Atlantic Express."

"The Atlantic Express team has offered assurances that services will continue under the terms of its contract with the School District," Gallard said. "We have also received assurances that any transfer of our contract to a new operator will take place subject to our existing approval rights.

"We are prepared to protect our rights but remain hopeful that will not prove necessary."

Atlantic Express’ Thompson Street facility consists of multiple lots where literally hundreds of yellow buses can be seen from satellite images on Google Maps. As of Wednesday, a call to the company was still greeted with an automated message that allows people to book a bus, apply for a job, get accounts receivable and more options.

Contact Dan Stamm at 610-668-5565, daniel.stamm@nbcuni.com or follow @DanStamm on Twitter.

While the New York Metro commuter train that barrelled around a curve and derailed did not employ technology to automatically slow or stop the speeding train, there is one local transit line that has been using such a system for four decades: PATCO.

The 14.1 mile long Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO) Speedline has utilized Automatic Train Control (ATC) technology since the first high-speed train departed on its journey from Lindenwold, N.J. on Feb. 15, 1969.

“It was a cutting-edge system in its day and it still works quite well,” says Timothy Ireland, spokesman for the Delaware River Port Authority, which runs the line.

Relays along sections of the tracks deliver what are called “cab codes” to the train’s conductor via antennas at the bottom of the train cars, according to Ireland. Those codes designate a speed limit and that speed can change depending on a variety of factors including the location of other trains, how close a train is to a track switch, navigating curves or changes in the track and the distance to a red stop signal.

“If an operator fails to respond to a change in cab codes, or if the operator attempts to run the train faster than the speed associated with a particular cab code, the train will brake automatically to the allowable authorized speed,” Ireland said.

Should something break and the train stop receiving cab codes, Ireland says the train would automatically break to a complete stop. He adds that only under an emergency can the system be overridden and the system’s operation is checked before the train leaves the rail yard.

Such speed control systems, called positive train control, have been heavily discussed over the past few days in light of the NYC Metro-North commuter train derailment in the Bronx on Sunday morning.

In that incident, the train was traveling 82 mph before running into a sharp curve that had a speed limit of 30 mph. The rail cars jumped the tracks and careened down an embankment toward the Harlem River – killing four people and injuring dozens.

SEPTA officials told NBC10 on Monday that the transit authority recently completed a $150 million safety upgrade to install ATC on its lines. Amtrak also uses two similar systems along sections of its Northeast Corridor lines aimed at preventing speeding and stop signal running.

Congress has mandated that positive control systems be deployed by mass transit and freight rail operators, like PATCO, SEPTA and Amtrak, by 2015.

The PATCO Speedline carries an average of 38,000 riders along 13 stops from Lindenwold, Camden County, N.J., across the Benjamin Franklin Bridge and to 15th and Locust Streets in Center City Philadelphia.

Ireland says the rail line is working to upgrade its wireless radio technology to the public safety 800Mhz band, which segregates the radio from commercial transmissions, and refurbish its 121 rail cars.  

Contact Vince Lattanzio at 610.668.5532, vince.lattanzio@nbcuni.com or follow @VinceLattanzio on Twitter.

A local oil company's sudden closing is not only leaving customers without heat, it's leaving them with an empty wallet.

Residents that prepaid Norton Oil Company in Phillipsburg, New Jersey for this winter's oil are being urged to get their oil elsewhere, because they're not getting it from Norton AND they're NOT getting a refund, Warren County Department of Weight and Measures Superintendent Michael Santos told The Express-Times on Tuesday.

Intitally, customers were told that they would be serviced by Sycamore Company going forward, however, since Norton's abrupt closing last month, those customers have yet to receive their oil or a refund.

"The most important thing for people to know is that if they were a Norton customer and feel like they were due money and owed oil, nobody is coming for them," Santos told the Times.

Residents are now being advised to contact the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs to file a complaint. They're also being advised to get their heating situation in order by finding a new oil company.

For more information on how to file a complaint, click here.

Police are investigating the discovery of several caskets, a skull and marble slabs underneath the playground of a North Philadelphia school.

Investigators say workers with the water department were excavating the playground behind the William Dicks Elementary School on the 2400 block of Diamond Street shortly after 2 p.m. As they were digging, investigators say they unearthed several wooden caskets with headstones and that one of them belonged to a child.

According to sources, the workers began digging on Tuesday and originally thought they were hitting wood and debris rather than caskets.

Engineers who surveyed the area say it was a gravesite back in the 1900s that was paved over. NBC10 also found records showing that the site was the home of the Odd Fellows Cemetery established in 1849 and destroyed in the 1950s.

"This was all a cemetery," said Ronell Reyes, who lives near the site. "I don't remember if they removed all of the bodies. That is proper protocol, but obviously not." 

"We don't know what really happened back then," said Donovan Herrig, who also lives near the site. "Maybe somebody was rushing the whole process or they were like, 'I'm sick and tired of this! I'm not taking anymore bodies. We can leave the rest of them here and hopefully nobody finds them.'"

The Historical Society will examine the property Thursday morning. Police are holding the scene until then.

Also on NBC10.com:

• Body Found Wrapped in Sheet, Packing Material
• Man Kills Mom for Crack Money: Police
• Suit Filed Against Complex Where Murders Took Place

A Jersey Shore community hit hard by Superstorm Sandy is using a new method to protect their beach from future violent storms.

Ocean Gate is the first New Jersey town to use beach prisms. The heavy pieces of concrete, which are shaped similarly to highway barriers, act as giant brakes for waves.

“There’s a built-in parabolic curve right here and when the wave hits that parabolic curve it scatters away as spray,” said Jay McKenna, the Beach Prisms Regional Sales Manager.

Thirty-five of the beach prisms, which are precast with triangular openings, will be placed inside the Toms River in Ocean Gate. Once nearly submerged in the water about 50 feet from the sand, the prisms are designed to prevent beach erosion when waves kick up during coastal storms.

“In the vast majority of instances it will not only completely restore your beach but also increase the amount of sand on your beach,” McKenna said.

While plans for the prisms have been in development for three years, Ocean Gate Mayor Paul Kennedy says the devices are especially important now since the community just replaced its boardwalk after Sandy destroyed the old one last year.

“We’ve been losing beach year after year with the Nor’easters we get,” he said. “So we came up with an idea that hopefully will work.”

The Virginia-based company that makes the prisms installed them along the Chesapeake Bay and in other areas. Officials say they cost less and are more durable than other shore protection methods that use stones and other materials.

“The prisms seemed to be the best way because it was inexpensive,” said Mayor Kennedy.

Believing that other Jersey Shore towns would be interested in using the prisms, Kennedy convinced the company’s sales rep to attend last month’s State League of Municipalities Conference in Atlantic City.

“We were inundated with mayors questioning us,” McKenna said. “We hope to do much more business in New Jersey.”