Bart Blatstein Develops Piazza Parking Lot, James MacAvoy, Holland Taylor, Eddie Alderson, & Meek Mill

November 2, 2017 by HughE Dillon

Bart Blatstein Develops Piazza Parking Lot, James MacAvoy, Holland Taylor, Eddie Alderson, & Meek Mill

Hello Thursday. Last Saturday I was at Hound-O-Ween at Schmidt’s Commons at the Piazza and I noticed the parking lot across the street was fenced off. So I text Bart to ask him, and coincidentally I ran into him later that evening at Philly Fights Cancer as well.

Meek
This is what he wrote me back when I asked if he was developing the property: Bart said he was working on concept for this amazing parcel of land.
He said it would be complementary to the amazing Piazza.

Meek
He said don’t worry about parking if you’re heading to Wahlburgers, which is in a building still owned by his company Tower Investments, inc. the glass building on the left. On the right is The Schmidt’s Commons at Piazza, which he previously owned and it was called The Piazza at Schmidts. Here’s my write up of the opening night. So crazy to read it, 2009

Meek

There’s a free parking lot across the street catty-corner on a smaller parcel of land still owned by Tower Investments, specifically for Wahlburgers . The parking lot that he is creating a great concept on is the brown parcel of land. On the east-side of the “Piazza Parking Lot” is where The Schmidt’s Commons built a residential parking garage for their residents that live in the apartments. There’s still plenty of parking nearby, and I hear Schmidt’s Commons is in talks to partner with a nearby parking facility. I can’t wait to see what the visionary Blatstein is going to create on the Piazza Parking Lot.

Meek
Glass movie update: This past weekend Sarah Paulson and her girlfriend, who I adore, Holland Taylor visited The Barnes Museum right before heading to Shyamaween . Maybe on a tip from Samuel L Jackson who stopped by last weekend. We probably won’t see them out and about in Philadelphia for a few weeks, as they’ve headed to Allentown to film for a few weeks in The Allentown State Hospital. According to Sharon Pinkenson, Executive Director of Greater Philadelphia Film Office, all three main characters are filming there – Samuel L Jackson, Bruce Willis and James McAvoy.

Meek
All three have been spotted about and about in Allentown. McAvoy posed for a photo with a Lehigh Fitness Trainer and was seen pumping serious iron. Jackson grabbed a bite to eat at and posed with a worker; While Willis , McAvoy and Shyamalan were all seen at the Allentown Brew Works. Earlier in the day Willis was generous with a tip according to a bellhop. Rumor has it they’ll be back in town to film a few more scenes near Center City, maybe that subway shot at Snyder, and wrap shortly after Thanksgiving, just in time for the Creed 2 production office to open.

Meek
Congrats to my friends Kristen Alderson and her brother Eddie Alderson who participated in the LLS #lightthenight walk in Philadelphia last Saturday night to raise much needed funds for life saving research to battle blood cancers. Eddie has been battling cancer for the past year. It’s great to see him out, and doing better. Sorry I missed it.

Meek Mill was at the Sixers game tonight, but last night he was bothering my favorite candy lady. Looks like this is on Walnut Street, he kept trying to get her to give away her candy since it was Halloween. He’s been spotted all over town recently filming music videos.

Check out PhillyChitChat Friday for more photos from Shyamaween 2017

Philadelphia

Philly Gossip : Shia LaBeouf, Nicki Minaj, Meek Mill SPLIT

June 12, 2016 by HughE Dillon

Philly Gossip : Shia LaBeouf, Nicki Minaj, Meek Mill, Usher and Stanley Tucci

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Last week was a crazy week for PhillyChitChat, I was super busy and didn’t get to my weekly Philly Gossip column, so here it is. Last weekend was a hot, hot, hot celebrity weekend. The Roots Picnic was going on as well as Wizard World, both of which brought lots of celebrities to town like Stanley Tucci, who was in town for Wizard World, who had dinner Friday night at Suga’s which I mentioned last week. Nearby was 6ABC’s Nydia Han who told me her group really wanted to invite him over for dessert. The next evening Tucci watched the sunset from The Logan’s Assembly Lounge, which overlooks the Parkway.

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Usher was the headliner for the Root’s Picnic. When he arrived in town he headed to North Philly and got a cheesesteak at Max’s near Germantown Ave.

He posed for photos, and even sang with a few fans before he headed to Festival Pier for what I hear was an amazing, life changing set.

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Meek Mill is a free man after 90 days of house arrest for a probation violation; guess he didn’t realize that is was spring cause he showed up to the Root’s Picnic to celebrate with his bae, Nicki Minaj, in black jeans and sweater.

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When it got too hot to handle they headed to South Street which sent fans into a frenzy, to pick up a whole new outfit – tshirt, and white jeans, before heading back to the picnic and the rest of the concert.

Meek

Fans waiting outside Princess on South Street

Meek

The duo was low key all week until Wednesday, when I started getting lots of tips that they were dining at Devon seafood on Rittenhouse Square near midnight. Then the next day this picture popped up on Meek Mill’s Instagram.

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Friday Meek Mill and Nicki Minaj flew out of Philly (split the scene). I guess his probation is over. Best wishes for a long time of love.

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Actor Shia LaBeouf’s latest project has him traveling across the country using his Twitter coordinates.

The project is called “Take Me Anywhere.” He teamed up with Vice News, the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art and the Finnish Institute in London.

LaBeouf and two artists use their GPS coordinates broadcast via Twitter to allow random strangers to pick them up and take them anywhere, all in the name of art.

#TAKEMEANYWHERE by LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner (2016) Commissioned by Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art as part of MediaLive 2016, and The Finnish Institute in London. Project supported by Frame Contemporary Art Finland and Vice. Site programming by Citrusbits.

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The project began on May 23 and is expected to last until June 23. Last night his adventure (and Keily Cloude) brought him to Philadelphia from New Castle, Indiana.

‏@thecampaignbook #TAKEMEANYWHERE

39°56’01″N 75°09’32″W (Coordinates for Philly)

Casually meeting my OG BFF from Dubai after EIGHT years… And Shia LaBeouf.

But don’t look for him in Philly, his last tweet said he was back on the road…

A photo posted by Stupid Sinha (@stupidudit) on Jun 11, 2016 at 4:52pm PDT

Philadelphia

Philly Gossip: Do we ever get tired of Meek & Nicki Minaj, Congrats to Zac Lashway & Syma Chowdhry

February 10, 2016 by HughE Dillon

Good Wednesday Morning. Finally a little snow has fallen on our fair City, after one of the more nebulous forecasts in while. I don’t know in the past they used to just say it was going to snow, and then it did. I don’t know when it became such a huge drama, as it seems to be now.

Anyway this light dusting is not enough to even bring a crisco oiled
cardboard box to the Art Museum Steps, or you’d really have a Rocky
Steps ride. But it is pretty to look at. Let’s get into some Philly Gossip

Last week several local media outlets wrote about my sightings of Nicki Minaj and Meek Mill about town. Then it was picked up by the NY Mag, so that was exciting for me as that’s the bible of what is hot in Manhattan. This week Nicki & Meek didn’t disappoint. Seems she’s in Brooklyn during the week shooting the TV show about her life, then the weekends she heads to Philly, and by weekend you know I mean Thursday to Monday. Friday I wrote that singer Monica (l) was in town, Thursday, at Macy’s for Black History Month and did a meet and greet. Well that evening she and her husband, Shannon Brown, who plays for the Miami Heat, had dinner with Nicki and Meek at Del Frisco’s.

Earlier Thursday Meek Mill made an appearance at Boys’ Latin of Philadelphia Charter School. The media was less than kind with his appearance there, wondering if he was trying to leverage a lighter sentence for a probation violation, which was being heard the following day. First of all Meek has been visiting schools in the Philly area for the past 2 months. This one just happened to have a press release attached to it. Most of his appearances went unnoticed except for the few that were noted on his SM page. Meek’s tour of high schools is a lesson in mistakes made, and getting your life back on track. Every year I photograph the Boys’ Latin Fundraiser at Neiman Marcus, and am very proud of the schooling the kids get. They have a very high percentage rate of graduates , who go on to college.

Nicki and Meek had dinner at Maggiano’s Little Italy ironically near the Justice Center, on Saturday night. Nicki even posed with a few servers. Later that evening she returned to her hotel and Meek Mill headed to Recess Lounge where all hell broke out with LeSean McCoy.

Shady at Recess in 2011, standing on a table at about the same spot where he allegedly threw a punch Saturday night.

Meek was not involved. Now some people in the internet world were wondering why he was there and not on house arrest. The house arrest doesn’t start until March. Hopefully we’ll have more Nicki and Meek out and about until then. I have a feeling Meek’s house is going to be a hotel in Center City, but not the one Nicki is staying at currently.

Congrats to Syma Chowdhry who is headed to Detroit 7ABC and starts on Feb 22

She did this cute video to inform her friends and fans.

Philly’s cute meter just dropped a bit as hottie anchor/reporter Zac Lashway is leaving WPHL 17’s Eye Opener, and heading to warm up a Minnesota news station. He hasn’t reported where he’s landed. The 27 yr old NY native came to us via a CBS affiliate in Great Falls, Mont. so he’s used to the tundra. Good luck buddy. Follow Zac on twitter @ZachLashway

Congrats to Ray Martin and his 9th Annual Peachie Martin/Joyce Sarocy Memorial Basketball Game
which raised $12,000 this year at their annual basketball game, and after party at Xfinity Live. Participating in last weekends game was CBS’ Survivor Gervase Peterson, Natalie Egenolf, Sports Radio WIP, Mo’Nae Davis and Ray Martin.

Monday I headed to Snap Kitchen in Old City for their ribbon cutting which was done by Mike Jerrick, Fox 29 with an assist by Philadelphia City Rep Sheila Hess.

Afterwards I headed over to the Fox 29 studios to catch up with my friends there. I hadn’t been in for awhile, these days I usually send my photos in or send in story ideas. Time constraints keep me off the air as well as lack of celebrities in Philly. But every week you do see my work on the show whether you know it or not. In fact I told told Mike Jerrick and one of the producers that I’d be seeing Foxy Brown’s Pam Grier later that day to shoot a promo for Dining Out For Life. They said ask her if she’d like to be on the next day.

And the next day she appeared. Tuesday she talked about her autobiography, My Life in Three Acts and

DINING OUT FOR LIFE

As I mentioned earlier after my stop at Snap Kitchen on Monday morning, I headed to Fox 29 Studios, then to Hotel Monaco at Noon. The nice folks from “15 Minutes” Inc. and ActionAids set up a few shots for me for PhillyChitChat as well as the wireservice I shoot for. Love this shot of

The Dining Out For Life Spokespeople Pam Grier, Ted Allen, Daisy Martinez and Mondo Guerra
Pam told me that she’ll be Dining Out on April 14 at a restaurant in Denver, where she lives, at a participating restaurant with her mom.

Dining Out For Life,
hosted by longtime partner Subaru, started over 26 years ago in
Philadelphia and is magnificent in its simplicity: On this special day,
dine at one of the 3,000 participating restaurants in cities across
North America, which donate a generous portion of the day’s proceeds to
fund HIV/AIDS services in your city. Philadelphia beneficiary ActionAIDS will hold Dining Out For Life this year onThursday, April 14th. More event info at www.diningoutforlife.com/Philadelphia.

Monday night I headed toYangming Restaurant

New Year’s Celebration. I’ve been going the last 4 years and it’s always a good time.

Thanks to Michelle Leonard for hosting another spectacular dinner party again this year. L-R: Eric Sales, EMS PR, Kristen Johanson, CBSPhilly, Michael Wei, owner of YangMing Michelle Leonard, Realtor and kneeling, and author Doreen McGettigan, who’s new book, The Stranger in My Recliner (a true story), was just released in January.
************
WHAT’S HAPPENING

What are you doing Thursday. Academies rED Fest is having a networking, fundraiser at Saxbys headquarters in Center City. Don’t complain you don’t have anything to do, come out and meet some fun people. I’ll be there, so wear something red and festive. Tickets are reasonable $35 or 2/$50. There’s food, drink and all you can drink coffee. TICKETS & INFO

This photo popped up yesterday in my timeline. It’s P’unk Burger one year anniversary this week. Then last night I got this in my email.
FREE MILKSHAKES

P’unk Burger (1823 East Passyunk) celebrates its one year birthday this Friday, February 12, 2016 by partnering with Sweet Box Cupcakes on a special Red Velvet Raspberry Spodee Cake Shake. Shakes will be FREE (with NO purchase required) from 5:00pm to 7:00pm. Shakes will also be for sale during the balance of Valentine’s Weekend.

Philadelphia

MEEK MILLS STOPS BY THE THREE NERDS DAYLOAD PARTY at Brian Nagel’s Kings Oak

June 25, 2012 by HughE Dillon 1 Comment

The Three Nerds started dayload (“When you set aside a day to drink from morning until evening,”) a few years back at Tweed, then Valanni’s and now they’ve settled in nicely into Brian Nagel’s Kings Oak American Grill & Sports Bar at the piazza every last Sunday of the month (except a week early in June because of the holiday weekend next weekend.) Next week if you’re in town stop by Parx’s Casino with the Olympian’s live and in person.

Mark Mattera, Ryan Dorsey, Zach Seidman, guest and another nerd? (Those nerds are multiplying.)

Jenn Van Horn, Adrienne Diaz and Ashley Dunek. It must have been a good night cause when I took this shot Adrienne said she’d be home by nine to watch Newsroom on HBO. I left at 10PM and she was still on the dance floor. How was that Newsroom, my twitter was blowing up with the play by play?

Daniel Smith, Fabio Azavedo and Julie Hixon.

I had the good fortune to spend a lot of my day with Kyle Cuffie-Scott, Lola, Kristyn Aldrich and Ronnie Howard

Maybe this is the Adele influence?

Thanks to DJ’s Nemyiss and DJ Mach1 for not playing this song and instead rocking the house all night long.

Justin and Jeff. Good to see everyone today, nice to get back to the clubs and day parties and see my old friends as well as meet all you peeps who read me everyday. As you can tell, I’m kinda shy (I swear I am), but I enjoy photographing you, bringing you good stories and ideas.

Lindsay Furman, looking refreshed after the islands. You might have heard Lindsay Furman was part of the reality show “Love in the Wild.” I was at the premiere a few weeks back, but I never got a chance to put the photo up before she was kicked off Gilligan’s Island back into the arms of her man Terry Ju (r). You know how those things go, she was looking for love in all the wrong places, thought the TV show would come through as they Bachelor series has done so well (BTW as I predicted Reid Rosenthal is on Bachelor Pad this summer. To my reader, he was never engaged to Kristen Dalton, 2009 Miss USA. They still remain “good friends.”), any applied accepted, then found a guy right here in Philly. Gave the show the good college try, but her heart already belonged to Ju.

Did I mention that Sunday’s Day Load theme was Fourth of July.

Someday I’ll get this camera video thing down, in the meantime bear with me. (See if you can spot the guy in the Rocky time warp.)

Clever mustache hanging from her glasses.

Rocking style.

The Geek Awards are coming up August 17, 2012 Check out my coverage last year on PCC. I love that they include me in their world.

Marisa Magnatta and Amit Gabai, photographer for Philly2Nite, and massage therapist at North Beach. Hit him up.

bob

Ryan Banks is back in town and ready to thrown down. He’s gonna hit me up with some info and I’ll pass it along to you. Follow me on Twitter @IPhillyChitChat as that’s where I drop a lot of info, daily. The last time I saw Ryan I photographed the behind the scenes of a music video he shot at G Lounge.

Look who was at Day Load, but G Lounge GM Waylon Nelson and his girlfriend Mackenzie, Marketing Director of Delilah’s

Day Load is a mix of dancing inside, and socializing outside. People come and go all day, and some folks like moi just stay daylight into darkness. Dancing, chatting and my favorite, people watching …

Baller for real: Jason Thompson – Sacramento Kings

Not so much

Red, White & Blue @SweetAssBridget

Dress is comfortable, from casual to well kinda dressy for the gals.

Match set: Herb and Ashley Reid

Grace and LeeAnn at your service

Yes!!!

Not only are the shoes hot, the nails are done and she’s got an anklet on. Now this is working it!

If she didn’t find what she was looking for Sunday, then I suggest wearing something different next time.

Kate Beaver and Jackiem Wright

Damon Francis, Adrienne, Kristyn and you look fabulous even though it’s the end of the night my new friend who’s name I forgot to get.

Next big night for the Three Nerds is at North Beach on Tuesday.

Wayne Ellington, Timberwolves, Philadelphia born rapper, now world wide know, Meek Mill, and Curtis Brinkley, San Diego Chargers. Maybach Music’s Own Meek Mill will be headlining his own Dream Chasers tour, which kicks off August 2nd in Denver, Colorado and stops by TLA 8/25/12