Perhaps the Pabst-drinking, Kerouac-quoting, Vice-reading stereotype of Philly hipsters as grungy do-littles isn’t entirely true: When presented with the option of having more space to do all of those things, hipsters can spring into action!

Such was the case when the proposal to expand Fishtown’s Johnny Brendas - a bar as retro-hip as many of its patrons - was recently put forth at a neighborhood zoning meeting.

An unlikely standoff resulted, pitting old-school Fishtowners who protest just about anything new against arty, tightly-clothed younger folks who normally couldn’t be bothered to put up a fight.

But motivation came from somewhere, as the hipsters turned out in force to set up and put away chairs, present their arguments, and passionately stand by their belief that a bigger bar makes the area just a bit better.

It makes one wonder what could be ... what if this growing segment of Philly’s population became active in something besides preservation of its own scene? What if we found a way to make, say, road and park cleanups more ironic?

In this spirit, I am calling all people in NoLibs, Fishtown and surrounding gentrifying areas - hipsters or otherwise - to come to the Penn Treaty Park cleanup on Saturday, May 20 at 10 a.m. The Friends of the Park is a new group that could use some support in their efforts to turn this undervalued, rare waterfront green space into the prime historical attraction it deserves to be.

Be there or be … too mainstream? Three people showed up for the last cleanup, so it definitely was not mainstream.