Re: [UC] Alert: Group of boys on bikes, stealing bikes and casing cars
In a message dated 7/12/2013 5:32:26 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, pbul...@gmail.com writes: Please call 911. Have a description and location ready, and what you observe them doing. It would be nice for their sakes to nip this in the bud, before they graduate to more serious crimes. I think you're mincing words, Patti. I suspect you really mean that it would be nice to nip this in the bud, getting the little bastards off the streets and teaching their parents something about responsibility, scaring the shit out of the whole sordid lot, before they graduate to more serious crimes. Not that stealing $500 or $600 bikes, which many people around here have, isn't serious enough. Al Krigman
Re: [UC] 92-unit complex proposed for 43rd Baltimore
In a message dated 3/22/2013 10:50:03 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, l...@verizon.net writes: _92-unit complex proposed for 43rd and Baltimore, across from Clark Park_ (http://www.westphillylocal.com/2013/03/21/92-unit-complex-proposed-for-43rd- and-baltimore-across-from-clark-park/) (_http://www.westphillylocal.com/2013/03/21/92-unit-complex-proposed-for-43r d-and-baltimore-across-from-clark-park/#comments_ (http://www.westphillylocal.com/2013/03/21/92-unit-complex-proposed-for-43rd-and-baltimore-across-from -clark-park/#comments) ) If you object to, support, or wish to have an input on the specifics of the design for this, in addition to contacting the Zoning Board of Adjustments, contact Friends of Clark Park (www.friendsofclarkpark.org/ ) and the Spruce Hill Community Association (_www.sprucehillca.org/_ (http://www.sprucehillca.org/) ) -- both having more collective weight of membership than individuals with respect to Zoning Board deliberations. Also, contact Marty Cabry, Councilwoman Blackwell's point-person on zoning issues (_marty.cabry@phila.gov_ (mailto:marty.ca...@phila.gov) ); Mrs Blackwell's stand on the matter also gets special attention from the ZBA. __ Alan Krigman KRF Management 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502
Re: [UC] Small Repair needed to Porch Railing
In a message dated 3/5/2013 11:25:42 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, wendyjastr...@comcast.net writes: The wrought iron railing along the steps up to our front porch has become detached at the top and needs to be welded or soldered or something. It's a small job, but we need to get it repaired for our home owner's insurance company. Does anyone have any recommendations or suggestions about who would be willing and able to do such a small job that is required to be repaired? I have no clue how to do it on our own and not even sure we could. Thanks! Wendy Jastrzab Call Victor or Vinicio (V-Square Improvements) ... see their web page at _www.icodat.com/vs_ (http://www.icodat.com/vs) for a phone number. They don't do welding but maybe it's correctable with some screws. If so, it would be an inexpensive repair. Tell them I gave you their names. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
[UC] Check out The Daily Pennsylvanian :: QA: Penn author evaluates university ci
_Click here: The Daily Pennsylvanian :: QA: Penn author evaluates university civic engagement_ (http://www.thedp.com/article/2012/12/qa-penn-author-evaluates-university-civic-engagement) Does anybody on this on-line forum agree with what Ms Hodges has to say? Maybe none of the Penn people who provided all the pap about partnership with the community forgot to mention 400 S 40th St. Al Krigman
[UC] A good use for $650,000?
No, I'm not planning to donate $650,000 to some neighborhood group for worthwhile causes. But I've heard that UCD is going to spend this much money on a project somehow connected with the subway portal at 40th Baltimore. I can't help but believe the community could use this large amount of money for something more worthwhile. Certainly, if Penn and the VA think that an enhanced portal would be valuable to them, they can pay for it. Or, if SEPTA officials think such a project will increase use of the subway-surface lines, they can pay for it. Anybody have any ideas about a better use for $650,000? * Improvements at the Lea, Wilson, and/or Powel schools? * Street tree care -- pruning what we've got and planting new saplings? * Fixing the new corner curb ramps where big pools of water collect whenever it rains? * Scholarships for West Philly High grads to attend Community College or enroll in a trade school? * A fund to partially reimburse property owners to fix their uneven and broken sidewalks? * Less exorbitant fees for parking close to Penn so suburbanites don't fill all the non-permitted spaces in front of our homes so residents and their guests don't have to keep driving around looking for spaces for their own cars? * Other? () - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
[UC] Unlicensed landlords and real estate tax delinquencies
In a message dated 10/17/2012 1:09:18 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, aroc...@gmail.com writes: _http://www.philadelinquency.com/?p=1448_ (http://www.philadelinquency.com/?p=1448) A dataset that I have worked hard to provide is now ready and available for your consumption: The _Delinquent Landlord Map_ (http://www.philadelinquency.com/?page_id=1406) . Roughly 70,000 LI active rental licenses have been matched up with their corresponding property records at the Office of Property Assessment. Interesting... good work. Note: * although there are lots of landlord delinquencies in West Philadelphia, there are almost none in University City, * The 70,000 active rental licenses represent slightly less than half of the rental properties in the city -- a factor I found in preparing a presentation for City Council this past spring by comparing LI's number with the most recent census data. Those of us who consider ourselves responsible rental housing providers (formerly known somewhat derogatorily as landlords) have made a strong case, which city officials have -- of course -- ignored, that the people operating without licenses tend to have the most housing code violations and to be otherwise the most irresponsible. This probably applies to tax delinquencies as well. The city is losing a lot of money by not making a serious effort to identify unlicensed rental properties, while also disregarding the health and safety problems my colleagues and I assert are rampant in this segment of the market. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
[UC] Check out Rusty water in University City
_Click here: Rusty water in University City_ (http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/20121002_Rusty_water_in_University_City.html) - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
[UC] Late-breaking news re young 46th/Farrugut Market miscreant
Wednesday, August 1, 2012 _ Thug-in-training, 13, nabbed in string of gunpoint robbery attempts _ (http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/dncrime/13-year-old-nabbed-in-string-of-unsuccessful-gunpoint-robberies.html) Police arrested a 13-year-old boy Wednesday in connection with a _series of at least five attempted gunpoint robberies_ (http://articles.philly.com/2012-07-31/news/32962476_1_broad-daylight-reporter-teenage-boy) in West Philadelphia. The boy has two prior robbery arrests on his record, and was also cited for disorderly conduct in 2010, when he allegedly threatened a teacher at and threw a chair at Beeber Dimner Middle School in Wynnefield. Cops found the boy in a deli on Farragut Street near Chestnut around 10:35 Wednesday morning and took him into custody without incident. He confessed to the attempted robberies during an interview. The boy told police that a silver handgun he used during the attempted robberies was a BB gun. He told detectives that he put the gun in his mother's purse before he left home, and cops said he was not carrying the gun at the time of his arrest. Police have yet to speak to the boy's mother and are charging him with robbery and weapons violations. He was being held in the Southwest Detective Division on Pine Street near 55th Wednesday and police expected him to be eventually be moved to the Youth Study Center.
[UC] Do as I say, not as I do
From this morning's DP: In addition to her duties representing the University, Penn President Amy Gutmann will be releasing a new book next month, entitled The Spirit of Compromise: Why Governing Demands It and Campaigning Undermines It... The spirit of compromise on the part of the administration of the University of Pennsylvania (with respect to us benighted members of the Community, anyway)? What's that? - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
[UC] Jim... Stand up and be counted.
In a message dated 4/25/2012 8:54:56 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, friendsofjimroeb...@gmail.com writes: A sincere THANK YOU to all of you that supported Jim and his campaign. I hope you were able to cast your vote for him and the issues he has fought for over the years, on behalf of the 188th district. November elections will be here soon. Stay tuned for updates and opportunities to support Jim. This is from this morning's Inquirer: The realities are ugly, leaders said Tuesday - the Philadelphia School District is nearly insolvent, lags behind most other urban districts in academics, and loses students to charters because parents believe it does not keep their children safe. What we do know through lots of history and evidence and practice is that the current structure doesn't work, School Reform Commission Chairman Pedro Ramos said. It's not fiscally sustainable and it doesn't produce high-quality schools for all kids. So, at the SRC's direction, Chief Recovery Officer Thomas Knudsen on Tuesday announced a plan that would essentially blow up the district and start with a new structure. The plan - subject to public comment and SRC approval - would close 40 schools next year and 64 by 2017, move thousands more students to charters, and dismantle the central office in favor of achievement networks that would compete to run groups of 25 schools and would sign performance-based contracts. Jim Roebuck had a brush with defeat yesterday but pulled through because of many people in the neighborhood who think of him as an honest, hard-working, and sincere Representative. One of the reasons he had a tough haul was, of course, the money and the tactics used by his opponent and her backers. Another reason, I believe, is that Jim is perceived as holding the position that better funding of the same-old/same-old approaches that obviously haven't been working -- and which won't be turned around by more money in the hands of the people who've not invested wisely to date. Whether you agree or disagree with the above (and there's room for reasonable people to disagree!), he owes it to his constituents -- those who supported as well as those who voted against him -- to take a public stand on what Knudsen and Ramos are apparently planning. If Jim agrees with it, he should explain why then throw his support behind it. If he disagrees (wholly or in part), he should explain why, then become involved in the process of accommodation to arrive at a compromise. Jim... stand up and be counted. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
Re: [UC] Re: Fatimah Muhammad
In a message dated 4/24/2012 8:22:50 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, glen...@earthlink.net writes: I believe the plutocracy will first use the charter movement to destroy public education in Philadelphia. How would you answer the rational segment of the group that believes that the system of public education in Philadelphia (and elsewhere) has destroyed itself with tools ranging from socio-political correctness in their permissive attitudes toward children and parents alike, to excessive compensation and benefit packages for teachers who are not held accountable for their own performance? - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
Re: [UC] Citypaper article: school vouchers the campaign against Jim Roebuck
In a message dated 4/12/2012 2:52:07 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, aroc...@gmail.com writes: I testified before City Council's Education Committee on Tuesday with concerns about the Great Schools Compact. One of which is that over 16% of Lea Elementary's students are English Language Learners. By the Great Schools Compact’s own admission, charter schools serve English Language Learners at a rate of 3.3% which is less than half of the school district’s average of 8.1% and less than a fourth of Lea’s rate. Private schools, being private, have no obligation to serve these students at all. The same goes for students with Special Education needs, students with behavior problems, students behind grade level, economically disadvantaged students etc. Although voucher programs are often under the banner of helping the most vulnerable students, what has been proposed is set up to provide an escape hatch to nowhere for them. I'm not trying to be argumentative, but want to understand your reasoning behind opposition to vouchers and apparently charter schools (both of which I, candidly, favor at the moment). Are you saying that, rather than do everything you can to get a good education for your kid, you shouldn't send him or her to a private or charter school but keep going with a public school out of fairness to those with learning disabilities, or no English, or no at-home discipline and role-model, etc -- given that factors like these may have a deleterious impact on the quality of the education? This seems like a lowest common denominator approach. It also seems like one of the things that drove lots of sophisticated people out of the city and helped create the weak education system with which we find ourselves. Your response also seems begs the question of why you think so many young families have paid so dearly to live in what they thought was a neighborhood that would let them send their kids to the Alexander School. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
[UC] Philadelphia Register of Historic Places is online
Relay of announcement from Jon Farnham of the Historical Commission Courtesy of Philadelphia Phalanx of Philistines, Al Krigman, Barbarian-in-Chief In a message dated 4/10/2012 4:59:24 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, jon.farn...@phila.gov writes: The Philadelphia Historical Commission is pleased to announce that the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, the comprehensive inventory of buildings, structures, sites, objects, interiors, and districts that the Commission has designated as historic, is once again available online on the Commission's website. The Register can be accessed at http://www.phila.gov/historical/register2.html Watch for a more user-friendly, searchable version of the online Register in the near future. Jonathan E. Farnham, Ph.D. Executive Director Philadelphia Historical Commission Room 576, City Hall Philadelphia, PA 19107 tel 215-686-7660 fax 215-686-7674
[UC] Inky reports West Catholic will stay open
_Click here: All four Catholic high schools saved_ (http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/school_files/Archdiocese-HS-news-coming-later-today.html)
Re: [UC] Inky reports West Catholic will stay open
In a message dated 2/24/2012 6:20:14 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, wil.p...@comcast.net writes: I just wish it could be so for public school poor children of color. I suspect that parents who send their children to parochial or other fee-based school are, for any slice of the population you care to choose, more interested in and supportive of their childrens' educations than their counterparts whose kids go to public school. And the more so as you descend the socio-economic ladder. Certainly it's true that, at some point the parents couldn't afford the fee-based school, so exclude these people from the above point ... or we'll find ourselves debating the question of motivation to apply for admission to then provide the parental guidance needed to succeed in charter schools (which, come to think of it, we already are). So let's not blame the schools (as bad as they are) without recognizing that parents' roles are probably more important that teachers'. The parents' efforts to improve the Lea School is a good example of what can be done. It's obviously not at the level of Penn Alexander yet, but it seems to be a lot closer than it was a few years ago, and getting closer all the time. Al Krigman
[UC] What else don't the president's advisors understand?
_Click here: Munis Spared From Cap - The Bond Buyer Article_ (http://www.bondbuyer.com/issues/121_19/muni-tax-exempt-cap-1035737-1.html)
[UC] New postage rates now in effect
The new postage rates went into effect yesterday. Attached is a copy of the 2012 schedule - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com 2012 postage rates.xls Description: Binary data
[UC] Free -- three toner cartridges compatible with...
I got three laser toner cartridges incompatible with my HP printer. I opened the packaging on one, which is how I determined it didn't fit. The other two are virgin. More trouble getting a refund for returning them (Amazon.com) than it's worth. If anyone can use them, they can have them for free. According to the box, they're compatible with HP Laserjets model numbers: 1012, 1018, 1020, 1022, 3015, 3020, 3030, and 3050. E-mail me for a time to pick them up (at my office -- 45th Walnut -- across from Second Mile Center). First come, first served. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
Re: [UC] Free -- three toner cartridges compatible with...
They're gone. Al K
Re: [UC] FW: SUBWAY TAKE-OUT ON BALT. AVE...
In a message dated 12/14/2011 5:07:20 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, kallena...@msn.com writes: I agree with the business owners who are concerned about corporate chains taking root here. My concern is that franchises can afford to pay high rents that would price out those businesses who don't own their buildings. I remember how South Street was back in the 1970s and 1980s before McDonalds, The Gap and what have you came in--TLA Theater, Book Trader, all kinds of little boutiques, eateries, galleries-- fun places to go to with stuff you didn't see in the malls. But once the corporate entities took root, gradually the sole proprietors were forced to go elsewhere... and now when you go to South Street what you see are a lot of the same stuff you see in the average mall, and a lot of vacancies. This can be a problem, but it's not how the free market works. And I'm deeply committed to free markets as I am opposed to top-down planning and proposals. That being said -- if the people who live in this neighborhood, and who patronize the businesses on Baltimore Ave, really wanted the kind of for-the-masses crap that's dished out in places like Subway, the Baltimore Ave merchants would have gone belly-up long ago because everyone would be going over to Sansom Commons and other places owned by Penn where the franchises and chains abound. My personal feeling is that we're more sophisticated -- in our own ways -- than that. There has, indeed, been a high business failure rate on Baltimore Ave. But I think it's because too many people start up there without doing their marketing homework and no sense of what retailing, especially food service, is all about. It's more likely that the people with the Subway franchise will do poorly than that entrepreneurs who really know the neighborhood will. And, as a little hint about this -- read between the lines of the article in the Review. The people who want to open the Subway didn't even bother to show up at the SHCA meeting, but sent their representatives. They haven't a clue about who we are, and don't think it's worth bothering to find out. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
Re: [UC] Community Meeting Tonight (Monday) on the Croydon Building
In a message dated 12/5/2011 2:20:19 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, aroc...@gmail.com writes: Community meeting tonight at 7 p.m. at the Philadelphia Community College building at 48th and Chestnut with the Orens Brothers developers who have purchased the Croydon building at 49th and Locust: _http://nakedphilly.com/university-city/croydon-to-be-restored/_ (http://nakedphilly.com/university-city/croydon-to-be-restored/) Amara My holdings are a few blocks away so I'm not involved directly. That said, the Orens Brothers have several buildings in my immediate vicinity. They're way above average -- responsibility-wise. Just the kind of organization that building and Walnut Hill should be hoping to get. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
[UC] Check out Home Price Survey 2011 | Philly
_Click here: Home Price Survey 2011 | Philly_ (http://www.philly.com/philly/news/special_packages/inquirer/home_price/Home_Price_Survey_201.html?cmpid= 131298209) University City did quite well, on the whole. Median prices up 45% between 2005 and 2011. Many parts of Philly and the 'burbs tanked. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or _al.krigman@krf.icodat.com_ (mailto:al.krig...@krf.icodat.com) PS to Wilma: Trying to be funny? In what way? I don't get it. Just asking for info.
[UC] SHCA zoning committee recommendations?
Does anyone know whether the Spruce Hill Community Association Zoning Committee has taken a position on the proposal to build a seven-story 120-unit apartment building at 40th Pine Streets? And, if so, what it is? This was the subject of a community meeting last Thursday, run by the aforementioned committee, at which all neighbors who chose to speak came out in opposition to the proposal. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
[UC] 127-unit seven-story apartment building at 40th Pine ???
Folks: Today's University City Review has a great article on Penn's newest slap in the neighborhood's face. A proposal for a 127-unit 7-story apartment building at 40th Pine (which won't increase traffic congestion because Penn has pledged to reserve parking for its occupants at a nearby garage (free -- or at the kind of prices that gets all those Penn people parking around 44th Spruce then walking or taking Septa to Penn?). And... not to worry about the 7-story height... there are going to be two terraces on the 7th floor. Whatever that is supposed to mean. According to the Review's article, the Spruce Hill Community Assn is holding a meeting about this tomorrow (Thursday) at the SHCA clubhouse (257 S 45th). Meeting to start at 6:00 but Zoning Chair Barry Grossbach says this proposal probably won't come up until about 7:30 because of other things on the agenda. They'll probably come out against it because, as everybody knows, SHCA is adamantly opposed to anything that increases the population density in our neighborhood and isn't influenced by Penn's -- er -- largesse. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
[UC] Did anyone go to the Historical Commission hearing yesterday?
Did anyone go to the Historical Commission yesterday and find out what Penn has in mind in their application for permission to erect a seven-story on the lot with the original house at the former Thoroughgood Nursing Home. I'm sure Penn intended to discuss this with their partners here in the community -- that partnership being a cornerstone of their widely-acclaimed civic engagement policy -- before making any real plans. But, well, you know, they're so busy neglecting lab animals down there that they just plumb forgot to do it. If anybody went, could you give us some info? You know, before people go off half-cocked and protest things like beautiful designs by outstanding architects that won't overshadow the 3-story neighborhood, increase traffic congestion, make parking tougher than it already is, and so forth. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
[UC] So much for nice new buildings being transformative
From philly.com (Inky/DN) Student shot outside West Philly High Student is wounded near West Philly High A West Philadelphia High School student was shot in his forearm during a large fight near the school about 4:20 p.m. yesterday. Police watched surveillance footage of the incident, which showed a crowd of between 40 and 50 teens - most in their school uniforms - fighting on 51st street near Walnut after classes were dismissed, Lt. John Walker of the Southwest Detective Division said. It was unclear who fired the shot or what circumstances led up to the fight, he said. The 15-year-old victim was taken by his mother to Mercy Hospital and was later transferred to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Walker said the boy was listed in stable condition last night. Police said that the boy initially did not cooperate with police who tried interviewing him but that he became more helpful last night. No arrests were made. Gunshot victim
[UC] When will they ever learn? / When will they e-e-ever learn?
They never learn. Or, as Pete Seeger might have written: Where has all the fast talk gone? Long time passing Where has all the fast talk gone? Long time ago Where has all the fast talk gone? Penn has lied at every turn When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn? The chief of the anointed in our little neighborhood, the hegemoniacs at the University of Pennsylvania, apparently never learn their lesson. They're now applying to the Historical Commission to rehabilitate the house at 400 S 40th Street (formerly the Thoroughgood Nursing Home) and build a seven-story building on the property. Less unacceptable than the 11-story slab they were trying to foist off on the community in the form of an extended stay hotel. But seven stories will also be out-of-scale, too. And, given the horrible excuse for architecture they tried to foist off on us with the earlier project, I personally have little belief the current offering will be anything but ugly and inappropriate as well. Penn and/or its proxies are scheduled to make a Review in Concept presentation to the Historical Commission on Tuesday, Sept 27, at 9:45 am, in room 578 City Hall. Since Penn forgot (it can't have been deliberate, given their self-proclaimed mandate for partnership with the peasants -- er -- community) to let anybody know about this, those interested will have their first opportunity to learn and be flabbergasted at this hearing. Hey... maybe they'll surprise us. Wanna take odds? - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
Re: [UC] update re. Rape at Gunpoint, 900 block of 48th St.
In a message dated 9/15/2011 12:31:41 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, l...@verizon.net writes: Police have made an arrest. There is a press conference in about an hour. _http://www.westphillylocal.com/2011/09/15/arrest-made-in-rape-and-robbery-n ear-48th-and-springfield/_ (http://www.westphillylocal.com/2011/09/15/arrest-made-in-rape-and-robbery-near-48th-and-springfield/) Best Mike Was this the incident that resulted in the TV newsvans, etc, in front of St Francis deSales this morning? (or have there been two problems in that area?) - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
[UC] news flash
You know those stores some people who didn't know what they were doing built on spec on the northwest corner of 45th Walnut? The ones that nobody ever rented -- and that actually aren't really finished on the inside? A For Sale sign just went up where there used to be a for lease sign. I feel bad for the people who put in their money (and their hopes) and will probably take a bath on the sale ... if someone comes along and buys the property during their lifetimes. But, from my albeit limited involvement with this sort of thing, I believe they would have done poorly even if the bottom didn't drop out of the economy in 2008. No parking, for example, would make the businesses dependent largely on walk-ins. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
[UC] Check out The Daily Pennsylvanian :: Last store standing
_Click here: The Daily Pennsylvanian :: Last store standing_ (http://www.dailypennsylvanian.com/index.php/article/2011/02/last_store_standing_the_past_ and_present_of_mcdonalds_at_40th_and_walnut) To paraphrase Edmund Burke (although the prototype quote is usually attributed to Georgio Santayana): Those who distort history are: * doomed to wallow in it * no historians * poor researchers * dishonest researchers * extraordinarily gullible * mendacious * well-heeled enough to consider Bobby Flay's burgers a bargain * members or aspiring members of Alpha Epsilon Alpha (Anointed Elite of America) naive name-brand college undergraduates from privileged backgrounds * well... you get the picture * all of the above - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
Re: [UC] mugging at 47th and Spingfield
In a message dated 8/29/2011 12:09:48 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, razum...@verizon.net writes: Thanks for the information. Why wouldn't he report it? It's important to be able to establish a pattern of this type of incidents, even if there is no obvious benefit to the victim. Definitely! And, if someone does get caught, people will be needed to verify the identification. Hit in the face with a brick? The perpetrator is totally without regard for others. A threat would probably have achieved as much (if you can call it achievement). - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
Re: [UC] re: tree damaged, leaning into SW corner 43rd and Spruce
In a message dated 8/29/2011 3:51:29 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, annm...@gmail.com writes: Something is causing a pretty, young tree to lean out into the street at SW corner 43rd and Spruce. Maybe someone fooled around with it when the soil at its base was soggy? Anyway, I bet that it can survive if someone can push it upright. Too big for me to handle. I'd suggest that you call Campus Apartments (888-861-5234). The building at 4300 Spruce is theirs (it's converted to condos) and they probably planted the tree as part of their renovation project. They should be interested in saving it ... if not in avoiding the liability if it falls and somebody is injured or a car is damaged. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
[UC] City Council hearings on the Zoning Code Proposals, Wednesday, 9/14, at 10:00 am
City Council is re-convening the hearings on the Zoning Code Proposals on: Wednesday, September 14th at 10 am Room 400, City Hall In light of the hearings, the ZCC meetingscheduled for that morning at 8 am is cancelled. You may want to attend the hearings to show the level of involvement of many individuals and organizations. If you have any questions, contact: _zoning.commision@phila.gov_ (mailto:zoning.commis...@phila.gov) . - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
[UC] Another reason I dislike the parklet
I don't disagree with the maxim de gustabus non est disputandum. But I wonder how many neighbors would disagree with me that -- ignoring the other pros and cons of the parklet covered on this list -- a big reason for disliking it is its ugliness. Maybe a robot ambulating through the area would find the industrial design attractive. But for at least some of us humans, a park connotes a degree of rustication. When I first heard about it, but hadn't get gone down to see what the brouhaha was all about, I pictured something that had the appearance of a wooden deck, maybe even a pergola, with a floor elevated a few steps off the ground. Something like the illustration below, only longer and narrower, with one or two steps running the whole open length. More of a Leggo than an Erector Set construction, but still standardized for easy assembly and disassembly. Any thoughts (non-ad-hominem if possible) on this, one way or another? If we're going to have this sort of thing, maybe we can make some suggestions about not creating eyesores in the process. You read it here, first, on the ever-popular Popu-List Courtesy of Al Krigman
[UC] Penn and parking
In a message dated 8/12/2011 5:03:53 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, mag...@mcgillsociety.org writes: At one time Penn DID provide cheap parking, nominally only for faculty and staff, and maybe even students -- don't recall. 1. If Penn people were as ecologically-oriented as they profess to be, they'd take public transportation rather than drive in from the suburbs and park on the streets in our neighborhood. The situation is almost enough to convince me to get the signatures needed to apply for permit parking on my block. 2. Many of us will remember when the idea of a shelter for homeless women with young children at the former Nursing home in the 4500 block of Chestnut was quashed. Penn then proposed to lease the building as a LIFE center -- kind of an outpatient nursing home -- to be run by the school of nursing. Many of the folks in the area liked the concept, but the issue of parking was raised because the building in question had only a few spaces. The Penn people said (I remember it clearly... it was at one of Glenn Bryant's First Thursday nosh-and-pander meetings) they wouldn't be jamming the curbs with cars because a) most of the clients would be arriving and departing by LIFE vans, and b) most of the Penn people working there would be coming up from Campus and, being the good citizens for whom Penn is famous, they'd use SEPTA. Well, point a) seems to be true enough. But point b) definitely isn't. It used to be easy to find parking spaces on the surrounding blocks (I know because I have a building there); now it's virtually impossible during daytime hours. Were the people who made the statement just being naive, disingenuous, or (dare I suggest) both? 3. That park-n-ride (or whatever it's called) at the University exit/entrance of the Expressway is fairly economical. You pay for a space there by the month and they take you to and pick you up from various locations around the campus and the hospitals. Of course, why pay anything when you can park free in a neighborhood where you neither live nor work -- a neighborhood full of those slovenly, despicable, no-account, unwashed, tattooed, morally corrupt renters and others of the benighted classes? -- Alan Krigman KRF Management 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 _www.krf.icodat.com_ (http://www.iconworldwide.com/krf)
Re: [UC] Re: Parking Spaces @ 43rd Baltimore
In a message dated 8/10/2011 6:27:51 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, glen...@earthlink.net writes: University City, like much of Philadelphia, has an unmet demand for pedestrian amenities, said Bergheiser. Our pedestrian counts throughout the neighborhood grow and grow and we must keep pace. We are pleased to demonstrate that there are simple and low cost solutions to this growing demand for the infrastructure of walkability. What a crock of green bullshit. Parklets are an expansion of seating for an upscale eatery on the taxpayer's dime. Local eateries have long known that they must stay loyal and serve the district to get their upscale cookies. Where oh where will the next parklet appear? I have to agree: 1. What's increased outdoors spacing for a private enterprise have to do with unmet demand for pedestrian amenities? 2. The article in the UCReview conveyed the impression that the people in the vicinity of 43rd and Baltimore endorsed this parklet, Who was asked and in what way? What were the actual counts and percentages of a) the people in the area, b) the people actually asked. 3. If a real parklet -- as opposed to extra outdoor seating for a private enterprise -- is desirable, I can think of a huge number of locations where it would make more sense, as opposed to a stone's throw from Clark Park where there's plenty of greenery, outdoor seating, and other pedestrian amenities. 4. The fact that the parklet is on the east side of 43rd Street where it affords extra seating for The Green Line rather than on the west side where the patrons of The Best House could use it speaks loud and clear of UCD's (and others') apparent continuing attitude about the anointed who sip their lattes and tap-tap-tap away on their laptops versus the benighted who wolf down pizza and hoagies while guzzling beer -- and probably burp and pass gas, occasionally, too. 5. If parking spaces on the street are going to be taken away, some fresh thinking about permit parking and a way to discourage people who drive into West Philly from the 'burbs, park here, then walk or take Septa into Penn. If Penn stopped thinking of its parking facilities as a money-making proposition and started thinking about the burden their high parking prices place on the rest of us, it might show they were actually thinking in terms of a partnership with the community rather than hegemony over it. 6. How does this parklet reconcile with the hoops the beaneries on Baltimore Ave have to jump through to get a few tables on the sidewalks outside their establishments? 7. An article the other day in the Inquirer told of the huge increase in fees the city has now imposed on restaurants that buy reserved parking spaces on the public streets. If the Green Line really wants to use what amounts to two parking spaces, whether they park there or use it for patron seating, at least they should go through the process of getting those spaces reserved and paying for them at the going rate. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
[UC] roof repair
Try calling V Square Improvements: Check their website ( _www.vs.icodat.com_ (http://www.vs.icodat.com/) ); here's the contact info: Vinicio: 484-478-3771 (_vinicio_83A@hotmail.com_ (mailto:vinicio_...@hotmail.com) ) Victor: 301-825-6976 (_vicsolito@hotmail.com_ (mailto:vicsol...@hotmail.com) ) - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502
Re: [UC] Possible Mail Thief in the hood
In a message dated 7/20/2011 2:31:05 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, naomif...@verizon.net writes: So I’ve confirmed that there are at least two homes near 50th Baltimore that have had mail going missing over the last few weeks. Both homes have exterior (unsecured) mailboxes. Sadly, it's not a good idea to have mailboxes that are accessible to any miscreants who happen to wander by. This, whether they're unsecured or have key locks -- because it doesn't take much to pry open a locked mailbox door. (Tenants sometimes do it when they can't find their keys!) We tried using those officially-recommended post-office key keepers. Small metal boxes locked with keys only postal people are supposed to have -- inside of which is a key to the front door of the building. In theory, the letter carrier gets the key to the building and puts the mail into boxes inside. Unfortunately, these are also vulnerable to low-life ... who can then not only gain access to the mail but to the inside of the building as well. The best solution we've found -- and it's not ideal -- is to keep the outer doors of our buildings locked and have fairly big mail slots in them. The mail then gets dropped on the floors of the vestibules. We have also built a shelf in each vestibule and have found our tenants cooperative when we ask them to pick up anything they find on the floor and leave what isn't theirs on the shelf for the other occupants. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
Re: [UC] FW: You know you live in West Philly if . . .
In a message dated 7/12/2011 11:19:55 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, kimm.ty...@verizon.net writes: In case you missed it elsewhere . . . . _http://blogs.phillymag.com/the_philly_post/2011/07/12/live-west-philly/_ (http://blogs.phillymag.com/the_philly_post/2011/07/12/live-west-philly/) Elitist pretentious snobbery like this from self-anointed sophisticates who think they're better than everyone else will make the real neighborhood (which she hasn't noticed) into something it isn't and many of us would prefer it not to be -- a quaint Potemkin village right here on the West Bank of the Schuylkill that would impress even Amy Gutmann and John Fry. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
Re: [UC] FW: You know you live in West Philly if . . .
In a message dated 7/13/2011 2:39:12 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, aroc...@gmail.com writes: Given Philly Mag’s largely suburban readership, is it so bad to provide a short list of quirky and fun things about the area? Yes, it's bad. What if those suburban people come? - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
[UC] Free firewood
A big tree branch came down in front of one of my buildings near 43rd Spruce two weeks ago. We finally got it cut up into fireplace-size logs and kindling. It should be dried out sufficiently by next winter to burn relatively cleanly. Anyone who wants some, please contact me off-list (_krfapt@aol.com_ (mailto:krf...@aol.com) ) and I'll tell you exactly where it is. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
Re: [UC] Fwd: arrested for observing police
In a message dated 6/15/2011 10:56:38 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, l...@verizon.net writes: Alexine Fleck, an English Literature professor at PCC and volunteer at a women's drug treatment program in North Philly who lives on Larchwood posted an account today in her blog about being arrested for attempting to observe while police accosted a suspected drug user in front of her house. It concerns me that watching the police is being treated as a crime -- I'd like to think that they're helpful and approachable. I seem to recall reading here that UCD had a police liaison, is this the case? Anyway -- Alexine Fleck might have been right in some moral or theoretical sense. But she was asking for the trouble she got by interfering with the police officer. She should have backed off when he (or she) asked her to do so. And if she thought the cop acted improperly, she should have called the Precinct Captain and reported the incident. She wouldn't have to have known the badge number. The vehicles are all numbered and the cops know who was in which car and when. You read it here, first, on the ever-popular Popu-List Courtesy of Al Krigman
Re: [UC] Fwd: arrested for observing police
In a message dated 6/16/2011 8:43:11 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, westphi...@gmail.com writes: Al or _lml3@verizon.net_ (mailto:l...@verizon.net) , Could one or both of you elaborate on the verbs observe vs. interfere. Observing and interfering are two different activities. Does anyone else on the list have any more information about Alexine's arrest? Mario Giorno Good point... but, under circumstances like these, if the cop asks her to back off because -- in her own account -- He said I was putting him in danger, she was interfering and should have complied. Her self-righteous indignation got in the way of common sense. The cops may, indeed, have been wrong. Not for me to judge. Nor for her, at the moment in question. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
[UC] Another example of the misguided planning by the self-anointed
From Monday's DP: Another example of the best laid plans of mice (the Penn Real Estate Dept) and men going awry. Penn's criteria for pricing and finding tenants for their retail spaces have created a revolving door in many cases. This, on top of providing an example for the impressionable undergrads of that venerable institution about the types of businesses worthy of their patronage. Townies trying to bootstrap themselves into business by the sweat of their brows need not apply. Well, one can hardly expect anything worthwhile from planners in general and from the wonderful folks who tried to bring the neighborhood the extended stay hotel at 40th Pine in particular. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or _al.krigman@krf.icodat.com_ (mailto:al.krig...@krf.icodat.com) Marathon Grill at 40th and Walnut closed by _Grace Ortelere_ (http://www.dailypennsylvanian.com/author/grace-ortelere) | Monday, May 23, 2011 at 6:34 pm Many students may be sad to learn the University City location of the restaurant Marathon Grill and its lounge MarBar closed their doors on Monday. The Marathon Grill located at 200 South 40th Street decided not to renew its lease due to declining business over the last few years, Penn’s Executive Director of Real Estate Ed Datz said in a statement. The University City Marathon Grill opened in 2004, replacing a Burger King. “When they came to this location, they brought a renewed vitality to the 40th Street corridor, improving the economy, the activity, and safety of the area in conjunction with other neighborhood development in West Philadelphia,” Datz said. According to Datz, the University is in the process of searching for a proprietor to replace the retail space. Marathon Grill has five other locations throughout the city which will stay open, Datz said. Its restaurant at 929 Walnut Street has an affiliated lounge, Upbar.
Re: [UC] FW: In catchment or not, Penn Alexander will be forced to turn new ...
In a message dated 5/13/2011 6:25:15 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, wil.p...@comcast.net writes: Ostensibly, any public school who receives funding from taxpayers should never be able to turn away applicants who reside within the school's neighborhood boundaries. Of course, economic reality rears its ugly head. And one of the sad economic realities in Philadelphia (probably lots of other places, too) is that the management of the school district is, er, profligate might be a polite term although I can think of others. Dr Ackermann and her cohorts spend other people's money like it's, well, other people's money. And even by cutting the numbers reportedly being laid off from the central administration of the school district (ostensibly without any negative (and likely positive) impact in whatever passes for productivity up there, I understand it will still be top-heavy. Further firing people who sit at their computers and play solitaire and battleships all day for lack of any real work doesn't affect the culture of entitlement at the higher levels. The school district may not have some of the personality problems that afflicted the Housing Authority, but there are obvious strong parallels. I wish I were able to propose a practical solution. Certainly putting more control in the hands of City Council would be -- if not a step from the frying pan into the fire, than from the fire into the frying plan. Cynically yours, Al Krigman
[UC] Looking for St Francis de Sales little-girls' uniforms
Does anybody have one or more outgrown St Francis de Sales girl's uniforms they'd like to sell. We have enrolled Jasmine in SFDS kindergarten (for anybody facing the kindergarten choices, you may be interested that she was too far down on the Alexander School waiting list, got into the Powel school but we thought she'd get short shrift with the city's announced half-day kindergarten policy). She wears size 7 blouse and size 8 jumper uniform. I know that St Francis has a sale of donated used uniforms, but we're trying to get ahead of the game. And we'll pay you for them directly to help defray your costs of larger sizes. Please contact me off-list. Also, I'm not on the PFSNI list... if someone could forward this, I'd appreciate it. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 _krfapt@aol.com_ (mailto:krf...@aol.com)
[UC] piano lessons in the area?
Can anyone recommend a teacher or school in the area where a 5-year-old can start piano lessons (at a reasonable cost)? Al Krigman
Re: [UC] vicious dog alert - part 2
In a message dated 4/5/2011 8:25:44 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, razum...@verizon.net writes: What can be enforced easily is a requirement that all dogs should wear a muzzle in public. Big fines could accomplish that in no time. Fat chance of that being implemented or enforced. There's a leash law; have you noticed how often people have their dogs unleashed (or, is it the dogs that have their people unleashed)? - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
[UC] Bird lovers have another reason to rescue cats -- msg relayed by Al Krigman
From: bjo...@abcbirds.org To: abcbirds-n...@npogroups.org Sent: 3/14/2011 10:24:15 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time Subj: New Study Highlights Dramatic Impact of Cats on Young Birds in Washington, D.C. Suburbs _www.abcbirds.org_ (http://www.abcbirds.org/) Contact: Robert Johns, 202-234-7181 ext.210, _bjohns@abcbirds.org_ (mailto:bjo...@abcbirds.org) New Study Highlights Dramatic Impact of Cats on Young Birds In Washington, D.C. Suburbs (Washington, D.C., March 14, 2011) A new study on the effects of urbanization on wildlife that tracked the early lives of gray catbirds in three Washington, D.C. suburbs found that outdoor cats were the number one source of known predation on the young birds. The_ study_ (http://nationalzoo.si.edu/scbi/migratorybirds/science_article/pdfs/55.pdf) (http://nationalzoo.si.edu/scbi/migratorybirds/science_article/pdfs/55.pdf) by Dr. Peter Marra and Dr. Thomas Ryder of The Smithsonian Institution and Ms. Anne L. Balogh of Towson University, published in the January 2011 edition of the Journal of Ornithology, specifically found that almost 80 percent of the catbird mortality in the study was from predation and that cats were the source of almost half of the known predation. “While this study was not national in scope in any regard, it certainly adds more validation to what we have been saying for years; that outdoor cats are a highly destructive predatory force that is causing havoc in the world of native wildlife. This peer-reviewed study was co-sponsored by one of the most respected scientific organizations in the country – The Smithsonian Institution. I hope we can now stop minimizing and trivializing the impacts that outdoor cats have on the environment, and start addressing the serious problem of cat predation,” said Darin Schroeder, Vice President for Conservation Advocacy for American Bird Conservancy (ABC), the nation’s leading bird conservation organization. “Up to 500 million birds or more are killed by outdoor cats in the United States. We need to get serious about halting the damage that cats are causing to birds and other wildlife species,” Schroeder said. A key to the study was very small radio transmitters that were affixed to sixty-nine newly hatched gray catbirds in three Washington, DC suburbs – Bethesda, Spring Park, and Opal Daniels. The transmitters recorded the birds’ locations every other day until they died or left the study area. Of the 42 birds that died during the study, 33 suffered from predation. Nineteen of the predations were known and of that total, nine were killed by cats. According to the study, the most significant factor affecting a catbird fledgling’s survival was predation and not parental age, brood size, sex, or hatching date. The study revealed that the vast majority of young catbird deaths occurred in the first week after a bird fledged from the nest. Because fledglings beg loudly for food and are not yet alert to predators, they are easy prey for domestic cats. ABC has been a leader in seeking solutions to the issue of cat predation on birds and has published a variety of materials on the subject that outline approaches to mitigating the problems associated with cat predation. Those materials can be found at _http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/cats/materials.html_ (http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/cats/materials.html) American Bird Conservancy (_www.abcbirds.org_ (http://www.abcbirds.org/) ) conserves native birds and their habitats throughout the Americas by safeguarding the rarest species, conserving and restoring habitats, and reducing threats while building capacity of the bird conservation movement. ABC is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit membership organization inline: image001.jpg
Re: [UC] Bird lovers have another reason to rescue cats -- msg relayed by Al ...
In a message dated 3/14/2011 2:53:26 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, craigso...@aol.com writes: Where is the study wherein predation by feral cats, in our urban environment, strongly correlates with a decrease in the field mouse population? “Up to 500 million birds or more are killed by outdoor cats in the United States. Also, was any funding for the study supplied by the ruthlessly pro-immigration Democratic affiliated Chicago based International Carwash Association? They may believe the predatory mitigation of bird feces initiated need-to-wash-cars is a burden on communities (Democratic) in need of entry level jobs for the unskilled. University hangers-on want to know. I believe you're referring to the research by Robert Burns, done in Scotland in 1785. It's online with some notations by other experts at _http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides4/Mouse.html_ (http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides4/Mouse.html) . - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
[UC] Forwarded from the Planning Commission about the new zoning code
In case you're concerned about the new zoning code -- here's your chance to see the draft and ask questions. I just received the message below from Richard Redding of the City Planning Commission. Al Krigman As we all know, Philadelphia's current zoning code is out-of-date. The proposed new zoning code promises to be fair, transparent, sensible, and smart, but we recognize it contains many changes. We want community organizations to be well-informed about the proposed new code and we are continuing to reach out and assist in this regard. The staff of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission (PCPC) is sending you this reminder that the Zoning Code Commission (ZCC) has published a draft of the new zoning code and we are available to review any questions or concerns that you may have. A draft of the new code, and other helpful information, is available at www.zoningmatters.org. If you have questions or concerns about the new code, there are a variety of ways to get answers from PCPC and ZCC staff and Commissioners. First, as announced at the ZCC meeting on March 2, 2011, the Zoning Code Commission will host a series of stakeholder meetings, which have been dubbed as Zoning Code Stakeholder X-Changes. We invite you and other stakeholders to talk to staff and Commissioners about the proposed changes to the Code during these X-Changes. Eight X-changes will be held between March 8th and May 3rd at 1515 Arch Street on the 12th floor. The intent is to provide an opportunity for residents to understand how the new code will work for their neighborhood. Although there is a focus item for each X-Change, participants will be able to ask questions and receive information about other sections of the code. A schedule is attached. Second, you can attend meetings of the Zoning Code Commission. Citizens can make comments at the meetings, which take place at 8:00am in Room 18029 on the 18th floor of 1515 Arch Street. Upcoming meetings are scheduled for April 13 and May 11. Third, PCPC's Community Planning staff is available to meet with you or your organization to help explain the new zoning code and how it is designed to work in your community. A planner can attend the evening meeting of your community association, or your members can request a meeting at our offices during the workday. Contact information for Community Planners appears below, and a map of Community Planners and their planning districts is attached to this email as a .PDF document. We look forward to working with you. --- Community Planning staff: Lower Far Northeast Mike Thompson 215-683-4632 Email: michael.thomp...@phila.gov Upper Far Northeast Mike Thompson 215-683-4632 Email: michael.thomp...@phila.gov Central Northeast Mike Thompson 215-683-4632 Email: michael.thomp...@phila.gov Lower Northeast Ian Litwin 215-683-4609 Email: ian.lit...@phila.gov North Delaware Ian Litwin 215-683-4609 Email: ian.lit...@phila.gov Center City Laura Spina 215-683-4638 Email: laura.sp...@phila.gov South Jennifer Barr 215-683-4672 Email: jennifer.b...@phila.gov Lower South Jennifer Barr 215-683-4672 Email: jennifer.b...@phila.gov Lower Southwest Jennifer Barr 215-683-4672 Email: jennifer.b...@phila.gov University/ Southwest Andy Meloney 215-683-4656 Email: andrew.melo...@phila.gov West Andy Meloney 215-683-4656 Email: andrew.melo...@phila.gov West Park Andy Meloney: 215-683-4656 Email: andrew.melo...@phila.gov Lower North Dave Fecteau 215-683-4670 Email: david.fect...@phila.gov North David Ortiz 215-683-4616 Email: david.or...@phila.gov Upper North David Ortiz 215-683-4616 Email: david.or...@phila.gov River Wards Dave Fecteau 215-683-4670 Email: david.fect...@phila.gov Lower Northwest Matt Wysong 215-683-4650 Email: matt.wys...@phila.gov Upper Northwest Matt Wysong 215-683-4650 Email: matt.wys...@phila.gov
[UC] This could be interesting... (posted by Al Krigman)
(From today's Dippy) WikiLeaks comes to college campuses by _Dorcy Chen_ (http://www.dailypennsylvanian.com/author/dorcy-chen) | Wednesday, March 2, 2011 at 1:01 am A version of WikiLeaks may be making its way to college campuses. UniLeaks, a newly launched website, announced its aim to expose “corruption and mismanagement” in United States colleges in an open letter to university presidents on Monday. The website, which also operates in the United Kingdom and Australia, is dedicated to reporting on and publishing confidential university documents to scrutinize university operations. UniLeaks only accepts restricted or censored material relating to higher education anonymously through its website. Careful to distinguish itself from being “just another rumor mill,” Captain Kangaroo, a UniLeaks spokesperson, wrote that the website seeks “hard evidence of malfeasance and corruption” and will not “accept rumor or conjecture.” While Penn administrators were unable to comment on the launch of UniLeaks, Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli said the University “communicates openly, engages and consults broadly with its varied constituencies, both internal and external” in many ways. He cited faculty groups, student meetings with administrators, open forums and meetings as examples of how the University maintains transparency. Peter Collopy, a third-year graduate student in the Department of History and Sociology of Science, said while it is unclear what the “political analysis” of UniLeaks is, the website is bound to attract an audience. “Colleges and universities have a lot of planning processes that tend to be fairly closed-doors,” Collopy said. “While the decisions made are announced, the research and the process are not, and I think a lot of stakeholders such as students and faculty would be interested in these processes.” He added that UniLeaks could also serve as a platform for those who hold views that are in the minority to seek anonymous support. Since the launch of WikiLeaks — a website that exposes confidential diplomatic messages — many similar projects have sprung up, including OpenLeaks, IndoLeaks and Balkan Leaks. Kristoffer Whitney — a graduate student in the Department of History and Sociology of Science who taught a summer course called “The Information Age: Computer, Bodies, Environment” — said it is possible to adapt WikiLeaks to higher education. “In most cases, granting corporations rights means infringing on those of actual human beings,” Whitney said. “It is certainly possible to apply that by analogy to transparency and higher education.” However, the impact of UniLeaks in the United States is unclear, said Joanna Radin, a History and Sociology of Science graduate student. Radin, who also taught “The Information Age,” said “it is possible to imagine a scenario in which it might direct attention to more systemic issues characteristic of the relationship between higher education, economic conditions and citizenship.” “As an elite institution with a global presence, I would expect Penn to be aware of the emergence of UniLeaks and prepared to participate in discussions about the broader issues at play,” she added. Currently, there is only one document on the University of Birmingham posted on UniLeaks.
[UC] Addendum to Unileaks posting... corporate privacy rights | Reuters
_Click here: Supreme Court rejects ATT corporate privacy rights | Reuters_ (http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/01/us-att-privacy-idUSTRE7203UN20110301) As an addendum to my previous posting about UniLeaks, the US Supreme Court has just ruled that corporations (presumably including universities) do not have the same rights to privacy that are accorded to individuals. Here's an excerpt from the Reuters article (the link above is to the whole thing). ATT Inc and other corporations do not have personal privacy rights to prevent disclosure of federal government records about them, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday. The justices unanimously overturned a ruling by a U.S. appeals court for the telecommunications company that corporations can assert personal privacy in claiming the records should be exempt from disclosure. The high court, in an opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, agreed with the Obama administration's argument that the personal privacy exemption under the Freedom of Information law applied only to individuals, not to corporations. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
[UC] Check out Last store standing: A look at the past and present of McDonald's a
_Click here: Last store standing: A look at the past and present of McDonald's at 40th and Walnut | The Daily Pennsylvanian_ (http://www.dailypennsylvanian.com/article/last-store-standing-look-past-and-present-mcdonalds-40th-a nd-walnut) Newspeak score: 9.75/10 - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
[UC] Check out Last store standing: A look at the past and present of
In a message dated 2/28/2011 9:43:30 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, briansi...@gmail.com writes: that tastes like my kitchen sponge. Gee, Brian. I'm sorry to hear you're down to eating your kitchen sponge. Don't be proud... if you need groceries, I can let you borrow my I'll work for Food sign and share my panhandling space at University Gray's Ave with you. I can't lend you Pluto, though (dogs get the sympathy donations), but maybe there's a stray cat you can get from City Kitties and bring along with you (trying to do well by doing good!). Al Krigman
[UC] From the DP -- fire at 45th Walnut was set (contributed by Al Krigman)
Feb. 17 fire declared 'incendiary' by _Jessica Yu_ (http://www.dailypennsylvanian.com/author/jessica-yu) | Thursday, February 24, 2011 at 11:33 pm _(_ (http://thedp.com/files/images/2011/02/24/01102011_BuildingFire053.jpg) A Jan. 10 fire at 48th and Walnut streets at an apartment building left nearly 200 tenants without a place to live. Two other fires have recently erupted in the area, including one on Feb. 17 that was declared 'incendiary.' (Alexandra Fleischman/DP Senior Photographer) Three big fires have blazed in West Philadelphia this year. The Philadelphia Fire Marshal’s Office has identified the cause of the Feb. 17 fire at 45th and Walnut streets as ‘incendiary,” with the Philadelphia Police Department now looking for an arsonist at large. Two victims were caught in the fire and no deaths occurred. One man was handcuffed — but not arrested — for giving rescue workers a hard time, Deputy Chief James Bonner said, adding that the man may have been under the influence or panicked at the emergency situation. “That fire was an aggressive attack,” Bonner said. “People were picked up on the fourth floor. There was an enormous number of rescue workers at work. ” The fire marshal welcomes any information, as the case is still open. Smoking in bed was the cause of a fire the previous day, Feb. 16, at Transition to Independent Living, located at 45th and Spruce streets. The Fire Marshal’s Office said the fire started with a carelessly discarded cigarette that lit into the mattress’ plastic and brought severe damages to the room. Smoke and flames soon hospitalized two patients and left seven without shelter, who were relocated and given groceries, shoes and winter clothing from the Red Cross. No Penn students were harmed. Transition to Independent Living operated for 23 years assisting disabled adults live on their own. “Usually we get there to contain the fire in time,” Fire Department Executive Chief Daniel Williams said. “Fires happen — it is what it is. Sometimes it’s just a careless action that causes it.” The Windermere Court apartments, located at 48th and Walnut streets, was the site of a five-alarm fire earlier this year. On Jan. 10, the fire gutted the residential complex, leaving nearly 200 tenants homeless. With various protests for the owner to allow residents to salvage their belongings, the case has since been closed and labeled ‘undetermined’ by the Fire Marshal’s Office based on evidence and interviews it conducted. Plans for the building remain uncertain, but the Windermere complex has been classified as “Imminently Dangerous,” Philadelphia Licenses and Inspections spokeswoman Maura Kennedy said. According to Kennedy, less than 1 percent of Licenses and Inspections cases reach such classification. “It’s not unusual for us to have many significant fires in one part of the city,” Bonner said of the three West Philadelphia fires. “There’s no reason to believe they are related.” Philadelphia averages 700 incidents of fire a day, Bonner said, adding that this year the number was unusually high compared to past winters. Bonner said the biggest problems with fire emergencies are the lack of working smoke detectors and victims’ refusal to ‘get out and stay out.’ Last year, 30 fatalities resulted just from people going back into a building to look for a person or retrieve an item. “In winter, you have people in houses using heating plants and electric heater appliances,” Williams added. The Philadelphia Fire Department cautions students and West Philadelphia residents to “Make sure houses are not full of clutter, since that is fuel for fire,” Williams said. “Residents should have a working smoke alarm to give early warning that there is a problem.” A benefit show for those affected by the Windermere fire will take place at The Rotunda on Friday, March 4.
[UC] Any further info about transition to living fire
Anybody know any more about the victims of the Transition to Living fire at 46th Spruce this morning? The Inky reported that two people were injured and in the hospital. A posting on the listserve indicated that two people had died and three were hospitalized. Nothing further seems to have appeared on-line. Were there fatalities? How are the hospitalized people doing? - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
Re: [UC] Action Needed: Call the Mayor's Office re: Windermere
Dear well-meaning neighbors: Does anybody think Mayor Nutter is going to override the LI inspectors who declared the building to be an imminent danger? Does anybody think that Commissioner Burns is going to get some inspectors who will now say that the building is safe, after some of their colleagues said it wasn't? If so, whoever thinks either of these things, please contact me immediately! I will give you the email address of someone who works for a bank in the Ivory Coast and is looking for a trustworthy person in the US to receive and then invest $7,045,231.20 from the account of someone who died intestate in a cruise ship hijacking. (You can buy the building with this money, then, when you own it, you can go in there yourself). Al Krigman In a message dated 2/14/2011 2:49:48 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, l...@verizon.net writes: Just posted by Eli Green (with City Kitties): We have confirmed that it is the City that is demanding demolition with the live pets inside and without letting residents retrieve their irreplaceable items. The bldg owners are trying to fight them - the owners want to secure the building so that people can go in, before demo! PLEASE CALL THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, and demand that they allow residents and rescuers access to the building before demolition to get the cats out and so people can get their belongings. The more pressure, the better. His email address is: _michael.nutter@phila.gov_ (mailto:michael.nut...@phila.gov) and phone number is 215-686-2181. You will get a live person when you call this number who will record your complaint. SAMPLE LETTER: Dear Mayor Nutter: As Mayor of Philadelphia, you know how important homes are to the residents of your city. Homes aren't just the places we live--they are the repositories of our belongings, the places our beloved pets live, and where we go at the end of the day to feel safe. The residents of the Windermere Apts. in West Philadelphia have lost so much of their homes due to a fire last month. Please help them to avoid losing everything--including their living, suffering animals. I ask you to please stop the demolition of the Windermere Apts. until rescuers have been able to save the cats inside, and residents have been able to get in and safely remove their salvageable possessions. I urge you to make this situation better, instead of worse.
Re: [UC] Fwd: Report of Windermere Protest
Subject: Report of Windermere Protest Reply-To: _diggervermont@gmail.com_ (mailto:diggerverm...@gmail.com) Yesterday afternoon I joined 100-150 other people (if someone else has a better count please speak up) in a protest to support the Windermere residents who have not been allowed to retrieve their belongings as well as well as the denied entry to the building to rescue cats who were also victims of the fire. ... etc I'm just guessing here, but I'd be surprised if the owners' denial of entry to former residents and others isn't related to issues of liability -- monetarily or morally. If the building has been declared dangerous, in imminent danger of collapse, or words to that effect by officials with expertise in such things, the owner's insurance company and/or attorney have probably indicated that massive lawsuits would follow if someone got hurt inside after being given specific or tacit permission to enter. And the insurance company would probably claim that the permission was a violation of its policy and would walk away from responsibility for paying. All this, above and beyond how an owner would feel if, after allowing someone in, that persongot hurt or killed in a way that retrospectively seemed highly predictable. I sympathize with anyone whose personal property is inside the building. And sympathize even more strongly if someone's pet is in there -- physically able to leave but probably too scared, disoriented, hungry, etc. to do so. But, candidly, I wouldn't go inside a condemned building just because some knucklehead with no special expertise in such things, and who didn't exercise good judgement, went in, got some things, came back out unscathed, and said it didn't look dangerous. This reminds me of the stories about disasters that befall firefighters when beams, walls, bathtubs, and so forth fall on and pin them down. And these are people trained to go into places in imminent danger of collapse. Forget about the material goods. As for the pets -- presumably mostly cats -- do the experts have any ideas about how to lure them out? A two- or three-story jump isn't beyond what most cats can do instinctively. -- Alan Krigman KRF Management 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 _www.krf.icodat.com_ (http://www.iconworldwide.com/krf)
Re: [UC] fwd: The kindergarten queue (from Westphillylocal.com)
In a message dated 1/27/2011 10:28:37 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, l...@verizon.net writes: We’re not sure whether to laugh or cry after this ABC6 story about parents braving frigid temps to get their kids into Penn Alexander’s kindergarten, which is capped at 50 students. We’re happy that such a school exists (full disclosure: we have a child there) and that parents care so much about their child’s education, but we’re sad that they are so scared of the alternatives that they feel they have to sleep outside on the coldest night of the year to get in. This kind of stand-in-line, first-come-first-serve enrollment system obviously isn’t sustainable. Penn Alexander, which prides itself on small classes, is filling up quick in the lower grades as parents move to the neighborhood (some before they even have children) looking for the Holy Grail of a nice urban neighborhood and a good public school. What makes matters worse is that, if you don't make it for your kid into the first 50, the Lea and Powell schools tell you you're not in their catchment areas so the best they'll do is put you at the end of their lists in case they have some empty spaces. Maybe... oh, this might be too much to ask... the School District could estimate how many kindergarten-age kids they have and figure out how to accommodate them. Or, is Ms Ackerman too busy counting her bonus money and collecting business cards from noncompetitively-priced contractors to worry about trivia such as educating children whose parents actually want them to get educations? - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
[UC] So much for family fun (from today's DN)
Boy, 14, shot during fight in University City By STEPHANIE FARR Philadelphia Daily News A 14-year-old boy was critically wounded this weekend when a fight that started inside an arcade ended with real gunfire on the streets of University City. About 11:10 p.m. Saturday, cops were called to the University Family Fun Center, at 40th and Spruce streets, for a report of a fist fight among young men there, Southwest Detectives Lt. John Walker said. It's not clear what started the fight, but cops were able to get the 20 to 30 kids, ranging in age from 12 to 17, out of the arcade and disperse them, Walker said. But shortly after, at 40th and Market streets, as the kids were walking toward public transportation, another fight broke out, and someone pulled a gun and started shooting, Walker said. Cops nearby heard four or five gunshots, and a 14-year-old boy, whose identity has not been released, approached a uniformed officer and told him he'd been shot in the arm, police said. Cops could see blood running down the boy's sleeve, but it wasn't until he was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania that it was discovered that he'd been shot twice in the arm and that one of those bullets entered his side and collapsed his lung, Walker said. He was taken into surgery immediately and remained in critical condition yesterday. Police have been unable to speak with the victim because he has been sedated, Walker said. Police said that there are a lot of surveillance cameras in the area and that they are going through the tapes looking for what sparked the second fight and who fired the shots that hit the teen.
[UC] Fire tragedy -- close (enough) to home
The following is an excerpt from an item in today's Daily News: Woman dies in Darby fire on her birthday By STEPHANIE FARR, Philadelphia Daily News Twenty-six years to the day after she came into this world, Dominique Gibson left it, when she died yesterday – on her birthday – in a house fire in Darby Borough. Although her home had heat, Police Chief Robert Smythe said investigators believe Gibson was using her stove as a supplemental heat source, and that is what started the blaze. That's something people do sometimes, he said. It's a very dangerous habit they have, but they do it. It took firefighters several minutes to battle back the blaze enough to reach Gibson's second-floor apartment. She was found in a kitchen hallway. She was pronounced dead at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital at 4:20 a.m., Smythe said. This is close (enough) to home because Dominique -- a lovely young woman in every sense -- was the secretary at The Second Mile Center, our popular local thrift shop. Her co-workers and managers are devastated, as you can imagine. Beyond this, the article shows that you should not try to get extra heat from anything not specifically designed for space heating, or not up to modern standards. Dominique was apparently trying to use her stove for this purpose. Kerosene heaters are also very dangerous, as are electric units with exposed heating coils. The safest devices, should you believe one is necessary, are sealed oil-filled electric radiators with build-in temperature controls. Sweaters and heavy blankets are probably better, considering that extreme cold doesn’t occur too often in the Philadelphia area and doesn’t tend to last too long when it comes. The separate coverage in the Inquirer didn't suggest the cause of the fire but did note that she apparently died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Neither article indicated whether the building or apartment had smoke or carbon monoxide detectors. These are required in rental properties in Philadelphia. If you own your own home, they're not required, but they're a wise precaution. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
Re: [UC] Zoning questions
In a message dated 12/30/2010 2:31:02 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, kimm.ty...@verizon.net writes: So, we just learned that the “investor” who bought the house next to us intends to chop it up into apartments. It is zoned R5, which if I understand correctly does not permit a multifamily use (anyone feel free to correct me if I am wrong). Can anyone tell me how I might monitor whether an application for a variance has been or might be submitted in the future? Or how to ensure that he doesn’t just do it without getting the required variance? IOW, how do we ensure that we get an opportunity to oppose this change? You can call the city Zoning Board of Adjustments and get on a notification list. Most of the community Associations stay on top of these things -- and have zoning committee meetings at which the people requesting variances make their pitches... then the Committee votes whether to oppose, not oppose, or support. Spruce Hill Community Assn is especially active in this area. If the property is in Spruce Hill, call them and ask when their committee is meeting with the applicants. If it's not in Spruce Hill, call whoever is the president of the applicable assn and ask the same thing. By the way, variances are hard to get. Those that increase population density are especially hard. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
[UC] This is kind of fun... maybe educational, too.
If you want to spend/waste an hour or two tracing the early history of our neighborhood through some old maps, go to _http://www.historicmapworks.com/Search/Address/MapMyHome.php_ (http://www.historicmapworks.com/Search/Address/MapMyHome.php) . Plug in your address and you'll get to a page with a bunch of dated maps that include it. Then click on the individual maps. Use the + on the bottom or just click on the map to do a zoom. And move around in the usual way. The resolution is very good on the zoomed maps. And, in case you're interested in why I always act holier than thou, check out the southeast corner of 44th Spruce on any date before about 1910. My house is on property once occupied by the Carmelite Convent of Philadelphia. It must still be percolating up from the ground. So... pax vobiscum. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
[UC] The case for city zoning reforms
I'm not a fan of the community engagement process on which Harris Sokoloff is building his reputation, but -- keeping in mind the comment at the end of the following article (in the Inquirer) that we shouldn't let the perfect be the enemy of the good -- it may have yielded rather positive results in this very thorny area. Al Krigman The case for city zoning reforms By Kiki Bolender and Harris Sokoloff How should residents be involved in zoning decisions in their neighborhoods? As naysayers? Or as valued advisers to developers and architects? The proposed new Philadelphia zoning code answers that question by honoring the expertise of neighborhood leaders, and it should be supported by citizens who value that expertise. At the beginning of this year, neighborhood leaders, developers, architects, and lawyers gathered for a series of workshops on the new code called Common Ground for Building Our City: Developers, the Public and the Zoning Code. The project was led by the Philadelphia chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the Penn Project for Civic Engagement, and WHYY. The conversations were not easy. Participants struggled to get past stereotypes: Architects and developers were seen as arrogant and paying only lip service to community input; neighborhood groups were accused of engaging in backroom deals and borderline extortion. And some architects, developers, and community groups have engaged in those behaviors under the existing zoning code. But the workshop participants overcame those stereotypes and found common ground. They agreed on ways to ensure that new buildings are good for the city, neighborhoods, and developers. We sent a report to the Zoning Code Commission in February, and the essence of those agreed-upon principles is in the new code, which is expected to be presented to City Council soon. The new code would take several steps to incorporate neighborhood expertise into the zoning process: Notification of coming projects would be more thorough. Significant projects would require Planning Commission approval. Applicants would be required to meet with the community, and both sides will submit minutes for the record. A Civic Design Review Committee would advise the Planning Commission on significant projects. It would include someone with neighborhood zoning experience and a rotating seat for a member of the relevant neighborhood group. Under the new code and map, zones would more closely match actual uses. This would correct cases such as that of Northern Liberties, which is largely zoned industrial even though it has become one of the city's hottest residential areas. The new code would define buildings that significantly affect the public because of size, location, or use. Those buildings would be reviewed even if they don't require a zoning variance. And, as outlined above, neighborhood input would be an important part of the review. We believe zoning matters. With goodwill and a good zoning code, citizens can shape the future of their neighborhoods and the city. And zoning can encourage investment in rehabilitation and new construction, expanding the city's tax base. The Inquirer recently reported that Camden is considering laying off half its police force and a third of its firefighters because it can't afford them. The city simply lacks the tax base to pay for basic services. Camden's sobering story should spur us to support a zoning code that inspires confidence in Philadelphia as a place to invest, a place where investors are treated fairly, and a place whose Philadelphia-ness actually adds value to buildings. The new code's provisions for citizen involvement are not perfect, but they're on the right track. Under the current process, some neighborhood groups are happy with the influence they have on developers and the power some individuals gain through that influence. But we would argue that under the new code, citizen voices will be given a place of greater respect, to the long-term benefit of their communities and the city. As Philadelphia's huge, collaborative exercise in zoning reform is drawing to a close, let's not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Let's get the new code passed and use it to make Philadelphia the next great city - a soulful, sassy, energized city of neighborhoods where people will be eager to build, live, and work. Kiki Bolender and Harris Sokoloff created the Common Ground project with the support of a grant from the William Penn Foundation. Bolender is a partner in Schade and Bolender Architects. Sokoloff is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education and the founder of the Penn Project for Civic Engagement. For the Common Ground report, Read more:
Re: [UC] hotel and office building on walnut
In a message dated 12/11/2010 10:45:03 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, anthony_w...@earthlink.net writes: Every time I walk past this crumbling monument to misguided radicalism at 40th Pine, I wonder how long it'll be until it burns. Or, as President Reagan famously said to Jimmy Carter. There you go again. Always at your service, Al Krigman
Re: [UC] hotel and office building on walnut
In a message dated 12/10/2010 11:22:34 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, anthony_w...@earthlink.net writes: I don't know ... this DP 'graf reads like a pretty straight account to me, except where they got the year wrong. But who's counting? Ummm, Tony: Do you really think the decision to relocate because nearby residents expressed concerns was a straight account of what the backers of this project forced the members of the community to spend (in dollars and time) and endure? That seems to be a lot like really believing that * Obama endorsed a two-year across-the-board extension of the so-called Bush tax cuts because Republicans expressed concerns about the economy, * The Magna Carta was signed because the barons expressed concerns about the king billeting soldiers in people's homes, * The historic district nomination for Spruce Hill got buried because local residents expressed concerns about such things as being unable to have ironworkers create fanciful security bars for their front windows * The ... well, you get the idea. C'mon. Always at your service and ready for a diatribe -- er, dialog. Al Krigman
Re: [UC] hotel and office building on walnut
In a message dated 12/11/2010 7:04:57 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, anthony_w...@earthlink.net writes: All right. How about A few nearby residents and a large number of faraway ones expressed concerns, often heatedly. In the end, their concerns carried the day with the ZBA and the hotel project moved three blocks north, on another mixed-use corridor street? But I doubt the DP's readers are interested in reading a history of disputes among neighbors several years ago. It's a readership which largely turns over every 4 years, don't forget. They don't need to measure how concerned the townies were, back when. Surely for them, the focus is more on what's coming next. No, not at all. They wrote In 2009, developers announced they planned to build the hotel at 40th and Pine streets. They changed locations after nearby residents expressed concerns that the building would harm the neighborhood’s identity. The project site was then moved to Walnut Street to fit in better with the road’s commercial aesthetic. The truth was that the University and their developer cohorts were dragged, kicking and screaming, from the deserted Penn-owned site at 40th Pine by members of the community -- after having engaged one of the city's top real estate attorneys, spending huge amounts of money, and lying through their teeth to get the zoning changed so they could build the hotel there. And, surely, one of the objectives of what's supposed to be a world class university should be to inculcate in its students sensibilities for justice, consideration of others which viewpoints that may differ from their own, and a realization that you can't have everything your way simply because you can outspend the people you either disagree with or don't care about. And, if you believe your own statement that the objections were mounted by A few nearby residents and a large number of faraway ones, you must not have been at any of the meetings or hearings. Sorry -- you're way off track on this. -- Alan Krigman KRF Management 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 _www.krf.icodat.com_ (http://www.iconworldwide.com/krf)
Re: [UC] hotel and office building on walnut
In a message dated 12/9/2010 7:34:07 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, anthony_w...@earthlink.net writes: My newspaper gave this event front-page coverage, with a different take. http://www.phillyrecord.com/daily-2010/PDR-12-09-10.pdf --Tony West The DP had yet another take... including this truly memorable paragraph: In 2009, developers announced they planned to build the hotel at 40th and Pine streets. They changed locations after nearby residents expressed concerns that the building would harm the neighborhood’s identity. The project site was then moved to Walnut Street to fit in better with the road’s commercial aesthetic. I'm afraid that the Penn people really believe this, and that Edmund Burke (who said it before Georgio Santayana was born) will prove to be correct that Those who forget history are destined to repeat it. You read it here, first, on the ever-popular Popu-List Courtesy of Al Krigman PS: OK Vanheldensleben, I'm ready. Let me have what you consider your acerbic wit for downing you-know-who!
Re: [UC] ISO: House/apartment Cleaner
In a message dated 12/8/2010 1:20:16 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, philly.jo...@gmail.com writes: Would like to find someone whose rates are reasonable and whose cleaning is thorough. I need someone who is undaunted by the prospect of taking on an apartment where three men lived for over 6 months without cleaning, because they belonged to a Christian sect that mistakenly believed the end of the world was fast approaching. (They were each also wearing the same set of underwear - but there is nothing especially apocalyptic about that fact.) Finally the landlord - and not Jesus - showed up on a cloud of disinfectant to evict them from their own wasteland. All seriousness aside. It's not that bad, but need someone who is trustworthy, thorough and doesn't wretch easily. Joe: You might try calling my employee, Vinicio Acevedo 484-478-3771; his fiance, Dina Rodriguez (I don't know her direct phone number), does house and apartment cleaning. I can vouch for her integrity. Al Krigman
[UC] What do you expect from political hacks who know squat about running a business?
From today's Daily News. If something like this wacko scheme cooked up by Councilmembers Green Quinones-Sanchez passes: * forget about capital improvements, financed in whole or part out of current income or paid-off with the same; * forget about making a profit in a business (like rentals) that's not based on a mark-up between the cost paid for goods and the income received by selling them; * check all of your leases so you'll know when they're up for renewal and can be sure to raise rents and add utility fees to compensate for the fact that you'll be taxed on receipts but won't be able to deduct the costs of running the buildings. This scheme is, to put it as kindly as possible, lunacy. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com Council members' plan would change business-tax structure By CATHERINE LUCEY Philadelphia Daily News _luc...@phillynews.com_ (mailto:luc...@phillynews.com) 215-854-4172 WHEN JOE WEISS, chairman of the software-design firm Electronic Ink, heard about business-tax legislation cooked up by two freshman City Council members, he was shocked. When I heard the proposal, I was incredulous, said Weiss, whose Center City firm employs 80 people. And for good reason. Council members Bill Green and Maria Quinones-Sanchez have been working on a plan that would reverse a 14-year effort to reduce a tax on businesses' gross receipts. But after a conversation with Green, Weiss has come around, at least part of the way. I talked to the councilman and I listened to his explanation, and now I have an open mind to listen, said Weiss. He presented some numbers that made it look like his position is a positive one. For Green and Quinones-Sanchez - who are expected today to introduce legislation that would radically change the city's business-tax structure - hearing that someone like Weiss has an open mind is probably a good start. How it works The city's business-privilege tax has two parts - a gross-receipts portion, which taxes firms on their sales, and a net-income portion, which taxes profits. Based on a long-held belief that the gross-receipts portion is unfair because it charges businesses even when they lose money, Council and the mayor have been gradually reducing the gross-receipts tax since 1995. But Green and Quinones-Sanchez argue that the current setup penalizes city-based firms and lets national retailers get away with paying little or nothing. That's because the tax on profits applies only to businesses headquartered in Philadelphia. Big chains, like Home Depot or Wal-Mart, pay nothing because they aren't based here. Green and Quinones-Sanchez are proposing a five-year phase-out of the tax on profits in favor of a higher gross-receipts tax to keep revenues stable. Both argue that such a system would remove the disincentive to locate a business in the city and spread the tax burden over more businesses. We believe we're going to create more jobs and send a message to the world that Philadelphia is open for business, said Green. To protect smaller businesses and startups, the Council members want to exempt the first $100,000 of sales from any taxes. And, to protect grocery stores, they plan to provide an exemption for those selling fresh food. If people are looking to start up businesses, we want to provide people with an incentive, Quinones-Sanchez said. Mayor Nutter, who has long been a champion of reducing the gross-receipts tax, said he still needed to see more research on how the change would affect businesses. Certainly it is a creative idea, but it is a different way of looking at tax policy, Nutter said. We need to know about the impact. What does business think? In the business community, the pitch so far has met with mixed reactions. Danilo Burgos, president of the Dominican Grocers Association, said he thinks the $100,000 exemption would benefit many of his more than 300 members. The small businesses - in our case, mom-and-pop businesses - those types of businesses are the ones that are going to benefit the most, Burgos said. A lot of businesses in the first couple years, it's hard to break that $100,000. And Ned Rauch-Mannino, director of policy and programs at the Urban Industry Initiative, a city-sponsored agency that supports manufacturers, said the proposal could aid manufacturing companies that sell goods outside the city, because outside sales aren't subject to the gross-receipts tax. Going forward, this bill could be a great advantage to any company doing the great majority of their business outside Philadelphia, bringing profits back to
Re: [UC] What do you expect from political hacks who know squat about running...
In a message dated 9/30/2010 9:53:50 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, glen...@earthlink.net writes: When I first heard a form of this, the first million dollars of revenue was to be exempted. This was supposed to exempt the vast majority of local businesses and allow taxation of big multi-national corporations who pay little or nothing . Multi-nationals can pay nothing in gross receipts and avoid net profits through accounting tricks. A million dollar threshhold would be better, but still not good. True, the $100,000 gross in the bill as described in the DN would be a disaster to a lot of businesses whereas $1 MM would spare a lot of small entrepreneurs and others in classes where net is a low fraction of gross. But any such threshold is arbitrary and who's to decree where it should be placed? Further, as one comment on the article pointed out, this cockamamie scheme violates the equal taxation clause of the Pennsylvania Constitution (but what does Bill Green or Maria Quinones-Sanchez know (or care) about anything as unimportant as the Pennsylvania Constitution?). Yes, there's a need for the city to get a fair share of taxes -- not only from multinationals but also national companies who do business in Philadelphia but have headquarters elsewhere. This, however, ain't it. By a mile. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
Re: [UC] Mannakeesh Lebanese Cafe/restaurant - Opening
In a message dated 9/21/2010 4:30:06 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, philly.jo...@gmail.com writes: _http://www.manakeeshcafe.com/_ (http://www.manakeeshcafe.com/) From their website (emphasis added): ... located at the corner of 45th and Walnut Street, directly across from Saad’s Halal Restaurant. We aim to merge the Lebanese and American breakfast, providing a distinct Lebanese twist to many American favorites, while introducing a distinct cultural flavor to the community, contributing to the transformation of our corner into a ‘New Lebanon.’ 1. Unless (or even although) the Manakeesh website says the cafe is only going to be open for breakfast (hard to believe considering what they're spending to set it up and must be imagining in terms of return on investment), I wonder whether Saad -- who's built his Halal food business with sweat and tears over the years -- will be happy to see that the new guys on the block are using his name and popularity in their promotion. Did Macy's tell everyone its store was right across the street from Gimbel's? 2. The rest of us in the close proximity of 45th Walnut -- everybody from Orens Brothers and me with rental properties there, to the Second Mile Center (a thrift store run by a conservative Christian organization -- although they don't tout the block as a New Jerusalem, Monarch Hardware, a Korean Karate school, several other non-Lebanese businesses of no particular ethnicity, and lots of tenants of every make and model) certainly welcome one and all and revel in the diversity... but might have some questions and even a tad of suspicion about the meaning of 'diversity' to and the appreciation of America by anyone who envisions the transformation of [this] corner into a New Lebanon. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
Re: [UC] Plaster Work
In a message dated 9/7/2010 9:45:02 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, fredaegn...@yahoo.com writes: Looking for recommendations for someone to remove a dropped ceiling and repair or replace the original plaster ceiling. Thank you. Freda: Contact V-Square Improvements Direct lines: Vinicio: 484-478-3771 (_vinicio_...@hotmail.com_ (mailto:vinicio_...@hotmail.com) ) Victor: 301-825-6976 (_vicsol...@hotmail.com_ (mailto:vicsol...@hotmail.com) ) _www.vs.icodat.com_ (http://www.vs.icodat.com) Actually, if you go to their web page (link above), you'll see a ceiling job (toward the bottom of the site) they did recently. Al Krigman
[UC] Today's sinkhole update
Last night, the person whose car was beginning to fall into the hole (front passenger-side tire was in it already) found a towing company who said they could pull her out -- even though she was blocked in front and back with other cars. It took them a while but they did it -- with a roll-off truck, not a lift-type rig. This mid-morning, the rest of the cars parked along the east curb were gone. I don't know whether the city towed them out of there or if the owners came and got them -- and, if the latter, had they been notified or was it just serendipity. A lone worker from the Water Dept came, and stood there scratching his head. One of my guys talked to him. He said he'd been sent out to remove an old lateral -- that old, disconnected sewer connection that was probably a holdover from the pre-1916 Convent that had been on the land between 44 43rd, Spruce Pine. But he said nobody told him the street was caving in and they needed a special team to do the work, so he left without doing anything. With all the cars gone, my guys rounded up a few more orange traffic cones and put them along the whole stretch with some plastic tape. We also put up some signs telling people not to park there because of the imminent danger of roadway collapse. This still leaves the cave and tunnel that do under the main part of the roadway as real hazards. A heavy truck might crash through. In my humble opinion, they should barricade 44th Street going south at Spruce and put up some detour signs. And, of course, nothing's been done by way of actually beginning to correct the problem. Also, we've talked to the inspectors and they really don't know what caused all the underground erosion -- is it new or old, is it a leaky storm drain or water main, etc. Al Krigman
[UC] At last... a little good news about the sinkhole on 44th south of Spruce
This afternoon, the Streets Dept showed up with a truck full of gravel, which they dumped into the hole. I don't know the extent to which it filled in the parts that tunneled under the roadway towards the middle of the street, or up along the curb. So there still may be some structural weakness issues. But, at least, the most pressing danger seems to have been temporarily alleviated. The crew said they'd be back to actually address the problem on Monday. Al Krigman
Re: [UC] Sinkhole is open and getting bigger on 44th between Spruce Pine
In a message dated 8/25/2010 9:41:50 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, anthony_w...@earthlink.net writes: Gary Jastrzab, on UCNeighbors, reported a couple of hours ago: This was patched as of early this evening. I called it in to 311 at least three weeks ago. At least it is finally repaired. -- Tony West Not true. The hole is still there and getting worse. The car with the tire in the hole is still there because it's blocked in by other cars front and back so the towing company called by the owner couldn't get it out. More cops were out last night -- called by the owner of the car with the tire in the hole but they couldn't do anything except put up one more orange traffic cone. Please pass this on to the other list. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
Re: [UC] Sinkhole is open and getting bigger on 44th between Spruce Pine
In a message dated 8/26/2010 7:27:51 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, krf...@aol.com writes: In a message dated 8/25/2010 10:08:50 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, m...@nervous.org writes: No, I just walked my dog past it 10 minutes ago, and it is still swallowing an SUV's front end. We are not talking about the patch in the middle of 44th closer to Spruce that is now paved over. Anyway, this hole will take some major work, not a patch that can be put into place over night. In fact, because of its proximity to the hole mentioned above in the middle of 44th St close to Spruce, it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that there's something wrong with the storm drain under Pine or closer to Pine under 44th St that's causing the ground to give way, and a lot of the street will have to be dug up. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
Re: [UC] Sinkhole is open and getting bigger on 44th between Spruce Pine
In a message dated 8/26/2010 10:56:59 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, mlam...@aol.com writes: Hi, Al, here's a question: are you calling 311 to report it and/or follow up on it? Remember, they assign the report a number you can call them back to follow up on it, and they hold the departments accountable if the departments don't do anything. This seems pretty urgent, and it seems that 311 could be helpful. Thanks. I started by calling 311, who transferred me to the water department emergency line, who had me on hold for almost 10 minutes before they took the info. After over an hour, nobody showed, so one of my crew called 911 to get a cop, thinking they could at least put up a barricade where the pavement was covering a cave with no support. The cops came, called the Streets Dept, and left (no barricade... just a few traffic cones my guys put up). I called John Fenton, late in the day. He made some calls, which came through to the extent that he did get their attention (their short attention span attention) and today we had multiple inspectors from the water and streets depts, who made some measurements and tests then said it was a big job that maybe the Highway Dept should handle, and they also left. More of the pavement is caving in. They said there was an old sewer line onto 44th St from my house... and there's certainly a pipe down there. But my sewer line goes onto Spruce Street -- I have no idea where the one they saw comes from, but not my house. There was once a convent taking up most of the block between 44th 43rd, Spruce and Pine, so maybe it was theirs. Of course, that was 94 years ago. At any rate, no sewer line could cause this much erosion -- it has to be a bad storm drain. In the meantime, it's still a danger spot and I'm concerned that a car or possibly a heavy truck is going to crash another hole through the pavement above the cave and get swallowed -- causing damage at least and possibly injury (or worse). There doesn't seem to be any water down there right now so a vehicle crashing through won't cause anyone to drown... but I could easily see a situation where someone would be trapped inside and unable to open their doors or have enough space to get out of a window. Also, when the inspectors were here, they found that the erosion had opened a tunnel between the place where the pavement is open now, and the sink hole about 25 feet away, in the middle of the street closer to Spruce, that they fixed about two weeks ago. So, when they found the first sink hole, they didn't bother checking to see what had caused it or they would have found the tunnel from that end. The whole thing may become a real nightmare and disaster. It has me very worried. Al Krigman
[UC] Sinkhole is open and getting bigger on 44th between Spruce Pine
I sent this earlier with some photos, but haven't seen it on the list yet, so I'm re-sending it without pictures. A sinkhole has opened on the east side of 44th, about 40 ft south of Spruce (headed toward Pine). One wheel of a car parked at the curb is already in it. The visible part of the hole is the complement of the tip of the iceberg. There's still a layer of pavement covering a big underground cave extending up 44th toward Pine and also out toward the middle of the street. The concrete frame of a sewer seems to be the only thing holding the roadway up. It would be best to avoid driving on this block of 44th if at all possible. You wouldn't like it if your car went into a hole. FYI -- we called the city at about 9:30 this morning to report this. We also called the police -- who came and called the problem into the Streets Dept. Our workers tole me a Streets Dept supervisor came out and looked. But nothing has been done. We (not the city) put out some traffic cones. Candidly, I'm more than a little concerned about someone getting hurt (not to mention my house falling into the hole!). Al Krigman PS: Anyone on the barking cheese list... please cross-post this.
Re: [UC] Plumber?
In a message dated 8/23/2010 8:53:11 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, darcyluet...@yahoo.com writes: I'm in need of a good and reasonable plumber. Any recommendations? Thank you-- Darcy Luetzow What's the job? I have some guys who do general contracting work, including plumbing. But they don't get into things like water service from the street, replacing main drains, etc. Let me know what you need to have done, and I'll give you the contact info if it seems to fit. - Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
[UC] Ever watch the secretaries clerks in City Hall playing computer games
Even watch the secretaries clerks in City Hall playing computer games (on the taxpayers' nickel)? This is a little news item from Bulgaria: (March 28) -- Anyone who plays FarmVille knows it is critical to harvest your crops on time. But maybe it's not as important as administrating the second-largest city in Bulgaria. Dimitar Kerin was voted off a committee assignment by the Plovdiv City Council for his inability to stop tending his virtual crops on the Facebook game during meetings. Kerin was not alone in his obsession among council members. Council chairman Ilko Iliev had previously warned several of them that the new wireless network and laptops provided to all 51 council members were not to be used for playing games on social media sites during budget meetings. Kerin was singled out for continuing to manage his farm and milk his cows despite Iliev's warnings. Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
Re: [UC] Re: [Ucneighbors] possible gatherings of juveniles 40th and Mkt this...
In a message dated 3/24/2010 6:07:30 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, alaricvisig...@gmail.com writes: Lets make teenagers the enemy. On Wed, Mar 24, 2010 at 4:01 PM, Elaine Jenson _elaine_jen...@yahoo.com_ (mailto:elaine_jen...@yahoo.com) wrote: from Penn Public Safety website _http://www.publicsafety.upenn.edu/NewsDetails.asp?ID=55_ (http://www.publicsafety.upenn.edu/NewsDetails.asp?ID=55) Does anyone know if this happened, or is it just the fear and loathing in certain parts of the Penn Administration about anyone who's not their kind. Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or _al.krig...@krf.icodat.com_ (mailto:al.krig...@krf.icodat.com) PS: I can understand the Gallery and Market St East. I can understand South Street. But the 40th Street Corridor is a figment of some very fertile imaginations... why would a crowd of teenagers want to mass there? Surely they don't want to steal mouse-dropping-tainted produce.
[UC] This isn't good news. (From this morning's DP)
This is disconcerting, especially when you see that the incident happened during the afternoon on a Saturday. We're not exactly talking hookers and pushers in the wee hours of the morning. Al Krigman No arrests in Clark Park attack by _Jenny Chung_ (http://www.dailypennsylvanian.com/author/jenny-chung) | Sunday, March 21, 2010 at 8:01 pm At about 3:15 p.m. Saturday, four unknown males attacked a 25-year-old man on the Clark Park basketball courts. According to Philadelphia Police spokeswoman Officer Christine O’Brien, the victim was sitting on a bench located inside the court when a group of males approached him from behind and struck him on the back of his head with a gun. Once the victim fell to the ground, the assailants, whom O’Brien described as four black males between the ages of 16 and 20, then proceeded to kick and punch him numerous times. One of the assailants shot the victim in the right knee before fleeing on foot with the others. The victim was admitted to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania to receive treatment for the knee wound and is now in stable condition. O’Brien said no arrests have been made thus far.
[UC] plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose
It could'a been us! Thanks again, Councilwoman Blackwell. You were for us there when we needed you. Al Krigman From this morning's Inqy Center City District sued over its fees By Joseph A. Slobodzian Inquirer Staff Writer Former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Russell M. Nigro has sued the city and the Center City District, contending the district's assessment for public maintenance services is not equally applied to condominium owners. The proposed class-action lawsuit, filed this month in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, says the district allows condo owners who bought before Sept. 13, 2005, to opt out of paying the property levy. The levy is mandatory for owners who bought after that date. The former justice - defeated in a 2005 retention election - bought a $1.35 million condominium on Washington Square on April 28 and at closing had to pay $1,176 to the district to cover that year's assessment, according to the lawsuit. Nigro, a member of the city's Board of Revision of Taxes, subsequently learned that Center City condominium owners who bought before Sept. 13, 2005, could file an affidavit and choose not to pay the district charge. George Bochetto, the Center City litigator who filed the suit on Nigro's behalf, said yesterday that the district's assessment was really a tax, and that the collection policy violated the taxing-uniformity clause of the Pennsylvania Constitution and the equal-protection clause of the U.S. Constitution. Bochetto called the district's assessment policy a most peculiar patchwork, a hodgepodge, adding that he was surprised no one has challenged this before now. The Center City District was created in 1990, the first of several quasi-governmental improvement districts designed to make key downtown neighborhoods cleaner and safer. The district concept enabled neighborhoods to obtain public services that city government could no longer afford. The district covers most of Center City's business and residential neighborhoods: 120 blocks and more than 4,500 properties. It is roughly bounded by the Schuylkill on the west, Sixth Street on the east, Vine Street on the north and Locust Street on the south, with extensions along the Broad Street corridor north to Spring Garden Street and south to Pine Street. Each property is charged an annual amount that helps fund the district, this year yielding $15.2 million, according to the district's budget. That the lawsuit is a first is about the only thing on which Bochetto and Center City District president Paul R. Levy agree. Levy said yesterday that the district's authority to charge property owners was part of the legislation creating the agency. The opt-out exemption was created in the district's early days when condominiums were rare in Philadelphia - basically just Academy House, the tower at 1420 Locust St. behind the Academy of Music. At that time, Levy explained, Academy House was dominated by elderly residents, many of whom said they could not afford the district's charge of about $93 each. The solution, Levy said, was to allow any condominium owner for whom the unit was their prime residence - not an investment - to file a sworn affidavit seeking an exemption. By 2005, however, the number of senior citizens seeking the exemption was dropping and Center City was in the midst of a condominium building boom. The district's board decided to make the assessment mandatory but to allow those who had exemptions to keep them until they sold their units, Levy said. He said he saw the exemption as an easy way of accommodating senior citizens with limited incomes, especially because the lost revenue was more than offset by voluntary contributions to the district by otherwise exempt nonresidential organizations. We're really talking about pennies here, Levy added. Since the 2005 policy change, he said, the number of all district property owners with the exemption has gone from about 19 percent to 7 percent. We were surprised at the lawsuit, Levy said. It's the first time anyone has challenged this, and he [Nigro] never contacted us about this before the suit. We're quite willing to sit down and talk whenever he wants.
Re: [UC] Re: [Ucneighbors] Cluster Flies
In a message dated 1/19/2010 2:36:14 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, philly.jo...@gmail.com writes: I've had to kill about ten of those buggers the old fashion way Wow! You beat even The Brave Little Tailor. All he got was seven with one blow. Not grimm at all. Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
[UC] Bravo health care
Someone mentioned Bravo health care to me in a private response to my giving my expecience changing from Keystone 65 to Aetna for Medicare Advantage. I don't know much about Bravo, but I understand they are going to put a walk-in clinic in for former Rite-Aid store at 43rd Walnut. This sounds like something more than a primary care physician's office but less than a hospital -- for routine tests. Considering the location (and the parking lot!), it might be worth checking. If anybody does, please report back to the rest of us. Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
Re: [UC] Blue cross changes to junk insurance
In a message dated 12/22/2009 9:14:46 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, glen...@earthlink.net writes: I just got a letter from Blue Cross. They are ending their Personal Choice Plan and converting to junk insurance by the end of Feb. Being an old coot, I'm on Medicare (which increased the amount they withhold from my social security payment, but not by too much). I was on Blue Cross' Keystone 65 -- a so-called Medicare Advantage Plan. Some years they charged me $30 per month for this, some it was $15 per month, some it was free ... go figure! Anyway, this year they discontinued it and instead offered something much more expensive (on top of what's already deducted from Social Security). I looked around and decided to switch to an Aetna Medicare Advantage. Also free as long as I was willing to fork over a little more in co-payments. Anyway, Aetna looked pretty good all around, so I'd suggest you look at their website and see if they have something that's reasonable for self-employed young whippersnappers, too. Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or _al.krig...@krf.icodat.com_ (mailto:al.krig...@krf.icodat.com) PS: I am not employed by, nor receive any commissions from, Aetna. And I won't be starting with them until 1/1/10 so, for all I know, they may be very tight with their referrals when something come up that's beyond my primary care physician (who, incidentally, is the same person I had with Keystone 65).
[UC] Video contest sponsored by the EPA -- your kids, youth group, etc?
The following might be a worthwhile project for your environmentally-conscious kids, youth group, etc. (from Al Krigman) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is sponsoring a video contest that challenges filmmakers to produce short, creative videos that highlight the “Three Rs” of individual consumption: reduce, reuse, and recycle. The agency is accepting submissions for the contest, called “Our Planet, Our Stuff, Our Choice,” through Feb. 16. Entries should be either 30 or 60 seconds in length. The video should creatively promote steps individuals and organizations can take to minimize negative environmental impacts within their communities on the following topics: * Reducing and reusing * Recycling * Composting * Consumption and its effect on environmental footprint The winning submissions will be announced in April 2010 in time for the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Awards will be given to the top three videos in the following amounts, as well as a special “Student Winner” category exclusively for submissions by persons 13 to 18 years old at the time of entry. 1st Place - $2,500 2nd Place - $1,500 3rd Place - $1,000 2 Student Winners (13 to 18 years old) - $500 each More information on the contest: _http://www.epa.gov/waste/wycd/video_ (http://usepa.pr-optout.com/Url.aspx?518041x1542443x1414031)
[UC] Snow Emergency (Forwarded from mayor Nigel Mutter's Office)
Snow Emergency starting @ 9am Sat. Move vehicles from snow emergency routes. Travel only if necessary. On Saturday, December 19, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. Managing Director Camille C. Barnett will declare a snow emergency. All vehicles parked on Snow Emergency Routes must be moved to an alternate parking location by 9:00 a.m. Any vehicle remaining on a Snow Emergency Route during the declared Snow Emergency will be ticketed and towed. If your car is towed, call 215-686-SNOW for its location. Do NOT call 911. A list of snow emergency routes can be found at http://www.phila.gov/streets/Snow_Emergency.html If you must travel, please be careful and patient, said Director Barnett. Streets Department Commissioner Clarena I. W. Tolson advises residents of the Streets Department s plans in anticipation of snowfall this weekend. Current forecasts predict 7 to 14 inches of snow accumulation on Saturday. In preparation for the snow, Streets Department crews have spent Friday applying a brine solution to city Streets. Salt crews and equipment will be deployed throughout the City to respond as the precipitation arrives. Primary and secondary streets will be cleared first, followed by hilly residential streets and other residential streets. Crews will remain on duty through the weekend to monitor roadways and to respond to problem locations and emergencies. Streets Commissioner Tolson said, We are urging residents to travel only when necessary. The less traffic on city streets, the more effective our plow efforts will be. SEPTA will be operating and we encourage citizens to use public transportation. We expect heavier than normal traffic this weekend for holiday shopping and the Flyers, Sixers and Eagles games. Everyone is reminded to be careful and patient as they navigate snowy streets and sidewalks, said Streets Commissioner Tolson. Streets Commissioner Tolson urges residents to follow these tips: - Make sure you park your car as far away from the corner as possible. Cars parked too close to the corner limit the turning radius of salting vehicles. - Apply any commercial de-icer on steps and sidewalks early to prevent residual moisture from freezing over and creating icy conditions. - Clear a sidewalk path at least 30 wide within 6 hours of the end of the storm as listed in the Philadelphia Code (10-720). - Clear snow from neighborhood sewer drains to allow melting snow to drain. - Be conscious of the environment use de-icing salts only as much as needed. One pound of de-icer can cover 100 to 200 square feet. - De-icer should be applied as soon as a light accumulation has developed on the surface. This will break the bond between additional accumulations and the pavement surface, and will make it easier to shovel. - A final light application of a de-icer may be required after removal is completed to melt the residual snow. - Check in on elderly and disabled neighbors In addition, the City has a declared a Code Blue to provide additional support to the homeless. If you see a homeless person in need of assistance, please call the Homeless Outreach Coordination Center at 215-232-1984. To report a street in need of salting or plowing or for more information on any Streets Department program or service, call 3-1-1. You may also find more information at www.phila.gov/streets/SNOW
[UC] Does anybody have an operable Windows 95 or 98 computer with a USB port?
Does anybody have an operable Windows 95 or 98 computer with a USB port? One of my ancient Windows 3.1 (yes, I'm serious!) workhorses died -- but I think the hard drive is still good. Almost everything important was backed up (key word: almost). I have some hardware that supposedly will let any older disk drive act as an external disk to a new machine. But I can't get it to work in this instance. It connects through a USB port. The problem may be that the old disk drive has a FAT16 format, which versions of Windows above 98 don't recognize. I'd like to try it on a Windows 98 (or 95) machine; what I'd do would be to copy some files either onto a floppy or a CD-ROM. It might not work, but it would have to have a USB port to even try. FYI: I have another Windows 3.1 machine that still chugs along like a champ. It doesn't have USB. I tried installing the drive from the dead machine into it as a second HD but: * I might have been doing something wrong (although it seemed simple enough to do) * The old drive may actually be bad -- although it makes good drive and not bad drive noises * I don't know as much as I used to think I did. Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
[UC] The latest on the new location on what was the Campus Inn (Now Homewood Suites)
This, from the latest minutes of the City Planning Commission (complete and unexpurgated) You read it here, first, on the ever-popular Popu-List Courtesy of Al Krigman 4) Information Only: Hilton Homewood Suites Hotel proposed at 41st Walnut Streets David Adelman, of Campus Apts, gave updates on the projects they have been working on for 2 ½ years. There are main 2 updates here. The first update, the last time we stood here this Commission approved the project at 40th and Pine Streets. It is ironic that going into this project we had no financing. We took a great project that was at 40th and Pine, and we are proposing to move it. There were some controversies with the community, but not about the use. This new project, which will support the Penn Medicine’s Roberts Proton Therapy Center when it opens in November, will be an extended stay hotel near the hospitals. The good news here is that we have located a site that Campus Apts already owns. We are moving it to the 4100 block of Walnut Street. They will continue the redevelopment of 4100 block of Walnut. It will be a mixed-use project of retail, residential and offices for Campus Apts. All told they are looking at an 80 or 90 million dollar project. It is a really large private investment, that we have not seen in West of the University of Pennsylvania in some time. Tom Lussenhop stated Campus Apts has been active in the acquisition of property in the neighborhood for about 6 years now. Having the degree of ownership enables them opportunities to make moves that they would not have had. The entrance of the extended stay hotel will be on Walnut with a drop-off in the interior of the lot, and exit on 41st Street. This plan is the backbone of the proposal. There will be 130 rooms, much larger than a regular hotel. Phase I will be the 100,000 sq. ft. extended stay hotel. But because of the degree of ownership that we are putting into this street the opportunity to extend that development further, we don’t have a definitive development plan other than to know that we have the capacity to development and the financing. We anticipate retail and garage parking below grade with 45 or 50 spaces. It will be a mixed-use building with possible office space. We had to work with Hilton PCPC to get them comfortable with the layout. We worked with the State’s Department of Economic Development and PIDC, they have been very supportive of the project. This is really the largest single private investment in this area. This is a chance to see Chestnut and Walnut Streets and north of there to see some of the large fallow sites that exist along there to hopefully attach themselves to this private investment. In addition we have excellent transit. There is a 5 to 10 minute walk between 2 major transit nodes. This will help both CHOP and Penn. They don’t want to invest their money in hotels, even though they are critical. Their money goes to cancer treatment and related research. They are very supportive of this project. Mr. Syrnick replied the previous time you had community opposition. Could you expand on that? Mr. Lussenhop replied we met with Spruce Hill Community Association in August on a very conceptual level. We weren’t asking for any decision. I think the people, who were against the last location, approve this location. Mr. Adelman replied the last time we didn’t have opposition to the use. The problem was we had an old historic property that we were adding to our building and we were creating height. The height was the problem. Ms. Rogo Trainer asked when you come again for a Commission vote, what would you need from us. Ron Patterson, attorney, replied what we would be looking at is an adjustment on the FAR. We are not asking for “C5” but a “C4” with some adjustment; and we want to discuss if it is a plan of development or a Master Plan. Mr. Syrnick stated this is an information only item, we are not voting on it. How long has it been vacant? Mr. Adelman replied the site itself has been cleared for about a year and a half, but prior to that it was an abandoned old house. Mr. Syrnick stated you were talking about “L” shaped street. Is it a public street or driveway serving your development? Mr. Adelman replied driveway. Ms. Olson Urtecho replied there is a big lack of hotels in West Philadelphia.
[UC] Phila Community Voice Program scores on maiden campaign
The Philadelphia Community Voice Program (PCVP) has scored a victory on its maiden campaign. PCVP's first effort was a two-phase appeal to members of city council to rescind the $500 fee the Nutter Administration proposed charging small buildings with offices, stores, and other types of commercial space for trash pickup. This, after the mayor had promised in the spring that trash fees are off the table. The first phase was to heighten awareness among Council members that the city has many small businesses who would be required to pay, but generate less rather than more trash than residential occupants of comparable space (contrary to the city's assertions). In part as a result of this increased awareness, Councilman Frank DiCicco introduced a bill to rescind the proposed fee. The second phase was accordingly implemented to thank Mr DiCicco and urge other Council members to support his bill. Council's Committee on Streets voted earlier this week to approve this bill and pass it on to the full Council for a vote, where it is now expected to pass. PCVP's methodology is to create a convenient on-line form to be completed by members of the public, which is then automatically converted to a fax and sent to all appropriate parties (City Council in the present case, but it could be other groups -- or individuals -- as well). An article from the Oct 14 Inquirer reports on the Committee hearing, and is reproduced below. PCVP is open to suggestions and is willing to work with anyone having a campaign that the directors of the organization believe is appropriate. There is a fee for the service to cover the cost of the form set-up ($25) and the use of the multiple fax transmission service ($0.07 per page per recipient). Email me at _krf...@aol.com_ (mailto:krf...@aol.com) if you have a campaign you'd like to propose for this service. Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com From the Inquirer (10/14/09): Council committee votes to kill $500 biz-trash fee By CHRIS BRENNAN Philadelphia Daily News_ bren...@phillynews.com_ (mailto:bren...@phillynews.com) 215-854-5973 Last May, City Council approved - and then quickly regretted - a $500 annual fee for businesses that have their trash picked up by the Department of Streets. But attempts by Councilman Frank DiCicco to address those concerns were met with silence this summer from the Nutter administration. So, add that to the pile of fractious issues now causing friction for Nutter with friends and foes on Council. DiCicco, chairman of Council's Committee on Streets and Services, introduced legislation Sept. 17 to repeal the trash fee. That committee held a hearing on the issue yesterday, during which Streets Commissioner Clarena Tolson testified for the Nutter administration and requested that no action be taken. Council members were not in the mood, voting unanimously to approve DiCicco's bill. Councilman Jim Kenney, like DiCicco a longtime but now frustrated Nutter ally, sat in on the hearing, even though he is not a member of the committee. He urged a vote so that the issue would not be lost in Delay-land. I just think that things will get done if there is a pending piece of legislation, Kenney added. Councilman Bill Green, a frequent Nutter critic, pressed Tolson for an explanation for the lack of action over the summer. Were you instructed to not work with Councilman DiCicco? Green asked Tolson. Tolson said that she was busy with budget issues during that time but ultimately did not answer the question, responding instead: I think that you're asking me for an answer that I don't have to give. Green backed off, warning that Council would start requiring administration officials to answer the question if delays persist. Mayor Nutter said before the hearing that he met with DiCicco last week on the issue and expects to continue working with Council. The $500 fee is expected to raise $7 million from 15,000 businesses getting trash service. It's revenue we've counted on in our budget and five-year plan, Nutter said. It has serious financial implications. The city is ready to start collecting the fee, but Tolson said that her department would wait while the administration works with Council. DiCicco and others expressed concerns about the impact of a new $500 fee on mostly small businesses. DiCicco noted that buildings with six or fewer apartments, but no commercial or retail space, are exempt. He would like to include those properties, increasing the number of businesses that would pay the fee as a way of reducing the $500 cost. Tolson agreed to consider that and other ideas. With the committee's vote yesterday, Council could give final approval by Oct.
[UC] Second Mile Center will take your old furniture
The Second Mile Center is now accepting donations of saleable furniture and appliances. They will do pick-ups (call 215-662-1663) as well as take items you may want to drop-off (at 214 S 45th St). Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or _al.krig...@krf.icodat.com_ (mailto:al.krig...@krf.icodat.com) Note: This announcement is not protected by copyright laws and may be copied to other lists (with or without my name -- as you wish).
[UC] What crap... denizens of the ivory towers stroking each other's egos!
Saviors of our Cities indeed! The chutzpah knows no end. You read it here, first, on the ever-popular Popu-List Courtesy of Al Krigman Penn, Drexel, Rutgers tops for helping community By Susan Snyder INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Two Philadelphia schools - the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel - are among the top universities in the country in improving the economic, cultural and social life of their urban communities, according to a new national report released today.Saviors of Our Cities ranked Penn number one, along with the University of Southern California. Drexel finished 10th, Rutgers University's Newark Campus was 23rd. Temple University and Widener University in Chester were among 75 additional schools that made the honor roll in the report by Evan S. Dobelle, who has served as president of six higher education institutions, including Trinity College in Connecticut and now Westfield State College in Massachusetts. The report was released in Philadelphia this morning at the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities conference. You can't teach the liberal arts and across the street is an impoverished neighborhood. You can't just rezone out of reality, Dobelle said during at interview after his presentation at the Loew's Hotel where the conference was being held. And I think colleges and universities are beginning to understand there are enormous benefits in this, particularly in partnerships. Schools were assessed in 11 areas, including money invested, faculty and student involvement in community service, access to students from diverse economic backgrounds, application increases and alumni giving. They also were assessed on how well they established a collaborative vision with their community. Those at the top have long-standing cooperative efforts on a large scale, Dobelle said. Dobelle and a colleague conducted on-site and phone interviews and reviewed data and survey responses. There is a degree of subjectivity in this, acknowledged Dobelle, who noted that he has visited over 300 schools and has been researching in this area for more than 20 years. Penn was the only Ivy League University in the top 25 and was recognized largely for its work through the Barbara and Edward Netter Center for Community Partnerships. The center partners with local public schools, a collaboration which has begun to be replicated on a national level. Its service learning curriculum and neighborhood expansion also were cited. Some Ivy League schools and others in the upper echelon try to transcend their communities rather than embrace them, Dobelle said. Penn made a decision not to transcend, but to make a difference in West Philadelphia. Drexel was selected for its work in rejuvenating a four-mile corridor on Lancaster Avenue and its partnership with Penn to revitalize University City. It also extended its presence in the city with the acquisition and expansion of the center city campus of Hahnemann Medical school (now Drexel Medical School.) Its entrepreneurship and technology commercialization offices that help start-up and existing companies, faculty and inventors also helped the school garner recognition. Dobelle described Drexel through the late President Constantine Papadakis as one of the boldest universities he has seen. Also in Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh was tied for second place and Carnegie Mellon placed 19th. Other Pennsylvania schools on the honor roll include: Allegheny, Franklin Marshall and Kings colleges, Bucknell, and Slippery Rock universities and the University of Scranton. In New Jersey, Raritan Valley Community College also was on the list.
Re: [UC] Herding Teens
In a message dated 10/11/2009 12:22:53 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, kallena...@msn.com writes: What activities does the website advertise that is not directly marketed to the so-called upscale? What is there for the people who do not fit the target demographic, and especially kids, to do on weekend nights? Penn creates an upscale movie theater, a nice restaurant with an outdoor patio, a bowling alley, and other places to eat and somehow thinks that only the funky vibe folks are going to show up. If the same number of funky vibers jammed 40th Street on weekend nights, it would be heralded as proof of the marketing genius of Penn/UCD. Except... * For a variety of reasons, the plans for the upscale movie theater went kablooie, so what they show are the same car-chase, shoot-em-up, lowest-common-denominator pictures that the producers aim at people who are chronological if not intellectual teen-agers. * Maybe some naive planners had a target demographic in mind. But, guess what. The things they think appeal to college students and young professionals also happen to appeal to young people in general. Maybe the price of some of the spots keeps the less affluent out (it also keeps some of the more affluent out... having money doesn't mean wasting it) but there are still plenty of things to do in the area that don't cost much -- or, like exercising their constitutional rights to gather peaceably -- don't cost anything. * OK, some people put the blame on MacDonald's -- but, surely this can't be it if Penn encourages fast-food outlets not fundamentally different in the food courts it operates along Walnut Street. And on 40th between Locust and Walnut, there are several places that serve the kinds of fast food that attracts a clientele the anointed consider unintended consequences. * And, who knows... maybe all those people from parts of West Philadelphia west of -- for want of a better boundary -- the Alexander School catchment -- figure they're just doing their part in a) making the University's self-acclaimed partnership with the community a success by participating in those funky vibes created around 40th Street b) fulfilling the goal of making the 40th Street Commercial Strip a destination. Alan Krigman KRF Management 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 _www.krf.icodat.com_ (http://www.iconworldwide.com/krf)
[UC] Penn and the community -- take, er, I lost count when it hit six digits
From today's DP. Emphasis (color) and snide remarks (parentheses) added You read it here, first, on the ever-popular Popu-List Courtesy of Al Krigman University seeks to build more bridges with community partnerships Maanvi Singh While Penn's relationship with the West Philadelphia community has been tumultuous in the past, last night a group of community leaders and educators discussed Penn's recent focus on interacting positively with its neighbor. (Recent focus? Maybe they mean dumping Lewis Wendell.) The audience of community members, who filled a little over half the chairs (nobody I know was aware of this... so -- little wonder that only half the chairs were filled and I can only imagine who from the community was there) set up in the Arthur Ross Gallery, listened as the panel recounted Penn's historical interactions with West Philadelphia, as well as the University's current programs for community involvement. Ira Harkavy, associate vice president of Penn's Netter Center for Community Partnerships, moderated the discussion on what he said was the single most important issue that the University is focusing on - helping to develop neighboring West Philadelphia. (This is the single most important issue that the University is focusing on ??? I would have thought that a world class research university would be focusing on less important things like education, research, bringing their endowment back up to the point where they don't have to fire people or raise fees to give it's president a big raise and otherwise stay afloat, etc.) West Philadelphia has come a long way since the 1990s, when crime was on a major upspring, said panelist and member of the Spruce Hill Community Trust Board of Directors Barry Grossbach. (See. Someone still thinks Barry is a community leader. Maybe they don't know about the sad fall from grace and standing of the Spruce Hill Community Association.) Penn faculty and students, as well as West Philadelphia community members, have many more opportunities today to help ameliorate their neighborhoods, he added, citing the recent success of tutoring endeavors in the community and the Penn Alexander Elementary School. (Well, we can give them that one, anyway -- ignoring the real reason for Penn's involvement with the school.) According to Grossbach, these outreach programs have been so successful that outside organizations have started to follow Penn's footsteps. For instance, the Teacher's College of Columbia University wants to create a program similar to that of Alexander Elementary School. (Do you think they hired Omar Blaik as a consultant?) I've seen the change, Leslie Rogers, a Penn doctoral candidate, said. As a Penn undergraduate and graduate student, she said, she felt that West Philadelphia community members were very skeptical of her intentions when she went to volunteer and later teach there. Now, Penn faculty and students are more warmly welcomed, she said. Rogers said Penn undergraduates getting involved in West Philadelphia is a key to community-building. Thanks to an array of recently established programs, these students now get to actually problem-solve in the community, she said. (These students are like the bright-eyed busy-tailed types that get hired at UCD. They are enthusiastic and well meaning -- but naive as newborn lambs and haven't a clue about the problems faced by people from a side of the tracks other than where they, themselves, were born and raised.) Still, attendee Glenwood Charles, a Penn graduate who now oversees the Netter Center's tutoring program and reading initiative, argued that there is still more to be done. (Yes, but how can they raise the probability of doing more good than harm? Is there anything in the Penn curriculum that teaches the facts of life? ... no, not those facts; the other facts.) Get more involved, he told students. There are a lot of opportunities. (As above... to do harm unless they somehow are brought to understand the situations in which they are getting involved.) _plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_French_phrases_used_by_English_speakers#P) - Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr
Re: [UC] White_dog_down:_New_owners_put_the_restaurant?
Former servers, office and kitchen staff allege that the new owners, led by restaurateur Marty Grims, have steered the lefty cafe astray. And the moral of the story is: _click here_ (http://www.bobdylan.com/#/songs/times-they-are-changin) . You read it here, first, on the ever-popular Popu-List Courtesy of Al Krigman
[UC] A new wrinkle on trash violations -- they're now predictive
One of my buildings got a trash Violation notice warning (a warning -- not a fine) for recycling not separated from regular trash. The new wrinkle is that the violation notice was written at 8:43 am, and was found at about 8:50 am when our people went to set the trash out at the curb. Therefore the notice was written before the trash was set out. I conclude that either: 1. The officer might have been making it up. 2. The officer might have issued the warning to the wrong building. 3. The officer might have gone up the alley to the rear of the property (when, legally, the trash is still ours and not the city's) and searched through bags that might or might not have been gone through by us for purposes of separation. I sent a complaint about this to the Streets Dept and will let the community know what, if anything, comes of it. True, it's not a violation for which a fine was assessed, but these officers can't just go around making mistakes or acting illegally. Or, are they endowed with some kind of ability to foresee the future (in which case, their talents are surely being under-utilized by the city)? Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
Re: [UC] A new wrinkle on trash violations -- they're now predictive
In a message dated 10/6/2009 10:58:50 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, MLamond writes: I took it home, scanned it, and got an email address for the Streets Dept. I emailed them the scan BEFORE the time date written on the ticket, with a full explanation of where why I'd found it. (I think that I also pointed out that leaving a ticket at a clearly vacant property was unlikely to result in anyone noticing or paying it.) It wouldn't have been possible for the employee to easily explain getting both the date time wrong when she wrote a ticket, and since I sent it by email, the actual date time were clearly proven; she couldn't dispute what I was telling her supervisors. No one responded to me, but later I heard indirectly that my email caused quite an upset for the ticketing team and resulted in reassignments. So if you can, do the same if you ever get another early ticket or warning. Don't assume that the leadership knows what the individual worker is doing and it's part of a bigger plan! Melani: Wow... attaway... you caught them red-handed and had a great response. I did fax Carleton Williams shortly after the guys brought in the notice this morning. And I did tell him that the people who found the ticket in the vestibule were the ones who went over there to set out the trash so it couldn't have been at the curb when the ticket was written 15 minutes or so earlier. Not as conclusive as what you were quick enough to realize would prove your point incontestably. Incidentally, this does raise a question as to what rights city people have to go into the alleys to look at the trash. I can understand that if overflowing barrels are clearly visible from the street, they may (or may not) be able to write a legitimate code violation notice. But checking whether recyclables are separated from regular trash when it's all neatly bagged and at the rear of our property (we do this on Monday evening then set it out on Tuesday to avoid scavengers making a mess) is something else. I know that in some cities, there's been a question of who owns the recyclables. The general rule seems to be that the property owner owns the stuff until it's set out at the curb, at which time the city owns it. If this applies, then the issuing officer is trespassing if he or she went up into the alley and looked at or through the bags or barrels there. Al Krigman
