[UC] Fwd: Report of Windermere Protest
Begin forwarded message: From: digger vermont dig...@verizon.net Date: February 13, 2011 12:07:27 PM EST Subject: Report of Windermere Protest Reply-To: 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. Initially it was unclear what direction the action would take, but fairly quickly, it evolved from a march (to where I'm not sure) to blocking traffic from going West on Walnut Street. Almost immediately a police patrol car happened to drive by and called for backup. To their credit they didn't attempt to prevent us from blocking the street, instead they did their best to direct the backed up traffic onto 49th Street. After awhile a lawyer (whose name I didn't get) was addressing the crowd about his involvement in helping residents to stall the demolition scheduled for Monday morning. While doing so he started to drift out into the 49th Street traffic. which prompted one of the police officers to tell us that we needed to moved onto to the pavement. Rather than moving to sidewalk the protest was ramped up to the next level by the lawyer saying, If we what to make an impact and get noticed we need to create a disruption. We need to block this entire intersection. and we proceeded to take over the intersection. The police where left with two choices, try to remove us or stop traffic. They opted to stop traffic and did so by placing patrol cars at 47th and Walnut, 49th and Samson, and 49th and Locust. Eventually with a lot of maneuvering, u-turns, and backing all the cars were gone and the streets we emptied in the entire area. I'm happy to say that though there was a range of emotion, the drivers for the most part with us in spirit. Eventually, we were gathered together and made plans for the next steps, one being a rally tomorrow morning, Feb 14 at 8:45AM. I'm not sure when she arrived, but, Jannie Blackwell stepped up to tell what she knew about the demolition and the process of its happening. Other efforts are also being made to bring injunction(s) to stop the demolition. Since then City Kitties has reported that the PSPCA were able to enter the building, see Eli Green's post to this list or http://citykitties.org/2011/02/still-hope-sadie-survives/ for details. I also received a group email from one of the protest organizers with some details. If people would like me to I can forward that to the list. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the UCNeighbors group. To post to this group, send email to u...@ucneighbors.org To unsubscribe from this group, send email to ucneighbors+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/ucneighbors?hl=en
[UC] Fwd: What a Rally! [We Still Need You !!!}
This was sent to those who attended the rally yesterday. -LL Begin forwarded message: From: JB Farley db.rocks...@gmail.com Date: February 12, 2011 9:45:26 PM EST Subject: What a Rally! Everybody, Thank you all so very much for coming out to the rally today! It gladdened my hear to see you all standing up for your rights and the rights of your neighbors. I've always believed that when we all speak together, our voice can be louder than anything. We made a big impact today - we had people walking by or driving by who had no idea the building is about to be demolished, and now they do, and they agree with us that it's not right. I haven't seen any of the footage from the TV news, but there is a great article and slideshow here: http://www.westphillylocal.com/2011/02/12/rally-for-windermere-fire-victims/ And remember, the demolition process starts Monday morning. We made an impact today, but the struggle is not over. Let's all meet at 8:45 am on Monday and protect the Windermere. I'll bring coffee and (if possible) hot chocolate! See you on Monday, and/or spread the word to 10 other people, JB -- --For every expert there is an equal and opposite expert. --Arthur C. Clarke
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)
[UC] news about yesterday's rally, today's rescue, and tomorrow's rally!
I encourage you to read the link below for full details. -linda Hi all - First - thank you for your continued support, care and concern. We are happy share that Sadie (the cat seen in the window) was rescued from the building this morning. Unfortunately, no other cats were trapped. One was sighted in the building but was unable to be captured. I spoke to the demo company myself, and they have assured us that cats can and will leave the building during the demo. We are asking neighbors to pay special attention to cats on the streets in the upcoming days and weeks - as these cats can and will survive and be wandering around looking for food and shelter. Full details here: http://citykitties.org/2011/02/still-hope-sadie-survives/ Please continue to support the residents of the building, who are still trying to gain access to their irreplaceable photos and other personal items. Demo is scheduled to start Monday morning, and there will be another protest at 8:45 AM. Again, thank you everyone. It was truly touching to see the community pull together and show up for the protest yesterday. I spoke with residents who were touched that people cared enough to support them - even those who lost everything. Peace, Eli [of City Kitties] Eli R. Green, MA, MEd
Re: [UC] Fwd: Report of Windermere Protest
It seems that a big point of the protest is that the owners have been absent/unavailable for comment since the fire. How about sympathizing with the tenants who cannot hear from the owners? If you know how to get in touch with them/it, why not let the rest of us know how to do this? Seems as if the building did not have a sprinkler system and perhaps did not even have smoke alarms or pull stations. Perhaps the so-called owners just want to run and hide, and this seems just a little bit irresponsible. But what do I know? I just live here and know a little bit about the responsibility of owning a commercial building. If I am way off-base here, I am happy to be corrected. Roger 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
