I found SCRUB's message about Krajewski's proposed legislation in City
Council to essentially open up all of Fairmount Park to commercial development
so absolutely incredible that I decided to wait for another source to
confirm before voicing my outrage. I did suspect, however, that if the news
were accurate, someone with deep pockets had gotten to our esteemed
Concilwoman. Indeed, this morning's edition of the Inquirer confirms that the
principle of "follow-the-money" never fails, at least in Philadelphia! It
seems that this piece of legislation, whose scope is so broad and so
voracious,
is only intended, according to its backer, to address some issues
regarding a single particular site: Glen Foerd, a historic mansion on the
Delaware
River, whose building and grounds are part of the Fairmount Park system.
These have been under license for quite a few years to a very successful
catering company, Conroy Caterers and it seems clear that the push for this
legislation must be related somehow to their operations.
I called the office of the non-profit group that runs the site, the Glen
Foerd Conservancy, and inquired about the issues involved. Not
unexpectedly, I got the brush-off by the woman in the business office ("I don't
really
know... this is all just happening today...this is being handled by the
board of trustees...you'll have to speak to one of them", etc). It was
obvious that she had been instructed not to answer any questions. Fair
enough,
but remember, the city does own the site and taxpayers have footed the bill
for plenty of restorations through government grants.
I have no beef with Conroy Catering. Indeed, we had a very enjoyable
family celebration there a few years ago and found them to be perfectly
agreeable people. They provide a legitimate service very well and keep a fair
number of people working. But they are clearly ambitious and have expanded
their business greatly over the last few years. They even had a run-in with
L&I over excessive noise a few years back. One can only imagine what they
might want to do at this site that would require Krajewski to introduce
legislation with such a stunning potential for harm to our entire park system
and, hence, to the city as a whole. As lame as the Fairmount Park
Commission sometimes seemed to be, I voted against its abolition and the
placement
of the parks more directly under city control. I sensed that there would
be trouble-in-store if that happened and I have not been disappointed, just
shocked that it came so fast. Our City Council - so slow to produce any
meaningful change, so quick to pounce on the main chance!
Mary
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