"Part of the planning will involve neighbors. Those in the
University/Southwest district, which covers Powelton Village, University
City, Spruce Hill, Cedar Park, and adjacent areas (view map on their
website www.phila2035.org) can have their voices heard in public
meetings planned for the end of the summer, and more formally, in a
steering committee of leaders from neighborhood groups and institutions."
http://ucreview.com/denial-rape-and-zoning-at-west-powelton-community-meeting-p3310-1.htm
I hope people read these press releases about anti-democratic attacks on
neighborhoods differently now that we've seen this so many times before.
Notice, how the steering committee will be formed! We know that the
"public meetings" will be tightly controlled dog and pony shows where
community members will be allowed one minute to thank Penn and Drexel
and their surrogates for their wonderful work.
But the steering committee will be hand-picked behind closed university
doors. Participation in the steering committee will be closed to all
stakeholders before it is announced. The steering committee will be
secret gatherings and the public will have no right to know or inspect
any documentation. The so called "community representatives" will be
handpicked by Penn and Drexel from dysfunctional civic gangs like SHCA
and FOCP. The civic gangs will be instructed to provide 3 names of
their most compliant obedient gang leaders, so that Penn and Drexel can
make the final decision while holding their carrots and sticks.
There is absolutely no intention to include voices or participation from
the community and public in the Philadelphia 2035 process! They have
absolutely no intention of having any transparency as they set up new
raids on taxpayer funds to deliver to their connected cronies, while
they plot new rounds of bogus trash tickets and L &I inspections on bad
businesses and bad residents.
We've seen these hand picked steering committees formed time and again.
The first was the Clark Park Master plan steering committee. These
"charitable city planners" have contempt for public and community
participation, and we know how easily the civic gang leaders can be used
to betray their neighbors!!! We've seen this press release and process
so many times before.
People need to ask themselves a very important question. If these
schemes, like the privatization of Clark Park, are so wonderful for the
people of the community, why is there always an iron curtain of secrecy
and an iron wall against the participation from honest and trusted
members of the community? There is a reason why the Sianos and Wests
are put on these committees and people like me and the general public
are banned!
The academics at Penn's community partnership program can tell you that
when an honest productive partnership is sought with any community,
COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION, TRANSPARENCY, AND INCLUSION OF ALL STAKEHOLDERS
is the very first step in the process! Hand picked closed steering
committees are always going to be divisive no matter what the planned
outcome. And the extra work of doing the process work appropriately is
well worth it because it is the only way to get the best plans and
outcomes, and even individuals who are not satisfied can accept the
final plan because they had an opportunity at a fair process.
Whenever you see this plutocratic anti-democratic process as announced
above, you can be 100% sure that there is a hidden purpose, lies, and
targeted "winners and losers" Usually, the vast majority of the
community will be losers and a tiny group of winners will make enormous
profits due to their service to Penn and Drexel!
Please take this warning seriously and recognize the difference between
democratic processes and the propaganda processes of the plutocracy. If
citizens don't occupy this process at the very beginning, it will be too
late. Remember how people felt when they murdered all those trees in
Clark Park and people finally saw the huge gravel pit where dandelions
once grew? They had watched me get attacked for years as I blew my
whistle about the process, and they were expecting a little maintenance
and "improvement."
Glenn
