Frankford Civic: No enforcement because ‘this is Frankford’

Resident frustration over what some called a lack of enforcement of a variety of issues became the central theme of last night’s Frankford Civic Association meeting.

“If this were Center City Philadelphia, we wouldn’t have any of these problems,” said Galen Ettinger of the 1800-block of Ruan Street. Watch video of the meeting exchange below.

Such lamentations came in many forms throughout the short, sparsely attended meeting Thursday evening. The 25-minute affair was due to a lack of zoning issues or other news, said Civic association Vice President Brian Wisniewski.

But that didn’t keep the six residents or seven board members in attendance from again using the second floor conference room of Frankford Hospital as a forum to vent concerns over their neighborhood, a common end-result of recent civic meetings there.

As often is the case, the city’s department of licenses and inspections and abandoned vehicle department, the 15th police district and the district’s elected officials, including City Councilwoman Maria Quinones Sanchez — whose staffer Jason Dawkins defended her record — all caught some blame.

Last night’s most recent collection of vitriol was a change from ongoing dialogue in Frankford about recovery homes and instead featured a diverse array: small car dealerships and appliance stores lining sidewalks with their products, abandoned vehicles and shops without licensing all earned the ire of those in attendance.

“A person’s wages could be covered with all these violations,” Ettinger said. “But this is Frankford.”

-30-

Below watch some of the open dialogue about abandoned cars.