Opinion Eyes on the Street

June 17: PGW sale drags on | University City HS site nets $21.1m | SEPTA concourse cleaning, overnight ridership | Google Earth and the city

Eyes on the Street

June 17, 2014

Good morning Streeters. It’s gonna feel like real summer out there today.

Is City Council willfully dragging its feet on the PGW sale? The Daily News finds that council’s consultant, performing due diligence about the plan to sell PGW to UIL Holdings, initially proposed completing its study weeks ago. But now the clock is winding down on City Council’s spring session and with it the offer may expire. After July 15 UIL can walk away from the sale if there’s no action. No one in council has introduced Mayor Nutter’s legislation to enable the sale, which would prompt public hearings.

Drexel University and its development partner closed on the 14-acre site with University High School and Drew Elementary on Monday. The Daily News reports that sale will net the School District $21.1 million which will go toward the district’s budget shortfall. This comes after last-minute wrangling to ensure the surrounding community will have voice in the future master planning process, thought it remains to be seen what form that will take.

Come July 1 SEPTA will take control of the city’s subway concourses, but who will do the dirty work of cleaning them? Currently 11 people working for a janitorial company contracted through Center City District fear for their jobs, but SEPTA is talking with them, the Inquirer reports.

Speaking of SEPTA, Philly.com notes nearly 5800 riders used the late night subway service in the wee hours of Sunday morning. That’s about 35% more than typical ridership on existing Night Owl bus service.

What does it feel like to move around the city? To explore that sensory and spatial experience a duo of Dutch artists are spending the next several months creating a “Google Earth documentary” during a University Science Center residency, Flying Kite explains.

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