Plan Philly: Engaging in Urban Dialogue

The city gossip blog Philebrity, if you’re not familiar (and you really should be, to affect the site’s meme), is by turns nostalgic, cynical, sarcastic, optimistic and civic booster/watchdog. It is a consistently fresh, snarky, intelligent, musically inclined, often hilarious space to crash for coffee breaks every weekday. And it has recently been delving into neighborhood cartography.

The site is no competition to Google Maps or MapQuest, certainly, and the technology of their detailed street-finders relies upon nothing but the means by which you receive the Internet and the quality of your computer screen.

But Philebrity’s maps have personality, and to invoke Samuel L. Jackson’s character Jules in “Pulp Fiction,” personality goes a long way.

Their neighborhood maps are hand-drawn by readers, and range from the vaguely professional (Washington Square West) to the rather personal (Queen Village, with a key that includes “dogs that are friends with my dogs” and “stores I sometimes go to”) and one that was likely drawn up while someone got drunk (“Getting drunk on Passyunk Avenue”).

Joey Sweeney, Philebrity’s editor and publisher, said the idea came from a reader last week who turned him on to a similar project in London, on the Londonist.com web site.

“The guy sent me the link and said, ‘I would love to see people in Philly do this,” Sweeney told PlanPhilly. “The whole line on Philly is that it’s a city of neighborhoods. I just picked it up and put the call out there, and people just started sending us stuff. Once we posted a couple, then the floodgates really kind of broke.”

So far, their fans’ maps also include illustrations of: Norris Square / Olde Kensington (“Ever wonder what’s on the other side of the Berks El Stop? It’s THIS!”), Northern Liberties, Fishtown, Pennsport and Old City – and more are coming in by the minute today.

That’s because Philebrity is in the midst of an all-out “hand-drawn neighborhood map blowout” (not to be confused with a pop-up).

Sweeney said the maps are another great way of getting people talking, in the comments that ensue each map’s posting, about their neighborhoods and the way they are literally seen by others.

“Once it all finally stops, I’ll package them up in some way, like a photo gallery or something like that,” Sweeney said.

All maps to date can be viewed here.

Some sections of town have yet to represent.

“Want some homework?” the site solicited, on Thursday morning. “We’re still looking for maps of: any West Philadelphia ’hoods and subsections, Mt. Airy, Germantown, Chestnut Hill and Gray’s Ferry. Send us your hand-drawn neighborhood maps to tips@philebrity.com and we will totally run them.”

– Posted by Thomas J. Walsh. Contact him at thomaswalsh1@gmail.com.

UC Review: Community Grant Opportunities Announced for University City’s Clark Park

University City District (UCD) and the Clark Park Partnership, a consortium that oversees park maintenance, events, policies and capital projects, has announced it will be awarding up to $3,000 for one or more projects that enhance Clark Park. University City community groups are invited to submit proposals. Eligible projects will include planting, mulching, maintenance, signage, park cleanup, or other permanent improvements to the park. (Educational or cultural programs are not eligible.)

Proposals will be reviewed by a committee comprised of representatives from Friends of Clark Park (FoCP), Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS), the City of Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, University of the Sciences (USP), and UCD. The winning projects will be announced on May 13, 2010 at the Party for the Park, the annual fundraising event organized by FoCP and UCD. Representatives of the winning projects will be invited to attend the party as guests.

Friends of Clark Park president Frank Chance noted that "The mini-grant program is an excellent way to get the community involved in Clark Park. And, above all else, the Park needs community involvement. Everyone who uses Clark Park and cares about Clark Park needs to be involved in the maintenance of Clark Park, and these grants are a great way to make that more possible for more people."

"PHS is delighted to work with the many partners in University City that collaboratively care for Clark Park. This grant opportunity expands the partnership by inviting additional community groups to become involved with the park," added Tammy Leigh DeMent, Park Project Manager at PHS.

"University City comes together in Clark Park," said Ann Mintz, UCD’s Director of Development. "This grant program invites the community to play an even more active role in taking care of this community treasure."

For this initial round, proposed projects must take place in the B (Baltimore to Kingsessing, 43rd to 45th) or C (Kingsessing to Woodland 43rd to 45th) section of the Park. (Any project proposed for the C section of the Park must be approved prior to submission by University of the Sciences. To obtain this approval, contact USP’s Mary Kate McGinty at mk.mcginty@usp.edu.) Projects must be completed no later than June 30, 2011. Please note: Due to construction no projects will be allowed in the A (Baltimore to Chester, 43rd to HMS Border) section of the park in this grant year.

Clark Park, a heavily used 9-acre park is home to the popular Clark Park Farmers’ Market, music festivals, youth soccer, and many other neighborhood events throughout the year

Important Dates

March 11, 2010: Guidelines and application released at http://www.universitycity.org

April 16, 2010: Applications completed and sent to:

Clark Park Community Grant Program

c/o University City District

3940 Chestnut Street

Philadelphia, PA 19104

Applications can be hand-delivered. This is a postmark deadline. Applications will not be accepted via hand delivery after 5:00 p.m. on this date.

May 6, 2010: Winners notified

May 13, 2010: Public announcement of first Clark Park Community Grants at 11th Annual Party for the Park

June 30, 2011: Grant-funded projects must be completed

Questions about this program can be directed to:

Ann Mintz

University City District

215-243-0555

ann@universitycity.org

The Clark Park Partnership meets monthly to address a range of topics relating to the park including park maintenance, events, policies and capital projects. The Partnership is chaired by Tammy Leigh DeMent of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and includes stakeholders such as Friend of Clark Park, UC Green, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, the City Department of Parks and Recreation, the Philadelphia Water Department, City Office of Capital Projects, and University City District.

Artists living in the Greater Philadelphia area are invited to apply for a public art commission. Artists are asked to envision permanent artwork that will be seen by tens of thousands of pedestrians, shoppers, residents, motorists and SEPTA riders commuting through or passing by stations each day.

The Art In Transit Program is designed to incorporate art elements into renovation and construction projects for selected stations and public transportation facilities. The program allocates up to one percent of the construction budget of capitally funded projects for the design, fabrication and installation of permanent artwork. The purpose of the Art in Transit Program is to create a more inviting and dynamic transit environment for regular and new riders and to foster a feeling of pride within the surrounding community.
Call For Artists

Deadline: March 26, 2010

Margaret Orthodox Market-Frankford Line Station

4700 North Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia PA

Project budget: $150,000

Call For Artists Application

Weekly Press: Center City District Sued over Maintenance Exemption

The Center City District (CCD) was slammed with an class-action lawsuit earlier this month from former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Russell M. Nigro on the grounds that the district doesn’t equally apply its public maintenance services to condominium owners.

Or rather, the public maintenance service fees don’t apply to those who purchased their condominiums prior to September 13, 2005.

Created in 1990, the CCD was the city’s first of many improvement districts, like University City’s UCD. It’s mission? That centered on improving the quality of life in several downtown neighborhoods. This entailed using public services to make said neighborhoods cleaner and safer because the city could no longer foot the bill.

Part of the cost of paying for those services however was transferred onto homeowners who reside within CCD, which covers 120 blocks and more than 4,500 properties. It is roughly bounded by the Schuylkill on the west, Sixth Street on the east, Vine Street on the north and Locust Street on the south, with extensions along the Broad Street corridor.

According to the district’s budget, the fees charged each property contributes to its $15.2 million to its annual budget.

So why the lawsuit?

Well in the district’s early days, when the only Condos to dot downtown Philly’s skyline were basically limited to the Academy House at 1420 Locust St., with many of its owners- senior citizens. And according to the CCD’s President Paul Levy, many of those senior citizens couldn’t afford the $93 the district required them to pay in fees. In response, the district allowed owners for whom the condos were their primary residence to file an opt-out exemption.

But that was 1990. As the city’s downtown continued to re-emerge as a booming metropolis of high- end restaurants, cafes and boutiques; its Condo Market also boomed. The opt-out option no longer seemed viable, so in 2005, the Center City District’s Board determined that everyone who purchased condominiums after September 13th of that year were required to pay the district’s fees. Those who had the exemptions would, like NYC’s practice of rent control, remain in place until they moved out.

Nigro, who’s currently employed at the BRT, purchased a $1.35 million condominium on Washington Square after the 2005 deadline, and according to the lawsuit, had to pay $1,176 to the district to cover that year’s assessment.

To George Bochetto, who filed the suit on Nigro’ suit: the district’s assessment is actually a tax. The CCD’s collection policy violates the taxing-uniformity clause of both the Pennsylvania Constitution as well the equal-protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Though Levy disputes the lawsuit’s legitimacy. "We believe that the suit that has been filed is without merit and are convinced that the Center City District has done the right thing in allowing long-term owner occupants to "opt out" of the CCD charge," Levy explained over an email exchange, adding, "We would be concerned if the growth of Center City’s new condominiums had an adverse impact on the senior citizens who have lived in Center City for decades, many of whom live on fixed incomes."