GreatExpectations2007 - Queen Village / South Philadelphia REPORT ON CITIZENS FORUM

Date: Jan. 17, 2007

Location: Fleisher Art Memorial

Citizens attending: 55 participants, most from Queens Village, Bella Vista, Pennsport, Society Hill and Washington Square West

Inquirer observer: Dave Boyer, Editorial Board

Check out reports from the dialogues:

Group One: Led by moderators Louise Giugliano and Alan Sharavsky.

Group Two: Led by moderators Ellen Petersen and Jack Kinsley.

Group Three: Led by moderator Harris Sokoloff.

Group Four: Led by moderators Jean di Sabatino and Jose Morales.

Participants in each group were first asked to describe one hope or one fear as the city enters its election year. Then each group did an exercise that asked participants to imagine they were giving a good friend’s family advice on whether to move to Philadelphia.

What would be the pros and cons of that move?
What forces and factors underlie those pros and cons?
What steps could the city and region take to strengthen those pros or weaken those cons?

For a full description of the exercise, see http://go.philly.com/friendsdilemma

Observer's Notes:

Dave Boyer

Editorial Board

Among the most pressing problems discussed at this event were a dysfunctional school system and an unresponsive City Hall whose elected leaders look out for themselves first.

Susan Gobreski is a mother of three who said her family is "trying to stay" in the city. Of the election, she said, "I hope it's about us, but I fear it will be about them."

Residents view the school district as one of the prime threats to their quality of life because it drives out families. "You see a lot of strollers in our neighborhood," one man said. "But you don't see 13-year-olds tossing around a football. When the kids reach school age, the families get out."

Among the benefits of living in this neighborhood: its walkability; accessibility to cultural institutions and good, inexpensive restaurants; and diversity. "Not only do I know my neighbors, but we do things together," said Carla Puppin of Carpenter Street.

Said Gordon Leggett, a native of Virginia, "One of the reasons I married my wife is that she had a subscription to the Philadelphia Orchestra. We can walk to the Kimmel Center."

Many of these residents complained that City Hall, corrupted and sated by one-party rule, does not even try to respond to citizens' needs. Michele Masterfano of Christian Street offered an example:

A developer purchased three homes in her block with the intention of rehabilitation them. During the renovations, she said, the man dug a hole in the street next to her home to perform a sewer hookup without the proper license. He did not fill in the hole again, leaving a gaping pit in her street. Masterfano said she called the city for six months, trying to get the Streets Department to come out and fill the hole, and also called her councilman, Frank DiCicco, to no avail. Finally, she said, "we did it the Philly way." She knew somebody who knew somebody who worked in the Streets Department, and a crew came out. She said she paid them $150 "under the table" to fill the hole and patch the street.

In this environment, residents offered some solutions that rely on themselves instead of City Hall. Masterfano suggested that neighbors make more frequent use of their community newsletter and window placards to alert one another to urgent local issues, such as an effort to save Hawthorne Park at 12th and Catharine Streets. Kathleen McGrann of Pennsport said her neighborhood civic group doubled the frequency of its meetings in response to proposed casino development along the riverfront. They also meet at various neighbors' homes once a month on issues such as preserving Jefferson Square Park.

Masterfano also suggested that the city replicate the teams of Center City District attendants for other neighborhoods to clean the sidewalks and streets.