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Date:                   Jan. 18, 2007

Location:             Sts. Neumann and Goretti High School

Citizens attending: 22, most from West Philadelphia neighborhoods

Moderator: Ilene Wasserman, Jose Morales, Lisa Santer and Louise Giugliano

 

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

Moderators' Report:

 

What were the group's most striking hopes/fears?

 

HOPES:

  • That more people will become involved with their community

  • That we will get beyond party politics and the pay-to-play climate.

  • That people will participate in large numbers.

  • That we elect a leader who will make us positive.

  • That people have more power than we think.

  • That we will pay attention to recycling.

  • That we get a real leader as mayor and not the status quo.

  • That these forums will make a difference.

  • That the mayor will attend to all neighborhoods because I’ve seen too many go down.

  • That the newly elected will pay attention to the arts.

FEARS:

  • That we will still need to know someone to get something done.

  • Of the coming of developers in East Passyunk Crossing.

  • More apathy and ambivalence of citizens.

  • We are not a united city but (separate) neighborhoods.

  • That the drug dealers are winning.

  • There is a lot of pessimism.

  • That there won’t be job opportunities and that I will have to leave.

  • The impact of casinos and what they bring.

What "pros" emerged as most important?

1. Neighborhoods are real communities with pride.

2. Cultural activities, including restaurants, museums and a rich history.

3. Livable, walkable city with open space

4. Transportation is affordable and comprehensive

5. Good cost of living, with reasonable housing and property taxes.

 

What "cons" emerged as most important?

1. K-12 schools

2. Corruption and lack of leadership 

3. Lack of achievement opportunities

4. Trash and litter

5. Violence  

 

Let's look at the pros and cons in detail:

 

1. Pro: Neighborhoods

The strengths here were not true of areas three to eight blocks away. All neighborhoods are not equal. Neighborhoods were viewed as cons as well.

 

Why is this pro important?

  • It is the character of the city.
  • Socio/economics: preservation of the neighborhoods 

What forces or factors underlie it?

  • People keep their homes in the family for years.

  • If they sell, they make sure it is someone reputable.

  • Active civic associations – power in numbers.

What action steps could strengthen it? What actors should do them?

  • Encourage Starbucks, banks and other businesses.
  • Promote liveable jobs.

And now the cons:

1. Con: Neighborhoods 

Why is this con important?

  • Not all neighborhoods are equal. Things can be very different within a few blocks.
  • Socio-economic class makes the difference not ethnicity.

What forces or factors underlie it?

  • "Out of the 60 families who live near me 20 are employed. There are five people on drugs on my block."

  • It is hard to get poor people involved.

What action steps could weaken it? What actors should do them? 

  • Ask ethnic organizations to help those who are isolated and fearful.

  • We need a living wage. People would feel involved if they had that.

  • "People under 35 and over 60 need to be involved."

  • Need more town watch. "Turn your porch lights on and get to know your neighbors."

  • "In our neighborhood, three people put flyers on poles and got people to come to a meeting. They were driven by the city’s neglect of the neighborhood." 

2. Con: Lack of Career Opportunities

Why is this con important?

  • Not enough family-sustaining jobs.
  • You have to go elsewhere if you want to be the best in your field. People get trained here but they don’t stay creating a brain drain.

 

What forces or factors underlie it?

  • Job growth is in the suburbs not in the city.

  • Easy to drive to work in the suburbs; people live near their jobs.

  • City is labor, factory-intensive.

What action steps could weaken it? What actors should do them? 

  • Improve the education of city residents.

  • Promote the cost of living

  • Court big-growth industries

  • Make it easier for small businesses to stay (leasing, zoning, loans, etc.).

  • Reduce taxes.

  • Make it easier to park.

3. Con: Schools

Why is this con important?

  • Attitude of "Unless you have a lot of money, don’t come to Philadelphia because of the schools" is damaging to the city.
  • If schools are bad, youth that stay in the city are not properly prepared. 

What forces or factors underlie it?

  • The breakdown of family and community values impacts the schools. It is beyond the schools to handle social and economic problems or substance abuse.

  • Cycle of violence, illiteracy, teen pregnancy and welfare.

  • Lack of good role models.

  • Poor decision-making and problem-solving skills.

  • The school district gets $1 billion, which is not monitored appropriately. There are no-bid contracts.

  • Charter schools are hurting both public and Catholic schools. (Some considered them a plus.) 

What action steps could weaken it? What actors should do them?

  • We need independent accountability of the schools.
  • More transparency of the School Reform Commission.
  • Integrate DHS and Family Court with the schools.
  • Family-planning education.
  • Independent entity that audits and monitors contracts.
  • Accountability of school district.

 

4. Con: Taxes and Wages

Why is this con important?

     Opportunities already exist to bring in more revenue for the city.

 

What forces or factors underlie it?

  • In 1957, there were two million people in Philadelphia. Now, we have 1.5 million, but the city work force is the same size. City government is inefficient.
  • Population of city is older, generating fewer resources.
  • Pay-to-play has an impact on taxes and wages.
  • The top individuals and businesses that don’t pay their taxes are some of the top contributors to elections. $400 million is not collected in taxes.
  • Parking tickets are outstanding and not collected.
  • The city does not enforce what is already a law.

  • Pay-to-play

What action steps could weaken it? What actors should do them?

  • The University of Pennsylvania helps its employees buy homes. Why can’t the city?
  • Take property away from people who do not pay property taxes.
  • Go beyond city officials to make them accountable.
  • Make people aware of goppell.net to see who is not paying taxes.
  • Provide incentives to fix property.

 

5. Con: Riverfront

Why is this con important?

  • "It is not the gaming industry. It is the gambling industry."
  • Social ills
  • Traffic
  • Crime
  • Low paying jobs vs. port opportunities
  • Corruption in PGCB’s process

 

What forces or factors underlie it?

  • Foxwood casinos own Home Depot. All they will provide are 1,800 low-paying jobs.

  • Citizens feel they were not asked.

  • South Philly’s neighborhoods (Pennsport, Passyunk) will be severely negatively affected.

What action steps could weaken it? What actors should do them?

  • Repeal Act 71.
  • Ask politicians to take a stand on casinos when they are running for office.
  • Let people know about casinofreephiladelphia.
  • Get involved in Philadelphia politics.
  • Emphasize that there is a lack of citizen support for casinos.
  • Explore port development, which would promote higher paying jobs (currently 45,000, which could grow 10 percent annually whereas casinos will bring in about 2,000 paying jobs).

Quotes:

  • "You need shovels to get the litter off the streets."
  • "The street is an open trash can."
  • "I have more opportunity to make a difference as a black professional in Philadelphia than I could in Boston, New York or Washington.