RE: [UC] Late breaking news about the Campus Inn
Right on, well said. "I was also surprised, and yet not surprised that there were also those who believed that a subcommittee of an organizationcan ignore the clearly stated oppositionof the organization's members.Hopefullycommunity members have learned from this that everyone has to be active in his or her community. It can't be left to a neighbor, orsomeone around the corner; everyone has to be active and informed, and cannot cede their involvement to someone else. Serve on the boards; go to the meetings; keep people accountable. No one person or small group should have the power to make decisions for an entire neighborhood.Otherwise other Campus Inns may be in the offing." This insight is very important and needsmore public community discussion. Several years ago, some of us made a push to reform theFriends of Clark Park. The members voted to support an inclusive process to identify, work cooperatively, and honestly withallcommunitystakeholders. The members alsoordered the leaders to publish the TIMES, DATES AND LOCATIONS OF ALL MEETINGS in the community newspaper along with THE AGENDAS. The FOCP leaders openly defied their members (as SHCA did recently) and I personally was thereafter and forever silenced for defying the leaders authority. Importantly, Iwas a member of the organization, paid my dues, and tried for several years to treat the leadership like mature responsible adults. Iwished to supportmy positions in open civil debate. As subscribers on the list knowquite well, I have now taken the position that these local associations are entrenched, and I advocate that all governmental and political leaders shun these because they behave like insular street gangs and not like community associations "volunteering" to serve their communities. Ironically, when I still paid dues, an additional number was added to their totals, thatthe leadersroutinely use to claim authority as community representatives. Their are many volunteers serving their communities, but these associations don't have community service as their mission. They serve the agendas of their leaders. What we all need to discuss openly is, what is to be done for real longlasting reform of these broken association processes?Our localassociation leaders have a long and dishonorable tendency to depend on ad hominem arguments, spreading rumors and creating straw men to silence dissent to their authority.I know that our neighbors have real and understandable fears about standing up to the bullying andrumor spreading that they may face in their home communities. I faced the power and hurt of these techniquesfirst hand and know how terrible it feels. Nevertheless,I believe that unless a majority of neighbors are willing to risk retaliation for speaking up for appropriate processes and against the status quo tactics; these patterns are doomed to repeat again and again.What is required by the members is more than "getting a new board member" elected while giving more money to the associations and adding to their number totals. The members and outside neighborsmust start demanding accountability, drafting ethics rules with the possibiility of removing leaders, and demanding transparent processes.I've watched new leaders be drafted into the ranks of the leadership and embrace the code of silencefor the gang'ssecret processes. I've seen this repeated for 10 years and was often surprised to see respected friends become anointed. I tend to be very optimistic and Itotally agree that we all need to be willing to get involved. But I also know that fundamental changes to these associations must be codified and demanded consistently bythe association members, and all members of the community; or the shenanigans we saw over 40th and Pine will certainly continue to repeat, as they have been for the past decade, since Penn saw the usefullness of these broken associations and broken processes. Lets keep talking about whatmust be done now that the problem has been so openly exposed! We can all forgive the leaders on a personal level, but we must not let them continue as pawns for Penn allowing them to divide and destroy our community! Sincerely, Glenn -Original Message- From: KAREN ALLEN <kallena...@msn.com>Sent: Jun 4, 2009 5:05 PM To: UnivCity Listserv <UNIVCITY@LIST.PURPLE.COM>Subject: RE: [UC] Late breaking news about the Campus Inn I'm over the moon right now! The good news for the community is that Penn's"pay no attention to the man behind the curtain"-style manipulation ofcommunitygroups has been exposed. In the course of this fight it was revealedthatcertain persons who were associatedwith community-based groupswere trying to manipulate the appearance of community supportin favor ofPenn/Campus Inn: going in front of city agencies claiming that community meetings took place that never occurred; claimingthat community meetings on this topic were scheduled that in reality were rou
[UC] Late breaking news about the Campus Inn
Late breaking news has just been posted on-line by the University City Review about the Campus Inn. It appears as though the developers have finally figured out that their plan was so outrageous and riddled with inadequacies that even Penn's money and political clout couldn't buy their way to a project with such obvious inadequacies. So... well, you'll have to read about it yourself by clicking on the link below: _Click here: University City Review - West Philadelphia's Independent Community Newspaper_ (http://www.ucreview.com/default.asp?sourceid=smenu=1twindow=mad=sdetail=1490wpage=1skeyword=sidate=ccat=ccatm=restate=resta tus=reoption=retype=repmin=repmax=rebed=rebath=subname=pform=sc=232 0hn=ucreviewhe=.com) Al Krigman **Limited Time Offers: Save big on popular laptops at Dell (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1221354145x1201369495/aol?redir=http:%2F %2Fad.doubleclick.net%2Fclk%3B215221161%3B37268813%3By)
Re: [UC] Late breaking news about the Campus Inn
I am often grateful to those who share news, from other sources on this list. In this instance, my thanks go out to Al Krigman who provides the link to: Campus Inn Might Move to Commercial District By Nicole Contosta | UC Review Staff | 04.JUN.09 After nearly three months of silence, news has emerged that Campus Inn might relocate to 41st and Walnut Streets. ... I like the idea of expanding business, even a new Hotel, but not at the expense of our residential neighbors and neighborhood. I thought room could have been made on the Postal Lands or Schuylkill fields, and am open to other commercial locals. There are definitely blocks of Walnut, Chestnut and Market that could benefit from development. -- Original Message -- From: krf...@aol.com To: UnivCity@list.purple.com Subject: [UC] Late breaking news about the Campus Inn Date: Thu, 4 Jun 2009 13:22:04 EDT Late breaking news has just been posted on-line by the University City Review about the Campus Inn. It appears as though the developers have finally figured out that their plan was so outrageous and riddled with inadequacies that even Penn's money and political clout couldn't buy their way to a project with such obvious inadequacies. So... well, you'll have to read about it yourself by clicking on the link below: Click here: University City Review - West Philadelphia's Independent Community Newspaper Al Krigman Limited Time Offers: Save big on popular laptops at Dell Store more data on a reliable tape drive. Click now! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/BLSrjpTEqwkctARWlAlm97rjhv2gZnPnUdcCJUrF3YxPn19uYDlA3a7gyUw/
Re: [UC] Late breaking news about the Campus Inn
I wonder if the SHCA zoning committee will oppose this? When the SHCA was supporting the 40th and Pine tower, they were opposed to a seemingly appropriate development very close to this newlocation. Someone wrote a letter in the UC Review questioning if the SHCA responds more to certaindevelopers than the merits of the project. (Maybe theyuse their power against certainbusinesses too). Let's see which way they go on this Penn project-hahaha. Thanks for the link, Al. -Original Message- From: krf...@aol.com Sent: Jun 4, 2009 1:22 PM To: UnivCity@list.purple.com Subject: [UC] Late breaking news about the Campus Inn Late breaking news hasjust been posted on-line by the University City Reviewabout the Campus Inn. It appears as though the developers have finally figured out that their plan was so outrageous and riddled with inadequaciesthat even Penn's money and political cloutcouldn't buy their way to a project with such obvious inadequacies. So... well, you'll have to read about it yourself by clicking on the link below: Click here: University City Review - West Philadelphia's Independent Community Newspaper Al Krigman Limited Time Offers: Save big on popular laptops at Dell You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see .
Re: [UC] Late breaking news about the Campus Inn
This is GREAT news. Thanks, Al! F On Jun 4, 2009, at 01:22 PM, krf...@aol.com wrote: Late breaking news has just been posted on-line by the University City Review about the Campus Inn. It appears as though the developers have finally figured out that their plan was so outrageous and riddled with inadequacies that even Penn's money and political clout couldn't buy their way to a project with such obvious inadequacies. So... well, you'll have to read about it yourself by clicking on the link below: Click here: University City Review - West Philadelphia's Independent Community Newspaper Al Krigman Limited Time Offers: Save big on popular laptops at Dell
RE: [UC] Late breaking news about the Campus Inn
I'm over the moon right now! The good news for the community is that Penn's pay no attention to the man behind the curtain-style manipulation of community groups has been exposed. In the course of this fight it was revealed that certain persons who were associated with community-based groups were trying to manipulate the appearance of community support in favor of Penn/Campus Inn: going in front of city agencies claiming that community meetings took place that never occurred; claiming that community meetings on this topic were scheduled that in reality were routine membership meetings that made no notice, either in meeting notices or the meeting agenda, that this proposal was going to be discussed and feedback sought; and having Tom Lussenhop show up unannounced at various meetings; all done to create the appearance of community notification and involvement while blatantly trying to suppress the number of people who would otherwise turn out and possibly object. The one thing that I've heard time and time again from people who were trying to justify this behavior was that the individuals involved in this were just volunteers who put a lot of time into community affairs. This justification carried the implicit message that being a volunteer somehow gave these persons the right to manipulate the community and to make decisions totally separate from and in direct contradiction to the will of the community as a whole. I was also surprised, and yet not surprised that there were also those who believed that a subcommittee of an organization can ignore the clearly stated opposition of the organization's members. Hopefully community members have learned from this that everyone has to be active in his or her community. It can't be left to a neighbor, or someone around the corner; everyone has to be active and informed, and cannot cede their involvement to someone else. Serve on the boards; go to the meetings; keep people accountable. No one person or small group should have the power to make decisions for an entire neighborhood. Otherwise other Campus Inns may be in the offing. And maybe at some point the folks at Penn will finally wake up and learn that their so-called community partnership has to be a genuine partnership, and not just the sham that it's been up until now. From: krf...@aol.com Date: Thu, 4 Jun 2009 13:22:04 -0400 Subject: [UC] Late breaking news about the Campus Inn To: UnivCity@list.purple.com Late breaking news has just been posted on-line by the University City Review about the Campus Inn. It appears as though the developers have finally figured out that their plan was so outrageous and riddled with inadequacies that even Penn's money and political clout couldn't buy their way to a project with such obvious inadequacies. So... well, you'll have to read about it yourself by clicking on the link below: Click here: University City Review - West Philadelphia's Independent Community Newspaper Al Krigman Limited Time Offers: Save big on popular laptops at Dell
Re: [UC] Late breaking news about the Campus Inn
41st and Walnut. Bad location. I'm wondering now what's going to come up at 43rd and BaltimoreAnd when will the 40th and Pine Street building be torn down? On 04 Jun 2009, at 1:22 PM, krf...@aol.com wrote: Late breaking news has just been posted on-line by the University City Review about the Campus Inn. It appears as though the developers have finally figured out that their plan was so outrageous and riddled with inadequacies that even Penn's money and political clout couldn't buy their way to a project with such obvious inadequacies. So... well, you'll have to read about it yourself by clicking on the link below: Click here: University City Review - West Philadelphia's Independent Community Newspaper Al Krigman Limited Time Offers: Save big on popular laptops at Dell Elliot M. Stern 552 South 48th Street Philadelphia, PA 19143-2029 United States of America telephone: 215-747-6204 mobile: 267-240-8418 emst...@verizon.net
Re: [UC] Late breaking news about the Campus Inn
41st and Walnut. Bad location. I'm wondering now what's going to come up at 43rd and BaltimoreAnd when will the 40th and Pine Street building be torn down? On 04 Jun 2009, at 1:22 PM, krf...@aol.com wrote: Late breaking news has just been posted on-line by the University City Review about the Campus Inn. It appears as though the developers have finally figured out that their plan was so outrageous and riddled with inadequacies that even Penn's money and political clout couldn't buy their way to a project with such obvious inadequacies. So... well, you'll have to read about it yourself by clicking on the link below: Click here: University City Review - West Philadelphia's Independent Community Newspaper Al Krigman Limited Time Offers: Save big on popular laptops at Dell Elliot M. Stern 552 South 48th Street Philadelphia, PA 19143-2029 United States of America telephone: 215-747-6204 mobile: 267-240-8418 emst...@verizon.net
Re: [UC] Late breaking news about the Campus Inn
Scuttlebutt is, nothing will happen at 43rd Baltimore until after dust settles on 40th Pine outcome. And if the hotel project shifts to another site, that may take quite a while longer for all to figure out. 40th Pine cannot be torn down until it collapses by itself, because it has been cursed with Historic Designation -- literally: the Philadelphia Historic Commission's invariant policy is an address can only be delisted if the building on it has already fallen down by itself. There's no way, given today's economics, that building can be rehabilitated to historic specifications within the limits of a 4-story residential zone. Contemporary low-rise residences won't yield enough per square foot to pay for such work on 40th St. So the neighborhood's challenge is how to get that edifice to fall down. A wise owner would now adopt maintenance practices that nudge 40th Pine toward collapsing sooner rather than later. If it becomes a vacant lot, it becomes usable by society again. -- Tony West Elliot M. Stern wrote: I'm wondering now what's going to come up at 43rd and BaltimoreAnd when will the 40th and Pine Street building be torn down? You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named UnivCity. To unsubscribe or for archive information, see http://www.purple.com/list.html.
Re: [UC] Late breaking news about the Campus Inn
A wise owner would nudge the building at 40th and Pine toward collapse, huh? How about an antisocial and unethical owner! Are you aware that what you are counseling is not only appalling, but illegal? Toll Brothers attempted to destroy the historic Naval Home through neglect until the courts forced them to maintain it. As for the economics of restoring the mansion and developing the site in a suitable fashion - well, Penn is poised to spend hundreds of millions on developing the Post Office site, so they can certainly afford to spend some money at 40th and Pine. They don't need to worry about their return on investment, that's for sure. Furthermore, you routinely present yourself as a journalist. Do journalists deal in scuttlebutt? If you know anything factual about the plans for the 43rd and Baltimore site, then perhaps you should do a service to your neighbors and be more explicit. The fate of that property is extremely important to the neighborhood and I suspect that the owners indeed had very definite intentions when they paid $3.5 million for it. Or do they spend that kind of money on a whim? I think most people would find it unsettling that the contractor (James Campenella) who knocked down the buildings is a convicted felon (for bribing a tax assessor in 2007) and that the owner (Campenella's partner in previous real estate deals) has not paid any property taxes since its purchase in January, 2008. I know I get a little heartburn when I think of the economic woes of the city and fat cat developers from New York getting a free ride for a year and a half on a multi-million dollar property. You may recall that Campenella had so much influence with our Councilwoman Blackwell that she introduced a special bill into City Council which would have permitted him to develop a large homeless shelter across from West Catholic. This bill would have locked the city into an unconscionably long lease and cost the taxpayers millions in inflated rent. The extraordinary bill raised questions in the press, the neighbors reacted and the project was scrapped. Now this guy is taking another whack at our neighborhood and I am very concerned. So, if you know anything about the plans for 4224-26 Baltimore, then you should probably let the community in on it, so it is not caught flat-footed, as it was when the buildings were demolished. **We found the real ‘Hotel California’ and the ‘Seinfeld’ diner. What will you find? Explore WhereItsAt.com. (http://www.whereitsat.com/#/music/all-spots/355/47.796964/-66.374711/2/Youve-Found-Where-Its-At?ncid=eml cntnew0007)
