Roger, you make good points about exterior maintenance. The landlord at the
new location would be Daniel DeRitis whose company is Apartments at Penn.
He is a capable and hands-on person who has long been involved in University
City clean & safe initiatives, and I believe he will be able to hold the PLCB
to their promises to do a good job at the new location. It looks like the
41st & Market landlord didn't care one way or the other. We can get one clue
about the new landlord based on the maintenance of the location while it was
Rite Aid. Though we don't know the specifics of the lease, it was well cared
for - an indication that the landlord either had a lease requiring that, or
stepped up to the plate when maintenance was needed.
Here's another clue. Go to the Penn OCL website to see how tenants have
rated Apartments at Penn:
_http://dolphin.upenn.edu/~consumer/_ (http://dolphin.upenn.edu/~consumer/)
These are apartments, not commercial spaces, but you'll see that for the
three years OCL has ratings, Apartments at Penn has almost entirely As and Bs,
which is impressive.
While you're on that site, you can also check out Al Krigman's KRF
Corporation's ratings. Also mostly As and Bs, but also some Cs, more than
Apartments
at Penn has.
By the way, it has been pointed out to me that Al's opposition to the new
liquor store location just MIGHT have something to do with who the landlord is,
since Danny DeRitis is a big supporter of the UCD's NID project.
Melani Lamond
In a message dated 3/1/2007 12:40:01 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
Kathleen Turner wrote:
"If the State Store system is trying to create a more "upscale" store, that
should include a commitment to deal aggressively with illegal behavior."
In the midst of a bunch of holier-than-thou messages, I really believe that
Kathleen has stated the case for or against the liquor store in the most
logical way.
If the Zoning process and subsequent enforcement are done properly, then a
new establishment should always be required to conduct itself responsibly. My
understanding is that property owners/tenants (depending on how a lease is
written) are responsible for the sidewalk out in front of their premises and
any parking areas under their control. This includes keeping the surface in
good repair, snow shoveled, trash picked up, etc. Plus I take it to mean
that if there are panhandlers, loiterers, prostititues, drug dealers, vagrants
on these premises, it is the property owners/tenants responsibility to deal
with it. By the way, we at Abbraccio have to deal with this type of issue
freqently; sometimes it means calling the police.
The main argument AGAINST the liquor store, in my opinion, is their past
failure to take any responsibility for outside of their premises. If someone
really wanted to fight the proposal at Zoning, I recommend taking a videotape
of a few hours of the front of the current store at 41st and Market. The
front of store itself looks like an uninviting hellhole; it seems almost
barricaded, as if it belongs in Baghdad. And then of course there are the
panhandlers normally found all over in front.
Meanwhile, if the liquor store folk wanted to make a case FOR the move to
Walnut Street, then I think the best case would be a written ironclad
commitment to maintaining the entire premises, inside and out, in a
responsible
manner. A senior LCB should be held accountable for any problems. (In other
words, not like at the current store.)
Perhaps you might note that I am not a big fan of the State Store system.
It is my opinion that the worse liquor store in New Jersey is still better
than the best liquor store in Pennsylvania.
Roger
Melani Lamond, Associate Broker
Urban & Bye, Realtor
3529 Lancaster Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19104
cell phone 215-356-7266
office phone 215-222-4800, ext. 113
office fax 215-222-1101
2005 recipient of the Greater Philadelphia Association of Realtors awards:
- Diamond award for over $8 million in sales, and
ALL SIX of the West Philadelphia awards:
- Top Lister
- Top Seller
- Top Overall Combined Volume
- Top Listing Units by Area
- Top Selling Units by Area
- Top Overall Combined Units by Area
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