Mario Giorno wrote:
Folks,
I will reiterate my request at the end of my last post on this
thread. If there were on concession or stipulation above all others
that you would require from the UCD before we gave them NID status,
what would it be. If we want to actually create a NID, we need to
compromise with the UCD staff and steering committee on what specific
work it will do, how it will carry out this work and what overriding
guidelines, rules or best practices you want the institution to follow.
Here's a few, without much thought behind them;
1. Crime.
Not that we're a crime-riddled shithole, but crime is almost always
our first concern. So I'd want there to be adequate police presence in
the neighborhood, along with open public reporting on crimes and trends
of crime in the neighborhood. I don't think this is a particularly
original demand, so I'll leave it at that.
2. Physical Plant and Maintenance.
This is actually a big area. There's trash pickup, of course, which
everyone wants. But in a sense, that's a status quo job; it doesn't
require changing things in a big way. I'd want to see planning for
things like street lighting, tree replantings, and many other aesthetic
issues that contribute to a pleasant neighborhood. So I'd want our NID
to coordinate with UC Green on things like greenery, with the FoCP and
Philly Parks Alliance for the Park, etc., etc. This sort of thing
requires planning for the future, and may involve facing people who
insists that nothing _needs_ to be done to, say, replace a tree or
upgrade lighting.
3. Coordination for Business and Local Economy Growth
Some may regard this as social engineering and control, but it helps to
have a business climate that's _directed_ in some way or another. For
example, there have been efforts to revitalize the Baltimore Avenue
corridor. I suspect that many in our neighborhood don't want to see it
turn into modern-day South Street, with heaps of chain stores like the
Gap or and gaudy franchises like McDonald's or KFC, and I'm under the
impression that UCD has been trying to avoid this as well. And there are
some franchises that do appeal to our demographic, like Fresh Fields or
Trader Joe's or Restoration Hardware. So a degree of community-involved
design seems to be desirable here.
Also, one wants to see the area kept useful and alive. If there's a
vacant storefront, there ought to be an agency that works to fill it
with a business. It may require publicity and marketing of our wonderful
area. It may require establishing business loans to entrepreneurs to
establish locations in the area.
4. Marketing
Many here complain about the marketing of our area, and yeah, the stuff
UCD comes up with sounds trite and hackneyed ("funky vibe," indeed!).
But the area does require some marketing-- to bring in businesses,
homeowners and investment.
5. Community and Homeowner Support
I want to cast back to the Historic District debacle for a moment. The
fact is that placing our homes under the PHC was one of the worst ideas
Spruce Hill's ever floated on our "behalf." The operating principle
there was to force homeowners to spend, spend spend or they'd be
prosecuted. I'd suggest initiatives and incentives to _help_ homeowners
improve their homes. Maybe we could help a local hardware store expand
to provide more home-repair and gardening materials, with regular
seminars-kaffeklatches to Learn How. (D.L. Wormley used to run things
like this. Great idea.)
Or, here's an idea. My side of Larchwood is taken up with about a
half-dozen connected row homes, sharing flat roofs. It'd be nice if we
could get a group discount on rooftop solar panel systems, and get'em
all done at once. So, maybe we could be examining alternative energy
systems that would be too expensive for single homeowners... but
feasible and beneficial if done in coordinated groups.
But generally: We live in an area that's getting expensive-- even for
those of us who bought years ago, the property taxes are going to hit us
hard one of these days. So a decent organization ought to be working for
the benefit of homeowners.
6. Renters
Here's a tricky question. What role would renters have here? They get
the benefit of the improvements of this hypothetical organization. And
they'd be paying in, indirectly, through their landlords. Many are
short-term renters, students mainly, who don't have the same stake in
the neighborhood as do homeowners, and business owners. It's a large
part of our daily life, what with the parties, the trash, the traffic,
and the like. So this organization would have to deal with these
things-- and perhaps provide some services for the local renter
population, like a placement service perhaps, or advocacy for renters'
rights.
But there are long-term renters whose love for and involvement with this
community is as strong as that of any mortgage-bearer. Many prefer
renting for whatever reason (repair burdens, mobility, etc.). Many of
them want to buy, but can't. (And some of them are tiresomely bitter
about missing their chance.) Our hypothetical organization may have to
deal with this-- maybe finding loans so these people _can_ buy, or
establishing housing co-ops.
7. Social Life
The UCD's events in the Park haven't been, well, stunning successes.
They got great acts, but they didn't publicize them very well, and they
were more than a little overblown in terms of staging and production. On
the other hand, events that have arisen organically-- the Best Fest,
Shakespeare in Clark Park, and the Music and Arts festivals under Jed
McKee, to name a few-- have tended to be lots of fun for nearly all
involved. Our organization ought to be able to support such events-- not
to determine the content, but to provide support, funding and publicity.
Additional trash pickups. A lead on cheap Port-o-Sans and stages. Maybe
a generator that can be used.
There've also been Crossroads, the Curio theater, events at the
Rotunda... Support for these, with coordinated publicity, would be a must.
Oh, and I'd want this organization to pay me $10,000 a year for being
such a wonderful human being.
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