>From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]>Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:36:09 -0500>Subject: Re:
>[UC] Classes of Voters, was SCHA Zoning >meeting DVD>But I'm not sure that the
>intensely outspoken opponents of this project >(I don't mean the neighbors,
>who aren't writing on the UC listserv - I'm >referring to the people who
>generally oppose change in the area) >understand>>...the detrimental effects
>of fearmongering
Uh, you mean like "what will happen to the mansion if we can't build an eleven
story hotel in the side yard"?
>...the importance of full gathering of facts rather than relying on gut
>>reactions
You mean like the gut reaction that I have whenever I see the same handful of
people turn up to support whatever Penn wants to ram down the neighborhood's
throat? Is that coincidence or what? When I found out who supported the hotel,
it looked like the NID/BID Steering Committee was having its annual meeting.
(BTW, how did that whole NID thing turn out?)
>...the unfairness of posting misinformation on the listservs to skew >opinion
you mean like the developer telling people early on that the owners of 92
percent of the adjacent properties supported the hotel, while downplaying the
fact that numerically, those owners are actually only a few individuals, one of
whom being the developer's business partner?
Oh, yeah, and by the way, why is it that anything that you disagree with is
"misinformation"?
>...the harm done to our neighborhood when folks make their decisions >based on
>who proposes something, rather than on the merit of the >proposal
You mean like when a private individual encloses one porch in the 4300 block of
Spruce Street, a local historic preservationist describes that in the
University City Historical Society newsletter as a "rape", but when a
Penn-connected developer wants to build a looming monstrosity that would
forever destroy the character of the entire neighborhood, that same
preservationist testifies before the Historic Commission in his private
capacity that it's a great idea?
And what is the merit of an eleven story hotel in a congested three story
residential neighborhood?
>But, perhaps opponents do understand all of this, and are purposely >giving
>out false information.>- Melani Lamond
Yeah, perhaps. Perhaps the people who live here, pay taxes, and try to make
the neighborhood a decent place, and who have to live with the result of
decisions made by others, are just a bunch of troublemakers spewing false
information. After all, Chris O'Donnell has a big yard; how selfish of him to
not want to convert it into a parking lot to make up for the fact that he won't
be able to park on the street anymore. Chris: Tom Lussenhop needs those
spaces! Your kids can get along fine in a smaller yard!
And perhaps the developer and the others who stand to make a hefty profit from
this are perfect, God-like beings who would never DREAM of exaggerating,
withholding information or telling people whatever it takes to get this hotel,
or whatever it turns out to be, built. And perhaps they would not in turn use
the hotel as precedent to build something similar on that vacant lot at 43rd
and Baltimore or elsewhere in the neighborhood.
Yeah, perhaps.
Karen Allen
