Ridge Avenue Focus Group, Nov. 1

A Market Study for the Ridge Avenue Business District has been commissioned by the Roxborough Development Corporation. They hired Urban Partners to head the study. Urban Partners believe the best way to get good marketing information from residents is from a focus group. They will lead such a group at our next meeting, November 1. Our meeting will begin a half hour early, at 7:00 Pm, to allow time for their session.

The market study area is Ridge Avenue from Hermitage Street to Main Street. The primary focus of the study is to attract new businesses to the district.

Make Our Neighborhood Healthier, Safer, and Friendlier while Making a Difference for The World

Philadelphia Sustainable Lifestyle Campaign

The Philadelphia Sustainable Lifestyle Campaign invites you to hear more about an innovative new program that helps to strengthen communities and improve the environment. David Bonnel, a local resident and team leader, will make a presentation at the November 1 General Meeting following the Ridge Avenue Focus Group.

The program, called the EcoTeam project, offers a blueprint for reducing household resource use and provides skills which can help neighbors work together more effectively. To date, twenty six EcoTeams have formed in the diverse neighborhoods of Philadelphia, with many more on the way. The teams are having fun and making measurable reductions in their use of water, energy, and the amount of trash that they throw away. If you would like to register for an upcoming open house, please call Lauri Brunton or David Bonnell at 215-769-8577. Funding for EcoTeams is provided by The City of Philadelphia, the State of Pennsylvania and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Permit Parking

On Tuesday evening, October 17, the Council Board members met at the home of Recording Secretary Karen Smith for a pot-luck dinner with Councilman Michael Nutter and Kay Smith of the Manayunk Development Corporation to seriously discuss our ideas for a permit parking program. This will be an introductory model permit parking program for our neighborhood. We hope it will improve the intolerable parking situation in our community. In the future, It may be expanded to a larger area.

Because of the unique nature of the situation here in Manayunk, we asked the Councilman to consider proposing legislation in City Council to create a permit parking district. The Councilman offered his assistance with this project although this is not the normal means to create permit parking. To complete the needed door to door survey in this area would be cumbersome and would require an inordinate amount of time and labor to be done properly. Given the limited time of our small cadre of volunteers and the severe parking problem, we proposed instead that we hold a series of "town meetings" around this issue at which time people will have an opportunity to express their views. Votes will be taken and if the majority of participants approve the plan, we will proceed with the program.

Neighborhood Council, working with the Parking Authority, will publicize these meetings to each household in the project area with a pamphlet describing the program and announcing the public meetings. We have secured space at North Light Community Center to hold our meetings. North Light is in the proposed district and has a stake in the program as well as being a convenient location.

Our proposed schedule is:

December 2000 - brochure prepared by PPA & MNC will be distributed

January 3, 2001 - 1^st meeting for discussion at 7:30 P.M. at North Light

February 7, 2001 - 2^nd meeting for discussion at 7:30 P.M. at North Light

March 2001- Legislation before City Council

April/May 2001 - Implementation

The proposed boundaries for the permit parking program are:

Cresson Street from Cotton Street to Levering/Gay Streets, Baker Street to Green Lane, Green Lane from Cresson Street to Silverwood Street, Silverwood Street to Cotton Street, (Cotton Street will be excluded from the program due to school and church parking) From Silverwood Street down Grape Street to Cresson Street.

We look forward to working with the Councilman and Kay Smith of the Manayunk Development Corporation. If you are interested in assisting with this program please call one of the board members listed on the back page.

2-10 Shurs Lane, Office Complex

Dan Neducsin has recently bought the Bendinger Bros. building at 2-10 Shurs lane. It is a large building that fills the block between Shurs Lane and Jamestown on the south and north and between the railroad tracks and Station Street on the east and west.

The original section of the building facing Shurs Lane was built in the 1850's. Another section, stretching to Jamestown, was added in the 1920-1930's. The building is in a national historic district but comes under the purview of the Philadelphia Historical Commission (PHC) through property maintenance code ordinances. PHC staff denied Neducsin's plans for window replacements as not meeting the requirements of the ordinances. This prompted a review by the PHC architectural committee and finally the full commission.

While Neducsin was hesitant to declare hardship, he estimated that conforming with the PHC recommendations would cost an additional $700,000 and could jeopardize the project. He reminded the commission that he owned 50 buildings on Main Street and had "started it all". He felt he was begin singled out.

The commission relented and granted Neducsin most of the replacement windows with a few exceptions that the architectural committee had already agreed upon, including preserving the few original historic windows still in the building. They agreed that his proposed window replacements, while not being historicly accurate, will be of high quality and consistent with the nature of the building.

Neducsin plans to convert the building to offices and estimates the building will provide 200-250 high tech jobs. Specific parking plans have not been detailed but Neducsin did indicate that the Lock Street lot might be used. Office parking in the Lock Street lot would conflict with the art and performance center being considered for that space.

Even if the job estimates are optimistic the conversion of this building to offices will add quality jobs to Manayunk. They will economically diversify and strengthen our community. We don't know when Neducsin expects to have the building occupied.

Amendment to the Bylaws

Article XIII - Membership Dues

Section 3

From: The annual membership period begins on June 1.

To: The annual membership period begins on January 1.

To be voted on at the November 1 meeting.