THE COUNCIL CRIER |
February 1999
Letter from the President
Manayunk Neighborhood Council has been known to be controversial, well we live in a community that has outgrown our row homes, our pedestrian streets and even our sidewalks. The developers have stressed us to the limit and we are not happy campers. We are also sick of being told that everyone knows what is best for us.
The problems that we face everyday would not be tolerated in the "burbs." We welcomed responsible development, but what did we get? You all know by now that the Zoning Board of Adjustments has granted Dan Neducsin a variance to build a complex of 67 apartments with some constrictions at Gay and Fleming Streets. I dont believe there was a reason to bring this project to the appeal stage. It should have been stopped in December.
I urge our members to attend the "Meet the Candidates Night" sponsored by the Ridge Park Civic Association at Roxborough High School on March 11th at 7 PM. One question should be raised. Who controls the Zoning Board of Adjustments and will the new mayor elect a board that is sensitive to the needs of the 21st Ward?
Now I would like to suggest that MNC put a moratorium on any future developers that request our input for approval of a project. We will no longer accept any appointments until the Neducsin affair is settled. We are sympathetic to the businesses in the Main Street corridor and will continue to patronize their shops and restaurants, but some members of MNC have suggested a boycott and/or protest of Neducsins establishments to show the Zoning Board our displeasure of their decision for the project at Gay and Fleming Streets.
I ask you to join us one more time in this endeavor and hope to see all of you at our March 3rd meeting. Only if we continue to stand together can we make our collective voice heard and hope that the powers that be will listen.
I remain respectfully yours.
Kathy Tomosky, President
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Realen to present its plan for Venice Island
Postponed from last month, Dennis Maloomian, president and CEO of Realen Properties Associates of Ambler, will present his company's plans for development on Venice Island. Realen holds an option to purchase the now-closed Connelly Containers Inc. property on the island. Connelly announced in late May the mill would close, and 59 workers have since lost their jobs. Connelly's main plant still remains in operation across the river. Demolition is planned for Venice Island's 88-year old mill pending zoning changes. The entire parcel, three acres, will have to be rezoned.
The property is connected to Main Street by the recently rebuilt Cotton Street bridge. At the western end of the site, where the plant stands, Realen is proposing a 120-room hotel that would include a 9,670-square-foot restaurant overlooking the river. Four elevated buildings will combine a row of retail shops and 200 luxury garden-style apartments. Plans for the buildings include a tree-lined thoroughfare and a public walkway on the canal and river sides of the island, along with pedestrian access to the site. The working name for the project is Cotton Street Landing.
Venice Island is located in the Schuylkill floodway. During 1972's Hurricane Agnes, the 1.8 mile-long island was underwater. Federal flood insurance rules require that new construction be built on piles at least 10 feet above the island's surface. Storm-generated floods will then wash pollutants from automobiles, trash receptacles and other ground level waste into the Schuylkill River, however building interiors will remain dry.
Representatives of Friends of the Manayunk Canal, Manayunk Neighborhood Council, and Wissahickon Neighbors Civic Association talked to City Council Member Michael Nutter about seeking a temporary halt to development on Venice Island until a master plan for the island is complete. They also requested that all development plans include a traffic and parking impact study. Venice Island is not subject to the current ban on new restaurants in Manayunk.
Some questions residents will want answered are;
How these plans will effect our already overcrowded streets and parking facilities?
How much green space and wildlife will be preserved on the island?
Do we have to accept development we don't want or need?
Is the City encouraging industry to leave Venice Island?
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March is Membership Month
During the month of March, MNC will be actively soliciting new members and reminding current members to renew. Only individual members paid in full by the March meeting will be permitted to accept nominations for office in the upcoming May elections and only members paid in full by the April meeting will be permitted to vote.
Individual members receive one vote at general meetings of the Council. A family membership will be equivalent to two individual memberships. All members will receive the following:
Everyone in the 21st Ward is welcome to join even if you belong to another civic association.
Additionally we will be actively soliciting the businesses in our neighborhood to become
members and to attend the monthly general meetings. As always, our goal is to work with the
residents (old and new), businesses and visitors so our neighborhood can be a safe and
pleasant place to live.
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Manayunk Garden Club
Members of the Manayunk Garden Club met on Feb. 12th. The new Land Marks proposal for public art was reviewed. The project is based on the stoops of Manayunk. Artists will fabricate stoops in concrete clad with mosaic tiles. The project will reflect Manayunks generous community spirit and history. Mosaic designs will be transferred from art produced by Manayunks youths. These symbolic forms will be arranged as seating niches, to provide places for rest and reflection along the Canal Tow Path. Also, planters, plantings and paving elements will quotes and symbols will be added to create a series of episodic events along the path edge. President Vicki Finn and Jane Glenn loved this proposal and gave their full support.
Joe Matassino, Project Director, Manayunk Development Corporation, introduced plans for a butterfly park along the Canal. This would be established just west of the Green Lane Bridge. Work would be done in conjunction with MDC, Friends of the Manayunk Canal and the Garden Club.
Architectural plans for the tool shed in Pretzel Park were discussed. It was agreed that these
plans would be an important first step to future improve-ments in the park. Some options are
to ask local architects, architectural students or nonprofit organizations to submit designs. Kay
Smith, Executive Director, MDC, will speak with the Department of Recreation regarding
money for the building of the shed. A meeting is planned for Wednesday, March 3rd to
discuss this with MDC.
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Venice Island Recreation Center
According to Michael Diberardinis, Recreation Director, if the weather is suitable and there are no additional delays, the scheduled improvement projects at VI should be completed by June of this year.
The schedule for building work revolves around the delivery of the doors. Since the door frames must be built into the new masonry, demolition and masonry work cannot start too far in advance of the door delivery, which is expected in by the end of March or early April. This work should be completed in April. Interior finishes will be done after the exterior walls and doors are complete. The building contractor has been delayed thusfar by asbestos removal, permit problems created by differing interpretations of ADA rules and the existing poor condition of the building.
Upon completion of the renovation, Mike McKeown, the director at VI, will be able to set up
his new office with an IBM 486 computer donated from MNC when Kathy Tomosky entered
a contest last October spon- sored by the Philadelphia Daily News, entitled "Win a Computer
for Your Organization." Also being donated from Ed DiMidio at the North Light Community
Center are a printer and a copier.
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Station Restaurant
The hearing date for the liquor license at the Station Restaurant has been set for Monday, March 8th at 10AM on the sixth floor of the Atlantic Terminal Building located at 1080 N. Delaware Avenue. Since opening the restaurant, owner Dan Pelliccoitti has been offering complimentary wine or beer with a meal. He is applying to transfer the existing license from the Marriot Family Restaurant, Inc. at 7520 City Line Avenue.
MNC has been doing its homework since last August to prepare for this hearing. Volunteers started by taking a survey of the opinion of the neighbors within 500 feet of the restaurants property because these are the residents who will qualify to testify in court.
A meeting of the neighbors who wish to testify in opposition to the liquor license will be
held at the North Light Community Center on Friday, March 5th at 7PM to go over the
information MNC has been gathering. Transportation will be provided downtown on Monday
to the hearing. Let's wish them luck!
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Fleming Street
At the February 3rd general meeting of MNC, Dan McElhatton, the lawyer retained by the residents of Fleming Street, informed the audience that a variance was granted on January 29thby the Zoning Board of Adjustments for the Neducsin project. He was quoted as saying "the ruling is not a flat out loss." Judge Thomas Kelly did stipulate a number of provisos before a permit could be granted. These include:
This last constriction appeared to be the "sticky wicket". Mr. McElhatton suggested that an appeal be made to Councilman Michael Nutter to continue his support of the neighbors and recommend that the city not agree to an ordinance to transfer the ownership of Flint Street to the applicant.
The neighbors have appealed the decision with the step being the Court of Common Pleas. This will not be considered a new case, but rather a review of the existing report, which Mr. McElhatton believes to be strong.
As legal costs accrue, neighbors may be solicited for a donation to the defense fund or to
support the Fleming Street neighbors through some sort of fund raiser, perhaps a "Beef &
Beer".
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Sidewalk Parking
An elderly neighbor was recently walking home from church on Silverwood Street when he chanced upon multiple cars parked on the sidewalk. It was dusk and, as with many elderly people, his eyesight is not what it used to be. As he struggled to get past the automobiles parked on the sidewalk, he realized that he had to either walk in the street or try to squeeze in between the parked car and the wall of the house. He opted to try the squeeze and promptly fell in a basement window well injuring his leg and bumping his head on the wall of the house.
Yes, parking is difficult in our community. These streets were built when the automobile was not part of our culture. With the advent of the car culture and the proliferation of multiple vehicles per household this problem has worsened. With the conversion of what once were single family dwellings into apartments, or the rental of theses houses to multiple persons, this situation has spread to what could best be described as being epidemic.
While Manayunk Neighborhood Council appreciates this parking dilemma, let it be said that it is illegal to park on a sidewalk. Period. Council has undertaken a campaign to raise the awareness of this offense and to hopefully eliminate it from our neighborhood. Some may have seen the brochures which members have been placing on the offending automobiles. These papers, which outline the law and provide information about alternate means of transportation in our community, are the first step in the effort to address this problem. Beginning in mid March, Council will meet with the Police Captain in our District and ask that an aggressive campaign by our local Police to ticket these troublesome cars be instituted. Another part of the campaign will be to look to our city officials to assist us to find alternate parking solutions to this community wide problem.
While there are no perfect solutions to this dilemma, Council hopes to begin to make our
streets and side-walks safer for the many pedestrians in our own little piece of the world.
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Meet the Candidate Night
The Ridge Park Civic Association (RPCA) is sponsoring a "Meet the Candidate Night" on Thursday, March 11th at 7PM at the Roxborough High School. Invited are the candidates for Mayor, the 4th Councilman District and Council at Large. State representative Kathy Manderino has agreed to introduce the candidates and moderate the question and answer period.
Each candidate will be allowed five minutes to present their views on why they should be elected as Mayor of Philadelphia, representative in the 4th District and for City Council at Large. This will be followed by a Q & A period. The candidates are being asked to address their views on the neighbor-
hoods in Philadelphia and the education of our children, specifically the School District of
Philadelphia. There are currently 28,000 registered voters in the 21st Ward, one of the largest
in the city. RPCA feels it is important that the members of our community have a chance to
make an informed decision as to who should be our next Mayor.
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|
MANAYUNK NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL |
| Kathy Tomosky, President . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215.483.7554 |
| Liz Turella, Vice President . . . . . . . . . . . . .215.482.4698 |
| Jane Glenn, Treasurer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215.482.5528 |
| Karen Smith, Recording Secretary . . . . . . . 215.483.0914 |
| Arte Verbrugghe, Corresponding Secretary . 215.483-4880 |
Manayunk Neighborhood Council Membership Form
| __ $3 Individual | __ $25 Business or Supporter | __ $100 Patron |
| __ $5 Family | __ $50 Sponsor | __ Other $______ |
| Name: | Phone: |
| Address: | Fax: |
| City, State, Zip: | E-Mail: |
| Special Interests & Skills: |
| Make check payable to MNC and mail to Manayunk Neighborhood Council, PO Box 4667, Philadelphia, PA 19127 |
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