This is laughable on so many levels, my sides hurt.

First, the UCD is a charitable corporation. It is not legally related to Drexel, UPenn, etc., despite the fact that those corporations make voluntary contributions to the cause. That would be like saying that each of you who writes a check to Red Cross is responsible for the actions of Red Cross. Unbelievable. And thus, it will not take long for the suits against the universities to be dismissed.

Without those deep pockets, the suit is largely a publicity stunt as the UCD most certainly doesn't have $25 million. And further, it will simply provide an incentive, if the suit is successful, for the voluntary contributions to stop so that those contributors aren't actually funding MCIC.

It is no secret nor random act that the border is Spring Garden. Physically, it is a large street and serves as a natural boundary - the borders are outlined on the web site. It also makes sense as a CDC to choose a commercial corridor with which to define the borders. Like most other CDCs in Philadelphia, UCD is NOT a civic type organization and serves a more commercial purpose. They clearly state that the cleanings target student and rental areas, as well as highly commercialized areas.

I am keeping my fingers crossed for the UCD - not because I don't care about the surrounding areas and I suspect UCD does, too. The success of the surrounding areas has a direct impact on the success of the district. Rather, it's because government and nonprofits can't be all things to all people. What about getting your own broom out...?

I think it's really an elaborate shakedown/attention getting scheme.

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www.taxgirl.com

Besides the highly questionable legal foundation for this lawsuit, I am struck about how terribly politically misdirected the MCIC is who they are accusing of "institutional racism" when so many Mantua residents and homeowners have been horribly abused by terribly negligent coordination and notification with NTI and the RDA from multiple accounts I have heard.

I have heard story of woman who went out to go shopping and returned home two hours later to find her whole house and all of her possesions bull-dozed - she claims with no prior notification. I knew someone who was looking to buy a small warehouse just north of Spring Garden to use for theater stuff. The owner had been using it until just recently for auto repair. He had the property listed for sale on realtor.com. Because of things I had heard, I warned my friend to investigate that building wasn't targeted for redevelopment and sure enough it was. The owner, an older African American guy who grew up in the neighborhood, had no idea. What do you bet that the "fair market value" he gets from the RDA is a fraction of what he would have sold that warehouse to my friend for?

I've posted before about another friend who who bouaght a shell in the northern edge of West Powelton from some folks who bought it at sherrif's sale. He is a carpetner and he was planning to do the totally major structural repairs to the shell to make it his home - repairs like reframing a new roof and reconstructing portions of the third floor. He worked on it for nearly a year doing most of the major structural work and was in fact camped out in the building. When a property is is old at a sherrif's sale for a tax lien - it enters a legal limbo for a year where the former owner can pay off all the back taxes and "necessary repairs" in order to recalim the property before the new owner gets a full clean title on the property. My friend was just a few weeks shy of the 1-year date and he gets a notice from the RDA that they screwed up, the sherrif's dept. should never have sold the property and that hey were redeveloping the property. Furthermore my friend was only offered the amount of the sherrif's sale for the property - not anything for 20-30 hours a week in his labor he put into rebuilding and restoring the structure. Oh well, tough luck.

Its pretty obvious to me that yes indeed an awful lot of the residents are the victims of a certain form of "institutionalized racism" but that its being driven from City Hall in coordination between the Street administration and Jannie Blackwell's office. People who have weathered the years of decline and sub-par police enforcement but managed to hold onto their family homes are being screwed in Mantua. From what I have heard there is some pretty fertile ground for some sort of class action suit against NTI (which I think will eventually happen and we as tax payers will eventually foot the bill for) but who is the leadership at the MCIC going after? The UCD - go figure.

They funny thing is that Young is the one rehabbing the houses that the students are living in. The way I see it, he just wants Mantua to be cleaner and more attractive so that he can rehab more houses and make more money off of students. From the looks of it, his heart is not in his neighborhood, but in his wallet.


But I would argue that the UCD boundaries are somewhat arbitrarily drawn. Btw, lawmummy, sorry to correct you but UCD is a Business Improvement District not a CDC. It essentially exists to wipe the asses of Penn students. Anway, while Spring Garden is far from a commercial corridor, it is sort of a natural dividing line (in a bad way). There is a huge physical difference between north of SpG and south of it. You have the affluent on one side and the poor on the other. UCD should have known that they would cause controversy by placing the boundary at SpG (I'm not saying the lawsuit holds any legal weight). They should have extended it to Haverford with the Penn Mortgage boundary just to preserve some uniformity, although I'm sure the controversy would still remain.

Then you look at the western boundary, 50th St. It's like they just chose a good round number for this one. It's not a commercial corridor and only a handful of Penn students live between 48th and 50th Sts. But more importantly, when you compare the number of Penn students living beyond 50th St. with the number of Drexel students living beyond SpG; it's a HUGE difference (past 50th st., it's probably zero).

But the situation in Mantua is comparable to that of West Powelton. Here, you also have students moving beyond the border, which in this case is Powelton Ave. Not only that, but you even have a UCD warehouse on Powelton Ave. (talk about rubbing it in their face). But you don't hear West Powelton raising a stink about this.

I know I'm all over the place on this issue, but I just wanted to put foward some things to think about. I think the lawsuit is a bunch of b.s. and I don't think much of that Rick Young character. But I do feel that the institutions need to take more of an active role in revitalizing (w/o gentrifying) their surrounding neighborhoods and healing the wounds of the past. I know they'll say that it's not their business (their business being education and endowments), but it was there business when they had a hand in Urban Renewal 40 years ago. Furthermore, what ever happened to civics?!? They should be setting examples for their students, many of which are snot-nosed brats that could stand to learn a thing or two about civics.

End of rant.

Money motivating people to improve an area rather than just exploiting it? Sounds good to me.

A couple of things wysong-

1. UCD follows the Spring Garden line all the way accross to 42nd, I believe, so they do in fact cover most of West Powelton - although I'll be the first to admit I see lot less of the safety embassadors hanging around West Powelton as I do see them in Spruce Hill and Cedar Park. Also for what its worth, the UCD commercial corridor improvement programs extend on Lancaster up to 40th.

2. I know at least two Penn grad students that rent west of 50th St. because one is a tennant of mine and another who posts here on PB lives in Walnut Hill west of 50th.

Otherwise I would agree that you do have a certain point about some of the Drexel students living in Mantua esp. along Mantua Ave. north of Spring Garden.

sean,

thanx for the correction. i was aware that they are contracted to clean and patrol on lancaster. is that the case north of powelton to 42nd St? cuz the actual district stops at powelton west of 38th, correct?

as for students living beyond the boundary, i guess subconsciously i was thinking of undergrads. i know some live in mantua and west powelton, but i doubt they would venture past 50th st unless they are originally from that nbhd.

btw, do you have any newly renovated apts for rent?

Don't quote me on West Powelton but I am pretty sure it does fall into the UCD range of influence. Yeah I was confused about why the Lancaster commercial corridor ending at 40th instead of 42nd also. Actually I do believe the last time I saw UCD head Lewis Wendell speak he said something about extending the Lancaster corridor to 42nd anyway, come to think of it.

Uh we only have 3 1-bedroom apartments ourselves and they are all full with no sign of any turnovers anytime soon. Our Penn grad student isn't exactly "from the neighborhood" originally but her thesis is about builidng community media outlets and involves working with Radio Prometheus whose offices are in the basement at Calvary Center so I guess 50th and Baltimore is a convenient location for her. If by "from the neighborhood" you mean, is she a member of Mariposa Coop and do I run into her relatively frequently at Dahlak - well then yes she definitely is "from the neighborhood".