yes all right good afternoon board joe console here for deluxe events llc uh this is um a referral
the property was a pharmacy the space was also a dry cleaner um the intended use is a special
exception in cmx2 and that is an event space um my client uh does uh various events she's an
internal i mean she's a she's a designer helps people um set up life events and handle those
things um she was doing it uh without her own space and this would be deluxe events uh you know
initial foray into having their own space that they could use to host uh other folks events
That being said, we went in front of the RCO. Everyone was in support. We got a letter of support. There was one in opposition. I'm not sure what that was about, but it seemed to be pretty enthusiastic, her discussing the project and her uses and how it could benefit the neighborhood and all that good stuff.
They sent a letter in in support to the to the CBA.
We also included in here proof of mailings photos of the space.
Here's what it looked like.
What it looks like now next to a diner on the other side.
It's part of a larger complex that has almost infinite amounts of parking that are usable for the space.
And so the issue of where any of these guests would have to park was a non-issue.
We have just an existing plan that we submitted showing the floor plan.
We have just an existing plan that we submitted showing the floor plan.
There's what it looks like now.
There's what it looks like.
It will be spruced up and renovated for the event space for deluxe events.
There it is. There it is.
Project information form,
our two-year lease with several options to renew.
It all goes well.
And then our tax clearance certificate at the end.
I don't want to belabor it too much. I think I'll just call my client up now to adopt my testimony.
Ms. Lewis, are you on?
Did you state your name and spell it, please, for the court reporter?
Yes, my name is Andrea Lewis, A-U-N-D-R-E-A-L-E-W-I-S.
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i do could you just get a little closer to the microphone just a little bit
yes all right proceed counsel good afternoon miss lewis did you hear my testimony now regarding
your project yes i did do you agree with what i said and do you adopt it as your own
yes i do okay i have nothing further hi questions from the board no chair
no chair thank you no mr chairman thank you questions or comments from the virtual audience
yes chair i have a will nasir with his hand raised so i'll
allow me i could sir could you state your name please and spell for the court reporter
mr nasir can you unmute yourself
Yes, good afternoon. My name is William Nasir, W-I-L-L-I-A-M-N-A-S-I-R.
You swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Proceed, sir.
I'm the president of the Haverford Avenue Business Association,
and we are in full support of the business coming to our corridor.
Mr. Nasir, thank you very much for your calling in and taking the time.
Thank you.
Is there anyone else in the virtual audience?
I see no hands, Chair.
Planning Commission?
Thank you, Chair.
Sarah Bond, Philadelphia City Planning Commission, S-A-R-A-H-B-A-N-H.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing commercial mixed-use zoning.
The proposed use will not cause detrimental impacts to the neighborhood beyond what might normally be expected.
the city planning commission recommends that the zoning board grant the special exception
thank you MI 2022 006 002 7543 to 79 Haverford Avenue I vote yes
Thomas Holloman my vote is yes
James Snell my vote is yes
Ishmael Shaheed my vote is yes
thank you thank you counsel
Number 10, MI 2022-003-932-2352 North 29th Street.
Letter of opposition with exhibits from the Strawberry Mansion community.
Applicant has provided a petition of support signed by 86 residents.
Vern Anastasio is the attorney.
Mr. Anastasio is coming in as a
panelist. Okay.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair. Good afternoon, sir.
Could you state your name and spell, please, for the court reporter? Sure. It's Vern Anastasio,
A-N-A-S-T-A-S-I-O. 2016 Spruce,
Philadelphia 19103. Right. Do you swear
a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? I do. Could you identify
your client in relationship to the property? Yes, sir. I represent the owner of the property,
Altrina Nixon. And our vice chair has just a few questions. Thank you. Good afternoon,
counsel. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate towards accuracy?
I do. Have you emailed all the required documents and exhibits to proceed with this case five days
in advance of this hearing i have thank you uh please proceed and share your screen thank you
mr chair members of the board we are talking about 2352 north 29th street the proposal um is for a
North 29th Street. The proposal is for a small event space at 29th and York. I understand that
the refusal does mention nightclubs and private clubs, but that's the category, as you know,
that's something that we are proposing falls into. However, this is for private gatherings only,
not open to the public, no nightclub, no bouncers, no cover charge, anything like that.
Clients who use the space will be vetted and bound by service contracts. The space is relatively
small, only about 750 square feet. That's before the bathrooms. The primarily focus is going to be
small baby and wedding showers. No weddings, of course. It's too small for that. Repass lunches,
birthday parties. There's already a couple of small group Bible study groups that
are interested. So that's where we're going with this particular space.
The events will never be later than midnight. There'll be commercial trash pickup after each
event. Exterior lighting for safety around the entire perimeter of the corner. There'll be
interior and exterior video surveillance and additional security personnel present
at the end of the events. My client is committed to installing sound mitigation and absorption
materials. There'll be a live-in on-site property manager 24-7 who will be on the second floor of
the property. My client has already started to engage land bank about using the vacant lot across
the street for parking. As you'll see in my exhibits, there's lots of vacant lots. This
proposal brings new life to a long-neglected vacant corner that literally was falling down.
And a majority of 2022 and 2023 shootings in the area, this will come up when we discuss the
protestants exhibits. The majority of the shootings in the area are all adjacent to
vacant lots and properties, not to occupied spaces. And my client's goal, she is from this
neighborhood. She was born and raised there. She wants to bring a new use to an otherwise
struggling, to say the least, commercial corridor. This is the refusal that was issued in May 11th
of last year. Again, it's for the event space, and there's a two-family dwelling above.
Let's get to some of the plans.
Basement will be used for mechanical purposes only.
there will be a commercial space on the first floor
one apartment on the second and one apartment on the third which is a matter of right
the property was in fact dilapidated my client completely
installed a new facade brand new windows and in addition to the two properties adjacent to it
which he also purchased and completely rehabbed.
This is what the property looks like today.
There's still some interior work that needs to be done.
That's why there's it's fenced off.
But as you can see, new cornices, new windows, all new front, new rear.
And this is the interior, which of course is still being worked on.
Again, sound mitigation and absorption materials will be placed into these walls before being closed up if the use permit is, in fact, granted.
This is where the property sits on the corner.
As you can see, vast stretches of disinvestment, lots of vacant lots.
on what was at one point I'm sure
and a generation or two ago
a vibrant commercial corridor
now outside of a bodega
and some smaller shops down the block
there's not a whole lot going on here
again this is all within the immediate area
around the property
just vacant lots
across the street, more vacancy on both ends.
My client personally went to immediate neighbors, circulated a petition.
personally went to immediate neighbors, circulated a petition, and she's offering
these photos as evidence of folks signing them enthusiastically because there is no space for
events in this area. As you can see, and please bear with me, everyone not only read the zoning
notice, but then read and signed the petition. Over 80 signatures. My client will testify that
she personally went door to door and store to store. And 75% of the over 80 signatures are all
immediately impacted neighbors that were identified to us by the Planning Commission
on the list of addresses, many of whom didn't attempt
to attend the RCO meeting, but for reasons
that are unknown to me or my client,
they were unable to get out of the waiting room
and into the actual meeting.
Here are the signatures.
Again, three pages, over 80.
And I do want to speak briefly about
about the protestant exhibits, which I'm sure will come up when interested parties get an
opportunity to talk about them. I need to object to exhibit A, B, C, D, E, and F
on relevance grounds. All of these photos and evidence are, it's evidence of a code-compliant
CMX-1 use, code-compliant property that is currently causing havoc, trash, and nuisance
in the neighborhood. It has absolutely nothing to do with our property, which is also zone CMX-1.
I object to exhibit GH&I of the Protestants' exhibits because they are in the same interior photos of our property that I just shared with you.
It's the first floor, and I object on relevance grounds because we can't pull building permits and finish the first floor until the event space has been, you know, approved and a use permit is issued.
So that's why it's unfinished.
I don't know why the protestant used the unfinished first floor as a reason to object, but I did want to put that out there.
Also, the Protestants talk about, primarily speaking, the crime problem in the area, and they believe that using this space as private event space two or three times a week may increase crime.
And I did pull all the records of most of the shootings in this past two months of 2023, and much of 2022. And here are most of them, 300 block of York, 2400 Marston, and this is coming from the city controller's website on tracking all incidents of fatal and non-fatal shootings.
A second event at the same spot, 3000 West York, 2900 West Gordon, and 2700 block of West York.
What pages of my exhibit 199, page 99, show you clearly, these shootings all happen around vacancies, vacant lots, vacant properties, never in front of occupied commercial spaces.
So I do believe that that sort of produces a counter argument. There is no evidence that an occupied commercial space would, in fact, increase crime when all of the shootings this year and all that I could have gathered this year, last year, all occur where there's vacant lots and blight, not occupied properties.
We did in fact meet with the community.
And here's the letter that was mailed to everyone.
We met on the 13th of February.
166 individual households were in fact contacted.
I think 15 showed up. The breakdown is in the letter. We did in fact have a good amount of
I think 15 showed up, the breakdown.
folks who supported. There were some, of course, who did not. And with that, I'd like to call my
client to testify as first witness. What's your client's name? Altrina Nixon.
Ms. Altrina, can you unmute, please?
Could you state your name, please, and spell it for the court reporter?
Yes, my name is Altrina Nixon. My name is spelled A-L-T-R-E-N-A-N-I-X-O-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ms. Nixon, did you hear my presentation to the board this afternoon?
Yes, I did.
Is it true and accurate to the best of your knowledge?
Yes, it is.
And do you adopt it as your own testimony?
Okay, now I'm going to ask you a few follow-up questions, specifically to counter some of the concerns of the RCO.
Talk about your experience in hosting and producing private events.
How many years would you say you've been doing this?
15 years.
And with respect to needing to get a variance to do what you'd like,
The property is zoned CMX1, which would be a lower impact commercial space, doctor's office, lawyer's office, accounting, or something like a bodega or a grocery store.
Did you look into other tenants that might be compatible with the zoning code for this particular property?
There weren't any other tenants that was compatible with the zoning for our property that would be beneficial to the neighborhood.
Okay. And in fact, the only other tenant that came to you was for a full-blown restaurant. Is that right?
Yes, that's correct.
And that would require a variance as well. Is that right?
Very good. What are your proposed hours of operation for the private event space?
I do not want any events happening past 11 or 12 p.m.
I understand that this is in a community where people have to get up and go to work.
So I don't want any events past 11 or 12 p.m. at night.
Okay. And you are dedicated to installing sound mitigation and noise absorption in those walls that are still open. Is that right?
That is correct. I spent extra money to get the safe and sound, which does everything you just suggested.
Okay. And there are no homes attached to your building. Is that right?
No, sir. There are not.
The only attached structure to your property are your other commercial properties. Is that right?
Yes, sir. That's correct.
That you've also bought and transformed and completely renovated. Is that right?
Yes, that's right.
Okay. And to reiterate, there will be 24-7 live-in management on the second floor. Is that correct?
Yes, that's correct.
And you are committed to security cameras and lighting, interior, exterior, as well as personnel. Is that correct?