those pallets will go into the back and or directly inside the building so in a matter of
minutes those pallets will disappear and truck will be out of the parking lot
that's what we do at other locations that that's how it's done it's very efficient
it's built those pallets will get in with that's building space in the back it's in a storage
that's where those pallets will get in okay so i want to try to move on because there's a good
chance we may have some people in the audience that want to say something right uh our attorney
hillary emerson i i don't have any questions at this time mr chair all right questions or
comments from the virtual audience or the current audience okay we'll get to you sir
hi um my name is kaya how are you could you please kaya could you please state your name
been spelled for the stenographer. Oh, yes. So my name is Kaya. His spelling is K-Y-A-H.
Last name? Brown. Right. Okay. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth, nothing but the truth? Yes. Could you turn your video on, please?
Thank you. Are you a neighbor? I'm the property manager at the Premier
Merritt City Line Apartments. Address is 6100 City F.
Okay, please proceed.
So I just wanted to chime in. We have about 302 apartments here. That's probably over 400
residents. And I think that it's safe to speak on everyone's behalf that this is the sort of
project that we would essentially support. That building has been vacant for quite some time. And
I feel like our residents should be able to have the same privileges as other people. I do feel as
though this project would bring some safety, some lighting, and some jobs to the area,
and it is something that we support and hope that gets approved.
Thank you very much. Is there anyone else in the virtual audience? How many of the hands do you have?
Hi, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Hello? Hi. Sir, could you please
state your name and spell for the stenographer yes stephen riley um s-t-e-v-e-n-r-i-l-e-y
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth told truth nothing but the truth
yes i do do you live in the area no i'm um just like uh miss brown uh property
Do you live in the area?
No, I'm just like Ms. Brown,
property manager for Bylaw Apartments,
which is pretty nice.
Please proceed.
Yes, well, basically,
I just wanted to say
the exact same things
that she was saying.
She literally stated exactly
how I feel about my property
that I manage.
It would be a huge benefit
for my site, for the resident,
to even be able to just walk outside
and be able to enjoy.
So, yeah, for us, we vote, yeah.
All right, thank you very much.
You with the Bala on the Bala side or Philadelphia side?
That's Philadelphia.
Okay, other hand?
Steve White.
Hi, could you please state your name and spell for the sonographer?
Can we see his hand?
here is mr white hi mr white could you state your name and spell for the stenographer
my name is deshaun white is uh d-e-s-e-a-n last name white as the color w-h-i-c-e
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
yes sir are you a neighbor yes i stay at the premiere um
all right do you give us your thoughts on this project yeah um i think it would be good for uh
everyone um whether you live on city avenue or you are a visitor of city avenue because
it provides a space or comfort of where you can you know reach your peak you know um wine and
spirits is not just a violent it's nowhere near a violent act you know wine and spirits for you
to feel yourself you know sometimes you have a hard day at work you know you're going through
it with your kids sometimes you want to relax and you know just chill and um i think this is
a perfect situation because we don't have to go too far to get the accommodations that we need
being as though we we're staying up here we're paying so much in rent or whatever the case may
be and this is the perfect outlet for all of us um not only that um they're going to provide
jobs for those that's attending the saint joe's university on scholarships uh whether it's
academic or athletic you know i've been in college and i know how how it feels to uh not be able to
provide for yourself you know and they're going to provide jobs in which you'll be able to provide
for yourself so you come there the kids at st joseph's um that's the only college that's the
only university around uh the area so yeah they'll be able to come from st joe's and be able to
provide for themselves
you know they won't have to eat noodles every night
you understand what I'm saying
alright thank you very much for taking the time
the calls do you have anyone else
is that the last one
Dee Dee
she's from the RCO
Mr. Chair
good afternoon everyone
good afternoon
could you please state your name and spell it for the stenographer
Sure, it's D. Dukes, first name D-E-E, last name Dukes, D-U-K-E-S.
You swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
Please proceed.
So I'm going to reserve additional, more lengthy comments because I am on my cell phone and I'm just afraid my battery's about to die.
I am the president of the Winfield Community Neighborhood Association.
I just want to be in agreement.
If there is an opportunity for us to come back, we are definitely in agreement to having a further discussion.
So that is one.
Number two, I'd like clarification on the parking spaces.
In our meeting, it was indicated additional parking spaces to total 14.
So I just want to get clarification.
Are we remaining at eight, Mr. Nogamson?
I just want to be clear about that.
So that's the second point.
And then if I could just shed some light on the past RCO public meeting with the previous proposed owners of that property who wanted to bring in a restaurant, we were not opposed to a restaurant.
We were not opposed to a restaurant.
We were opposed to the sit down.
We were opposed to the sit-down alcohol portion of it.
And so they chose to withdraw.
We were not aware of the liquor license that they have applied for.
We were not aware of any of that.
But that was the reason that we were given.
But I will reserve any further until we have an opportunity to come back.
All right.
Thank you very much.
We appreciate your taking the time.
Anyone else?
You're welcome.
Is that it? Rabbi, you want to come up?
I'm going to get up.
You want to get up for a second?
Hi, could you please state your name and spell for this
stenography? Good evening, Nathan Ward. Just real close
to that if you can, so we want everybody to hear you. Good evening, Mr. Chairman. Thank you very much.
Nathan Ward, W-A-R-D.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Are you a neighbor?
I'm not a neighbor.
All right.
Please proceed then.
So actually, when we first moved to Philadelphia, we lived right off of City Line Avenue, right near there.
But today, my family lives in New Jersey, and we do spend time still and still have residence in the area off of City Line Avenue where there's a large Jewish community.
I'm here on behalf of some of our clients that own over 1,000 units in the area.
The clients are Rushmore Management, Chelsea Management, Premier Properties, Montium, and Rose Valley Management.
City Avenue is an active established corridor that's seen steady investment.
But the subject property, formerly a furniture store, has remained vacant and boarded up for many, many years.
It's a visible exception in an otherwise healthy stretch.
This project addresses that gap.
The proposal is for a family-run production facility with sealed carryout retail.
There's no on-site consumption.
It's not a bar.
It's a clean, focused use that fits the corridor and adds lighting jobs and long overdue activity to that site.
The stakeholders, Recompliant represents, collectively own over 1,000 residential units.
There's the Premier City Line Avenue, Mansions at Bala, Lincoln Green, Bala Apartments, and then they have, I think, about five or six buildings in the vicinity there as well, and Rose Valley, which owns Mansions at Bala.
All long-term owners with direct interest in the strength and safety of the neighborhood.
We also represent Yeshiva Katana Philadelphia, which is like an elementary boys school, and the Talmudokul Yeshiva Philadelphia, which is a secondary school, a high school, and a graduate school for Yeshiva students.
the yeshiva has been in the neighborhood for approximately 60 years
and these institutions want to see the continued reinvestment and want to see this through
and we hope that it can be fruitful for the community for the proprietors and for all involved
thank you very much for taking the time to pause um anyone else planning commission
amy board with the planning commission um planning commission is also going to hold
and submit our testimony in the form of a letter okay um hillary we're gonna make this how are we
gonna how do you want to we can we can have a resumption hearing on 6425 at 2 p.m um and we'll
leave the record open in the interim right okay and that's good for you thank you yes thank you
very much. Thank you. Have a good night.
Number 11.
Number 11.
Number 11.
MI 2025
000392
167 West Allegheny Avenue.
Ed Rick
Roseman is the attorney.
His letter of enthusiastic
and unqualified support from the
seventh word RCO. Wow. Okay. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Could you please state your name and
spell for the stenographer. Yes, Mr. Chair. Eric Bodzin, B-R-I-C-B-O-D-Z-I-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I do. Could you identify your client, the relationship to this property?
Yes, my client is Maria Gonzalez of ASE. She is the president of ASE and is here in the virtual audience today.
Yes, my client is Maria Gonzalez of...
Okay. All right. Our vice chair has a few questions.
Good evening, counsel. Do you agree to read another refusal or stipulate to its accuracy?
Good evening. Yes, I do.
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits as needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
Yes, I have.
Thank you, council. Please proceed and share your screen.
Absolutely. I hope my screen is showing up right now.
You're good, sir. All right. Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. As you mentioned,
we're pleased by the enthusiastic and unqualified support of the seven-born RCO.
We don't get that much, but that's fine.
We're enthusiastic to be here, so I'm going to be brief. As many of you know, ASE is the city's
longtime nonprofit leader in community and affordable housing development. ASE is the
owner of 167 West Allegheny Avenue, where you'll find this existing building known as Vias del
at eBay. I'll be as brief as I can as ASEI's application today is limited to accessory
signage only with no changes whatsoever to this long-standing building which is 23,000 square
feet more or less. I'll start with the notice of refusal. The zoning application is limited to
two small building identification signs. I'll pull up the plans in just a moment. One would be
located just above the second floor windowsill and one just below the second floor windowsill,
as you can see here and here on that photo of the property. The reason for the refusal is for the
one of those two signs that would sit just above the second floor windowsill on the basis that a
sign located even slightly above a sill requires a variance in the I2 zoning district. That's the
issue and the reason of course for this placement is it's the only area on this building that would
afford reasonable visual identification on this existing building for the sign that I'll pull up
in a moment. For this building, which I should note, sits alone on the block in the shadows of
much larger building. We'll share some photos in a moment. And on a very broad streetscape
of Allegheny Avenue, which runs from Broad Street through Kensington Avenue all the way
to I-95. So I'll pull up and run through the maps and photos quickly. This is the zoning map.
zoomed out and zoomed in here. As you can see, it sits in the middle of the Allegheny
Street corridor that bridges several neighborhoods between Broad Street and Kensington Avenue.