the board to help the board understand why the community is so opposed to this, why this is such
a terrible idea to have front-loaded driveways on this very busy street, and why this is going to
present a tremendous public health and public safety risk, why there are so many people opposed
to it, why the council president has written a second letter in opposition to this, why are we
Mr. Masters, Mr. Masters, Mr. Masters, Mr. Masters, I understand all that.
I understand the council president.
We want to move this case on.
And we understand what you're trying to do here today, but we think this could have been done before.
So let's move to the next one.
And we understand all your, all your objections.
Mr. Bergman?
Can you hear me?
I can, but I can.
Can I make a general question?
No, listen to me.
i'm i'm talking to your attorney mr masters if there's not something that could have not been
done before we want to move on and we understand your objection okay so your ruling is that we
cannot show you these videos my ruling is that we're going to move on and please what other
witnesses you have just just list them for to call them so are am i allowed to present the
testimony of Kayla Franks Jenkins about what she has witnessed in terms of cars backing out of
these parking, of these driveways. Is there a reason she could not have testified on this in
the two prior hearings in which she testified? Yeah, there were no cars backing out of driveways
that she was able to see until she did a demonstration. So this is a new phenomenon
that has only happened in the time period. It didn't exist before. It has only happened.
Mr. Mancers, just, I mean, move on. If there are other witnesses
who were not given an opportunity to testify, can they be called now?
who were not given an opportunity to testify and they be called now.
Yes. Are you are you saying that you do not want to hear any more from move on and I'm not speaking.
We want to move on. OK, just one moment, because I have to find my my list of witnesses.
Sorry, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chair, as he calls these witnesses, I would suggest that the board confirm first that they were present at the last hearing and unable to testify.
Right, right.
The first witness is Donnie Moore from the Friends of the 47th Board.
Mr. Moore, if you're here, can you raise your hand?
Mr. Moore, you can unmute yourself.
Mr. Moore, you can unmute yourself.
Can you hear me?
I can.
No, we can, yes.
Mr. Moore, state your name and spell for the court reporter.
My name is Donnie, D-O-N-N-I-E Moore, M-O-O-R-E.
Right. Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Mr. Moore, proceed with your testimony.
Mr. Moore, can you tell the members of the board what your position is in the community?
My name is Donnie Moore. I'm the chairman of the Democratic Committee for the 47th Ward where these houses are being built.
and are you familiar with the block of 1700 north 22nd street yes i am and um have you been um part
of the rco process and the community meetings with the developer on this project no i haven't
okay have you um taken a look at the block and developed an opinion um as to whether
these front loaded driveways are um as to whether they're whether they should be granted by the
zoning board i'm gonna object he's not an expert so he can give his personal opinion but i don't
know uh further than that he's not an expert and he's not attended any meetings regarding this
project yes i have you just had said you did not attend any of the meetings i said i attend the
last i was in the last zoom meeting and i wasn't i apologize i was in the last zoom meeting and i
was in a prior meeting prior okay right but not the rco meetings to discuss this project oh yes
oh yes oh yes i was in the rco meetings okay you and you might want to correct your testimony you
okay so mr moore so you so you were at the rco meetings where where this project was was discussed
Yes. As the 47th Ward is where it is in. And as a chairman of the 47th Ward, yes, I was at the meetings.
OK. Can you can you tell the board why it is that you are opposed to to these to these front loaded driveways?
Well, first place, the area is very congested. The area on 22nd Street is all kind as a wide street with cars come constantly up there.
But the dangerous part is that there's the King Center, where all our kids are playing at the activities in the King Center.
Right next to the King Center is a wellness place.
A wellness place where there's heavy, heavy traffic, pedestrian traffic.
22nd Street, the buses are hard.
They both run down there and the traffic is speeding down there.
I think backing out of that driveway is a danger because I live on 19th Street.
Well, we have driveways.
We have horrible time with these traffic going by.
And this is a bigger street.
This is a whole street.
I'm on 19th Street, the 1700 block.
That is a 1700 block of 27th Street.
The street itself is half the side.
But the congestion between the kids, the King Center, the kids, and everything that goes on down there, the activities going on down there, the Ridge Avenue corridor.
is to it's you know i think it's a danger that's what i did um mr moore when you say you live on
the 1700 block and 19th street and they have driveways on your block what's specifically
about the cars coming in or out of those driveways is um have you observed personally to be a danger
i'm gonna object we're not talking about the 1900 but 17 talking about 1700 block and north 22nd
We're not talking about the block that Mr. Moore lives on.
Right. No, the purpose of the question is to
Right. No, the question, the purpose, the purpose of the question is to have the board understand why Mr. Moore believes it would be a danger to have these driveways on the north 22nd.
He's seen something on his block and I want him to testify as to what he's seen so that he what he thinks is going to happen also on the 22nd block.
With all your respect, it's speculative. It's speculative. He's not an expert.
And I want it's not speculative. It's what he's actually saying.
All right. So, Mr. Masters, we understand. I understand what he's saying. So, could we please move on?
Mr. Moore, when you talk about the King Rec Center across the street from these properties, have you seen children and young people crossing 22nd Street to get to and from the rec center?
Yes, I have.
do they always cross at the crosswalk or do they cross at other parts of the street
oh no they don't they're kids no they don't they don't always cross at the corners
so they cross basically all over all over the 22nd the north 20 the 1700 block and north 22nd
is that what you're saying yes they did well the opening gate is probably in the middle of the
block period in the middle of the block and they cross over by there too in the kings within the
king center but also even the fitness center on the corner and the and the the the middle of the
block where the gate is is um would i be correct in saying that that is also where some of the
properties are that we're talking about with these driveways the property covers the property itself
covers the black it comes from one end to another only a little those the four properties that they
have cover the block all right um are there other um are there other things that you want us to
share with the board this morning? No, not. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Moore. Can I, Chairman,
do you mind if I ask Mr. Moore? Sure, go ahead. Thank you. Mr. Moore, could you just clarify
your address and if you're within 250 feet of the property? I'm objecting. He's testifying as
the head of the RCO and the RCO has jurisdiction here. I'm testifying because I represent
the 1700 block of 19th Street as a chairman of the Democratic Committee. That's what I'm telling.
Okay. Could he also, excuse me, this is Sharon. Can he also put his address on the record and
state how far it is from the property? 1715 North 19th Street. I'm exactly five blocks away.
thank you mr moore rachel any other questions no chairman all right thank you uh mr masters do you
have any other witnesses yes wait wait one minute just for a point of information i do remember i
sat through the last hearing i do remember there was testimony about the rec center so is there
anything any other new and different testimony you want to get on the record yeah well i have
there has been like test that that testimony about that rec center we i heard that the last
There is. And we were hoping to have someone from the rec center this morning that my client was reaching out to the rec center, but they were closed yesterday. I'm not sure if she was able to reach out to somebody this morning. I wanted to check with her on that. But we do have the two RCO leaders that we wanted to have testify also. Priscilla Bennett, the leader of the RCO St. Elizabeth, and Darnell Deans, who is the ward chair of the 32nd ward.
And let me ask you this. Would your testimony be different?
I believe that I understand the point you're trying to make the issue here, Mr.
Chair, is that this project is overwhelmingly opposed by by a huge number of people.
I understand your position. I understand it.
And and the RCOs are entitled to put on the record, not just a petition, not just a letter, but to but to give you actual testimony to show why this is such a priority for them to stop.
I understand. But what I'm saying is, I just want to get something different. That's what I'm saying. And if you could put them on the record, but move it on. I mean, I don't need testimony about the rec center again, is what I'm saying. And I understand all the issues.
Oh, I thought you wanted, I'm sorry, I thought you wanted more amplification on the rec center issues.
No, no.
Oh, okay.
I think I understand the rec center.
All right, got it, got it, got it.
Who do you want to put on them?
i'm sorry mr crow can i add one point just mr masters for each witness that you call
could you begin by having them confirm that they were present at the last hearing and unable to
testify okay sure um so the next one is priscilla bennett okay
if you're in the audience ma'am um can you please raise your hand
i'm not saying um anybody by their hand mr masters do you have the other person
i have a diane maybe um i have uh darnell deans is the other person on my list
mr deans if you're in the audience can you please raise your hand
I'm not seeing anybody by that name.
If you are not either of the people mentioned, please put your hands down.
Well, if there are community members who are interested, who were here last time and not able to testify, I think this would be the time for them to be given that opportunity.
Yeah, we have two individuals on our end who are not able to testify at the last hearing, but were present who would like to put a brief statement on the record.
I believe that the applicant's case was rested and that would be improper.
Steve, that's not correct.
Your case was presented in full and then it was our turn to present and there was no indication that you were reserving any time for additional witnesses.
Steve, you spoke for the majority of it, so I don't even know how it would have gotten to be with him.
May I interrupt for one minute? This is Sharon. Ms. Pritzker, are these community members?
These are people who actually own real estate on this block.
Okay. Mr. Masters, as you know, the parties present their cases. And after that, the board
calls generally for witnesses from the community. I don't think that it was restricted to
witnesses in support or in opposition. So it would seem to, if these are nearby property
owners and they were present for the last hearing and unable to testify, I think they should
be prepared to, they should be permitted. I don't, I've looked at the video transcripts
of both of the hearings. There were letters presented by Ms. Pritzker for some developers.
None of them actually live anywhere near the community, but they do intend to develop property on this block.
None of those, some of them weren't even provided, the names were illegible on the letters.
There was never an indication from Ms. Pritzker that they were present and interested in testifying at all.
So, excuse me, Mr. Masters, they can't really be classified as her witnesses exclusively if they're community members. So they'll be required, like your witnesses, to testify that they are neighbors, that they want to testify, that they were present at the last hearing, and that they were unable to. So can we move on from there?
Okay, but I disagree with the classification of them as neighbors. They were listed in her experience as their developers.
cross-examine them yeah okay all right good so if uh rider calic or emmanuel uh lagadakis could be
allowed to speak that would be appreciated mr rider is available he can unmute so
thank you can you hear me yes could you do me sir could you state your name and spell for the court
reporter. Sorry, it's Ryder Kallick, spelled R-I-D-E-R-K-A-L-E-C-K. You swear for him to tell
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? I do. Proceed. So I actually own real
estate on this exact block. I heard some of the testimonies of other neighbors that were either
in opposition or in favor, but they actually, from what I was hearing, don't actually live
on the block. They just live in the surrounding area. As an owner of real estate on the block,
I understand what's being built here, which is, I believe to be 175 new construction units,
residential units. With that is going to come a major parking problem. And if precautions aren't
taken to build spaces now for cars to be parked in, then it's going to become a disaster in the
future. And the permits that are already pulled and the development that is already underway
is inevitable. So these units and people are coming to this block. And now would be the time
to approve the spots for people to park in.
Otherwise, there's going to be, in theory, 175 units with upwards of 300 new residents
upwards of 300 new residents living on one block with no parking created for any of them
living on one block with no.
and i think the rm1 zoning that is prevalent on a lot of this block is restrictive in its nature
and it creates a hardship because it allows for a dense area for multi-dwelling um the witness is
not qualify to testify on the legal issues of what constitutes hardship. Yeah, Ryder, just keep it to
no legal arguments. Also, could you please address of your property that you own on the record so
that the board is aware? Sure. So I own 1724 North 22nd Street. And I apologize for that. I really
was just trying to get at the fact that there will be a lot of new residents in this area with
no designated parking for that uh so for that uh standpoint i'm strongly in favor of of parking and
allowing uh spaces to be designated so that residents have somewhere to park otherwise i
really do believe this will be a huge problem uh once these units are completed okay excuse me i'm
sorry this is sharon again um could you just clarify you are not an owner or partial owner
of any of the properties that are before the board today correct correct yes that's correct
okay and your home address did you give that i did not i don't know if i have to um if if i do
need to i'm welcome i'm happy to i believe it's irrelevant yeah he owns 1724 north 22nd street
And does he reside there? No. Where does he reside?
I'd prefer to leave my exact address off the record, but I reside in the South Philadelphia area.
Thank you.
and correct me if i'm wrong sharon but just because someone
someone who owns property is that still has standing in a case whether or not they live
at that property if they own property and they develop it they still have we're not going to go
into standing here just he has been permitted to testify to get any relevant information on the
records fair enough any other questions for him rachel no chairman okay steve do you have any
questions um i do um mr um calick have you developed any other properties in this neighborhood
um i don't know what you would define as the exact neighborhood do you mean on this block
no i mean in the surrounding neighborhood why is that relevant
you'll find out in a second um can you answer the question mr mr kayla sure sure i do have
the relevance is is um is going to be um i'm going to develop some questions whether if he
has developed properties i don't know if he has then i'm going to ask him questions about those
those properties well that's not relevant we're here for 17 the 1700 it is relevant in terms of
the design and in terms of the issues that he's testified to i'm i think you need to give me a
little a little latitude here mr kelly have you have you dealt with any other properties in this