Okay. And then also in the comprehensive plan, it says it's also they're seeking improved access to healthy foods through community agriculture and farms. And, you know, he's, you know, collaborating with, you know, the, you know, a CDC. He's doing pop-ups in different areas, kind of goes towards the comprehensive plan.
it says it's also.
right and then i then create and then i also shared a page within their own business plan
this is and i highlighted that too that their focus is on gourmet quality
community engagement and sustainability yep and then the maps of the area again we're a cmx2
property um again if we were on the other side of frankfurt avenue we wouldn't be here today
and then this is what the property looked like some time ago and that's from susquehanna and
frankfurt avenue and then these these are our our interior notice posters you can see the work
has started on the facade and this is frankfurt avenue to the right of the property to the left
of the property and i can't i i know the board knows frankfurt avenue and that you know this
would fit well within frankfurt avenue and this is east susquehanna avenue to the right of the
property uh to the left of the property and then these are our plans and drawings it's just cleaning
it up like nice new windows it could be more soundproof uh i'll have you know i i guess if
ian oh ian toner looks like he's been elevated so if you could swear in mr toner well should we let
the other attorney have a chance to cross uh sure yeah yeah hillary we want to give the other attorney
would you want to cross yeah i'll i'll step aside well i want you to go over here yeah
sure i was just gonna say i have no i have no questions for mr johnson okay just out of curiosity
state your name and i'll swear you in for the future samuel franklin eckert siemens s-a-m-u-e-l
f-r-a-n-k-l-i-n do you swear affirm to tell the truth told you nothing but the truth i do all right
thank you counsel thank you and i'll let you know when we'll come back um if i may i would just like
to put one objection on the record um you can okay um that object to the inclusion or any
consideration being given to the petition given that these signatures are unverifiable
uh well we'll evaluate that we'll we'll take that all into consideration thank you petition
thank you all right what do you have next now uh yeah let's let's um anisha do you have to go
okay so let's get anisha up here and then so if do you have any questions all right so
so how much longer do you think you need i don't know like 15 minutes okay all right all right so
all right so that 15 just yeah i'm gonna i'm gonna try to get through this yeah because we have
another case no i know i know the case is present right yeah i hear you mr chair all right what
else do you need mr toner to be sworn in mr toner did we swear him already today i mean i
i heard his name somewhere along the line
mr toner
let me come back in as a panel
Okay, I'm here. I made it back in.
Hi, Mr. Conner, could you please state your name and spell?
This is your first time here today. I don't know why.
it is may have heard your name today but go ahead all right um yes uh ian toner i-a-n-t-o-n-e-r
from toner architects sure do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the
truth yes i do counsel all right uh ian you've been engaged uh by the landlord and the tenant
uh to design uh this as a restaurant this this as a restaurant establishment at 2043 frankfurt
avenue right yes okay do you have experience uh designing restaurants uh in philadelphia
yes all right how many restaurants would you say you have done over the years
um maybe 20 25 something like that okay and and again uh i i want to show your your drawings
um so you you made these renderings right so this is the rendering of of the of the
property from Freyfern Avenue and Susquehanna? Yes. Okay. When you first visited the property,
what was the condition of the property? It was in horrendous condition. And
so we had a separate set of permit drawings done to do repairs and exterior improvements,
including a new roof, new windows, structural repairs, the exterior will be restuccoed.
Structural repairs, the exterior will be restuccoed, an addition in the back had to be reconstructed because it was completely rotted through, and some foundation work as well, and then all new utilities coming into the building.
It was in worse condition than we thought once we started opening it up, and in fact, the neighbors will remember that there was one point when the entire wall along Susquehanna had to be braced because it was just starting to fall apart.
I think half of L&I enforcement was out on site to look at that one morning and help, you know, calm the neighbors down that everything was being done correctly to repair it.
All right. So these are interior renderings of the first floor. You also prepare that, right?
Yep. These are a work in progress. But yes, this is where kind of where we are right now.
All right. And it shows the seating. I believe there's like a half a dozen high chairs along a common countertop that face the window.
That's right. And those other tables that are shown should be lower. They're misrepresented here.
But one of the things we talked about with the neighbors was that we would have some seating that was at a height appropriate to a person in a wheelchair.
So that seating will be lower and appropriate for that use.
And then over here is where the kitchen area is, right?
That's right.
Yeah, that whole area is, you'll see that blue door there is a dumb waiter that takes the food, the prepped stuff from the basement up and then from the kitchen up again if it needs to go to the second floor.
And then the hotline is behind that area where that hood is that you talked about earlier.
And then you have like a bathroom area and an area that leads the outdoors for the for the trash to be stored.
That's right. And I think there is maybe we'll talk about this more intelligently.
I think there was a time when we talked about potentially having pickup at the rear.
But I think that may have moved to the front where that woman is standing in the silhouette there.
OK. And then where this Coke is not this is not a Coke machine.
this is actually a door right that's right that's sort of the the fun of the speakeasy is the the
hidden door to go upstairs so that is not a vending machine but it will look like one maybe
an idea we're working with for now and you can't see it but when i'm putting my cursor right here
maybe you can't see it's like kind of like where the door the front door of the property because
everything gets funneled through that front door into the slider company and then there's this
speakeasy door that goes from the interior upwards to the second floor right right yeah
this view is actually as if you're standing right inside the entrance all right and we'll go through
the floor plans and then this is the second floor where the speakeasy is right right and you know
we'll go through the floor plans but i believe there's like around 20 or so uh uh chairs up
there and then there's a bar area as well right correct all right and then can you explain what
you did because obviously we have to deal with the effect that it could have on the neighboring
properties and the businesses from let's focus first on the uh the odor how what did you do
to design this this property or this restaurant establishment to minimize the effect of odor
coming from it yeah so i mean with any old building where we're going to have a restaurant
this is always an issue that comes up and an issue that we want to pay attention to and be
respectful of. So in the case of this building, the interior is completely exposed and gutted
right now. So we have good access to that common wall with the neighbor. So step one was repairing
all the damaged structure. And then the next step is using mortar to infill all the gaps in the wall
where mortar was missing, where there were joist pockets that were never filled in the first place.
that allows things like smoke and stuff to get through.
I mean, I can smell my next-door neighbor smoking in her house all the time.
That all gets sealed up.
Then the next step is to parge that wall on the inside to really seal it.
So now you're down to the level of, like, pores being sealed.
After that, we frame a 2x4 wall in front of it.
Not to jump ahead, but in terms of sound separation,
All those holes being filled does a huge amount of help to keep sound from moving between the spaces, but we'll also have mineral fiber insulation in the framed part of the wall that will absorb sound and also, you know, any kind of temperature that might move through.
Then that wall gets drywalled.
Then as you can see from, I mean, in here, it's just going to be like a finish on the drywall, whether that's a paper or it's a plaster, we don't know yet.
But downstairs where the cooking happens, if you go to the previous rendering here, you
So downstairs where the cooking happens, if you go to the previous rendering here, you will see, yeah, there we are, that right now we're looking at tiling that whole wall.
Behind the hotline, I'm not sure whether that will be tile or whether it will be a sheet of stainless steel.
There's different ways to approach that.
Alan, you've got to tell me how much for time because I still have three other four cases.
What I'm saying is I've got people waiting here like crazy.
i hear mr chair right so okay so you've done a lot in terms of about the odor and then the
commercial hood as well as the vending right yeah there's a hood with outside air intake it vents to
the roof as per code um and it's going to be a nice one it's a brand new hood with a full fire
suppression system inside of it and everything as required that's what he testified yes the the
the invoice that you you've seen that invoice too before that's at your direction to order that
commercial hood yep all right and then in terms of the noise how protecting against the noise as well
how like i said sealing the wall is a is a huge first step then we have the insulation we have
the drywall all that mass absorbed sound we also have lots of broken up surfaces on the inside that
contain sound transmission and echo soft furniture that sort of thing upstairs will do a lot
all right and then again just to quickly go through the floor plan so the board can see it
there's one main entrance here uh ian right on frankfort avenue that's right you saw these
these higher tops were probably lower tops this is where you saw the uh common countertop over here
this is where the kitchen is this is where a bathroom is and this mr chair members of the
board is where the outdoor trash is collected and we would agree to a proviso commercial trash
pickup three days a week where we agreed to put us a fence up here and this is where you're also
proposing to have the u-shaped bike racks right yep okay and then this is where you stated where
the, you know, storage area is and the walk-in cooler and the prep area. Dishwashing and prep.
Yep. All right. And then the second, and then in order to get to the speakeasy, there's one,
and then there's a rear entry on Susquehanna, exit on Susquehanna, right? Yes. And then if you go,
you know, instead to the speakeasy, this is where the door is, where the Coke machine looking door
it is right yep okay and then i would just have chef will testify that he intends to have someone
operate who would be in here to facilitate people to go in there but i will have him testify or i
can if the court wants to like you know you know as an officer of the court to try to streamline
i think that's okay because you mentioned it once before okay right you said that at the meeting
too am i correct that's right right and that and this is where again which we didn't state where
someone from the speakeasy would be here to like as a hostess yeah okay all right and then uh going
up a flight of steps uh in uh this these are the four plans that we saw in the illustration
yes and are in the front seating in the back and to clarify of course this property would be
sprinklered right um whatever the building code requires us to do we are going to do it all right
great um we have other exhibits they're the same exhibits you would always see proof of
of the community meeting mailing the lease and a tax clearance certificate why don't we bring
the other council come up why don't you come up and sit at the other table here sir
yeah but i maybe i bring them up that's what i'm trying to i'm trying to bring them up for that
no questions okay but why don't you sit here because um why don't you how long do you think
your case will take oh mr bergman we just have um a brief statement to read into the record why
don't you do that and i'd like to bring my client sure why don't you why don't you read the statement
in the record i believe there are other objectors as well here present and in the virtual room
But if you'd like, we can go first.
Well, why don't you go first, right?
Yeah, I thought it was going to go.
Hi, could you, so you're not going to read the statement first, eh?
I'm going to read the statement.
Why don't you read the statement?
And then I believe.
Ms. Gleason has a few remarks as well. Okay, so again, Samuel Franklin Eckert-Siemens. I'm here
as counsel on behalf of Midway Properties Associates, LP, Investage Vintage, LLC. Midway is the owner of
LP, Investage Vintage LLC. Midway is the owner of 2041 Frankfurt Avenue. Investage presently
occupies the building. 2041 directly abuts 2043 Frankfurt. We're here today. I'm joined by
my client, Ashley Gleason, who is the owner and operator of Vestage Vintage, a women's boutique
clothing store. We're here today in opposition to the proposed use and the grant of special
exception our motivation is strictly based on the merits of the case and the proposal
as a drinking and eating establishment we are motivated by no other feelings towards this case
so if the grant of if granted the special exception is substantially likely to cause
detrimental effects beyond those which normally might be expected from the proposed use those
effects and the underlying conditions we've outlined as follows as far as overcrowding and
congestion of the space the subject property is small and narrow confines which would be unsuitable
for a high volume full service commercial kitchen bar and restaurant with 30 plus seats and late
night service to put simply this property and the proposed use are a bad match and that's why
were here to express that sentiment. As far as a few specifics, trash removal to a trash storage
area in the rear yard, that storage area is less than four feet in width, and despite three times
removal per week, would substantially likely cause unsanitary conditions and uncontrollable
pest migration. As far as accessibility, which was a major concern of the community and was
expressed in the F&A meeting. The ramp on the front of the property would not be fully
compliant if not for a variance that was granted. Architect stated to L&I that a fully compliant
ADA ramp is technically infeasible, and even with the entryway ramp as currently proposed,
the majority of the restaurant and bar would be unusable by those with accessibility needs.
as far as congestion is concerned there's no off-street parking dedicated parking metered
parking or delivery loading zones available to serve the subject property which would increase
demand on already limited off-street parking the increase in delivery takeout rideshare and
sanitation vehicles by nature of the restaurant as well as its to-go service would exacerbate
existing problems with double parking it would impede existing bus routes along frankfort and
susquehanna avenues as well as a bus stop in front of the subject property and would also create
safety issues at the street and sidewalk level as far as injury to my client's property as well as
possible issues with public health and safety for the community at large we've obviously heard
testimony with respect to the party wall which we would note is nearly a century old if not older
and was originally constructed with the intention of separating private residences as such this type
of party wall is not intended to withstand the types of odor noise and other activities produced
by the subject property and proposed use which given its physical composition and its small and
narrow confines uh would be uncontainable the continuous production of cooking odor smoke and
grease uh would damage the inventory of goods including garments and other products at my client
well well he he didn't object anything to you so i mean i i think he'll put this out he'll put
people on you could cross but i i don't think i don't i think he'd object anything let him put
laid out there okay what would kid uh as i was saying the continuous production would likely
damage um products such and such as garments in my client's boutique clothing store and the um
lack of a fire suppression system noted in the plans which i will say um mr toner uh stating
that fire suppression system would be included if it was required i believe the confusion at
community level was that if it wasn't required it wouldn't be included so um with respect to
community at large um our understanding is that the uh sale of alcohol at the site uh would be
based on a liquor license uh being sought by the applicants that's not subject to a conditional
licensing agreement which would permit them to sell alcohol until two o'clock in the morning
every day of the week. Now, notwithstanding the hours of operations that's been stated,
some of the confusion at the community level was based on the fact that this so-called
was based on the fact that this so-called speakeasy is going to be open until midnight or
speakeasy is going to be open until midnight or one o'clock in the morning.
one o'clock in the morning. However, the ground floor level will remain open until that time. So