The challenge is to pre-sell as many properties as you can. So we expect a construction loan based on 80 to 85 percent of the proposed after constructed value. You get a construction loan that, of course, will be taken out with the first mortgage.
Probably 80 percent of the actual value. A bank isn't going to make a loan based on project loan. They're going to make it on appraisal. The rest will have to be subsidized with additional subsidy. We will not ask the new buyers to directly pay back. However, our goal is home 82 BILL NO. 990331 ownership. We don't want you to flip properties, if we've made a huge investment, in three years they sell it and turn it into a rental. We will put covenants on the loans so that if you sell to another income qualified person, then great. But we want to avoid a negative benefit.
I understand. Why don't we do this, because there are a number of people who would like to testify, the Chair has been very accommodating to me because she's kind of used to me. I'd like to ask a very narrow set of questions and get a very narrow or short response. If you have $3 million in Economic Stimulus Fund coming into the project, are you getting city, state, or federal funding into the project, and what is the private sector funding in this project? I assume Capital Access has something to do with capital, is that right?
We will probably need to raise to million dollars in direct subsidy, city, state, and federal sources. We have not done that fund raising campaign yet for one very specific reason. As a lender who's done training for funders, you can't get anyone's attention unless you 83 BILL NO. 990331 have site control.
That will be in the form of the construction financing and the end mortgages.
Do we have any information or have you done a survey of, based on the value of the homes, survey of income availability in the neighborhood?
The incomes are very low. However, we're buying a property on Fifth Street, and one of the renters called for some information. We found out this person actually works for a state penitentiary and qualifies. Within days I met 25 with him and ran through the numbers and we 84 BILL NO. 990331 qualified him for a mortgage and he's first on our list. We were delighted.
I'm very happy for that person. What I want to know is the 40 or 50 people may need to be relocated, do we have any idea of that universe of people how many would actually qualify to be in one of either the new homes or rehabilitated homes?
I don't have all the data and I don't know the resources a family brings to bear. What I do know is in meeting with families is many have said, "We're interested in or my sister is interested or my son is interested in buying; can you give us more information?" So I can't give you a hard and fast number on that.
Do we know at this point in time who the proposed developer would be on this project?
Not at this time. We have been strictly focussed on land acquisition.
Okay. And lastly, I thought I took this down somewhere, but the proposed housing parcels are?
That's a pure upgrade question, like if they want to add a fourth bedroom. This is not a for-profit motivated deal.
I'm not questioning your motives. You are certainly entitled to earn a living. And the rental prices, is there any rental?
For the 37 units at Mt. Sinai, those will be -- we're targeting those in the low 300s. However, we're going to work with each resident. If they cannot afford that amount, we're going to ask for additional subsidy. Our goal is that no matter what your income is, we try to get you a unit so you don't pay more than 30 percent of whatever you make.
So lastly, two components of this are home ownership, either brand-new construction or I assume significant rehab?
Owner-occupied housing. And the only rental is Mt. Sinai Apartment 86 BILL NO. 990331 building which currently is a building adjacent to Mt. Sinai which has a name?
It's on the southeast corner of Fifth and Reed and it's known as the Doctor's Dorm.
The Jefferson Square Community Development Corporation is the developer of this project.
My compensation basically is a consulting fee, a monthly consulting fee.
From the CDC we get $3,000 a month for our services. 87 BILL NO. 990331
At this point, because the project is in such an early phase, I did not feel it was appropriate to negotiate anything further, so we do not have any type of agreement of any equity or you know.
That covers you and your staff, or do they get a separate fee?
But that's not total compensation? That comes to $36,000 a year divide it over three people, it's a very low figure. I'm just trying to figure out how you manage to survive.
I mean, we charge a modest fee because this project requires a lot of hand-holding and it's what we needed to do to move it forward. I have other clients and other sources of income from my company.
So you're not going to starve whether this goes through or not. First, to the people here, City Council often is a complex body. We have different kinds of council members. Councilman DiCicco is the District Council Member and there are all together, so 10 we're 10. There are seven of us who are Councilman-at-large and the practice is District Council Member in matters such as this has a primary responsibility. He's elected or she's elected by a particular district. But those of us who are elected by the whole City also have a responsibility since we're elected by everybody in the City just as the Mayor is, and I'm one of those Council-Members-at-Large. Like Councilman Nutter, I did not wait for the invitation to go down. I was down there yesterday morning and went through Hegerman and Lawrence Streets -- not Hegerman. Leithgow and Lawrence. Hegerman is the place threatened with being removed from their homes. I think they have been removed from Hegerman, seven of them. And I have a vision of the City of 89 BILL NO. 990331 Philadelphia. Councilman DiCicco and probably every Member of Council has. And I was very much impressed what I saw in those two blocks. I saw homes that were taken care of in a very loving matter. I saw the empty lots. But I saw the other kind of homes and the vision I have of a redevelopment of a revitalization does not begin by creating further trauma and damage by uprooting people from their homes. (Applause.)
The area needs a lot of work and there are a lot ideas in the program you talk about, but I think that when you plan a development based upon driving people out of their homes, I find that plan somewhat in conflict with your stated goal with home ownership, long-time home ownership. (Applause.)
I understand it is intended that there will be continued discussions between the developer, Councilman DiCicco and people in the community. I think they're good. I think the area needs a lot of work, but I think it ought to start by not uprooting people out of their homes. 90 BILL NO. 990331 (Applause.)
One last general comment. To uproot people out of their homes to provide parking space -- (Applause.)
(Continuing) -- is something I think people ought to go back to the drawing board. And they ought to give this community -- it seems to me from the homes I saw, it seems to be a proud community and it really isn't for others to say we're going to relocate you within five blocks. (Applause.)
The homes if the people that live there now are as dear to them as the new homes you're talking about will be dear to the new owners. But I understand there have been people, and your testimony indicated it, that have lived in these homes from 30 to 40 years. And I ask what madness is it to talk in terms of uprooting them? And so I leave it at that point. But whatever the intention, and I assume everybody's intentions are a very high degree, but I think facts contradict intents when it means people are going to 91 BILL NO. 990331 be driven from their homes. (Applause.)
I understand the matter is not going to come to a vote today, right, and that it's going to be studied. And I heard from Councilman DiCicco. If he looks weary, he has been working on many more plans, not just this. I think we've got to keep working until this community base is whatever is built around it. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
Thank you very much. Our next witnesses are Mary Black, Gina Caruso, Kathy Furber, and Dorothy King. I'd like the people in the audience to know that Councilman Cohen and Councilman Nutter have indicated that they have taken a tour through the community. Councilman Kenney and I both live in South Philadelphia and we certainly are very familiar with the area in question.
I would like to thank Jeremy Newberg for his testimony. You filled in all the blanks, and I appreciate that. Thank 92 BILL NO. 990331 you.
Good morning, everyone. My name is Mary Black. And I'm here representing the St. John's Leadership Team. I live at 1303 South Leithgow Street. First of all, I want to say to Mr. DiCicco to congratulate him on his honesty because my home would definitely one of the ones taken to provide parking facility for the hospital. I just want to say to the Board that my family, my people along with other people we've been living here 40, 50 years. I attended the George Washington School on Fifth and Federal. I'm 49 years old. Our family is going on the fifth generation in that block. I just, you know, cannot see how, as the gentleman said, that I would have to leave my home to make room for a park, to replace a park for my home. I have five children. All my children were raised there. My grandchildren come there to play. I can't really understand how anyone could say that they understand how we would feel unless you were wearing these shoes. I just want to say we have three goals we require. We would like know who 93 BILL NO. 990331 would be to be forced out of their homes. We would also like any government agency coming into the community to put some of the money aside for rehab for housing. And we as a community, we would like to have a voice in whatever happens in our community. (Applause.)
Also, I just want to say to you, Mr. DiCicco, and whoever else is involved in this matter, that when you talk about money, money cannot replace, I don't care how much you gave us or offered us, it could never replace what we have in our community as far as years and whatnot, what I have generation after generation being born in there. Money is not an issue here. That's all I have.
Good morning. My name is Gina Caruso. I live on Reed Street. One of the things I would like to clarify this morning is, are 94 BILL NO. 990331 we to have another public hearing in the fall? Is that what our goal is?
I believe Councilman DiCicco said he would like to have the summer to try to work out the concerns of the community and probably in fall come back.
Another public hearing. Councilmember DiCicco and Jefferson Development Corporation during this time to work out the details?
I would like to ask a question regarding your question.
One of the problems I've experienced is that there were no 21 group of people that came on until the St. John's Leadership came. Since that time, there are those in the St. John's community that say the St. John's Leadership Team doesn't speak for me, meaning for the other people in the community. I really need to 95 BILL NO. 990331 get a better understanding of who is really speaking for them, because when we do individual discussions, we are then accused of undermining community by pitting one neighbor against the other. While I respect the St. John's Leadership Team, I have been told by other people who met with the community that the St. John's Leadership Team speaks for the entire community. And I don't have a problem if that's what you all decide. It would be helpful to me to know who it is we should speak to when we have these discussions rather than have four or five different discussions and everybody all over the place and I get accused of not giving enough information out, which I've been accused of for the last two years. You have to come together, maybe not today or this moment, but at some point in the next week or so, make some decisions if this is, all the people in the audience today, who you want to speak for you.
I do, and St. John's 96 BILL NO. 990331 Leadership Team represents the community.
That's okay if that's what the consensus of the residents agree to, then I don't have a problem. Now, as a matter of record, you are established as the spokespersons for the community? If someone in the audience has a problem with that, I think you need to come forward.
I need to concern myself. I don't want to come back here in September to have people say, "Well, I didn't know about this; I didn't know about that," because that's what I've been hearing. And no matter who I speak to they say, "Well, you didn't tell me." The next group says, "I didn't know anything." I need to know who the spokespersons who are really the leaders of this community and who they're speaking for, on whose behalf they're speaking.
The St. John's Leadership Team I'm not sure represents the entire community.
I have been flyering since June of 1996 and I still come to the same point that when we have meetings people say they don't speak to me.
Let's start fresh here. We'll set up a meeting with you, the community, Jefferson Square and it's Board of Directors, let's all meet and we'll all talk.
Is this in relation to this statement? Identify yourself. Identify yourself AND pull up a chair. Relax and identify yourself for the record.
Are you going to address what Ms. Caruso just testified to?
Do you have a statement to make in reference to what Ms. Caruso just said? Is that what your testimony is going to be?
Pull up the chair so you can use the microphone. Please identify yourself for are the record.
I'm a life-time resident in the community. What I'd like to say is St. John's do not represent the entire community.
Maybe yet, but as this point. My family lived in this community over 60 years. I do not agree with the project of moving out for parking. But when notices went out, I don't think everybody in the community was invited. I can speak for myself, and I probably speak for others. I think some people are isolated. And I agree, we should all together, people who live in this community, and stand up. We have our own problems within ourselves, within the community, and we are trying to come together to make sure the problems are taken care of. But St. John's, my opinion, is 99 BILL NO. 990331 not the person who speaks for everybody in the neighborhood. I own five pieces of land in the community. I'm an elected committee person. I worked in council in prior years. I have lot to bring to the table. I believe people should not move unless they want to move. They should not be pushed out of our community. I had conversation with Councilman DiCicco over the last two or three months. I had conversations with Mr. Newberg. We do have drugs in our neighborhood. We have blighted areas in our neighborhoods. We do have vacant lots in our neighborhood. Councilman DiCicco, the community takes a stand at this time. The community do not want to move. And rightfully, they should not move out of the neighborhood. I'm in a position now and a few people now, maybe we can come up with another plan. I spoke with Councilman DiCicco and you said you need postpone hearings and we can sit down as group see if we can come up with another plan. My point of this is that the St. John's Leadership Team is not the lead player.
I think the Councilman said to call his office to set up a meeting. Thank you.
My name is Kathy Furber. I'm a member of St. John's Church at Third and Reed. I happen to live at Second and Reed. In 1996 we formed a search committee to hire new clergy. In that statement we wanted to have more outreach. In October of that year, we hired on our new clergyman David Funkhouser. In February of '97 we had started to work with a community organization, we wanted to address the problems of housing, crime, and schools in our neighborhood. We started several months of leadership programs and workshops with the community organizer. And in November of '97, we agreed to really become involved as a community organizing group. At that point, we did not know what plan we were going to take. In January when the homes were cited on Leithgow and Lawrence Street, the neighbors of the area came to us and asked us for help. At that point we started getting involved and having community meetings. The first meeting was an open meeting 101 BILL NO. 990331 for the community with over 125 area residents directly concerned with what was happening. Since then, some of them have split off and formed their own groups. Some of them have political connections and were undermining some of the efforts that we were taking in order to keep this plan going. What we have constantly said to Councilman DiCicco in various meetings people have had was we wanted to form a partnership. We were objecting to the fact these were expensive homes put in a lower income area. We asked that couldn't more affordable housing be built for the residents that already live there, and this has been said at every meeting that we had. It's been said to other people we've met with that this was our goal, to get a partnership to build more affordable housing so that the current residents would be able to stay in the community that they've already invested in. The blight in the area that has developed was not their fault but a result of the owners of the hospital owning so many properties and letting them deteriorate and be knocked down. We saw the need to help the community and try to find a way to address this problem. We do know there is 102 BILL NO. 990331 another plan other than this one being developed and we would like a part, a say, in how that's going to continue to happen.
My name is Dorothy King. I live at 1313 South Leithgow Street in South Philadelphia where I was living there 40 years. My kids were raised in that street with the elementary school in that street, from elementary to high school graduate, some went to college. Now, here come the grandkids. They went to the same school which is two blocks there. Then the great grand. This street is like a treasure to me. If this street is taken away from me, it cannot even be replaced not even by money. We start having meeting I think it was January the 3rd, 1998, and speaking with the Leadership Team. We didn't know which way to turn. And if it wasn't for the St. John's Leadership Team, I don't where we would have been today. (Applause.)
They helped us. For what they've done, I can't explain. We didn't know where 103 BILL NO. 990331 to turn. They come to us like a family. We went around in the neighborhood when this first happened in the rain until o'clock at night. Can you 5 imagine, 9 o'clock at night. I got sick, I went to 6 the doctor, but we was determined. We put flyers on 7 everybody's door. No one turned toward us but St. 8 John's Leadership Team. We wanted to come as 9 community and work together. We couldn't make them understand, together we stand, divided we fall. (Applause.)
We started having meetings and we had a meeting one night with our Councilman Frank DiCicco. He explained this to us, what was going to happen. He said that they was going to build townhouses where our houses would be at. He told me to my face, he said, "Mrs. King, Leithgow Street and Lawrence Street is completely out." Leithgow Street is where I lived 40 years. He said people come into the neighborhood with money and he said that they wanted grass, trees, and a place for the kids to play. I said, "Councilman DiCicco, what about my kids who was born and grandkids who was born and raised in the street?" He said, "Mrs. King, Someone has to hurt," that's what he said, 104 BILL NO. 990331 "Someone has to hurt." We don't want our Councilman to think that we're against his plan. We are with his plans. Who wouldn't want to live in beautiful city. Our street might look little bad now, but it wasn't all the while when we had houses. I think it was 1970, that's why our street look that way. They took down houses in a row house. These row houses are supposed to support each other. They came in the neighborhood and took down houses from here. What support do we have? These are row houses. They are supposed to support each other. That's what made it look that way today. To me, it's beautiful to me because I know God can build our street back up. I feel like this, years ago people moved out of this vicinity. It wasn't good enough for them to live in, they moved out. Strawberry Mansion, the suburbs those big houses out there, they're tired of them and they want to come back in the neighborhood, you know. They feel it's getting too convenient for our black people. They want to move back now. We've got Disney World coming, golf courses down there two blocks away. They have the movies is down there for our kids three blocks away. It's too convenient for 105 BILL NO. 990331 us now. But we lived through the bad part, we want to live through the good part. We want him to join us and the money that government has funded for the community and what we want is we want to be a part it. Don't take away and do what they want to do with it. Bring the city up. We're a community. This money was for us. We are the community. We just want to be a part of it. And Mr. DiCicco, this is what we want and I hope you agree with us to some extent. Let us be a part of each other. That's all I have to say.
The record will reflect that an overwhelming majority of the people in the audience did stand. Our next witnesses are Shirley Corbin and June Cairns.
We're going to defer to the public hearing later in the fall, but there are other witnesses that wanted to speak.
Are they from 106 BILL NO. 990331 United Communities? We have a whole list of people, and I'd like to go down the order as they called in.
We're going to speak at the public hearing at the fall so we're not going to speak now.
We are from the neighborhood. I don't know if we appear on your list.
Ironically, you're next. Excuse me, isn't there Jeanine Vollbrecht and who is Angela Vollbrecht?
She's not going to speak, thank you. Her name was on the list. Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony.
My name is Jeanine Vollbrecht. This is Edward Vollbrecht. He resides 107 BILL NO. 990331 at 514 Gerritt Street which is the targeted area for the Jefferson Square project. In addition to his residence --
Excuse me, Gerritt Street is not part of the targeted area.
Excuse me, Councilman. We do own garages in the targeted area, 1213 South Fifth Street, 443 Manton Street, 441 1/2 Manton Street, all zone commercial. I'd like to point out on your map you have explained here, you're showing them as vacant properties. We have pictures of our garages that have been in our family for years. We have those attached to a letter that I drafted that just explains some minor points, probably more I could have addressed. And also one of the maps of whichever plan it was that shows that our properties, originally the only one that was marked to be taken was Fifth Street. Now, as the maps 1 to 8, all our properties are marked as empty or whatever. They are not empty properties. In fact, they're all zone commercially. Approximately eight weeks ago is the first time we received any notification, and that notification came from Capital Access from Jeremy 108 BILL NO. 990331 Newberg that he was interested in acquiring our properties. Not until then had we had any notification of the danger of property being taken. These garages are not vacant properties and are extremely important to my family. Although my father does not run his business on the premises, all of his commercial items are stored there. The garages are completely full of everything he needs to run his business. And to take the property without equal replacement would force him to liquidate his stock, equipment, supplies, and tools, therefore, putting him out of business. This will cause him great financial loss of his livelihood, everything my dad has worked for in this community. My father is in poor physical health and cannot empty these garages himself. He's 56 years old, has a 22-year-old hip replacement which needs to be redone, a herniated disc in his back, high blood pressure and on high blood pressure medication. He has a hernia which requires surgery. After he received the Capital Access letter, my father postponed his operation. If you demolish my father's garages, he would have to hire professional movers to relocate his merchandise. 109 BILL NO. 990331 Today, as you should know, in the South Philadelphia area garages are a premium. We have inquired at several Realtors, and we can give you the Realtors' names and the amounts, and there's nothing financially feasible for our family right now. The cheapest garage for the size needed to house our merchandise is $99,000, which is out of our price range. Are you prepared to pay us that and for relocation of our property which we've owned and paid taxes on? My father has spoken with Mr. Jeremy Newberg, and yes, granted we feel that the neighborhood needs to be improved. He has stated that he is more than willing to give the garages a facelift, paint, siding, stucco. Mr. Newberg wasn't interested. He said could put four homes on our property. Is the objective to rehab the area or is it really a matter of financial gain on someone's part? We could understand if there was structural damage or some other dangerous condition, but there's not. What kind of city are we living in that a person works his whole life to own property, pay taxes, be functioning citizens of this city, and you 110 BILL NO. 990331 come along and take our property because of its location? What happened to the American dream for the average person? I respectfully request that you don't approve the plan as it is. It displaces senior citizens and people with modest incomes from their homes and properties, some of which lived here all their lives, including me. I am 34 years old, I graduated from Temple University. I went to school and grew up and was raised in Philadelphia. This is not a plan that you want to rehab the neighborhood, it's a land grab. Someone gets some money out of the deal. (Applause.)
Design a better plan. Give people a say in the neighborhood. Give residents the opportunity with possible low interest loans to fix up their homes and let our garages stay. Build new homes on the vacate lots that will blend in with the community that already exists. I'm asking you not to displace us. There's a need for garages in every neighborhood. They do not detract from the community. Our garages are on the northeast corner of Fifth and Manton Streets and are 111 BILL NO. 990331 the only commercially occupied buildings in that area. I'm asking you to leave our garages alone. We're more than willing to side them do whatever is necessary. They've been in our family. We have lived in this community. I have served in this community. I am a Philadelphia Police detective and I have been on the force years. I have lived in 9 South Philadelphia and my family lived here and I 10 think that if do you not help the community here, you're only hurting them. I don't think that's what City Council is supposed to be for. That's all I have to say. (Applause.)
My name is Ed Vollbrecht. And Mr. DiCicco made a statement about Mr. Price's house. Mr. Price's house is not on your list to be taken.
Mr. Price is not on the list to be taken. He was asked to come here. And he also didn't come because his house -- that is the 112 BILL NO. 990331 problem. Mr. Price's son is on the zoning board.
His house is not on the plan to be taken, that's the problem.
It's not on the list to be taken and his not coming here address the issue. Yes, there needs to be housing, but not your type of housing. Your housing don't fit in the city. It does not fit in the city.
I would beg to differ with you. They're homes selling all over in the city. Let me perfectly clear, I hear everyone say we have problems, yeah, we need to do something.
Has anyone come up with another plan or any plan? And when you speak to this type of housing people don't want, I beg differ with you. People in the city, they want a side yard, a rear yard, and a place to park their cars -- let me finish.
Let us speak when we 113 BILL NO. 990331 were speaking, sir. (Applause.)
Are there any other questions or comments from members of the Committee? Thank you very much. Our next witness is Reverend David Funkhouser. REV. FUNKHOUSER: Thank you, Madam Chair and Members of the Committee. I'll be very brief. I'm Pastor of St. John's Episcopal Church at Third and Reed. Long before the initial plan was revealed to the community for Jefferson Square, our church had been involved, as we said previously, in efforts working with United Communities and a city-wide effort to address concerns of communities, social problems, communities are suffering, and this kind of thing. So I just want to make clear that the St. John Leadership Team came out of that effort and really cannot claim to represent every person in the community. That's not the point of this. The 114 BILL NO. 990331 St. John's Leadership Team has undertaken to try to pull together the community and to address these issues and has put forth considerable effort, as you can see today by the presence of people here, to do so. And it is our hope, our genuine hope in the months ahead that in good faith we in the community who live and work there can work with Councilman DiCicco and other persons to address our concerns and to come to some mutual agreement about what is really best for the community.
Thank you very much, Reverend. REV. FUNKHOUSER: I will be the last speaker from the Leadership Team. Thank you.
Do you we have anyone form the Community Legal Services?
Peggy Brookins, co-Chair of the Leadership Team. Florence Lipps.
Thank you. 115 BILL NO. 990331 Reverend Dolores Richardson, Frannie Cooper, Suzanne Haney. Is she here?
Please identify yourself and proceed with your testimony.
Please identify yourself and proceed with your testimony.
My name Suzanne Haney. I live in the 300 block of Manton Street. I am an elected committee person for the second ward, the second division, which includes the area from Federal to Wharton, Second to fourth. I am also here as a historian. I am particularly interested in the Civil War in Philadelphia. This area that we are discussing includes part of the historic heart of Civil War in Philadelphia. Unbeknownst to many of the members of both City Council and our neighborhood, this particular area was very crucial during the period a hundred years ago in our nation's history. The Washington, Baltimore, and Philadelphia railway which had a main terminus in the northern end at Broad and Washington Avenue had a line that went to the navy yard at Washington and 116 BILL NO. 990331 Federal Street. Every union army troop that came and fought during the Civil War went through this area and stayed at the Union and the Cooper refreshment salons. Many of them were housed at the buildings that were located in this area. Many of those that were wounded stayed at private hospital buildings in this area. The park which is the name of this development, Jefferson Square, was an encampment area during the Civil War. The wounded were brought by ferry boat down the Susquehanna through the canal and up the Delaware River to be hospitalized, not only in the private homes, but also at the largest union hospital privately owned which was at Broad and Washington Avenue. One of the reasons why I'm particularly concerned is that there has previously been a lack of understanding of the historic nature of our neighborhood by many of our local politicians. Our previous 1st Council District representative 15 years ago attempted to take the northwest quadrant of the Jefferson Square Park and put a basketball court there. At that time we got the documentation on the historic nature of the park and were able to stop this. The sign at Delaware Avenue discusses -- 117 BILL NO. 990331 that is a marker from the Historic Commission in Harrisburg -- says that there was a battery there. It does not mention that there was a navy yard, that it was major embarkation for immigrants. And one of the concerns that we have is because of the development along the river, much of the historic area will be fluffed over. My particular concern is the area from Federal to Wharton which is white in the little area in the map. The impression is because the area is white it will not be touched, and it has been glossed over at meetings and stated that there will be loans and grants for the members. However, the information I have is that the reason it is white is survey has not been completed and should there been funds and go through, there will be then a completed survey of that immediate area. Many of the houses in this area which are federal period houses built prior to 1865 which may have been a hospital building, may have been part of the underground railway, and active Civil War activities right in this area from Washington Avenue to Wharton Street from Sixth Street where we have the cemetery over to the Delaware River. Until this survey is completed, I think it would be important for there 118 BILL NO. 990331 not to be too much activity in terms of any demolition of any of these properties at this time. At the present time, many of the neighbors in this community, including those in Penns Port, nd unfortunately do not have active civic association on the west side of Fourth Street that are surveying the historic sites that we have from the Civil War. We are currently planning a tour in the fall in conjunction with the National Trust. We are planning a troop enactment of 2,000 union colored groups and the first city troop and other troops who came across on the ferry at Delaware and Washington Avenue and then marched in uniform to our park and then stayed overnight in the various homes and buildings here.
At the present time I would like you to consider the historic nature of the area and I would like to also mention that I'm very pleased that you're going to postpone the vote. I would be happy to give you additional information on the historic sites located in this area. I urge you to consider the fact that we do have an area of interest and of historic nature immediately in this area. Are there any questions? 119 BILL NO. )
Any questions for this witness? Thank you for your testimony. Mr. Kirk Brown, please. Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony.
My name is Kirk Brown. I live in the 400 block of Dicker Street. I also serve on the CDC for Jefferson Square. During the last 12 years that I have spent living in this community, which might seem like a New York minute compared to that of some of my neighbors, I have seen a great deal of planning come and go for a community that is desperate for improvement. I live immediate to Mt. Sinai, sharing more than just our fences, a great deal more. There has always been a shared sense of security, lighting, parking, and safety which has not always meant that as neighbors we have been on the same side of these issues. When I moved to this community, Mt. Sinai was a bustling, full-service health care institution, part of the Einstein Medical Center. 120 BILL NO. 990331 Since then, it has moved through the hands of several area healthcare giants, Graduate Hospital and then Hahnemann and then Allegheny and now Tenet, an unprecedented number of turnovers, even for a hospital in these times. However, its current operator may be its worse: No one. From what I can see, the hospital campus has been unused and unkempt, and with the exception of a planned senior's apartment project, nothing stabilizing is in the works. The operative word being stabilizing. While many of us debate the value of the Jefferson Square CDC, I am openly critical of any plan that does not include in some form or fashion a lasting solution to the hospital's orphan status. I am aware that the Jefferson Square project is not going to be able to happen without the disruption and displacement of some families in the area. I believe firmly that as long as a comprehensive relocation package is made available to those who are directly displaced by new construction, the CDC will have gone a long way in minimizing the impact of the plan. In spite of this, turning away from the project or putting it off means more months and years of squalor and 121 BILL NO. 990331 blight, a condition painfully obvious to those of us that have lived in it for years and in many cases a lifetime. I am alarmed at what may be perceived as a project aimed at kicking out poor and defenseless, often minority, families to create housing that they cannot afford. My position is, who can afford to continue with the conditions as they are? I find it disturbing that these are conditions, at least during the years I've lived in them, which have 12 gone unchallenged for generations. Where is the chorus of concerned parties when drug deals are open air and permitted round the clock? They are in fact neighbors who feel imprisoned inside their own homes, afraid to enter and leave because they know that saying anything or doing anything to end these decrepit conditions would be dangerous. If the plan includes a comprehensive relocation package, as it must by federal mandate, that assists individuals or families in moving into safer and cleaner housing in the immediate area and creates new housing for those who would otherwise pass this community over if given the chance to live in town, then the result would be win-win. The 122 BILL NO. 990331 prospect of bringing families who have left the city back and restoring the vitality of a neighborhood lost to drugs, violence and abandoned properties would be wholly welcomed by myself and my neighbors who have waited long enough to see such a change. I have no axes to grind, and unlike many of my neighbors, I can move at my leisure. But I ask myself, why when you knew you could do something to bring change didn't you speak out, why did you turn your head when you saw dope peddling, the coming and going from abandoned houses, the crumbling structures, the graffiti, why didn't you do something? So I've decided to answer my own conscience.
Excuse me. Kirk thank you for your testimony. I just have a couple of questions. I don't know if you stated what you do for a living.
You're a member of the Jefferson Square CDC. 123 BILL NO. 990331
Have you had an opportunity to make a profit from your experience being on the Jefferson CDC? With the exception of Mr. Newberg who does receive a salary for the job he does, are you being compensated from CDC at all ?
I have no background in construction. I know nothing about engineering.
I want the record to be clear that this is not corporation that is set up for the purpose individuals being rewarded for their efforts. Thank you.
Thank you. Mr. Ross, please, Joseph Ross. Good afternoon. Identify yourself for the record and proceed.
I'm Joseph Ross. I'm representing my wife and my daughter, Dawn, who owns property in the area. How you doing, Mr. DiCicco. Mr. DiCicco, I understand exactly --
Excuse me. I don't 124 BILL NO. 990331 want to be disrespectful, but the way in which we conduct these hearing you give testimony about what your concerns are and your dialog with Councilmembers are not permitted.
I want to thank him for introducing Jeremy Newberg. He's a very cut-throat business man who has no regard for anyone. You know, I find it ironic you could come into somebody's neighborhood without informing them, without having the community involved and say you got a vision, you wake up out of the blue and say you got a vision. We've been having a vision for 20, 30 and 40 years. We never said we didn't need a change. You can help us change, too; give us some grants, give us some loans. Don't just take and take and take. We went through that before with Society Hill, with Queens Village. Where you want us to go? I call it the ethnic, that's what I call it, ethnic cleansing. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
John Johnson. After Mr. Johnson is James Peoples, so if he could up to the front.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 125 BILL NO. 990331 John Johnson, I represent the Government Committee. We were asked to testify today in reference to support of the concerns of a community. I think that I'm going to reserve the bulk of my testimony. I understand we have a postponement, thank God, of this particular situation. I'm going to reserve the bulk of my testimony. I want to make a couple comments here. First of all, I think Mrs. King summarized very well, Councilman, the heart-felt declaration of how this process works to eliminate certain senses of reason. Reason being if you have a house which you've lived many, many, many, many, many years and all of a sudden there is a project which hopefully is good intending which has a head attached to it which seems to eliminate the fact that you might want to remain in that neighborhood regardless of what kind of improvements are going to be made because you too are not foolish enough to think you want to stay there without improvements because you've been trying improvements many years. Maybe you weren't able to get those improvements because of a system that didn't see a profit to be made, whatever reason. It was mentioned here earlier this 126 BILL NO. 990331 upturn of situations and also was mentioned that there's been a history of neglect here. So you have a group of people who are set in a pattern of neglect, not because of their own lack of dignity or their own lack of wanting to do better, but because of circumstances which are basically related to city government's looking down the way not being in a position, not wanting to extend a helping hand. These people are not asking you for something that is unreasonable. They're saying, give me relief. Don't make me part of a system wherein I'm looking at a new development coming in my area and I'm no 14 longer a part of that. One final comment with regard to the Redevelopment Authority and how that little system works, and I think Mr. Cohen alluded to it. These are things that are heart felt, this game of politics the game of public service. The extent to which the Housing Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority which has this imminent domain component to it, this imminent domain head to it without compassion, the use of law is a bad thing. Without compassion the use of law created slavery. What I see happening here is the fact they're saying to 127 BILL NO. 990331 people directly and indirectly, "Well, we're going value for you house we. Think it is XYZ." If you don't appeal it, that's what happens in the detail. When you ask details that what you have to face when you try to do an individual protection of your property, it is said to you the Redevelopment Authority will indeed make you an offer based on, quote, what is considered to be fair market value. Who determines that? Well, usually that determination nowhere compensates you for your property to leave a house you lived or 30 years, 13 which has been the testimony here. This is a bad 14 use of law. This is a law that is used by people 15 who are not sensitive to the real conditions here. 16 If you have creativity and you have the willingness 17 to be creative, you take that law and you say, these 18 people have a certain kind of condition, let's fix 19 it, let's really fix it. 20 It seems to me, in summary, if in fact the Leadership Team had not been on the case, this thing would have gone through. Seems to me that's how it appears. (Applause.)
Now, I say that with all 128 BILL NO. 990331 due process of government, all due process of government because I would hope that we all understand we are encouraging productivity progress in each neighborhood. Then you have another issue called relocation of the property. It's a relocation of people or displacement of people. And live in properties that are declared abandoned, that's not really good homework. Therefore, I would say that people here need to be given an award for being alert. They need to be given an award for having the courage to be here today. I /ARD without hardship some people that's a hardship. So we are really extending ourselves to be a help in any fashion that we possibly here. The people are making a cry to you. They should not have to cry. That's my comment. I do reserve my comments for the hearing in September. Thank you, Councilwoman.
Thank you very much. The Chair recognizes Councilman DiCicco.
Mr. Ross, can you come back to the table? Mr. Ross, would you please come back to the witness table? Thank you. Mr. Ross do you recall 129 BILL NO. 990331 calling my home on Sunday, June the 6th and leaving a message on my voice mail?
Do you recall the statement you made to me on my voice mail?
Would it refresh your memory if I told you you said you were Joe Ross and you owned the property in the Jefferson Square development plan.
You don't remember you thank me for directing you to Mr. Newberg, however, he's just not giving you enough for your property. Maybe we can talk and do a little bit better? Do you recall that conversation?
Whatever you said. We talked 130 BILL NO. 990331 -- I talked about my property. I said you have an interest in so and so and so and you gave me your card. You said call Mr. Newberg. I called Jeremy Newberg. Jeremy Newberg told me he wouldn't give anybody no more than $20,000 for their house. He told me he would not give anyone more than $20,000.
I have an appraisal slip. You can't see it, unless you want to buy it now. (Applause.)
If you want to buy it, we can come to terms. Other than that --
I have to know what you're asking before I can answer that question.
It's not important. You know why it's not important? You always going to find the lesser because you always not going to live up to your word. You're not going to do what you're supposed to do and you're a taker. You're a taker and you're a taker.
Thank you very much. 131 BILL NO. 990331 (Applause.)
James Peoples, John Morley, Jr., and Fred Druding after Mr. Morley. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Identify yourself for record and proceed with your testimony.
Section 1710C8 of the Pennsylvania Statute states the planning commission redevelopment area plan shall include without being limited to the following, a statement of estimated cost for acquisition of the redevelopment area and all other costs necessary to prepare the area for redevelopment. The Jefferson Square redevelopment plan did not indicate acquisition costs. The Court stated while usual and taking of property to effectuate a redevelopment plan, a plan must be specific enough to notify potential condemnees of 132 BILL NO. 990331 their future. There's been testimony today that indicates that no final decisions have been made on the plan and therefore any action by Council is premature, in my opinion.
Excuse me I hate to interrupt you. Didn't you come about another bill 8 having to do with Cecil B. Moore Model Cities?
Do you own a property in the proposed Jefferson Square?
I have difficulty seeing the relevance of what are you talking about.