Okay, but you sent all those reports, which are authored by great entities and interest
groups, but you never sent.
the CDC's comprehensive plan? No, but our counsel would have. Let me just say this. We have spoken
to him at our community meetings and have spoke directly to- At our community meetings? I thought
you said CDC. Okay. So we have conveyed that to him. We have conveyed that to the developer.
you've conveyed what I'm sorry we have conveyed what the community's vision is and what we would
okay we'll get to that I just wanted to know like you know I heard you introduce yourself
to the board saying that you everyone your board commissioned a comprehensive plan
I just wanted to know was that ever shared with the developer um it sounds like it wasn't but
Um, it sounds like it wasn't, but it sounds like that you shared other reports from interest groups.
it sounds like that you shared other reports.
So, um, and interest groups that was all based on reports that we, um, had commissioned them.
So they were not, okay.
Maybe I'm using the wrong term, but you know, the, the, the Brandywine Realty Trusts,
research science everything but the cdc comprehensive plan you gave him reports
but still it it still captures the essence of what our vision and plan is for the for our
community developing these reports and these reports were given to him at an rco meeting
no sir i just want clarity no i emailed them to him you emailed them to him and he received them
and and at any point in time did you email um uh time for the cdc to meet with him
other than going through your council we at this time we've had representation throughout
And we instructed our council to set up those meetings.
Thank you.
You sent him email directly about the reports.
That's correct.
So let me, let me ask you just a couple of more questions.
In your comprehensive plan that he has never seen, do you discuss that site?
No, sir.
But we do discuss the issue with density, affordability.
So are there any uniquely designed lots identified in your comprehensive plan?
No, sir.
Is there another triangle lot?
No, sir.
I'm going to object at this point to what is the relevance of drilling down deep into a CDC's comprehensive plan.
How is that possibly relevant?
I think my understanding where Mr. Bovee is, he's trying to get the relationship between the RCO and the neighborhood group and the client.
And they said a lot of things.
Did they, in fact, ever communicate with him?
I think that's where we are.
Thank you.
One last question.
What do you want?
We thank you for asking that.
I think that we've been saying this all along for two years.
We would like the developer to build according to the zoning code.
And I just want to also say that as far as the commercial space is concerned, there is so much foot traffic.
Not only is there a school, there's the Japanese house. There's all this foot traffic.
There's a Japanese house. There's a Pennsylvania, there's a horticulture center.
There's the Please Touch Museum. There's all along the Parkside Edge.
The Fairmont Park Conservancy has done so many improvements and continue to do improvements.
um the the whole um things like philadelphia is there for events um at the parkside there's
runners there's bikers um it's a we have cultural uh cultural um events that on the parkside edge
so that is a lot of stuff happening on that corner or in that immediate area and then you have
right down the street the uh man music center so why did people reject his coffee shop
that was at the first um hearing that was at the first hearing um there are a few and it was a
significant step because he was told that nobody wanted the commercial portion that that was at
the original hearing and no one and not everyone objected so we're saying ma'am if he please um
abide by the zoning code we would much appreciate that and we're do you understand the risk that he
he's in because he had i'm objecting that that's that's that's calls for speculation
right you're asking for speculation no i'm asking her opinion that he he if she knows
submitted to ellen i a coffee shop and he he met with opposition so he says all right i'll take it
out but it seems like he still has met with opposition i and and and and i'll just leave
You know what, but this begs one more question. I'm sorry.
Well, I mean, I'm sorry, but the testimony is that I reached out to you and asked to create a meeting for your client and my clients, and that never happened because of your end.
for your client and my clients and that never happened because of your end and now you're
saying that that that there was some kind of a of a gap or something that's missing
from the community let's see what is one last question let's see what his last question is he
has one more question let's see what yes yes those those um um the hold on let me get the right
addresses. Are you familiar with 1238 Belmont Avenue? 1238 Belmont. Yes, I believe so.
It has 84 units.
84 units?
Wait a minute.
I would need to see a map.
I'm going to object that this is going beyond the direct information.
She said at the beginning of her testimony that they have supported projects.
So I'm just curious as to what projects.
Well, that would lead to so many questions about so many projects, and that's not all of it.
That's not enough.
If she doesn't know where that property is.
That's not a district, I don't think.
What about 1715 North 42nd Street and 1717 North 42nd Street?
1717. Yes, I'm familiar with those two projects.
Did you support, did the CDC officially support them?
Yes, because the developer did negotiate the units.
He came down on the number of units.
Much like my client.
Objection.
No, I'm quick to.
It's not.
All right, I'm done.
I'm done.
All right, are you done, Darm?
So, Steve, you have three more witnesses?
Yeah, they're very quick.
So let me tell you what I'd like to try to do. It's like 12.04. We'd like to get done if we can by 12.30. We have to be done by 12.30 for the staff, et cetera, right? And then what we'd like to do is take written closing arguments.
Okay. So could you see if you can get your next clients in?
Yes. Brian Harris is the next one.
What was that name again? Brian Harris. Okay, yeah, he's here. He's been allowed to talk.
Hi, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
No, I think that's the wrong one. Mr. Harris, if you're in, can you please raise your hand?
all right
I don't see him in the audience
he's under
Joyce Smith
I will allow him to speak
hi could you state your name and spell for the court reporter
Brian Harris
R R I S
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do proceed council um hi brian can you um can you tell the board what your role is in the
community chairman of east parkside resident association living on parkside avenue for about
35 years now, and I love my community. So are you, when did you first become familiar with this
project? We first started with the mural. They would talk about moving the mural, and so we all
started paying a lot of attention. There's a baseball, Negro Baseball League mural at the
corner. And the developer was volunteering to move it across the street. So that's when I first
became aware of it. Okay. And then what was your role in the various meetings that the community
had with the developer? So I chaired the coordinating RCO since our office is closest
to the project. So I coordinated two meetings on behalf of the community and the developer
also tried to coordinate a meeting with the developer and the community at the project.
So you had two community meetings and then did you have a meeting at the location itself?
Yes, we did. We had a meeting at the location itself. The developer came.
Yes, we did. We had a meeting at the location itself. The developer came.
In fact, he bought a tow truck driver with him that, and maybe one other person, but yes.
In the course of all of the community meetings,
can you summarize for the board what the basic concerns were of the community and what the
votes were at those meetings? Sure, thank you. So the first meeting I coordinated had a 41 to 12
in opposition to the 15-unit project. Then the second meeting we had a 100 to 0.
100 to 0. A hundred of my neighbors joined me via Zoom. We had so many people we had to have a
tally a person to tally the names the addresses and the uh email addresses because it was such
a heated heated meeting in fact at one of these two meetings the developer even caught one of our
uh elders in the community a liar i mean it was really hot and heavy but i did a everybody told
me including the councilwoman's office i did a real good job keeping everybody even and us had
And we had, I thought, a very good meeting, except for the occasional emotional outbursts from the developer.
Was the 100 to 1 vote, was that an unusual, 100 to 0, was that an unusual tally for your community?
Yes, it was the largest one by far.
We don't usually even get 50 people to attend.
The 41 was high.
But 100 people?
No, we've never had that before or since. And that was just a beautiful thing.
Do you, from your perspective, do you believe that the community first told the developer that you did not want a commercial property and then told the developer that you did?
Thanks for asking that question. Our community is not a monolith, even though we voted 100 to zero. What we're voting 100 to zero on is the number of units cramming 12 to 15 units in a space designed for four. And commercial is not something the community, I think, is ever going to consider.
So when some people say, well, maybe we'll give a few units, the community keeps trying to find a way to compromise.
Some people say, well, let's give them the commercial.
Let's give up on the commercial.
Let's just let them get a few units in there.
But he still keeps coming back with 12 and 15 units.
And so it just became a real turnoff for the community.
And that's why they approached me complaining, asked me when is the next meeting.
and I keep telling them when and that they'll have their chance to communicate dialogue with
the developer directly and let them know how they feel. Do you recall efforts that you asked me to
do to reach out to the developer's team and set up a meeting with the leadership? Yes. In fact,
numerous times we keep waiting for you to get back to us and say, yes, I'm going to have a meeting
with him. Just like our last attorney, Yvonne Haskins, reached out to him on our behalf, met
with him, had an imbalanced, which he described in the last ZBA meeting as a dishonest conversation
with him where he said he claimed rights he didn't have. And so now that's been established
in the last ZBA hearing, we still felt maybe there's some hope here we can negotiate. We
really want to work something out so that that corner is is uh has a beautiful but not an
overwhelming uh building on it but yes we have asked you when we asked our last attorney
you know can you cop can you can you compromise with the developer because he's a little more than
we should be expected to negotiate with right he's this developer he's got all these units
he's got plenty of resources he's gone around the community telling people i don't want the
community to have resources when why wouldn't i want the community to have resources so but he's
more than we can handle i mean i've had a conversation with him uh and i thought it was
a pleasant one that's why i'm surprised to hear him say there's something personal it can't be
anything personal i don't i'm not built that way but what i'm trying to say is that yes we have
asked you we asked the last attorney but we also realize we might be an overhead an attorney and
him against us, the community. So to make it fair, we asked our attorneys to talk to him and see if
the professionals can figure this stuff out. Okay, I have no further questions. Thank you.
One more question. Brian, you heard all of my testimony earlier today. Can you say whether
Can you can you say whether you agree with it and adopt it as your own?
you agree with it and adopt it as your
I certainly do. Thank you, Darwin. Yes.
You want to you have any questions? Yes, I do have questions. Mr. Harris.
We're I heard you say that you you've had nice conversations with with my client. Is that correct?
No, I said one nice conversation with your client. I did have a brief text conversation with him around the idea of a developer named Eamon Brown wanting to speak to him on our behalf, on the community's behalf. This happened a year ago. And I said, wow, this is good.
the elected officials are going to get into the conversation maybe they can help convince them
to talk to us to compromise with us to find a way we can all make our community better
instead and then i call and then instead of the elected official getting back to me with the
results of he and mr yakubov's meeting he ignores my five calls and texts to him i'm talking about
the elected official, and then I look at his campaign finance report, and I see in March
of last year, he received $5,000. I said, wow, no wonder he's not calling me back. And that's
why the community is so upset, because he does things to undermine what we're trying to do,
and we're trying to work with him. And then he's back on us, like, we're the ones that are bad
here we're the ones doing something dishonest sir sir sir sir sir let let the lawyer has a
couple things to say please please i apologize chair go ahead mr harris did you just suggest
that some sort of campaign donation was given and that's why you're in this situation no i'm
stating the facts sir yeah but you're stating the fact he didn't even have his phone over
You're trying to establish a nexus that
a phone call was no longer given after a campaign donation. Are you trying to make that nexus?
I withdraw that question. Are you aware of any advertisement?