Sure, ma'am, please.
Please accept this letter as an expression of support for the construction of the North
central public safety building and parking at its proposed sites 2100 West Diamond Street
ZP-2023-007278, ZP-2023-007463, 2032 West Diamond Street, ZP-2023-007463, 2033 North 22nd Street.
Regarding this matter, we have received and shared electronic and hard copies of the architectural plans provided courtesy of Council President Darrell Clark's office, gave public comments at meetings of the Philadelphia Historic Commission and its architectural committee,
And on February 28th, 2023, as block captain, I attended the 22nd Police District Captain's Town Hall meeting, where a speaker reported about the plans.
While in attendance at the St. Elizabeth RCO meeting on October 20, 2023, I heard city personnel present about the project and had an opportunity to question architects about the plans.
As a joint venture partner on construction of Eight Diamonds townhouses on 21st Street next door to the proposed building site, Heritage CDC served on the development team and views the proposed architectural plans as being compatible.
Several of the design features are complementary to neighborhoods with brickwork that mimics Van Pelt Street homes.
The corner peak elevation of the building effectively conceals the rooftop HVAC units from street-level view.
The addition of many parks at the corners of 21st and 22nd Streets on Diamond Street provide much-needed neighborhood beautification and the addition of trees throughout the entire project area, helps conceal parking lots, and most importantly, increases the tree canopy in one of the city's hottest areas.
reinforcing the primary goals of the recently released Philadelphia tree plan.
In addition, the horticultural open space aspects of the design
can improve air quality, relieve burdens of those who suffer respiratory ailments.
Relieve burdens of those who suffer respiratory ailments, such as myself, such as asthma, COPD, and bronchitis.
It's reduced violence, which the Horticulture, the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society and Dr. Smith at University of Pennsylvania did a study that concluded that violence, that open green spaces do reduce violence.
and mitigates the effects of climate change, potentially improving the overall quality of life
for community residents. It's an impressive, thoughtful design that aptly provides for
law enforcement personnel and parking needs, along with the valuable community benefit of
a police athletic league center, computer lab, and community meeting access, all of which
we wholeheartedly support. We respectfully submit this in support of this project. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much. Anyone else in a virtual audience?
Yes, Daryl Cluck has their hand raised. They've been allowed to speak.
please allow me to speak
am I on you on good morning good morning uh I will be brief uh first of all thank you
I'm sorry I should know better uh Daryl Clark uh council person of fifth councilmatic district
city council president uh first of all thank you all about the truth councilman
Absolutely. Thank you. Please proceed.
Yeah, first of all, briefly, you've heard some significant testimony, so I won't belabor the point.
But I just want to reiterate my support for this particular project.
But more importantly, I want to thank you for the process that has been put before both the community, the zoning board, the historic board earlier in this process.
As a result of the many levels of requirements for variance, it has improved this project significantly.
Earlier on, it did not have a recreational component subsequent to the earlier version and concerns raised by residents.
We actually now have a much better design building.
We have a building that would incorporate, as you've heard in the testimony, the PAL and space, auditorium space for the community to use and much more significant amenities.
So I'll be sure, as I said earlier, I just want to reiterate my support.
And I want to thank you. The zoning board respectfully requested your support for a variance to allow much needed parking in this area as it relates to this particular facility.
So I want to thank you again for your opportunity to allow me to testify in support of this.
We thank you. We thank you, Council President.
We also thank you for your years of service and congratulating you on your retirement.
Anyone else out in the virtual audience?
Yes, Priscilla Bennett has been allowed to speak.
Good morning, everyone.
My name is Priscilla Bennett.
I'm the president of the St. Elizabeth RCO.
and I just want to
say your name.
Can you please spell it for the court reporter?
P-R-I-S-C-I-L-L-A
Bennett
B-E-N-N-E-T-T
Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth
and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Please proceed.
Yes, I just want to reiterate the fact that at the meeting that we had, the St. Elizabeth RCO had on a Friday night.
It was a Friday night and it was quite impressive because it was Friday night and 54 people showed up to show you the importance of how important this is for the quality of life in our community.
and we are in total support of it and I think it was very it was very it's very necessary to make
that point that on a Friday night people showed up that's how important this is to our community
thank you thank you is anyone else in the virtual
Thank you. Is anyone else in the virtue holding you?
Yes, Gail Loney has been allowed to speak.
Hello, Mrs. Gail. Please state your name as well for the court reporter.
Hi. Hello. My name is Gail Loney. My name is spelled G-A-I-L. Last name is spelled L-O-N-E-Y.
You're trying to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
yes i do um excuse i'm sorry thank you um excuse my voice i'm i'm kind of sick right now
um i am a block captain in the 2200 block of north lambert street i have been part of this
police station conversation since since its beginning when the first um eminent domain
paperwork was attached to 2100 West Diamond Street. I am opposed to this because, number one,
as a block captain in my community and an active participant in my community,
there has not been very much community engagement. I have listened to the conversation about
So the meeting that was had in October, which I was unable to attend, however, most of the people on my side of 22nd Street weren't even aware of a meeting.
And I realize that that may not be an excuse, but that means that the community involvement, the heightened awareness of what goes on, not just in one block, in one RCO, needs to be lifted up.
This project should have been announced ahead of time to the whole community.
And when I say the whole community, if you're talking about covering the 22nd Police District, then the whole 22nd Police District should have been made aware in timely enough fashion and had multiple, multiple conversations beforehand.
beforehand. This project was initially turned down by the Historical Commission because I was
on those meetings as well. And there was no community engagement at all then. This community
engagement at the St. Elizabeth RCO, I can't speak on that. I don't know the
St. Elizabeth's RCO, but I do know the 32nd RCO. I know Uptown Entertainment Development RCO,
and I know NCP RCO. Those are the three RCOs that are around here, but I don't know how much
representation was going on there. In addition, this is a historical district. I don't know how
much housing is planned for my area, but there are more empty lots in my neighborhood in the
5th Councilmatic District than anywhere. And that particular lot was housing. That particular lot
is zoned for housing so rezoning has to be done for that property not to mention the fact that
you are now which was not even brought up initially talking about a fueling station
what is the process for a fueling station now in a historic district where housing is so badly
needed and not just market rate housing because around here that's all that's going up
I live around the corner from three and four hundred thousand dollar homes
and the people around here can't afford it but we have so many lots that need to be and I am saying
that need to be a low-income, moderate-income, single-family and multifamily housing.
The police station, I get the 22nd needs a police station, but I also get that you're
going to put the very police that you are now calling a public safety facility in front
of the faces of the people who they disrespect the most.
I have had all kinds of encounters with police, but I still try to maintain a good relationship with them.
I do talk to the 22nd District Police Captain and their liaison.
I do talk to the 22nd District Police Captain and their liaison officer on a regular basis.
We have just had meetings with them at the UEDCRCO, okay?
But I also know that we have a problem, and I am saying we as a Black woman, as Black people, as low-income people in a low-income neighborhood,
have problems with the 22nd district police officers and police in general okay um we have
facilities in our direct vicinity um that are recreation centers but they need work that 32
million dollars we're getting ready to spend to put a new police facility on a historic corridor
are in a location that used to have beautiful three-story brownstones I know for a fact because
I was a kid in this neighborhood who went in those beautiful three-story brownstones that
were allowed to deteriorate um excuse me uh that's what needs to be in those places and those empty
spaces. What is the zoning for this police district? What is the zoning and the process
for this fueling station? The recreation centers and libraries around here are underfunded and
underutilized because they are underfunded and poorly staffed. You know, we have libraries and
rec centers that our kids can't even use. And let's not get it twisted. Our adults can't either
because programming has been shortchanged for other things in this city. I don't know
if you guys take any of those things into consideration. I don't know what your guidelines
are in determining, you know, what gets built, where, when, and how, but you cannot just say
yes to a building because it meets some aesthetic requirement because it's historic. You do have to
take into account the historical cultural history of that piece of land, that piece of property
that you are now saying has no relevance and nobody cared about. When you have people who
have been redlined, disrespected, discriminated against, and treated as trash, you're just giving
them another excuse not to trust, not just the city, not just the police, but the process,
Because their voices are not being lifted up and held up and nobody thinks that they have anything to say. We are assumed to be unintelligent, unarticulate, and don't deserve housing and don't deserve to live how everyone else lives when we are more deserving than ever.
I am not going to go on here. I hope you take into consideration what I just said about the historical, cultural, and what this neighborhood is and was. I know this neighborhood needs a lot of things, but I don't think a $32 million police station right now, right here, is one of them.
housing that's what's needed right here right now it was needed 20 years ago and it's only
going to get worse thank you thank you for your testimony anyone else in the virtual audience
yes chair we have lisa you may unmute yourself and wait for the chair
hi my name is lisa monique jenkins hayden i'm all i am a three generation
um member of strawberry mansion resident your name and spell it for the court reporter please
thank you my first name is spelled l y s a second part of my first name is monique m-o-n-i-q-u-e
My last name is hyphenated Jenkins, J-E-N-K-I-N-S hyphen Hayden, H-A-Y-D-E-N.
And you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please proceed with your testimony.
Thank you.
I am a three-generation resident of Strawberry Mansion.
My mother and grandmother has served as officers of the city.
officers of the city. I have founded the Strawberry Mansion Neighborhood and Homeowners
I have founded the Strawberry Man.
Association, and this issue has come up over and over again in regards to how the city does not
seem to be taking into account what the neighbors are saying that they want, giving them proper
notice to things so that they can organize, have an informed opinion, and ask questions.
We were not properly informed in the manner that we should have been.
And so I am here to support the community's voice, saying that they do not want this police
district at the 2100 Diamond Street because of historical and cultural significance of
this corridor.
I actually do work with the police as well, doing town hall meetings with them.
Um, and so I have tried to establish a decent relationship with the 22nd district and want
to be in support of the things that they need and want to do.
However, in this matter, I don't believe that they should be able to go against the community
or the city should force, um, um, a, an issue where the community is clearly asking, we've
asked for a continuance hearing that has not been granted.
And so we would absolutely like more time to think about it. But the neighbors consensus is at this moment that we want to know things like, have there been a traffic study done? Has there been an environmental study done? And where are those things so that the community could read and digest it and have more information about it?
But from a cultural and historical perspective, we are very much not welcoming the police district on the Diamond Street Historic Court.
Thank you.
Thank you for your testimony.
Is there anyone else in a virtual audience?
Yes, Chair, we have Jacqueline Wiggins.
How many more do we have in a virtual audience?
This will be the last hand, Chair.
Thank you.
Ms. Wiggins?
Yes, good morning.
can you hear me? Yes, please state your name and spell it for the court reporter. All right,
my name is Jacqueline Wiggins. J-A-C-Q-U-E-L-I-N-E. Wiggins. W-I-G-G-I-N-S.
So you're just ready to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
I do. Good morning. Okay, thank you. Good morning, everyone. I'm opposed to the location
of this police station at 2100 West Diamond Street and just by way of some background I've
lived there in North Philly for since I guess most of my life 1952 to 2021 in terms of living
in North Philly but I just moved in 2021 due to age and so forth and I was a committee person
32nd Ward so I am very familiar with things that that do go on in the neighborhood and I still
volunteer in the neighborhood. So first, I really don't understand how one RCO can have
all of the input with respect to this particular project, with the boundaries of the 22nd Police
District being 10th Street to 33rd, and from Poplar to Lehigh. That would take in a number
of RCOs and a number of questions to people who live as taxpayers, whether they're homeowners
or renters. They need to be informed, you know, of this. I am trying to figure, again, about the
historical and cultural piece that Ms. Loney and Ms. Monique and Ms. Robinson brought out,
that that has to be considered. The Diamond Street historic designation from Broad Street,
Broad and Diamond, to Van Pelton Diamond was designated in 1986. I don't know when that
changed in terms of putting a police station. But for many of the comments that have been made,
I want to just mention this. I don't know if there was a consideration in terms of the people.
The people who walk Diamond Street, all right, the people who get off the 33 bus, as I did
for grade school and high school, and I went to St. Elizabeth's right there in the neighborhood.
When the school burned down, we had to take the bus, okay, out to West Philly. I went to
Hallahan, okay. So I'm just saying that I'm used to the 33, the number two bus that takes people
down to, you know, downtown. I'm not understanding how you're going to have the deployment of police
cars zipping up and down Diamond Street when, in effect, people walk there. Children walk there.
There are two public schools on Diamond Street, William Dick at 25th and Diamond and Duckery at
15th and Diamond. But there's also Frederick Douglass at 22nd and Norris, where many of the
young people walk over to Diamond to get home. So I'm trying to figure that out with the people
traffic of those who live in Raymond Rosen, where I grew up, and also at Johnson Homes. So you have
in Raymond Rosen, where I grew up, and also at Johnson Homes. So you have the public schools,
you've got the one recreation center, you've got the churches that were mentioned,
particularly the church The Advocate at 18th and Diamond, where tours are done. I'm involved in
tourism. I take people sometimes up and down Diamond Street. Now we have to compete with
police cars zipping up and down. But once again, more importantly to me is the question of
the boundaries of the 22nd police district and who knows about this in a genuine community
engagement way, which is what the art commission came up with in terms of their unanimous vote,
that there needs to be a continuance, at least on their part, and this needs to be reconsidered.
So I'm hoping and asking that all the comments that have been made in terms of the no to this
police station are taken into real consideration. And again, one RCO does not make up the people
of the 22nd Police District or Philadelphia. Thank you.
And Vice Chair, you are muted.
Excuse me. Anyone else in the virtual audience?
No more hands.