Change You Can See: Looking Back at 2011

It’s Memorial Day and we’re taking a look back. 2011 was our biggest year yet! Here’s an overview of achievements and projects that took place in the year 2-0-1-1!

W Rockland Street

1. A very exciting block-wide beautification project dubbed Grow this Block! over Memorial Day Weekend – a day on which over 30 households on W Rockland Street planted flowers, vegetables, fruit and herbs in their front yards.

Grow This Block! May 28, 2011

2. Assistance with do-it-yourself property improvements; secured outdoor paint and supplies for residents who wished to paint their front porches, railings and fences (over 10 households refreshed)

3. The tear-down of two blighted houses that plagued the community for over 20 years, which we advocated for on behalf of the community; we’re still in the process of planning a community garden for the neighborhood in what is now huge plot of vacant land

Demolition. Day 1. Friday, June 2, 2011.

4. An information filled community meeting attended by over 75 neighbors from both W Rockland Street and surrounding blocks with guest speakers from Philly311, Streets Department of Philadelphia, SWEEP, Philadelphia Police Department, and RecycleNOW

Germantown Community Meeting on March 21, 2011, Philly311 Director Rosetta Lou speaking

5. The ongoing transformation of six vacant lots, plagued by illegal dumping, into clean and green space while implementing feasible maintenance plans as we continue to work on more permanent solutions for the vacant land

An early Philly Spring Cleanup project before the abandoned buildings were torn down

6. Regular block meetings for W Rockland Street residents (well-attended)

7. Activities for children including Play Street in the summer months, and nature projects

Yasmine harvesting crops planted during Grow This Block!

8. Rockland Street Cat Health Day, an ongoing opportunity for residents to get low cost spay/neuter services (got to love the kitties) which has resulted in the reduction of stray animals in the neighborhood

9. Regular collaboration with organizations and institutions in the city including Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Philadelphia City Planning Commission, St. Francis of Assisi Parish, DePaul Catholic School, Keep Philadelphia Beautiful, Streets Department of Philadelphia, Philadelphia More Beautiful Committee, and others

Some of our volunteers for the day with 8th District City Councilwoman Cindy Bass (in the orange scarf)

10. Mayor of Philadelphia Michael Nutter visits W Rockland Street, after reading about Grow This Block! in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Councilwoman Cindy Bass stops by many times throughout the year to show support for special projects.

Me and Mike, Mayor Nutter greets W Rockland Street kids in 2011

11. An inspiring and very well attended block party of all block parties that featured games for kids, a dunk tank, original performances and spirited acknowledgments of long-time community residents

Ainé in the dunk tank at the block party in July 2011

12. In October 2011, W Rockland Street even won a Neighborhood Transformation Award for Beautification Projects, presented by the Philadelphia More Beautiful Committee, an arm of the Streets Department of Philadelphia

Marianna, Junior Block Captain, with the Neighborhood Transformation Award

The Fight: It Don’t Come Easy

By Emaleigh | It is difficult to write about failure and seemingly insurmountable problems. I know that the photos on our website are bright and shiny, and our reports of success are filled with numerous exclamation points. There is always ‘the other side.’ The struggle to rejuvenate W Rockland Street and the surrounding neighborhood has been a massive undertaking. Systems are slow. Change isn’t fast enough. It’s hard to make progress stick. What my sister and I have accomplished in the past four years, alongside our neighbors, is significant – it’s amazing actually! But its not always fun. There have been arguments and tears, lots of quitting (and starting over), and too much stress. And this week has been rough… Listening to Patti Smith’s “People Have the Power” is usually a cure, but it failed this time around.

Why do we do it?

We think our work emphasizes the needed shift in culture and responsibility in Philadelphia.

All we are trying to do is improve quality of life on W Rockland Street – through beautifying the neighborhood, connecting people, and giving purpose to long blighted vacant lots. Its time to repair the damage anyway we can, and transform abused and underused spaces into places of productivity and pride. We live here, after all. We wish everyone felt the same.

Some think the City should clean up after them, like their Mom or something. RT @ClasiqueAffairs: @Michael_Nutter ... m.tmi.me/p4EFQ

—
Michael A. Nutter (@Michael_Nutter) April 28, 2012

This is not a pity party, just the truth. The work consumes more hours than you’d believe, eats up more money than you know, and sometimes, feels like time wasted. There will always be people who don’t want to get involved, who react negatively, and don’t understand (or care) how difficult the organizational side of the work is. Managing expectations is tough, especially when unrealistic, and some people can be incredibly demanding, which is shocking. (Guess what, being a ‘block captain’ is not a real job. The City is not your mother and neither are we.) It is harder to accept all this when the work is home – the work is where you live – and all you’re trying to do is make life just a little bit better. We are beyond thankful to those that participate and work alongside us.

We lived with this vacant lot for years and years. It is owned by the City of Philadelphia, overwhelmed with properties just like this and worse. Do we blame “The City”? No. How hard is it to maintain land like this in our neighborhoods? Who is going to step-up?

The reality is that Philadelphia is a real urban city and we’re in the thick of it. There are issues pushing us that we cannot take head-on. Philadelphia’s public education system is in crisis. 1 in 4 Philadelphians live in poverty. The city has an estimated 40,000 abandoned properties and vacant lots. Many of Philadelphia’s streets are lined with aging houses in declining conditions, like W Rockland Street, like our own house. It’s enough to make you throw up your hands…

Formerly vacant rental property on W Rockland Street. Interested in living here? Landlords are not in the same boat at the City. Guess who is to blame here?

We have never been the kind of people who can sit back and do nothing. We figure, as long as we are here on W Rockland Street, we’ll do something. “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” President Theodore Roosevelt once delivered that quote and it’s a good one to fall back on. The idea is clear and worth trying yourself, wherever you live.

Our objective has always been to disrupt the cycle of neglect plaguing parts of the city, starting with W Rockland Street. We’re interested in seeing what ideas and projects work here that can be easily replicated throughout the city and in similar neighborhoods.

A better Philadelphia will never be realized if we’re not all active citizens – in the way that we each can be. And there is no one way. “Example is the school of mankind, and they will learn at no other” (Edmund Burke). Don’t just sweep in front of your own house, go three houses up and three houses down. Have a conversation with your neighbor, even if you think you have nothing at all in common. Get a group together and clean up a vacant neighborhood lot. And keep at it. Live by example. Show that you care. Show that “the people have the power to redeem the work of fools,” as Patti Smith sings with complete authority and believe it. Trying to convince myself this again as I type right now…

Central Germantown Beautification Plan presentation Thursday, May 17

Excited for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission’s Central Germantown Beautification Plan presentation on Thursday, May 17th. We are interested in learning how the plan progressed from a focus on the Chelten Avenue commercial corridor to the Beautification Plan. PS: How about moving a little to the Southwest and hitting Lower Germantown, too? It’s crumbling.

What was initially the Chelten Avenue Corridor Plan is now the Central Germantown Beautification Plan. This plan will help guide future public realm improvements within Central Germantown. The Philadelphia City Planning Commission will present the results of public input from our first community meeting and on-line survey, along with draft recommendations for the plan.

Thursday, May 17th
First  Presbyterian Church
35 West Chelten Avenue
Open House from 6:30 to 8 pm

Contact: Matt Wysong, matt.wysong@phila.gov
www.phila2035.org | www.philaplanning.org

Building a Park on W Rockland Street during the Philly Spring Cleanup

By Emaleigh | W Rockland Street’s Philly Spring Cleanup project on April 14, 2012 marked the block’s 4th year participating in the citywide initiative. It was a great success and we have a lot to report! View a full gallery of photos from the day on Flickr!

THE MISSION!

The goal of our Philly Spring Cleanup project was to transform one (of several) underutilized vacant lots on W Rockland St into a community garden and shared outdoor space for block residents. The plan was to create a place people want to be by turning the lot into a functional park-like environment, offering a permanent space for socializing and gardening. The lot we chose to work with is located near the top of the block at 15 W Rockland. For the past few years, block residents have maintained this abandoned lot but not without a struggle. Despite efforts, the lot often became overgrown and litter remained an issue. In order to be transformed, the lot had to become a functional space for positive activity. Earlier in the year, Ainé drew up plans for this space and it’s really exciting to see her sketches take shape.

It’s a jungle in there… Before conditions, photographed on April 6, 2012

THE ACTION!

Cutting wood for the garden beds.

To make this project happen, we worked with block residents, neighbors that we have connected with from nearby blocks, volunteers from the DePaul Catholic School (which is located on Logan and W Rockland Streets), and a crew from Home Depot.

Together, we cleared the lot of all trash and debris, dug-up huge sheets of underlying plastic (likely installed to prevent weed growth; it didn’t work!), pulled what felt like fields of weeds, cut back all overgrowth, pruned tree branches, leveled the ground, and built 10 wooden garden beds.

Hard at work in the lot. Team effort.

W Rockland St improvement projects tend to turn into a party. With all the kids involved, our group of volunteers swelled to over 40 people. We owe a huge thanks to Home Depot, whose team was spearheaded by employees from store #4109 in Cheltenham and others. Home Depot also generously donated nearly all of the lumber used for the project.

G’Town Restoration CDC connected the different Germantown groups participating in the Philly Spring Cleanup and delivered snacks for all our volunteers. This project would not have been possible without candy-colored donuts. Seriously. The organization also introduced us to Robyn Tevah, who came by to help out and teach kids about plants.

8th District Councilwoman Cindy Bass talks with volunteers on W Rockland Street.

Throughout the day, we had visitors stop by to see what we were up to, including 8th District Councilwoman Cindy Bass, members of Germantown United CDC‘s board, and plenty of friends and family. I don’t think we would have actually succeeded in finishing building the garden beds if our Dad and Alex – master of the drill – didn’t show-up ready to work!

WHYY’s NewsWorks sent a reporter and you can see the story here: A garden emerges from Rockland Street’s weekend-cleanup effort. It’s pretty awesome to read quotes from our neighbors, expressing excitement about the project.

“When I see the kids playing in this area, I worry about their safety,” said Charles Pullett as he helped pull trash from the lot. “Today makes me very excited to live here.”

We built 10 raised garden beds and plan to add 3 more!

As part of W Rockland St’s Philly Spring Cleanup efforts, residents also spruced up their properties and gave the block a clean sweep from top to bottom. The City of Philadelphia and the Streets Department provided us with plenty of supplies to help make our project a success. We distributed work gloves, brooms, rakes, bags and even new recycling bins to participants.

At the end of the day, 10 garden beds were built and the majority of the overgrown lot was cleared. A few days later, two truckloads of mushroom soil arrived, coordinated by the great Sally McCabe at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. Turns out, we need more dirt! Who would have thought?

NEXT STEPS FOR THE GARDEN

We’re still working on completing the evolving garden and hope to have all the main features installed by mid-May.

Many residents have already begun planting and are enjoying the new community space. We plan to build 3 additional garden beds, bringing the total number to lucky 13. Next step is seating! We have several benches in place already, which were donated to W Rockland St from Keep Philadelphia Beautiful last year. We’ll add picnic benches and other seating (including pallet chairs!) just in time for the summer months.

Dude, this bench was made of 3,800 recycled plastic bags. Thanks Keep Philadelphia Beautiful!

Students from Mount St. Mary’s University help us tackle the back of the lot on April 21, 2012.

One major problem that still needs solving is establishing a sustainable water source for our growing garden. We’re looking into installing new gutters to the neighboring house, attached to rain barrels. The good thing is that the rain barrels are already secured through the Energy Coordinating Agency and Philadelphia Water Department. Now we just have to raise funds for the gutter installation.

The weekend after the big cleanup project, a team of students from Mount St. Mary’s University in Maryland traveled to Philadelphia and spent a full-day helping to clear out the back-end of the lot, including removing some pesky poison ivy that had overtaken the area. The space is now ready for finishing touches. The students, who were repaid with kindness and water ice, came to W Rockland St by way of our friends at St. Francis of Assisi Parish, located at the corner on Greene Street between W Rockland and Logan. We have worked on W Rockland St with groups on service-learning trips from many East Coast states, through out partnership with St. Francis.

FUTURE PROJECTS

We’re moving right along to our next big effort, which is to build a large community garden on the vacant lot that spans three properties at the corner of W Rockland and Greene Streets. This garden will be open to all SW Germantown residents, with 25-30 garden beds and an outdoor learning space.  It is a joint project of Rockland Street Neighbors and the DePaul Catholic School, which is located across the street from the lot.

Future community garden at the corner of W Rockland and Greene Streets.

Mayor Nutter greets W Rockland Street kids in 2011

Neighbors on W Rockland have worked to maintain this area for the past several years, keeping the space clear of illegal dumping. Just last May, two abandoned houses stood in this very space (at 4817 and 4815 Greene St). W Rockland St residents aggressively advocated having the blighted properties torn down. In June 2011, the buildings were demolished after Mayor Michael Nutter paid a surprise visit to W Rockland St to check out the Grow This Block! garden project, which he read about in a story by Philadelphia Inquirer architecture critic Inga Saffron.

We postponed the start of this project because of landscaping complications. The lot is sloped and will need to be terraced or require a retaining wall. We’re currently looking to work with skilled contractors and landscape professionals, and build other partnerships that will be crucial in helping transform this highly visible corner-space for the greater Germantown community.

Stay tuned for more updates.

If you’re interested in collaborating with us, email rocklandstreet@gmail.com!

OH, AND SEE MORE PHOTOS

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View a full gallery of photos from the day on Flickr!

Community Garden Meeting Monday, April 2nd at 7 p.m.

We will be holding a second meeting about the community garden on Monday, April 2 at 7 p.m. at St. Francis of Assisi. All of the meeting details are below. Please share this notice with your friends and neighbors in Germantown. All are invited to learn more about the garden project and get involved in the planning process.

The first build day will be held on Saturday, April 14th from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. as part of the City of Philadelphia’s annual Philly Spring Cleanup. At the first meeting, we also discussed how to officially register your block for the Philly Spring Cleanup. If you have any questions about that, give us a call.

Full text of the flyer after the jump.

Germantown Cleanup Meeting Monday, March 12 at 7 p.m. at St. Francis

Philly Spring Cleanup 2009, volunteers in the corner lot at W Rockland and Greene St. View more photos from the 2009 cleanup on Flickr.

W Rockland Street has participated in the annual Philly Spring Cleanup in 2009, 2010 and 2011. We’re super excited that April 14, 2012 will mark the block’s 4th year participating in the city-wide project. W Rockland Street Neighbors will be sponsoring a Germantown Cleanup Meeting for residents in SW Germantown on Monday, March 12 at 7 p.m. at St. Francis of Assisi Parish to talk about two important projects extending beyond W Rockland St.

Goals for the Meeting:

1. Talk with SW Germantown Neighbors and DePaul Catholic School about the future of the lot at the corner of Greene & Rockland St and creating a community garden.

Neighbors on W Rockland St have been working to maintain the area for the past several years and keep the space clean and clear of illegal dumping, which long plagued the vacant lot at the corner of W Rockland and Greene. W Rockland St residents aggressively advocated to have the blighted houses at 4817 and 4815 Greene St torn down, which loomed over the neighborhood for nearly 20 years (maybe more). In June 2011, the buildings were demolished, after Mayor Michael Nutter paid a surprise visit to W Rockland St to check out the Grow This Block! garden project. The demolition was funded by the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development), managed by the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Philadelphia. For a look back, check out photos of the abandoned houses and learn about the demolition project:

• BREAKING NEWS: The blighted houses at 4817 and 4815 Greene Street at the corner of W Rockland will be torn down effective immediately!
• Photos! Updates! Demolition of the blighted houses at 4817 and 4815 Greene Street

2. Learn about and sign your block up for the annual PHILLY SPRING CLEANUP on Saturday, April 14.

Every block that signs up officially has the opportunity to receive donated supplies for your project including bags, shovels, rakes, brooms, gloves, new recycling bins, special bulk trash pickup and more.

We’re encouraging the blocks surrounding W Rockland St to participate alongside us in the Philly Spring Cleanup. Learn how to register your project at the meeting, or visit www.phillycleanup.com for more information.

We hope you can make it! Check out the flyer below. If you would like to print a copy or share the information, download a PDF of the flyer right here.

St. Francis of Assisi at 4821 Greene St
Enter on Greene St through Courtyard
(between Logan St & W Rockland St)

Questions? Email rocklandstreet@gmail.com or call (215) 805-8091.

Tags: Community Organizing, Germantown, Greene Street, Improvements, litter, Philadelphia Streets Department, Philly Spring Cleanup, St. Francis of Assisi Parish, UnLitter Us, Vacant Lots

Let’s talk about Community Development Corporations, Feb. 29th in Germantown

By Emaleigh | What’s so important about commercial corridor development? In a city of neighborhoods with their own commercial hubs and transportation centers and people bustling about, everything!

On Wednesday, February 29th, Germantown United CDC will present a panel exploring best practices of Community Development Corporations (CDCs) featuring experts from around the city including Rick Sauer, Executive Director, Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations and Sandy Salzman, Executive Director, New Kensington Community Development Corporation. Special guests include Colvin W. Grannum, President of Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation in Brooklyn, which is the nation’s first CDC.

Given Germantown’s storied history, this conversation is important to have as we work towards revitalizing the neighborhood. (For a little background on corruption in the neighborhood, see Emanuel Freeman: The Man Who Duped City Hall.)

F W. Woolworth opened on the east side of Germantown Avenue below Chelten in 1910. Courtesy of Germantown Reunion.

I joined the Steering Committee of Germantown United CDC a few months ago to help get the new CDC off the ground and appoint the first board who will work towards promoting and facilitating the sustainable community and business corridor development of Germantown.

Anyone interested in learning more about how Germantown can grow through development should attend the panel which will be held at Germantown Friends School, Yarnell Auditorium in the Sharpless Building, 31 West Coulter Street (19144), from 7 – 9: 30 p.m. RSVP required. To RSVP, please email feedback@germantownunitedcdc.org.

Read on for complete details!

Chelten Avenue commercial corridor cleanup with Germantown United CDC honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

By Emaleigh | There are many service activities happening in Germantown to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, January 16. Members of the Steering Committee for the newly formed Germantown United CDC have planned a cleanup of the Chelten Avenue commercial corridor. GU CDC will join forces with volunteers working with the Unitarian Universalist Society of Germantown who each year, organizes a full day of service activities to honor Dr. King.

Chelten Plaza has long been plagued by litter. The problem is now worse since our street cleaner was downsized by the city.

Something to consider. Dr. King was in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was killed, to support sanitation workers — who were on strike, protesting terrible working conditions and low wages.

Photo Credit: Richard L. Copley

“You know, if you bend your back, people will ride your back. But if you stand up straight, people can’t ride your back. So that’s what we did. We just stood up straight and said, I am a man,” said Taylor Rogers. Hear from the sanitation workers who remember Dr. King’s last stand on NPR. The story is a powerful piece. Listen to it.

All that being said. Stop littering. Cleanup your neighborhood! Meet at the corner of Germantown and Chelten Avenues. Details below. Check NewsWorks for more service projects happening in the Northwest.

Harvard panel on Philadelphia sparks thoughts on the dilapidated built environment

By Emaleigh | Last week, I ended a job, got a new one and went to Cambridge on the fly to attend The Philadelphia Story: Planning. Politics. Reality, a panel at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. Everything aligns in a Philadelphia story, right? The event was organized by the Philadelphia Inquirer’s architecture critic Inga Saffron, who is on a Loeb Fellowship at Harvard, and fellow Loeb Anne-Marie Lubenau, who has worked to transform Pittsburgh – PA’s second largest city – through design of the built environment.

Speakers included Mayor of Philadelphia Michael Nutter; Alan Greenberger, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development; Harris Steinberg, Director, PennPraxis; and Glen Abrams, Manager of Policy and Strategic Initiatives, Office of Watersheds. One might expect to find this group at City Hall, but here they all were in Massachusetts.

The Philadelphia Story - photo via Changing Skyline

The Philadelphia Story was a walk through the city’s planning past to today’s scene. The audience heard about Greenworks Philadelphia, stormwater infrastructure initiatives and the innovative “Green City, Clean Waters” control plan, the Master Plan for the Central Delaware and the unfortunate expansion of the Sugar House Casino, the challenges of I-95, limitations of the city’s former transactional political system, the need to institutionalize programs and create systems beyond the 4-year plan, and then some. Head over to Inga Saffron’s blog or check out Ashley Hahn’s story on PlanPhilly for detailed accounts of the panel. For more about how the event influenced my own thinking, stay right here.

Part I: Planning and the Dilapidated Built Environment

The path of the conversation at Harvard pushed me to consider planning that effects Philadelphia’s struggling neighborhoods. My perspective is weighted by my experience in Germantown these past few years and the concentrated neighborhood improvement and stabilization efforts that my sister and I are spearheading on W Rockland Street.

I’m becoming increasingly concerned about the dilapidated built environment. Philadelphia is lined with aging houses in declining conditions. Given the number of Philadelphians living in poverty and the high rate of joblessness, among other factors, home repairs won’t make the priorities list any time soon.

When I pass through parts of Southwest Germantown in particular, I picture the scene 10-20 years ahead, looking beyond abandoned properties and at the conditions of occupied houses. I see my own block.

There is a tremendous need for home repair and improvement assistance programs. It feels like a crisis to me, one that without strategic, widespread action will damn neighborhoods in limbo, threatening the growth of the city.

Who is planning for Philadelphia’s neighborhoods that are literally falling apart, where residents struggle to maintain century year-old houses (like those on W Rockland Street), where gap-toothed blocks of row homes are dotted with vacant lots?

At Harvard, Mayor Nutter remarked, “Changing systems is one thing, changing culture is another.” My connecting point here is that there is a need for a system that is scaled for Philadelphia’s neighborhoods, like Germantown, which is focused exactly on that – changing culture in struggling neighborhoods, not through social services, but through planning and design and urban interventions that in turn build community, engage residents and set a new tone.

Tags: blight, City of Philadelphia, Community Organizing, Germantown, home repair assistance, Improvements, Philadelphia, planning, urban design, Vacant Lots

Zoning woes and why you should attend the Philadelphia City Planning Commissions’ Chelten Avenue Corridor Plan meeting

By Emaleigh | I’ve been learning a lot about the exciting world of zoning and development in Philadelphia simply by following the big debate surrounding the Chelten Plaza project in Germantown these past few months, padded by the zoning crash course I received in my Citizens Planning Institute classes, a program run by the Philadelphia City Planning Commission (PCPC). I’ll be honest and say that everything I’ve learned about the zoning laws currently on the books, what it takes to get rules changed (sometimes fairly, sometimes not) and the whole zoning circus has left me a little jaded. It often seems like you can basically do whatever you want if you have money and a lawyer. I guess I should have known that already, right? Articles like this one in the Philadelphia Inquirer detailing how members of City Council completely circumvent the process don’t help. It’s true, reform is on the horizon. Philadelphians are expecting to see major zoning code reform with the adoption of the Zoning Code Commissions new rule book (and you can read about that here), a important next step in dealing with zoning issues in Philadelphia. This rule book is slated to be voted on by the current Council members in mid-December so we’ll see what happens there considering.

The system may be broken, but that doesn’t mean we all shouldn’t be paying attention anyway. Germantown needs a strategic development plan, or developers will continue to walk all over neighborhood and erect whatever they want without input from citizens and neighborhood leaders.

Germantown has seen some major changes in the past few years and there are lots of reasons for that. Three years ago, W Rockland Street alone seemed to have changed entirely (again). The New York Times took note with Germantown’s story playing a key point of the discussion in an article about the shrinking middle class: Middle-Class Areas Shrink as Income Gap Grows, New Report Finds

All this is to say, if you live in Germantown, you need to attend PCPC’s meeting about developing a Chelten Avenue Corridor Plan. If you don’t shop at the retail establishments on Chelten Avenue, don’t be deterred. That is the point of a meeting like this. Developing a plan, based on input from the community, is about generating a future vision of the corridor. Your opinion matters. If you don’t participate, don’t be surprised when the plan that unfolds isn’t one that you like…

Reporter Amy Z. Quinn with PlanPhilly and WHYY’s Newsworks interviewed PCPC’s Matt Wysong about the intent of the plan. “We’re very much committed to one Germantown here,” Wysong said in the interview. “We recognize that different parts of [the neighborhood] are inherently different, and a lot of the community sees it that way, but we’re trying to take a unifying effort to it.” He’s right. A bunch of people that can’t or won’t talk to each other will not accomplish a thing.

CHELTEN AVENUE CORRIDOR PLAN

Two Opportunities to Share Your Opinion:
Monday, November 21st First Presbyterian Church 35 West Chelten Avenue 7 to 8.30 pm AND Tuesday, November 22nd Germantown YMCA 5722 Greene Street 7 to 8.30 pm

The Philadelphia City Planning Commission is currently developing a Chelten Avenue Corridor Plan. This plan will help guide future improvements within this commercial district. We welcome all citizens of Germantown to attend these meetings so that they may help inform the contents of this plan. Both meetings will have the same format, so it is only necessary to attend one.

You may provide additional input by completing a short online survey @ www.surveymonkey.com/s/Q9QD6WX

Contact: Matt Wysong, matt.wysong@phila.gov, 215-683-4650
www.phila2035.org | www.philaplanning.org