PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by TempleGuy1000

Temple is a large state-related University in the middle of the city. Penn State has satellite campuses around the region. The area has a lot of universities and community colleges. I don't really agree with the availability of a university education actually being a thing. I always liked the idea of the area HBCUs having more of a presence in the city.

Frankly the topic as a whole is a lot more complicated than is appropriate for the board, but the word people often search for is 'Deep Poverty'. When comparing to NYC, immigration and the transient communities that constant immigration creates generally changes the dynamic of many lower-income neighborhoods. Philadelphia has a higher % of communities that have been 'stuck' in the cycle of deep poverty generation after generation with little to no influx of new residents, businesses, or really anything.

I knew a lot of millennials who moved to NYC since high school, including my siblings, and once people have kids, they leave the city just like anywhere else. Sure, they might have a few dozen of the top schools, and the bottom might not be as bad as it use to but let's not pretend you can live in a gentrifying part of Brooklyn and think the public school will be great.

But the more important point: none of that matters in terms of SEPTA, a regional organization, making sure the riverward MFL stations are safe and clean. Or the Streets Dept acting like the world's biggest idiots like they do. Or PennDot not cleaning the highways. It's that type of BS that really grinds my gears and it has nothing to do with deep poverty in North Philly.

In state Tuition at Temple: $17k
In state Tuition at Cheney: $10k
In state Tuition at CUNY: $7k

Gee. I wonder what the difference is.

[TempleGuy1000]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

In state Tuition at Temple: $17k
In state Tuition at Cheney: $10k
In state Tuition at CUNY: $7k

Gee. I wonder what the difference is.

I mean, you do understand PA subsidizes higher education differently than NYS? It has nothing to do with the 'visible poor' or SEPTA's inability to clean the Berks station. What does matter is Black Rock taking up a majority of 3 skyscrapers in Manhattan and contributing millions in tax revenue, jobs, and countless downstream impacts. Vanguard has a glorified meeting place in Center City and that's it.

[PhilliesPhan]

Originally Posted by TonyTone

Hey Mcgrath we were talking about this the other day, but did you hear about the SW Amazon location that took the septa yard may not be opening.

Have you or septa heard of this?

And could the state of the art warehouse be turned into a State of the art septa barn?

I don't want to disclose the exact location until it becomes public knowledge, but we are moving forward on an alternate site. It won't be too far away from what is currently the Elmwood District. That's all I can give for now. In many ways, the new site has distinct advantages over what is now the Amazon warehouse. That's all I can say for now.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by TempleGuy1000

I mean, you do understand PA subsidizes higher education differently than NYS? It has nothing to do with the 'visible poor' or SEPTA's inability to clean the Berks station. What does matter is Black Rock taking up a majority of 3 skyscrapers in Manhattan and contributing millions in tax revenue, jobs, and countless downstream impacts. Vanguard has a glorified meeting place in Center City and that's it.

Yes I understand. You're missing my point. Temple (and Pitt and Penn State) have a different funding formula from the state so are as such, much more expensive than the member schools of the PSSHE (i.e. West Chester, Cheney, Millersville, IUP), etc.

Do to those out of pocket costs differences, it is my opinion that it is critical to have a member school of the PSSHE IN Philadelphia.

The original point still stands.

[PHLtoNYC]

I heard through the grapevine that Sugar Factory near 12th / Chestnut closed?
Didn't that just open? Anyone know the story?

[PHL10]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

Do to those out of pocket costs differences, it is my opinion that it is critical to have a member school of the PSSHE IN Philadelphia.

Hmmm, that's a great point and one I never thought about.

[TempleGuy1000]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

Yes I understand. You're missing my point. Temple (and Pitt and Penn State) have a different funding formula from the state so are as such, much more expensive than the member schools of the PSSHE (i.e. West Chester, Cheney, Millersville, IUP), etc.

Do to those out of pocket costs differences, it is my opinion that it is critical to have a member school of the PSSHE IN Philadelphia.

The original point still stands.

I didn't miss your point. You chose to not address the fact that Penn State has much more affordable campuses in Elkins Park and the Navy Yard. I just don't think the availability of a PSSHE school in Philly matters that much in truly "moving the needle". Cheyney and Lincoln have been struggling to attract new students, so I do think, as I said before, it could be beneficial to both the city and the colleges to have more of a presence here.
The people who need help in Philly and who's families have been stuck in poverty for generations, straight up can't read (I'm not trying to be mean. I'm being real about the state of things), and providing more blue-collar and retail opportunities would serve the community better than more pathways to college. Which was my original point that I didn't articulate well.

[allovertown]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

Many of the busy rail stations in Portugal have full-height plexi partitions that open/close instead of turnstiles (think an elevator). Might be a worth while cost, at least at MFL stations outside of Center City.

But yea, that is unacceptable. It's hard to justify complaints about people driving / taking ubers, when the MFL is like that on a Saturday afternoon...

This seems like the wrong thing to focus on. Is jumping turnstiles really that big of a deal when it only costs a couple of bucks to get in and stay in as long as you want?

I don't think turnstiles really matter at all, at least compared to other issues. Spending that money on increased sanitation and the presence of authority seems like a better way to go. There's only a few dozen subway stations in the city, don't understand why there's not cop in each one. Would be a better use of time than roughly 99.99% of the shit cops do in this city.

[TonyTone]

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan

I don't want to disclose the exact location until it becomes public knowledge, but we are moving forward on an alternate site. It won't be too far away from what is currently the Elmwood District. That's all I can give for now. In many ways, the new site has distinct advantages over what is now the Amazon warehouse. That's all I can say for now.

That's great news, I'm glad that Amazon warehouse b/s didn't stop the progress, and now you guys found another site.

If that amazon warehouse doesn't open I hope all the people who were so happy for it learned their lesson, and something of better use can be in that neighborhood.

The jobs would have definitely helped the community, but cmon it's a amazon warehouse, a whole project of mixed use with housing, and stores would have helped and made the community 100 times more.

[TonyTone]

Originally Posted by allovertown

This seems like the wrong thing to focus on. Is jumping turnstiles really that big of a deal when it only costs a couple of bucks to get in and stay in as long as you want?

I don't think turnstiles really matter at all, at least compared to other issues. Spending that money on increased sanitation and the presence of authority seems like a better way to go. There's only a few dozen subway stations in the city, don't understand why there's not cop in each one. Would be a better use of time than roughly 99.99% of the shit cops do in this city.

From my observation on Sunday night, Transit cops and PPD were at the City Hall/15th Stations, I can't speak about the rest of the line, but I can only hope they are putting cops in stations.

I'm confused though, how hard is it to have a cop at every station in a booth, car, or in the train cars?

Is there a reason why we that is not happening?

I know we have the whole "Soft on crime" movement across the whole US, and it is important to not abuse your power or force, but that doesn't mean we turn a blind eye to crimes being broken in clear line of sight.

There's a difference between arresting someone for smoking a joint while walking down a public sidewalk which is harmless, compared to removing or arresting someone from the EL for shooting up, harassing people, and causing QOL issues.

But the main issue in Philadelphia stems from Leadership, and the will to do better.

Now I don't want to cause a political debate, but lets ask ourselves

Would you rather have a Kenney or an Eric Adams?

[Gatorade_Jim]

Originally Posted by TonyTone

From my observation on Sunday night, Transit cops and PPD were at the City Hall/15th Stations, I can't speak about the rest of the line, but I can only hope they are putting cops in stations.

I'm confused though, how hard is it to have a cop at every station in a booth, car, or in the train cars?

Is there a reason why we that is not happening?

I know we have the whole "Soft on crime" movement across the whole US, and it is important to not abuse your power or force, but that doesn't mean we turn a blind eye to crimes being broken in clear line of sight.

There's a difference between arresting someone for smoking a joint while walking down a public sidewalk which is harmless, compared to removing or arresting someone from the EL for shooting up, harassing people, and causing QOL issues.

But the main issue in Philadelphia stems from Leadership, and the will to do better.

Now I don't want to cause a political debate, but lets ask ourselves

Would you rather have a Kenney or an Eric Adams?

Completely agree.

[PHLtoNYC]

Originally Posted by TonyTone

From my observation on Sunday night, Transit cops and PPD were at the City Hall/15th Stations, I can't speak about the rest of the line, but I can only hope they are putting cops in stations.

I'm confused though, how hard is it to have a cop at every station in a booth, car, or in the train cars?

Is there a reason why we that is not happening?

I know we have the whole "Soft on crime" movement across the whole US, and it is important to not abuse your power or force, but that doesn't mean we turn a blind eye to crimes being broken in clear line of sight.

There's a difference between arresting someone for smoking a joint while walking down a public sidewalk which is harmless, compared to removing or arresting someone from the EL for shooting up, harassing people, and causing QOL issues.

But the main issue in Philadelphia stems from Leadership, and the will to do better.

Now I don't want to cause a political debate, but lets ask ourselves

Would you rather have a Kenney or an Eric Adams?

I won't dive into a debate or specifics, but my quick 2 cents... The bolded part needs to change.

Granted times are different now, but Philadelphia needs another Nutter/Ramsey era.

[PHLtoNYC]

Originally Posted by allovertown

This seems like the wrong thing to focus on. Is jumping turnstiles really that big of a deal when it only costs a couple of bucks to get in and stay in as long as you want?

I don't think turnstiles really matter at all, at least compared to other issues. Spending that money on increased sanitation and the presence of authority seems like a better way to go. There's only a few dozen subway stations in the city, don't understand why there's not cop in each one. Would be a better use of time than roughly 99.99% of the shit cops do in this city.

I was just responding to the idea of new turnstiles, no need to refute me entire post...

But yes, I agree that a police presence at every subway station should be a no-brainer.

[McBane]

Originally Posted by TonyTone

Would you rather have a Kenney or an Eric Adams?

A few weeks ago, we were discussing the need for some tax reform and other pro-business measures and my response was the same as it will be for this post. Hard on crime resonates about the same as being pro-business - I don't think it's what the majority of voters want. Eric Adams would not have won here. The city's worsening crime rates is no recent thing but don't forget that despite all of it, Kranser was re-elected (and quite handily). Philly's poor leadership is a reflection of the City's voters. I don't know how to fix that.

[Gatorade_Jim]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

I heard through the grapevine that Sugar Factory near 12th / Chestnut closed?
Didn't that just open? Anyone know the story?

That place always looked way overpriced and generally pretty awful. Although always a shame to lose a restaurant in that area. They always looked busy when I’ve walked by. Not sure what happened there.

[TempleGuy1000]

Originally Posted by McBane

A few weeks ago, we were discussing the need for some tax reform and other pro-business measures and my response was the same as it will be for this post. Hard on crime resonates about the same as being pro-business - I don't think it's what the majority of voters want. Eric Adams would not have won here. The city's worsening crime rates is no recent thing but don't forget that despite all of it, Kranser was re-elected. Philly's poor leadership is simply a product of what the voters want. That's not an easy fix.

It's far deeper than that though. You are right, that voters voted for Krasner. But who are the voters? Is the 17% of people truly representative of most people in Philadelphia? Moving to South Philly and living with more of the "real" people (oppose to just young professionals like myself in Center City), the thing that has always struck me is the disenfranchisement. They don't vote because they don't think it matters. The Republican party has not tried to be a serious party in Philly for multiple generations. Krasner basically ran opposed the second time. The guy he ran against literally had a dead body in his rittenhouse condo. Krasner won the first time because the vote was split 6-ways and he ended up with just enough. I will never concede that "most" Philadelphians support the lawlessnes pushed by Krasner to allow shoplifting, illegal driving, and carry guns illegally.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by Gatorade_Jim

That place always looked way overpriced and generally pretty awful. Although always a shame to lose a restaurant in that area. They always looked busy when I’ve walked by. Not sure what happened there.

If this is true, it always seemed like a temporary storefront. Their marquee is a banner.

[EastSideHBG]

Originally Posted by allovertown

This seems like the wrong thing to focus on. Is jumping turnstiles really that big of a deal when it only costs a couple of bucks to get in and stay in as long as you want?

It does if it happens frequently and over a period of time the lost revenue adds up; DC is already in the millions (this figure includes buses also). And some of the people who jump the turnstiles are probably up to other things so there's a downstream effect here also.

[MyDadBuiltThat]

Back to NYC having some good public schools - one difference to Philadelphia is the PTOs are allowed to raise real money for their schools. The PTO for family in Brooklyn raised over a million dollars a year to give to the principal to spend on supplies and extra curriculars. You can't do that here.

[PHLtoNYC]

Originally Posted by Gatorade_Jim

That place always looked way overpriced and generally pretty awful. Although always a shame to lose a restaurant in that area. They always looked busy when I’ve walked by. Not sure what happened there.

Yea, but it was a busy restaurant on an otherwise dingy block that closed in less than a year. I'm just curious what happened.