Photo: Matt Grady, for NewsWorks
- More than fifty Roxborough residents packed a rented yellow school bus on Ridge Avenue to travel down to the Municipal Service Building to voice their opposition to the granting of an exception to developers Frank and Anthony Giavannone, says NewsWorks. They are seeking a drive-thru window for the Wendy’s they are proposing to erect at the former site of the historic Bunting House. John Boyce, who personally rented the bus, resents the developers’ usurpation of the community’s voice in the debate. The Giavannones’ lawyer, Carl Primavera, seeming to concede to the unoriginality of a Wendy’s, stressed that “it’s not who has the most money, it’s what the law is.”
- West Philly Local reports that excellent community organizing against a West Powelton project was effective in denying a developer the zoning variance needed to build seven single-family-dwellings on an irregular lot zoned for one on the 300 block of North 42nd Street.
- According to the Passyunk Post, Mayor Nutter will be in Pennsport tomorrow for the official ribbon cutting of the Manton Street Park and Community Garden, two years after the informal pocket park was restored and preserved from development.
- Eyes on the Street has its eyes on the new sculpture made from repurposed metal by artist Sandra Webberking for the intersection at 40th & Powelton. Kevin Musselman, manager of Neighborhood and Research Planning at the People’s Emergency Center, explains that his organization commissioned the work upon the urgings of community members “to turn up the volume on the local arts scene.” The piece is meant to convey the spatial importance of 40th Street, as it connects Market Street with Belmont and West Powelton.
About the author
Stephen Currall recently received his BA in history from Arcadia University. Before beginning doctoral studies, he is pursuing his interest in local history, specifically just how Philadelphians engage their vibrant past. Besides skimming through 18th century letters, Steve is also interested in music and travel.
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