January 2005
Cedar Park Neighbors Newsletter A Change at the Top: Jim Kurtz Takes the Lead! By Jim Kurtz, CPN President regret to announce Lisa Johanningsmeier’s INeighbors, resignation as President of Cedar Park due to personal reasons. As First Vice-President I will serve as acting president until our April election. I want to take this time to thank Lisa publicly for all the contributions she has made and will continue to make to CPN. With the support of the highly committed CPN executive board, I will do my best to lead this association of so many active and committed individuals and committees. We thank enthusiastic newly appointed board members Joanne Pham, Josh Schneider and Carol Walker for filling in vacancies for additional mid-term board resignations. The strength of CPN lies in our committees, where volunteers from our general membership do the real work. For these committees to function in the most efficient and cohesive manner, a strong CPN Board must provide vision and oversight so the committees meet the goals mandated by CPN’s mission statement. We plan to address the Board leadership question with members at the upcoming General Membership Meeting on Wednesday, January 26. We hope many of you will come to this important meeting.
Committee Calendar
January is the time in the CPN calendar year to form the Nominating Committee to recruit a slate of executive officers and board members to serve from June 1, 2005 to May 31, 2006. A committee has been formed and will start seeking out January 19 Crime and Safety Committee 7:30 pm
nominees in the near future. They will be looking for CPN members willing to provide leadership to this diverse and active organization. Some of you can give a lot of time and skills to CPN... others are more limited. We ask board members to commit to attending 10 monthly board meetings, one Saturday planning event once a year, general membership meetings and participate in at least one committee of the association. Would you be willing to join us? Sure, there are meetings ... but you will learn much about our great community and you may even be able to make a difference. We need people who can represent the many members of our diverse community. We need board members who are young, old, “new’ to the Cedar Park area, “old” to Cedar Park. We need people representing the diverse ethnic groups which makeup Cedar Park. We need homeowners and renters. We need former board members who served many years ago and can come back for another round. We need representatives from the business community and religious communities. We need people representing the diverse political and ideological persuasions in our community. Most importantly we are looking for prospective members who want to make a difference and are willing to put in the time to make it happen. Are you that person? Do you know someone else who is? Let us know. Contact us via our email or phone connections and a member of the nominating committee will follow-up!
January January 26 General Membersip Meeting 7:30 pm, Calvary Center
February 14 CPN Board Meeting 7:00 pm
January 19 January 27 Cedar Park Improvem’t Committee Scholarship Fund Committee 7:15 pm 7:30 pm
February 16 Block Organizing Committee 7:30 pm
January 22 Firehouse Recycling 9:30 am (special 4th Saturday date)
February 24 Property/Housing Task Force 7:30 pm
February 5 & February 19 Firehouse Recycling 9:30 am (regular 1st and 3rd Saturday)
Jim Kurtz CPN President
Come One, Come All!
General Membership Meeting Wednesday January, 26 7:30- 9:00 pm Calvary Center for Culture & Community 48th & Baltimore Ave.
Eleven Community Organizations Fight Pennsylvania House Bill 1954 By Karen Allen, CPN Treasurer t its January Board meeting, Cedar A Park Neighbors voted to join the Society Created to Reduce Urban Blight (SCRUB) and eleven other community associations and civic groups as plaintiffs in a lawsuit which seeks to overturn Pennsylvania House Bill 1954. The lawsuit, which will be filed against the State of Pennsylvania, seeks to restore “taxpayer standing” in zoning appeals. In passing Bill 1954, the Pennsylvania State Legislature voted to strip individual citizens and community associations in Philadelphia of their legal right to challenge land use decisions through court appeals. The CPN Board also voted to contribute $500 for the expenses of the lawsuit. If allowed to stand, the effect of Bill 1954 would be devastating. The standing to appeal zoning decisions employed as a matter of right by Philadelphia taxpayers for decades can now be challenged by those seeking variances to the zoning code. Citizens and community groups interested in zoning enforcement in their communities may have to litigate twice: first to prove standing and ONLY if they win standing in the courts will they be permitted to appeal the zoning decision itself. Under House Bill 1954, only “aggrieved persons” who can show they are “detrimentally harmed” can appeal a decision of the Zoning Board or other agencies that regulate development, such as the Historical Commission. Under the original law, both neighborhood and citywide community organizations had automatic standing because they were considered a group of taxpayers under the Philadelphia Code. It may be much more difficult for a community group to appeal zoning and other decisions under the state’s new standard. The CPN Board and member guests heard a presentation from Mary Tracy, Director of SCRUB, who gave a brief history of the organization and its fight against Bill 1954. SCRUB began its work in the early 1990’s by raising zoning challenges to the placement of billboards in various neighborhoods in the city. The billboard industry sought to limit SCRUB’s effectiveness by trying to eliminate taxpayer standing, so
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that only “aggrieved persons” would have the right to appeal. This change would have rendered SCRUB and all other community associations ineffective., since only an “aggrieved” individual would have standing to challenge the placement of a billboard along Interstate 95, for example. In the case of Cedar Park Neighbors, we would not have had the right to challenge the recent proposal to build a trash transfer station next to Bartram’s Gardens. In 1998, SCRUB won a decision in Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, which clearly affirmed the rights of Philadelphia taxpayers to appeal by virtue of their status as taxpayers. This ruling meant that SCRUB and community associations could continue to appeal decisions that could adversely affect the quality of life in their communities. In 2001, the billboard industry sought to eliminate taxpayer standing from the Philadelphia Code by lobbying the Philadelphia City Council to pass Bill 629, known as the “Billboard Bill.” Mayor Street vetoed the bill due to receiving intense opposition from community groups across the city. Pennsylvania House Bill 1954 is the latest effort to defeat taxpayer standing. The taxpayer standing provision was tacked on in secret as an amendment to a totally unrelated bill which permitted the City of Philadelphia to increase the amounts it could charge as fines and penalties. Despite the severe consequences of this amendment, no public comment was sought nor notice given. The amended Bill 1954 was passed literally in the middle of the night of November 20, 2004, at the end of the year’s legislative session. Legislators from the Philadelphia delegation had no idea that the amendment was included when they voted for passage of the bill. Lawyers for SCRUB are currently researching various issues to form the legal basis of the challenge. Mary Tracy anticipates that the lawsuit will be ready for filing in February, 2005. There will be a meeting on Monday, January 24, 2005 at the Friends Meeting House, 1501 Cherry Street, to discuss the lawsuit and to encourage other community organizations to participate.
The following community groups will be plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the passage of HB 1954: Cedar Park Neighbors Center City Residents Association National Association of African Americans for Positive Imagery Northwood Civic Association Old City Civic Association Overbrook Farms Club Philadelphia Association of Community Development Associations Preservation Alliance Ridge Park Civic Association Society Created to Reduce Urban Blight Society Hill Civic Association Tacony Civic Association West Mt. Airy Neighbors
Community groups who are interested in joining the suit may contact Mary Tracy at scrub@urbanblight.org or 215-731-1796.
Grounds for a Legal Challenge to HR 1954 Dual subject matter Constitutional Article III Section 3 – No more than one subject may be included in a bill. The amendment to Bill 1954 was not consistent to the intent of the original Bill 1954, i.e., an increase in penalties and forfeitures for Philadelphia code violations. The lawsuit will rely, in part on a provision in the Constitution that prohibits the legislature from passing any law amended so drastically that its original purpose is altered. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has declared other acts of the General Assembly unconstitutional because they had dual subject matters. Violates Home Rule Charter Bill 1954 has taken the city’s right to grant standing in zoning cases and other boards provided by the Home Rule Charter.
Violates House Rule 30 House Rules were not suspended. Several State Representatives have told us that they were not given a copy nor told about the amended bill addition — Section 17.1 — before voting. When questioned by State Rep. Greg Vitali about the amendments just before the final vote was taken, State Rep. Angel Cruz, the primary sponsor of HB 1954 stated that the only amendment to the bill was a change in the maximum fine amount. Rep. Louise Bishop stated in a press release that the “document never appeared on the House Floor, and Rep. Curtis Thomas wrote in a letter that the amended bill “did not appear on the computer screen.” House Speaker Perzel cited the wrong printer number just before the vote for final concurrence.
Misleading language and ambiguity in the law Due to imperfect drafting, the impact of House Bill 1954 is uncertain and will be determined by litigation over two terms: “aggrieved person,” which has been defined in case law, and “detrimentally harmed” which has not been defined by Pennsylvania courts. There is also confusion about the standing of civic associations that wish to challenge decisions of various city commissions. (Attorneys for a property owner have just filed a motion to quash appeal based on the revoked taxpayer status of Bill 1954. The case involves the standing of Society Hill Civic to appeal a decision of the Historic Commission).
Places an unequal burden on Philadelphian residents to prove standing Bill 1954 puts a greater burden on Philadelphia citizens to prove standing than is required for citizens under the Municipalities Planning Code. Under MPC, the term “detrimentally harmed” is not used. May Violate First Amendment Larry Frankel, Legislative Director for the ACLU of Pennsylvania, has asked that organization’s Legal Committee to analyze whether there is a possible claim that this legislation violates the First Amendment right to petition the government for a redress of grievances because it takes away a pre-existing right and will result in the loss of a citizen’s access to the courts.
FREE Programs at the Penn Alexander School
De Sales Night: Under de Sea
The Penn Alexander Community School engages residents in community building and community revitalization, providing academic, cultural, and recreational classes, workshops and lectures; student and family activities, and community development services.
Saturday, February 26, 2005 8 pm - Midnight St. Francis de Sales School Hall 47th St. above Springfield Ave. $35 per person
Entrance for all classes is on 43rd and Locust Sts. For more information about the Spring 2005 schedule, please contact Clara Flores, Community School Coordinator 4209 Spruce St. Philadelphia, PA 19104 215-823-5288 cflores@sas.upenn.edu
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Spring ’05 Sample Courses Knitting/Crocheting Circle
Wednesdays 5-8 pm Adult Basketball
Thursdays 5-8 pm Bridge, Pinochle, Chess Thursdays 5-8 pm Philadelphia and Its Neighborhoods Series January 10, 24, 31 and February 7, 14, 7:00-8:00 Yoga with your child Mondays 5-6 pm Youth Filmmaking Workshop Mondays & Tuesdays 4-6 pm AND MORE!
Those in the know are already clamoring for information about De Sales Night. For the uninitiated, De Sales Night is the annual dinner dance sponsored by St. Francis de Sales Parish. It is a neighborhood tradition dating back to 1908! Always a sell out event, you will want to mark your calendars, put the babysitters on notice, and get your tickets early. Tickets go on sale Sunday, January 23. Ticket price includes a full dinner buffet catered by Abbraccio Restaurant, open bar, elegant setting and dancing to our favorite band, “Second Vision.” For a special treat, check out
Second Vision performing at last year’s De Sales Night at www.2ndVision.com. Listen to their sound and if you click on “Watch us perform” you may see some familiar faces. Enjoy! Tickets must be purchased in advance. To purchase tickets contact Maureen Tate tatemch@aol.com or 215726-8664. Tickets can also be purchased at St. Francis de Sales Rectory, 9 am - 6 pm, Monday - Friday, beginning January 24. January 2005
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Cedar Park Block Improvement Grants Available for Spring Projects ast fall, CPN piloted a Block ImproveL ment Grant Program to encourage blocks to undertake greening and improvement projects. Blocks are eligible for $500 grants toward materials and services, which are matched by block residents in dollars or in sweat equity. The amount of volunteer hours is usually more than a sufficient match. Two blocks participated in the first Grant cycle and successfully completed projects that involved opening up tree pits, tree planting, soil amendment and improving front gardens. Congratulations to the 900 block Farragut Street
and the 800 block of St. Bernard Street! This year we hope to work with at least six blocks. We hope you are one of them! The next deadline for Block Grant applications for spring projects is February 1, 2005. Applications are available on the CPN website or you can call Cedar Park Neighbors for an application at 267531-4147. If you would like to consider applying for a grant, but don’t know how, a member of the Block Grant Committee is available to assist you. Another grant cycle will be available for Fall projects with a deadline of July 1, 2005.
PECO Energy Programs Assist Customers In Meeting Their Energy Needs
Budget Billing makes short-term fluctuation in monthly bills much easier to handle by dividing annual energy costs evenly over 12 months. Customers can call 1-800-494-4000 for more information on budget billing programs.
payment to a vendor, such as a utility like PECO. The crisis program allocates funding for emergencies including purchasing home heating fuel, preventing service from being shut-off, or reinstating service that has been shut-off for non-payment. The weatherization program provides funding for winter emergencies including repairing leaking pipes and broken furnaces. Grants are based on household size and income, type of fuel used and county of residence. Customers call 1-800-34-HELP-4.
CAP Rate is a discounted residential tariff rate for low-income PECO customers. There are five discounted electric rates and two discounted natural gas rates available for PECO customers. The percentage of discount is based on total gross household income. Customers can call 1-800-774-7040 to find out if they qualify for CAP rates.
The Low-Income Usage Reduction Program (LIURP) can help you lower the amount of gas and electricity used in your home. Through the program, weatherization measures are installed in your home and you receive conservation education. The program is free of charge. To see if they are eligible for this program, customers can call 1-800-675-0222.
The Customer Assistance and Referral Evaluation Services (CARES) is a referral and information service designed to assist customers who have temporary personal or financial hardship. Customers can call 1-800-774-7040 to see if they qualify for the CARES program.
The Matching Energy Assistance Fund (MEAF) Customers helping customers — MEAF is a customer pledge program in which PECO matches customer contributions. Through MEAF PECO provides a one-time grant to customers who are in need of emergency assistance with their bill payment. For MEAF qualification information call 1-800-774-7040. To become a MEAF contributor call 1-800-878-6001.
ECO offers many different assistance programs. For additional information, please contact Patricia Fennell at 1-215-841-6755.
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The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) More than $120 million in Federal funds are now available to assist Pennsylvania low-income and fixed-income individuals and families this heating season. Homeowners, renters, roomers and subsidized housing tenants may be eligible. Cash, crisis and weatherization assistance is available. Recipients canallocate their LIHEAP payment to any utility, oil or gas company that serves them. The cash program provides a direct Page 4
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The next deadline for Cedar Park Block Grant Applications is February 1, 2005.
Cedar Park Neighbors Membership Application/Renewal ___ New Member ___ Renewal
Cedar Park Neighbors welcomes your participation. Please check your areas of interest and return the form to CPN, Calvary Community Center, 4740 Baltimore Ave, Phila, PA 19143 _____ Block Organizing _____ Neighborhood Clean-up Committee
___ $7 Individual
_____ Cedar Park Fair
___ $10 Household (2 persons or more)
_____ Community Development _____ Newsletter (writing, publishing, delivery)
___ $20 Business
_____ Education
_____ Recycling Project
___ $5 Senior/Student/Unemployed
_____ Fundraising
_____ Scholarship Fund Committee
___ $30 Sponsor
_____ Greening Activities
_____ Website
Enclosed is my additional contribution
_____ Holiday Baskets
_____ Zoning Committee
of $________________________
_____ Membership Committee
YES, I want to make Cedar Park a better place. My annual Cedar Park Neighbors membership dues are enclosed.
_____ Neighborhood Safety
Name Address Phone Email ____ I would like a free CPN T-shirt with my renewal of $30 or more. Adult Size: ___M ___L ___XL
Emergency Energy Assistance through PGW Energy Programs any low-income Philadelphia families M risk losing their gas heating service due to their inability to keep up with payments. There are several options for emergency cash assistance for households who face service cutoffs because of delinquency. They include: The Customer Responsibility Program helps low-income customers better afford their PGW bills and maintain natural gas service. LIHEAP (see above) A federal CRISIS Grant can help pay for heating costs in a heating emergency when service is off or threatened to be shut off. The Utility Emergency Services Fund provides grants up to $500 to eligible low-income customers to help pay off the balance of a bill. CARES (see information above) The PGW Conservation Works Program is designed to reduce energy usage and help make energy bills affordable for low-income households.
Customers age 65 or older may qualify for a 20% Senior Citizen Discount Rate. Information is available through PGW at 215-684-6100 or through one of the Neighborhood Service Centers or PGW Customer Service Centers listed below: West Philadelphia Service Center 5230 Chestnut Street 215-427-0350 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 9am-5pm Carroll Park Community Council, Inc. Service Area: West Philadelphia 5218 Master Street Philadelphia, PA 19131 215-877-1157 Southwest CDC Service Area: Southwest Philadelphia 6328 Paschall Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19142 Phone: 215-729-0800
The January, 2005 issue of Cedar Park Neighbors Newsletter is generously supported by Judy Lamirand of Parallel Design, Inc.
January 2005
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c/o Calvary Community Center 4740 Baltimore Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19143
CPN Mission Statement: Cedar Park Neighbors is an association of diverse households and businesses based in the Cedar Park neighborhood of West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The purpose of the association shall be to foster collaboration among all persons living and working in the Cedar Park neighborhood, to promote community development, to provide a forum for communication and community education, to respond to neighborhood concerns and to advocate for and promote the general welfare of the Cedar Park community. Newsletter Editors Maureen Tate & Judy Lamirand Newsletter Design Judy Lamirand, Parallel Design To Contact Cedar Park Neighbors or submit Newsletter items: contact@cedarparkneighbors.org www.cedarparkneighbors.org 267-531-4147
Mercy Wellness Center Taking Control of Your Life By Deborah Good any times, while waiting for the trolley M at 50th and Baltimore, I noticed the “Mercy Wellness Center” sign behind me. Last week I ventured inside to speak with the fitness coordinator and get a tour. On the first floor are the offices of the Balmont Family Practice, run by Doctor Terrence Curley, and African American Interdenominational Ministries (AAIM). AAIM is the social service arm of the Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity. As an ecumenical nonprofit, AAIM works to “empower black congregations to address contemporary urban issues.” The Mercy Wellness Center has been located on the second floor of 5008 Baltimore Avenue since 1998. The center provides physical therapy and rehabilitation services for patients treated at Mercy Hospital of Philadelphia (54th and Cedar). In March 2004, Mercy added a fitness center to the second floor of the Baltimore Avenue building. The center includes cardiovascular Page 6
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exercise machines and weight equipment, exercise classes, and trained staff. What distinguishes Mercy from other gyms (besides their low price) is the specialized attention available for elderly members and members with medical conditions. Fitness center staff have medical training, including a physical therapist and an exercise physiologist. They can help monitor members who have high blood pressure, cardiac disease, diabetes, and obesity. The center also provides circuit training classes and plans to start arthritis exercise classes soon. Linda Keller Doyle, the center’s fitness coordinator, observes how common high blood pressure and obesity are in the city. She loves seeing the positive results exercise can have. “I’m thrilled so many people are taking control of their lives and health,” she said. Anyone can become a member of the Mercy Wellness fitness center. A monthly membership costs $45 for the first month and $20 every month after that. For more information, call 215-764-8505.
CPN Board President James R. Kurtz Vice-President Maureen Tate Secretary Dorothy Welch Berlind Treasurer Karen Allen Directors Monica Allison Bilal Bell Patty Bulack Eric Grau Judy Lamirand Rickey Lee Wayne Marquardt Reggie Morgan Chima Murphy Orji Emma Paden Joanne Pham Josh Schneider Josh Sevin David Timoney Carol Walker