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Special Victims’ Unit Proposed for Scotts Lane
EFCC hosted a meeting of 170 Fallsers, Deputy Mayor Everett Gillison, City officials, and property owner Andrew Eisenstein at McDevitt Recreation Center to discuss the Special Victims’ Unit (SVU) proposed for Scotts Lane. Neighbors were very concerned when they arrived and concerns and tensions mounted as the evening progressed. The community’s message was clear: the model is great, but for many reasons, this is the wrong place for this unit. The meeting was the direct result of testimony Meg Greenfield and I gave before City Council's Committee on Public Property and Public Works on June 1. Because the community had not been told about the proposal ahead of time and had no information, we urged that the bill be held until the community had more information and a chance to weigh in. “…I am very concerned,” said Meg, “that another large piece of East Falls will be taken out of play without proper planning and prior discussion with the community.”
On June 21 Councilman Jones met with East Falls’ community leaders who offered reasons why the SVU was not a good fit for East Falls. At the conclusion of the meeting, Mr. Jones said that he withdrew his support of locating the SVU in our community.
Boundary Dispute
EFCC bylaws have, at least since its incorporation in 1972, stated that our lower boundary is Hunting Park Ave. In recent years, some residents who live between Allegheny and Hunting Park Aves. have questioned that boundary. Representatives of the Ridge-Allegheny-Hunting Park (RAH) organization and EFCC officers met with Rich Redding of the City of Philadelphia Planning Commission (PCPC) to discuss the boundary and, specifically, the area between Rte. 1 (including below the twin bridges) and Scotts Lane. Mr. Redding proposes that EFCC and RAH share responsibility for zoning, planning, grant applications, and other matters pertaining to the area between Rte. 1 and Scotts Lane. This proposal is on the July 11 EFCC meeting agenda. It would effectively change our boundary, a proposal already defeated at our May meeting. The EFCC Executive Committee recommends the plan be rejected. (See the EFCC Agenda for complete proposal.) Bylaws Changes Defeated
Five proposed bylaws changes were overwhelmingly defeated at the June meeting. Successful Flea Market
Respect for the lawn and tree roots of McMichael Park led us to reconfigure the flea market design removing vehicles from the grass and capping participation at 150 vendors around the perimeter of the park. On a beautiful day, the community turned out in force for bargains, greeting neighbors, and catching up on the latest East Falls news. Kudos to 2nd VP Roger Marsh for designing and executing the plan. Thanks, too, to the 20 Philadelphia University students who directed vendors to their assigned spots. Student Housing Addressed
College students who live here are not always the best of neighbors. While the students' actions cause complaints, the source of the problem is sometimes their landlords. Many East Falls landlords do not comply with either the Educational Housing Ordinance or the “no more than three unrelated persons per unit” provision of the City Code. Meg Greenfield and I testified before City Council in support of a bill introduced by Councilman Curtis Jones, Jr. The bill would stiffen penalties for landlords who repeatedly violate the City's residential rental ordinances. July Meeting
Next scheduled meeting of the East Falls Community Council is set Monday, July 11, 7pm at East Falls Presbyterian Church, Vaux St. at Midvale Ave. At press time, one agenda item: East Falls’ boundaries.
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