Filed under: Appropriation, Are You Kidding?, Displacement, Future Plans, Gentrification, University City Creep, University City District | Tags: creep, Gentrification, university city, war, west philly
Alert! Vandals have repeatedly struck the 4500-5000 blocks of Baltimore Ave in West Philly! Every lamp post on both sides of the street has been tagged UNIVERSITY CITY DISTRICT. Why oh why would merciless thieves and liars called University City District do such a thing??
“The intent is to increase illumination, reduce the perception and reality of crime and encourage private investment.”
Oh, that. But wait, there’s more!
“Lewis Wendell, University City District’s Executive Director noted, “This project demonstrates the results of a new level of collaboration between the major institutions in University City, Penn Dot, the City of Philadelphia Streets Department and PECO.”
We here at the UCD blog love collaboration, especially between private corporations and the government. But seriously folks, the vandalizing soul-sucking demons of the “left of center” University City District should really be reprimanded for their behavior. Replacing perfectly good, working streetlights with boutique, fake vintage gaslight-looking streetlamps for a million bucks so they can hang their crummy gentrification advertising banners… well what can we say, this shit is wack.
Peep the original press release via http://www.ucityphila.org/news/release/402
Filed under: Displacement, The Master Plan, University City Creep, University City District | Tags: upenn, west philly
We here at UCity blog always look forward to the month of May, when the birds and the bees feast on the vomit left on the doorsteps of UPenn fraternities and UPenn sororities. There’s also the super-bonus of UPenn Graduation, a time when the city streets are power-washed, the hedges are trimmed, and the University pays hundreds of cops overtime to look menacing. We find that this greatly helps the UPenn endowment/trust fund, as parents and grandparents, otherwise terrified of West Philly and its filth ridden tales of yore, give generously to their favorite Ivy school.
If you’re planning on attending graduation for any reason, be it heckling and booing, or skimming off some free catered food, make sure to look out for SUV-wielding psychpaths (read: parents) who don’t really get how to drive or park in a major city.
Filed under: Displacement, Gentrification, Poverty, Race, Real Estate, University City Creep | Tags: creep, Gentrification, home prices, university city, upenn, west philly
Every once in a while something really funny comes across our news desk. Apparently one real estate agent for RE/MAX thinks that home buyers elbowing to get their kids into the UPenn run Alexander school are making a mistake. These special brand of West Philly gentrifiers are looking to get into the Penn Alexander Catchement Area, a strangely mapped zone that qualifies your special kid to get into that special school.
Except the wise folks at REMAX give their top reasons to AVOID the special real estate zone, besides saving money…
“You don’t like the smell of Dirty Diapers on Wednesday mornings. True, the Catchment Area has exploded with the arrival of little stinkers like the one below. If you don’t like the smell of streaky green diapers on garbage day, move a few blocks away…”
Wow. Could that pesky diaper smell actually serve to dissuade people from this elitist neighborhood? We can only hope. However, the Philly Weekly article that inspired our real estate blogger actually had to quote someone using a FAKE NAME because of how much they’re ripping off people.
“We bought our first home, which is in the catchment, eight years ago for $100,000,” says Frank, a property owner/manager who now lives outside the city and doesn’t want his real name used in this article. “When the school opened, we watched our house go up to $150,000, then $200,000. Now it’s worth $400,000. With home prices rising, our rental price is higher. I’m aware that there aren’t many people in the city who could afford to rent our house.“
Local parent Pat Warner says “People have more money,” says Warner. “It’s not a bad thing, necessarily, but it’s different. And it certainly seems less diverse.”
Gee, you think? Gentrifying the neighborhood isn’t bad, it’s just different. Whiter. Richer. Stinkier. Chew on that.
Filed under: Displacement, Gentrification, University City Creep, West Philly Cultural References | Tags: creep, expansion, Gentrification, university city, west philly
via Zine Library. Sounds familiar if you live in West Philly, right? Distribute freely.
