Jan28 |
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Antique Row Shops Say End Is Nigh
Oh no! Did somebody put Wilson Goode back in charge and have him drop a bomb on the whole strip? Hmm, I see. Seems that the Philadelphia Water Department’s proposed “Pine Street Storm Relief Project” will rip up the street and sidewalks for two years, and the Antique Rowners (those are owners of shops on Antique Row, duh) are calling it the end times. For their shops, at least. Says John Arneth of Adornamenti: “Business depends a lot on foot traffic. Wooden planks would be installed on the sidewalks and the kinds of people who shop along Pine St. are not going to want to walk along them.” Totally true. Those antique shoppers on Pine Street hate boardwalks. Hate ‘em! When they go down the shore, they go to Sea Isle City, because it has a promenade instead. It’s almost certain the business owners are not playing Chicken Little here; construction usually impacts businesses, especially when it lasts for several years. (Plus, the Rowners say, this project will rip out all the trees!) But apparently the city needs to tear up some street for two years in order to prevent raw sewage from leaking into the basements of homes in the River Wards. However! The project was also going to go down the entire of pine street, but the Richie Riches of Society Hill — armed with the backing of the ghost of Edmund Bacon — put a stop to it. It’s war between the upper class and upper middle class! Oh, and in case you’re worried about the potential construction on your favorite beer place, the Foodery, please don’t be alarmed.
I have a solution: Do the construction, but let the shops on Antique Row sell beer. It’s a win-win! Philadelphia Water Department puts Antique Row in jeopardy [Weekly Press via DesignPhiladelphia] Photo by waving at you used under a Creative Commons license |
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Last week’s Center City Weekly Press did not contain any 
who picks raw sewage over a two year construction project? i mean, long construction projects suck, but raw sewage really stinks…
sounds like an ‘El’ of a project.
won’t be finished in 2 years.
The Construction goes mainly through Washington Square West, only touching on Society Hill near the beginning of the project. The ENTIRE street will not be ripped up, three blocks at a time will be worked on, then they move onto another three blocks. There was no comprehensive reason why the water department chose Pine St, a mainly commercial street over Lombard St (one block south) which is residential.
[...] Philadelphia Will Do: Antique Row Shops Say End Is Nigh [...]
Below is the letter I sent today to the Water Dept.’s coordinator for the Pine Street Storm Relief Project.
Dear Ms. Dahme,
I own the property at 1145 Pine St. and operate the bookstore there. I am very concerned about the effects of the Pine Street Storm Relief Project on my business, on my buildings (I also own 343 So 12th, which is adjacent to 1145 Pine), and on my neighborhood.
Judy Applebaum, President of the Wash. West Civic Assn., said I should ask you for the list of 42 properties whose flooding the Project is to relieve. There has been confusion on how many and where these properties are, so I was interested that Judy said they are all in Wash. West and none in Society Hill. The list will clear up a lot of mysteries and give me and others a better understanding of the problem.
I understand that people who have flooding are required by law to install a reflux valve (I think I am not using the correct term, but I hope you know what I mean). Is this so?
The property at 1145 Pine St. has bulging walls on the south and west. I am afraid that if the Water Dept. digs out the street to 16 feet, my 1880 building will collapse, perhaps bringing down 343 So. 12th with it. There must be dozens of other buildings along Pine in similar condition. If my property is damaged, who will pay for it?
My Pine St. building has a room underneath the Pine St. sidewalk. I think it was originally a coal room. Some years back the Streets Dept. broke through the ceiling of the room when they were working on the sidewalk. They didn’t know the room was there. I am hoping that this information reaches the right person, should the Project come to fruition.
As you know, this country is in an economic crisis. Everybody says the jobs of the future will be at small businesses. Pine Street from Broad to 7th has dozens of small businesses. These businesses are unique to Philadelphia, and so they contribute to the uniqueness of the city and provide reasons for people to like the city. The Project threatens the survival of each of these businesses. For two years people will know Pine St. is a mess, an area to be avoided. For two years the tour busses, which bring hundreds of visitors every day to our neighborhood thus exposing them to our unique offerings, will go elsewhere.
This store and I think many others in our neighborhood face stiff competition from the Internet behemoths. Making this store significantly less accessible and eliminating hundreds of parking spaces for months at a time will seriously threaten our ability to survive. If this store and others close, landlords will have trouble finding new tenants and property values, already under pressure, will sink further. Spending $15 million to replace the sewers may sound like a good investment, but I wonder if it is if it eliminates twice that much in economic activity and cancels the taxes that our businesses pay.
The Project seems poised to destroy an historic Philadelphia neighborhood. I hope the Water Dept.’s engineers will find a less drastic solution to the flooding.
Thank you for your attention,
Ed Hermance