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Julia Vitullo-Martin can’t just stop bashing Philly. The Manhattan Institute fellow who wrote a strange piece in the Wall Street Journal about how Boston is better than Philadelphia recently continued her screed against the city in an email newsletter from the Manhattan Institute. (If you’re one of the Philadelphians who hasn’t heard of the Manhattan Institute except when it’s talking about Boston or Philadelphia, raise your hand. Thank you.)
In it, she picks up on the designation of America’s Next Great City bestowed upon our 135-square miles by National Geographic Traveler. (Way to get that one while it’s still hot.) She also writes about how the murder rate is high. And then she goes in this direction:
As Captain Jesse G of South Philly’s Italian Market said recently while selling crabs, “This place was 95 percent Italian. Then the entire neighborhood moved en bloc across the river to Washington Township, New Jersey. People. Businesses. Everything. Now it’s 5 percent Italian.” Vacant property, perhaps waiting for development, mars the local cityscape. Down the block from Captain Jesse, a dilapidated former market stall carries a for-sale sign. Across the street, a huge Chinese restaurant has opened, signaling at least one ethnic group ready to bring new capital to the neighborhood. Right behind a sign announcing The Italian Market, a small Vietnamese restaurant does a good business, attracting customers from the Korean and Vietnamese shopping centers.
The townhouses are in part a product of the 10-year abatement of real estate taxes on any improvement—a program former Mayor Rendell started to jumpstart development. … The city’s bet—and it may pay off—is that the tax breaks will attract so many new residents and businesses that by the time the abatements expire, the value of the property will have increased sufficiently to placate property owners about the steep taxes they will have to pay. But what about current property owners, who now shoulder the entire tax burden? “Last year the city of Philadelphia raised real estate taxes for the building in which I live, while granting abatements to many new or to-be buildings,” says business consultant Arthur Cohen, who lives in rural Pennsylvania while maintaining a condo in Philadelphia. “This tends to lower the market value of our building, and of course asks us to pay more than our share of the city’s burden. The city of Philadelphia has become a desirable place to live and developers can make money without the abatement, which is a give-away.”
If you were too busy to read that, here’s the problems with Philadelphia, aside from the post-war population decrease: The Italian Market has Asian businesses, and business consultants with a house in rural Pennsylvania are paying more taxes on their second house (a condo) in Philly.
Gasp! This is a problem. Perhaps the Manhattan Institute can import some Boston politicians for us to fix this mess. Hey, we already have a toilet from Beantown.
Will Philly Be The Next Great City? [Manhattan Institute]
Oct. 31: Erie Canal Takes Center Stage In Boston-Philly Debate
Nov. 2: Flushing Philly’s Troubles Away
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