AREA STANDARDS PICKET: IATSE, Local Union #8 / Prince Movie Theatre

As reported on the IATSE, Local #8 Facebook page repeatedly since September, 13, 2013, IATSE, LU#8 has begun an area standards picket towards the recently purchased Prince Movie Theater on Chestnut St., near Broad Street, Philadelphia. 

IATSE, LU#8 is particularly well versed at utilizing social media to effectively deliver its message to members, politicians and local media.  In Philadelphia, it is my opinion that they are one of the most prolific and successful labor organization’s at deploying this technology on their campaigns.

While mounting an earlier representation campaign, election and negotiating an initial contract at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre, social media was used to organize protesters for on-site demonstrations and weekend demonstrations at board members homes. One residential demonstration ended in a board member’s house guest engaging protesters aggressively.  In some cases, board member’s names, along with their contact information and that of their personal businesses, were regularly posted on social media outlets for protesters to contact.  One board member resigned their seat during the campaign as potential conflicts of interest were being publically vetted through social media.

In the Electric Factory campaign, social media was utilized for months to garner support for on-site protesters.  Additionally, it was utilized to forward upcoming band’s websites and related social media sites to protesters so their messages could be forwarded quickly, efficiently and effectively.  In one case, a band was successful in having the Electric Factory recognize the union’s “standards” for that show.  In another case, social media was used to call for more protesters and even pizza as a potential conflict simmered at the site.

What’s next for the Prince Theater you ask?  Social media has already been used to communicate labor’s message with media, politicians and other members.  Daily updates from the protests are usually updated including pictures of the giant, inflatable rat.  In a recent request by the new theater owners for public funding through the widely utilized state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, (RACP), social media was utilized to communicate to politicians and others that “billionaires” should not receive this support.  “Taxpayers paid 10 million to fund a losing proposition. Now a billionaire is looking for 3 million more to renovate. 13 million and the wage rates of stagehands are being undermined.  The public has to know. This was and will be a bad deal for everyone. “

Given the past successes and lessons learned by IATSE, LU#8 in implementing a successful social media campaign as an integral part of an overall organizing campaign, management had better be taking notes and start taking this seriously.  You can bet that other labor organizations in the city are watching.  “In the words of one of my former board member clients, “what are they going to do, kill me with a Twitter Tweet?”  My belief is that they can in the right circumstances and or situations. 

Want to know more about social media campaigns by labor organizations against your company?  Contact Wayne Gregory at Gregory Management & Consulting Services, the only recognized leader in Philadelphia Labor & Industry Relations, wegregory@gregorymcs.com.

 https://www.facebook.com/IatseLocal8

$90 million real estate deal in N.J.

American Real Estate Partners and Independencia Asset Management paid a reported $90 million to buy three buildings at the Merrill Lynch Hopewell Campus in Hopewell, N.J.

The office properties at 1100, 1150 and 1200 Merrill Lynch Drive are fully occupied by Merrill Lynch & Co. and Bank of America for their corporate offices. The tenants have an 11-and-a-half-year lease on the space. A 761-space parking garage was included in the transaction.

The structures are part of an overall 12-building, 1.8-million-square-foot campus occupied by the financial institutions. Fortress Investment Group bought that campus for $375 million late last year and was the seller of the three buildings to American Real Estate Partners.

“It’s a beautiful trophy asset,” said Doug Fleit, chief executive officer of American Real Estate Partners. “Who wouldn’t want it?”

The Herndon, Va., real estate company focuses on buying well-leased trophy assets.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal

Two-pronged attack on teachers' seniority planned

Seniority for public school teachers is in the crosshairs in Philadelphia and soon will be a target across Pennsylvania.

Frustrated by the slow pace of negotiations for a new contract for Philadelphia teachers, a coalition of education and parents' groups says it will call on the School Reform Commission Monday to immediately pull seniority off the bargaining table and give Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. a free hand in assigning staff.

The announcement urging the move, scheduled for midday Monday, is expected to rekindle fierce debate over powers granted to the SRC under the law that led to the state takeover of city schools in 2001.

"If somebody wanted to create a legal atomic bomb, this is it," Ralph J. Teti, the lawyer who represents the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, said Sunday.

On Tuesday, a bill is to be introduced in Harrisburg that would strip language from the state school code that requires layoffs and recalls to be determined by seniority.

Jonathan Cetel, executive director of the state group PennCan, which seeks to speed the pace of education improvement, said Sunday both efforts were aimed at bringing reform to "an outdated model," in which the most recent hires are laid off first and brought back last.

Cetel, whose group is heading Monday's call for action from the SRC with the nonprofit Philadelphia School Partnership and Parent Power, said negotiations with the PFT had been going on for seven months. Those talks, he said "have made little or no progress, and it is time for immediate action to improve public education in Philadelphia."

He also said imposing the seniority changes could help trigger the release of $45 million from the state so Hite can recall more counselors and other staffers laid off in June. The legislature required the district to show it was making changes to get the grant.

Jerry Jordan, president of the 15,000-member PFT, said Sunday he was stunned to learn of the proposal to jettison seniority.

"These are issues that are subject to collective bargaining," he said. "I think it's a very bad thing for them to try to do this after all the years that the system has been in place. It works."

Jordan said "seniority is certainly the fairest way to make a determination when people are restored from layoffs, as well as when they're laid off."

The SRC provoked a firestorm from the PFT and others over the summer when it voted to suspend part of the school code dealing with seniority to give Hite the ability to return some of the 3,859 staffers laid off in June to the schools where they worked.

Pedro Ramos, chairman of the five-member SRC, said Sunday he had not heard about an impending announcement by PennCan and others and did not know what they might say.

"The SRC gets its advice from Dr. Hite, his team, the negotiators at the table, and our labor lawyers," Ramos said.

He would not say what legal advice the SRC had received about its powers under the takeover law.

"We don't discuss legal advice or strategy in public," Ramos said.

Hite could not be reached Sunday.

Mark Gleason, executive director of the Philadelphia School Partnership, said the coalition believed the law gives the district control over staffing.

He said it was crucial for the SRC to give Hite that authority as the district begins to reassign teachers Oct. 1 to address overcrowded classes, a process known as "leveling."

"In the past, that process was driven by seniority," Gleason said. "Parents and students know seniority is not always the right way to do that. With all these buildings understaffed, it's especially important to have a right fit."

He said a recent city poll by PennCan found that 69 percent of respondents favored assigning teachers based on their performance and school needs, rather than on years of employment.

But Teti, the PFT lawyer, said the union and district had negotiated changes related to seniority in the last three contracts. He said most assignments are not based on seniority because the number of schools using a process that gives principals much more say in the hiring of staff has increased.

"It sounds like somebody wants to undermine the ability of the PFT and the school district to reach an agreement," he said.

"I would hope that the SRC would have better sense than to listen to anyone lobbying for the imposition of anything," Teti said.

He said the PFT would wait to see what the SRC does and then weigh its options. But morally, politically, and legally, Teti said, he thinks the PFT has the upper hand.

Gleason said several parents were scheduled to speak Monday about why they believe the district should scrap seniority.

"This is really about bringing new voices to the table," he said.

One belongs to Luciana Boone of Southwest Philadelphia, whose daughter Tahira Branch-Boone is a 10th grader at Girls High.

"I believe the principals or the superintendent should be able to make the decisions about what is in the best interest of the schools, the students and the neighborhood," she said.

Boone, who cannot attend Monday's event, said longevity does not always mean effective teaching. "There may be some teachers who have 15 to 20 years of experience teaching, but there may be someone with five years who is more adept with students and technology," she said.

As for the proposed state legislation, Cetel said the Protecting Excellent Teachers Act would be introduced Tuesday by State Reps. Tim Krieger (R., Westmoreland) and Vanessa Lowery Brown (D., Phila.)

Cetel said the bill would change state code to allow economic furloughs and require layoffs to be based on results of the teacher evaluation system rather than seniority.

He said the measure also would reform tenure so it is awarded after five years instead of three.

Source: Philly.com

Developer adds new apartment project to Atwater Corporate Center

Trammell Crow Co. is moving forward with a $100 million residential component to its Atwater Corporate Center.

The company is expecting to break ground within a year development that will include 350 apartments and an undetermined amount of retail space. Future phases will include additional housing, such as single-family and townhouses, and a full-service hotel. In all, Trammell Crow can constructed up to 935 housing units.

This is a change from the developer’s initial plans for the corporate center, which sits off Route 29 and at the new Pennsylvania Turnpike interchange in Malvern, Pa.

Atwater was originally approved in 1999 for 2.6 million square feet of office space. Trammell Crow returned to East Whiteland in the fall of 2011 to get a zoning overlay placed on 110 acres of the nearly 400-acre property. The new zoning gave the developer the ability to construct 8.5 residential units on those 110 acres.

The addition of residential to what was originally envisioned as an office park is a reflection of the way commercial developments have evolved over the years. Plans today would typically not focus on a single use. Even though Endo Pharmaceuticals has its headquarters in Atwater and Allstate Insurance is a tenant in another building, companies want to be able to provide employees with restaurants, dry cleaners and other services and even a place nearby to live as an option.

“Good plans today would drive a mixed-use project,” said Jeff Goggins, senior managing director at Trammell Crow. “Tenants want amenities, activities and great transportation options.”

The 110 acres that Trammell Crow has carved out for the residential and retail uses had at one point been targeted for Shire’s new corporate campus. When the pharmaceutical decided earlier this year not to move forward with relocating to Atwater, the developer decided to forge ahead with its new residential-retail plans of which part also entails extending a trail in Atwater to other nearby parks.

That part of Malvern near the new turnpike interchange is expected to see more construction activity over the next few years.

E. Kahn Development is seeking to move forward with $50 million in projects in that area including a 128-room Marriott Residence Inn at the corner of Route 29 and General Warren Boulevard. In addition, E. Kahn will construct 25,000 square feet of retail space. Around the corner, the developer plans to break ground on a residential project.

At the other end of Route 29 near its intersection with Route 202 and Route 30, O’Neill Properties Group is constructing an apartment complex that is part of its Uptown Worthington project, which has Wegman’s and Target.

Goggins believes that there’s “plenty of demand” for Trammell Crow’s residential and retail projects in spite of all of the other construction either underway or soon to be underway.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal

What? Has the Building Trades Union War Against the Post Brothers Really Gotten This Stupid?

Pardon the informality of the headline, but this simply cannot be believed. Philadelinquency spotted a post on Philadelphia Speaks in which forum member fiveomar described an interaction at 20th and Chestnut with a “union goon” (now, that’s not nice) who was handing out anti-Post Brothers fliers. According to fiveomar, the fliers included “some pretty ridiculous claims about the Post Brothers storing and smuggling heroine [sic] and cocaine.”

We have tried to maintain some degree of objectivity here, but if the building trades are now painting Matthew Pestronk as Pablo Escobar, that has to be the last straw. What’s next? Mike Pestronk is actually Walter White?

Source: Phillymag.com

Are The Building Trades Claiming the Pestronk Bros. To Be Heroin Smugglers?

Over on PhillySpeaks a user on the site walked past a building trades flyering operation at 20th and Chestnut earlier this afternoon:

Today on my way to lunch I encountered a union goon on the corner of 20th & Chestnut handing out flyers related to the “Post Brothers.” I threw the flyer away, but there were some pretty ridiculous claims about the Post Brothers storing and smuggling heroine and cocaine. Incredible (or is it, knowing them) they would resort to these tactics- perhaps a defamation lawsuit against the union is in order? The individual was even wearing union clothing to indicate that he was representing the union.

This wouldn’t be the first time local unions have distributed handbills over the GoldTex flap that contained some fairly wild charges in them.  They even ginned up flyers of Matt Pestronk’s wife doing… well, I’ll just show you (Ed: Warning, erect poorly photoshopped and photocopied penis below.)

Most of the ones the Pestronk brothers have collected so far and put on exhibition on PhillyBully aire of being prepared by an adult with a 5th grade education and appeal mainly to anti-gentrification sentiments; with claims that the Pestronk brothers are on a mission to drive low-income black families out of the region.

That is an interesting claim to make if it weren’t for the fact that those protesting are mostly white, male and live in the New Jersey suburbs.

Source: Philadelinquency.com

Marcellus Shale pipeline to Phila. Pondered

A group of Philadelphia business and political leaders wants to develop an ambitious Marcellus Shale natural gas pipeline to the city to fuel the growth of energy-intensive industries.

The informal group is in the early stages of exploring a project that would connect Pennsylvania's booming natural gas fields directly to Philadelphia.

The project would involve uniting a consortium of big industrial buyers with Marcellus gas producers to agree to long-term commitments that would guarantee financing for the pipeline's construction.

It would face enormous political and regulatory challenges, including threading a pipeline of more than 3 feet in diameter through Philadelphia's densely populated suburbs.

One route under discussion would avoid populated areas by burying the pipeline in the bed of the Delaware River, connecting underused waterfront properties to an energy superhighway.

Philip L. Rinaldi, chief executive of Philadelphia Energy Solutions, the former Sunoco refinery in South Philadelphia, identified himself last week as the chairman of the group, which would work under the umbrella of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.

Rinaldi was working the sidelines at the Shale Insight conference in Philadelphia last week, where natural gas industry leaders gathered.

He said the current pipeline infrastructure was insufficient to supply "transformative" new industries that could energize a manufacturing revival in the city.

"We're trying to work on how to get that gas here to valorize it," he said. "Eventually, the Marcellus Shale gas will be a great friend, but not until it gets here."

Rinaldi said the group includes the leaders of Sunoco Logistics L.P., the Philadelphia pipeline company that operates large fuel terminals on the Delaware River, and Braskem America, the subsidiary of a Brazilian industrial firm that bought Sunoco's chemical unit in 2010.

Also included in discussions are Rob Wonderling, the chamber president; Tom Morr, the chief executive of Select Greater Philadelphia; William R. Sasso, a Philadelphia lawyer and confidant of Gov. Corbett; Rep. Pat Meehan, (R., Pa.), whose district includes the industrial Delaware County waterfront; and Michael Krancer, Corbett's former environmental secretary.

The effort to develop a pipeline fit snugly with a theme at the Shale Insight conference - how to tap into the enormous output of gas and liquid fuels that have been unlocked by hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling.

The frustration for industrial leaders is that the region's pipeline infrastructure contains only enough capacity to deliver a marginal increase in gas to the city.

With low gas prices projected, the economics of building a pipeline, however, would require it to carry a colossal quantity of gas, more than any one industrial user would need.

"You'd need to have a lot of off-takers," Rinaldi said. "That's the kind of dilemma we're trying to solve."
Rinaldi has notions to expand production at Philadelphia Energy Solutions' 1,500-acre refinery site in South Philadelphia. Since acquiring the plant last year, the company has refurbished a residual catalytic cracker, a unit that turns heavy oil into diesel.

The company also is exploring plans to build a gas-fired co-generation plant to produce steam and electricity for the refinery, and possibly production units to manufacture derivatives of natural gas, such as urea ammonium nitrate fertilizer.

Those projects would require more gas than can now be delivered, but less than would support construction of a dedicated Marcellus pipeline.

The challenge in building a big pipeline to the city lies in the last 20 miles.

"It's probably not a problem getting within 15 to 20 miles of Philadelphia, where it's reasonably cost-effective to lay a big pipeline," Rinaldi said. The pipeline might follow existing rights of way along the turnpike or defunct rail lines.

One possible avenue into the city would be to avoid the suburbs and route the pipeline down the Delaware River, burying the conduit in the riverbed, bypassing the densely populated areas.

An advantage of such a route is that it runs next to a host of riverfront industrial sites, including refineries and chemical manufacturers.

A river route would require approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. And it would no doubt arouse fierce opposition from environmental activists.

Source: Philly.com

New shops and food landing at Terminal F

A half-dozen new shops and eateries in busy Terminal F at Philadelphia International Airport will open to the public Tuesday.

Among them is a swank tavern, called Local, that carries the stamp and a menu created by celebrity chef Jose Garces.

At every seat will be an Apple iPad to order food, surf the Web, and check flight times. Every table and bar stool has a place to plug in and charge up: 110-volt outlet and a USB port.

"Jose contributed a bunch of different ways," said chef Michael Coury, head concept chef for Philadelphia's OTG Management, which pairs big-name chefs with airport restaurants. "He came up with the menu. Our chef worked with the Garces Group, and got the philosophy of how those restaurants work."

The Local tavern chef and staff spent time at Garces' Village Whiskey restaurant, at 20th and Sansom Streets, with the executive chef, he said.

Terminal F, which caters to commuter jets and 275 US Airways Express flights a day, is getting a $127 million expansion and makeover aimed at making travel easier and more fun.

Among the retail shops opening Tuesday are: Fire & Ice jewelry, Solstice sunglass company, XpresSpa, and Sound Balance electronics.

An additional nine concessions will open to the public Oct. 31. They include Kiehl's, Philly Pretzel Factory, Red Mango, Smashburger, Far East, LeBus Café, and Tony Luke's.

One-sixth of the Philadelphia airport's 31 million annual passengers begin or end trips in Terminal F, which was designed in the late 1990s for smaller 30- and 50-seat regional jets. With higher fuel prices, airlines have shed 50-seat jets in favor of bigger airplanes.

Travelers who fly into or out of the 38-gate commuter terminal will have 60,000 square feet of additional retail offerings, including a food court similar to those in Terminals B and C, more passenger seating and a new, larger shuttle bus stop with a covered vestibule.

The improvements are unrelated to a longer-term airport expansion plan whose cost was estimated last year at $6.4 billion.

US Airways has been construction manager of the Terminal F redesign, which will be completed in early 2016 and financed by fees charged to airlines.

As part of the renovation, the pedestrian walkway that connects Terminals F and E will be put behind security. Passengers, for the first time, will be able to go though security once and walk the length of the airport, from Terminal F to the international terminal, A-West.

Source: Philly.com

School contract talks progressing slowly, union says

PHILADELPHIA Nearly a month after the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers' contract expired, union president Jerry Jordan said Saturday that negotiations with the School District were progressing - but slowly.

"It is a very, very difficult process because of the multitude of issues that need to be discussed," he said in an interview during a massive book give-away in the Northeast for the cash-strapped schools.

With issues including wages, seniority, and health-care contributions on the table, he declined to say how close the sides are.

"I try not to characterize that, because I know from the past that until it's over, you really can't just say you're pretty close or far apart," he said. "Something can occur that will have the effect of a bowling ball and knock down 10 pins because things are interconnected."

Jordan, who heads the 15,000-member union, said his team met with district negotiators daily last week. "The rule of thumb is to block out every day for negotiations, unless something comes up."

The district, which has a $220 million deficit, is seeking $103 million in savings from the PFT. The district also wants concessions that meet the state's conditions for reform to obtain a $45 million grant.

When the district has the money, Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. has said, he will recall counselors and many other staffers who were laid off in June and provide more resources for schools.

On Saturday, Jordan and other union officials joined teams from the district's 212 schools inside the cavernous union hall of Steamfitters Local 420 for the book giveaway. Teachers selected free children's books, novels, and other reading materials for their schools.

They scooped up 43,000 volumes valued at $400,000 made available through a partnership between the American Federation of Teachers and First Book, a national nonprofit that gets books into the hands of needy children.

AFT president Randi Weingarten, who spoke, said the union obtained the books through First Book for $13,000.

Jordan told the audience: "This year is unlike any other . . . . Our children need the basic tools in the classroom every day. We don't have paper. We don't have supplies. We don't have books. Thanks to First Book, our children will have some books Monday morning."

For Laura Elliott, an autistic-support teacher at Locke Elementary School in West Philadelphia, the day was a godsend.

She lost all of her classroom materials when several rooms at Locke were flooded two weeks ago.

"When I lost everything, it was dreadful," Elliott said. "Now I can get all these new books!"

The event, scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., was such a success that everything was gone by 12:30 p.m.

"People were still coming, but there was not a book left," said Ted Kirsch, president of AFT Pennsylvania. "We're going to try to do it again.

Source: Philly.com

Judge rules against Phila. Firefighters

PHILADELPHIA The same Common Pleas Court judge who initially ordered the city to promote 14 members of the Fire Department ruled Friday the city has the right to withdraw those promotions.

Judge Leon Tucker's decision is the latest move in a battle between the city and Local 22 of the International Association of Fire Fighters over the 14 promotions.

City spokesman Mark McDonald welcomed Tucker's decision.

"From the start, the Nutter administration asserted that the fire commissioner has discretion in promoting individuals from the civil service list. Just because there is a vacant position and an active list, it does not follow that it's necessarily in the best interests of the department to promote someone from that list," he said in a statement.

Local 22 president Joe Schulle said the fight was not over.

"We are immediately moving forward with an appeal to Commonwealth Court to vacate their decision," Schulle said in a statement. "We will continue to fight this latest injustice in the court of law."

The issue began when the city decided not to fill 14 lieutenant and captain vacancies, despite having budgeted the money for it, because it was waiting for the firefighters' promotion list to expire in May and make promotions using a new list.

The union sued and in May, Tucker ruled in favor of the firefighters and ordered the city to grant the promotions. That ruling was overturned in Commonwealth Court last week and on Tuesday, the union filed another suit and gained an emergency motion temporarily preventing the Fire Department from moving forward with the demotions.

But after reviewing legal arguments from both sides, Tucker dismissed the latest suit and terminated the stay order

Source: Philly.com

District Council 47 elects new leadership in Philly

The union that represents white collar Philadelphia city workers has a new leader. His first priority is a new contract.

District Council 47's new President Fred Wright was the head of the community social services portion of the union. His members have been working without a contract for more than four years and without raises for even longer. Wright says he's ready to negotiate with Mayor Michael Nutter.

"Inflation has been increasing — even though slightly —  but it's been increasing at least 2 percent for the past six years, so that's 12 percent that they are behind the eight ball," Wright said. "By the mayor's own admission, I'm not trying to bad-mouth the mayor. I respect his position, but the city is in better financial shape than it was six years ago, so we expect the city to come to the table and bargain in good faith."

Wright says even though he's not a city employee, he understands their needs.

"Their issues are my issues and those issues are wages, working conditions, benefits. At the end of the day, most workers want to go to work in a safe, healthy environment, come home, be with their family, and making sure they can provide for their family."

District Council 47 is the second major city union in Philadelphia to elect new leadership in the past few months.  The firefighters union, which just settled a protracted contract dispute, also has a new president.

A spokesman for the Nutter administration says it welcomes the opportunity to sit down with the new union leadership.

Source:  NewsWorks.org

Despite praise from city, Blatstein addresses casino critics

Bart Blatstein’s casino proposal got a lift this week when the city endorsed it and another Center City bid.

But Blatstein and his Tower Investments — whose developments like the Piazza at Schmidt's and Liberties Walk have had a $1 billion economic impact on the Northern Liberties neighborhood — continues to address critics of his plan.

“This is a big project that could have a transformational impact,” Blatstein said from his office in Northern Liberties. “It offers a people a late-night Philly, so they can have dinner and see a show. It’s a dimension that doesn’t exist now.”

The Provence, as the project would be known, calls for remaking three blocks of Callowhill from Broad westward. It would use the former Philadelphia Inquirer building (400 N. Broad St.) as a 125-room hotel, while the main casino portion would extend along the 1500 block of Callowhill. An existing parking garage on the 1600 block would also be part of the complex.

In addition to slots and table games, the site would have a shopping “village,” eight restaurants, a theater, private swim clubs, meeting-and-event space, nightclub, spa-and-fitness center.

It would also have a botanical garden and space for small car shows, which Blatstein said could dovetail with the Pennsylvania Convention Center’s two largest gate shows: The Philadelphia Flower Show and the Philadelphia Auto Show. Blatstein said he has secured financing commitments to more than cover the $700 million projected cost.

"I'm from Philly. I was born and raised here. I have been in business 36 years," Blatstein said. "We respect the stakeholders and we'll modify where it's needed." The Provence is one of six proposals for one casino license in Philadelphia.

Alan Greenberger, deputy mayor of economic development, testified at a Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board hearing in Philadelphia this week that the city favors development of a Center City casino, saying it would spark economic development and cause the least harm to existing casinos. He specifically cited the Provence and the Market8 proposal, which would be on the 800 block of Market Street, which is being proposed by developers Ken Goldenberg and David Adelman.

The Provence was projected to have the greatest economic impact, the city argued.

Still, as we all know, getting an endorsement in Philadelphia does not always carry weight in Harrisburg.

So Blatstein continues to refine the proposal and respond to criticism.

Three of the most common criticisms:

• Lack of parking. Blatstein counters that the site would have three separate parking garages, with a total of 2,400 parking spaces.

• Traffic is already congested. Blatstein argues that the casino would draw many of its patrons at off hours, not at rush hour. He also proposes routes into the casino that would avoid some of the worst intersections. "Our busy hours would be the opposite of rush hour. We'd be busy evenings and weekends," Blatstein said.

• The neighborhood already shot down a proposal for a Phillies stadium nearly a decade ago. Blatstein said the two developments cannot be compared because a stadium draws a bigger crowd in a more condensed timeframe, creating traffic both on the sidewalks and in streets.

There are five other casino proposals that might take issue with Blatstein’s point of view. And of course it’s still months before regulators will make a decision, so we’ll see how the debate progresses.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal

Council panel recommends reforms in response to collapse

Declaring that safety has to be the top priority, a City Council committee on Thursday urged dozens of changes in the way the city oversees demolition projects.

"The committee believes these reforms are both workable and essential if the city is to avoid future catastrophes," the Council panel said in a 69-page report spurred by the Center City building collapse that killed six people in June.

Its 71 recommendations - all but a handful unanimous - include site-safety plans for every demolition project, safety training requirements for every worker on every demolition site, an independent site-safety manager monitoring the demolition of any building more than three stories high, an expanded inspection force at the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections, and a more prominent role for the city Fire Department, with expanded authority to enforce building and health codes.

The proposals would require major changes in city laws and regulations.

Curtis Jones Jr., chairman of the special Council committee, said five bills would be introduced next week to serve as vehicles for legislative action, but the details are still to be negotiated with the mayor, whose response to the report Thursday was somewhat muted.

In a statement, Mayor Nutter praised Council for its hard work and promised cooperation but made no commitments.

"Mayor Nutter has received Council's Report on Demolition Practices & Procedures and he greatly appreciates the hard work that Council members did over the summer in the wake of last June's terrible tragedy," the statement said. "The administration cooperated with Council's committee during the hearing process and in preparation of the report and looks forward to working with Council going forward."

Councilwoman Maria Quiñones Sánchez, a member of the panel and chairman of Council's committee on licenses and inspections, said many of Council's proposals would codify safety reforms the mayor adopted June 7, two days after the building collapse.

She predicted measures incorporating many of the new proposals would be passed by Christmas.

The committee was split on at least four of the 71 specific recommendations: proposals to establish a "worker identification system" to track contractors and their employees, the levels of training to be required for workers and license applicants, and a proposal to require all independent contractors involved in demolition projects to have a Philadelphia demolition license.

Throughout the Council hearings, organized labor representatives pushed for stronger identification of the contractors and employees on job sites. But some Council members worry that those proposals could undermine access to jobs in the construction industry.

The report said further discussion and negotiations on those points would be held during the legislative process.

The city's Building Industry Association declined to comment on the report immediately.

Joe Grace, director of public policy for the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, said the group was concerned about the possible cost of the proposed regulations.

But after this summer's events, he said, "the chamber strongly supports a renewed emphasis on public safety in construction projects."

Among other recommendations, the Council report says the city should reverse a recent practice of cross-training inspectors in the Department of Licenses and Inspections to handle all sorts of construction issues and encourage individual inspectors to develop specialized expertise.

It also urges expanded public access to demolition license and permit information, site-safety plans, engineering studies and asbestos disclosures, among other documents to be posted on L&I's website.

Six people died and 14 were injured June 5 when a four-story brick wall, part of a building under demolition at 2136 Market St., collapsed onto a Salvation Army thrift shop next door.

Though that tragedy was widely publicized, the Council report noted three more demolition and construction incidents in the next two months: the failure of a retaining wall at a demolition site in Bella Vista that damaged four neighboring properties and displaced eight residents; a structural failure at a seven-story building under construction at 12th and Berks Streets in North Philadelphia that injured one worker and temporarily trapped five others; and the collapse of a vacant house at 36th Street and Fairmount Avenue in West Philadelphia before scheduled demolition had begun.

"Each of these project sites was permitted and inspected by the Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections," the report said. "The unavoidable conclusion was that the city's permitting and inspection process fell short of what was necessary to protect the public."

Council President Darrell Clarke proposed the special committee and appointed Jones to chair the probe. The other panel members were Jannie L. Blackwell, Bobby Henon, James F. Kenney, and Sánchez.

The committee held five hearings over the summer, taking testimony from dozens of witnesses, including city officials, engineering and insurance experts, union safety officials, and the public. Its report – unusually comprehensive for a Council investigation – was written by Jones' chief counsel, Stacey J. Graham.

Robert J. Mongeluzzi, a lawyer representing eight collapse victims or their survivors, endorsed the committee's major recommendations but urged several more. He recommended creation of an independent commission of recognized experts to review L&I operations, a new requirement that the head of L&I be a licensed professional engineer, and elimination of "expediters," paid to obtain permits without identifying the contractors lined up to work.

The full report is available at here…

Source: Philly.com

President of city's white-collar union is voted out

CATHY SCOTT, president of the city's white-collar union, lost re-election last night and will be replaced by Fred Wright, a union spokesman said.

Locked in a standoff with Mayor Nutter's administration, Scott's District Council 47 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees is one of three city unions that have been working without contracts since 2009.

Wages have been frozen for four years because of the dispute, and whispers of unrest at D.C. 47 had been building for months.

Details of the vote were not immediately available. Neither Scott nor Wright could be reached.

Wright is president of Local 1739, which represents employees at community and social-service agencies.

Nutter has been demanding cost-saving measures to the union's pension and health-care benefits. Scott was adamantly opposed to the idea of givebacks and excoriated the mayor in frequent protests.

Source: Philly.com

Willie Brown returns as SEPTA union boss, says he wants a 'fair deal'

The newly elected leader of Philadelphia's bus drivers and other transit workers, the man who led the union in a controversial six-day strike in 2009, said he hopes to have a new contract with SEPTA by March, when the current pact expires.

Willie Brown, who will resume the presidency of Transport Workers Union Local 234 on Oct. 14, said it would be "irresponsible" for him to outline specific economic goals before meeting with SEPTA negotiators next month.

"I'd hope to have a contract by March. . . . I want respect for my membership and a fair deal for my membership," Brown said Thursday in a phone conversation with reporters from Las Vegas, where he is attending the union's national convention.

Brown, who lost his bid for reelection in 2010 to John Johnson Jr., defeated Johnson in voting last week to regain the presidency of the Local 234. The TWU is the largest of the 17 unions that represent SEPTA workers, and its contract typically sets the pattern for negotiations with the other unions.

The current contract expires March 14, 2014.

In 2009, the TWU threatened to strike as the World Series was being played in Philadelphia, but did not actually go out until 3 a.m. on Nov. 3, after the Series left town.

The surprise predawn walkout left thousands of commuters in the lurch, drawing fire from Mayor Nutter and then-Gov. Ed Rendell.

"I understand I'm the most hated man in Philadelphia right now," Brown said at the time. "I have no problem with that."

The strike by the 5,200 bus drivers, subway and trolley operators, mechanics, and cashiers ended after Rendell and Rep. Robert Brady (D., Phila.) intervened.

The five-year contract provided a $1,250 "signing bonus" to each member and raises of 2.5 percent in the second year and 3 percent in each of the next three years.

New bus drivers now get $32,900 a year, and drivers with four or more years' experience are paid $54,000 a year.

Although he declined Thursday to discuss economic demands for the next contract, Brown said he wanted changes in work rules and conditions, including a change in the mirrors on SEPTA buses.

Drivers have long complained that the mirrors on many buses are a hazard because they can obscure a driver's vision when making a turn.

SEPTA spokeswoman Jerri Williams said Thursday, "We look forward to sitting down with the new president and his team to negotiate a contract that's fair to all parties - our employees, riders, and the taxpayers."

Source: Philly.com

City Council Building Collapse Report Demands Dozens of Reforms

A special Philadelphia City Council committee says more than 70 reforms need to be made in the wake of the deadly Market Street building collapse.

In a detailed 69-page report released Thursday, the Philadelphia City Council Special Investigating Committee outlines lax and missing code and licenses and inspections requirements that, officials say, jeopardizes the public's safety.

Seventy-one reform recommendations are included in the report ranging from changes in demolition paperwork to altering the Philadelphia Code to giving the Philadelphia Fire Department more power to stop bad demolitions.

The June 5 collapse of an unbraced, free-standing four story wall onto the Salvation Army Thrift Shop next door at 22nd and Market Streets killed six and injured 13. The tragedy resulted in a number of changes to the city's demolition practices, but council wants more.

At the top of the list is the creation of a permit application specifically for demolitions.

Currently, one application is used by the city's Department of Licenses & Inspections for both construction of a structure as well as demolition. However, the report notes, "the application focuses on the erection of a building" not allowing the department to appropriately decide on a demolition contractor's abilities.

The committee wants to require contractors to submit an engineering survey and site safety survey along with their permit applications to give inspectors more detailed knowledge of the project. 

Residents' complaints about unsafe demolition practices at the Market Street site prior to the collapse were delayed getting to inspectors because of address discrepancies.

Stephen Field contacted the city's 311 call center in May attempting to notify officials about uncovered sidewalks and falling debris, but he provided an incorrect address for the site -- causing inspectors to be dispatched to the wrong building.

To alleviate similar issues, the committee wants to require signage be placed at every demolition site outlining the address, contractor's name, telephone number and how to submit a concern.

New York City already posts similar signs at all construction and demolition sites to keep the public informed.

Along the same lines, the committee calls for contractors to do a better job of notifying neighbors about planned demolition. On projects where the structure is more than three-stories tall, the council report recommends an independent site safety manager be called in to supervise the work.

Questions about the training and abilities of L&I employees are also addressed in the reforms.

The committee wants to require all building inspectors receive OSHA training and certification and have inspectors rotate into different sections of the city to maintain ethical practices.

Adding additional inspectors and plan reviewers to the department's staff is also being sought.

Changes to the city's code would require properties adjacent to a building under demolition be vacated during the work.

The Salvation Army Thrift Shop was filled with shoppers and staff when the collapse happened in the late morning.

Email correspondence, obtained through wrongful death legal filings, between Salvation Army officials and the developers of the building under demolition show there was hesitation to close the thrift shop.

The report also calls for the Philadelphia Fire Department to have more control over demolitions.

A series of recommendations would require L&I to send the fire department copies of every demolition permit filed, cross-train firefighters and inspectors in "relevant structural and fire-safety issues" and give battalion chiefs the authority to stop work on demolitions sites they deem unsafe.

"This will promote public safety and protection of property because the fire department is staffed and available to respond to emergency situations at times when L&I personnel are not," the recommendation reads.

Firefighters would also be required to inspect imminently dangerous buildings.

The five-member committee, made up by Councilmen Curtis Jones, Jr., James Kenney and Bobby Henon and Councilwomen Maria Quinones-Sanches and Jannie Blackwell, issued the recommendations following five public hearings into city policies surrounding building demolitions.

City council's investigation is one of five currently underway into the collapse. Others include a criminal grand jury and OSHA review. There are also three civil lawsuits currently filed.

With the release of the report, the committee says they will now move into the second phase of their charge and begin to introduce legislation to enact the recommendations.

No timeline, however, has been given for when and if the reforms could become reality.

Source: NBC10.com

See the full City Council Report here…

University City's real estate explosion

In early 2001, more than $1 billion of new residential and commercial development was underway in University City. That was the first time in decades so much money and so much construction activity was concentrated in the West Philadelphia neighborhood.

That apparently was just the beginning.

In its most recently issued annual report, University City District paints a portrait of a community that’s not only thriving but exceeding expectations. It tallied more than $3.5 billion in new or recently completed construction work, has more than 2.6 million square feet of announced or finished projects, and institutions in the neighborhood employed more than 72,000 people. In 2001, the jobs number stood at 50,000.

Matt Bergheiser, executive director of UCD, spoke to me about the organization’s annual report and what lies ahead for the neighborhood.

What do you think is the most significant finding?

It’s the land of opportunity here. Our general theme is onward and upward. It seems like every year we build on the amazing things that happened the year before. We broke some barriers and some of it is measured by data. We broke the 72,000 jobs barrier, we broke 43,000 student mark and we have more 6.5 million square feet in development either planned in a real way or under construction and a wave of residential development coming. Almost 2,000 new housing units are coming. That’s about 4,000 to 5,000 additional people or about a 10 percent increase in population by 2015. We continue to be a place where the concentration of economic activity is unmatched in all but a handful of places around the country. It’s important and critical for the city and region. When you get a lot brain power in a concentrated space, good things happen.

What’s driving the increase in housing?

In terms of student population, there’s been growth at Drexel but it clearly has continued to be a neighborhood of choice for young professionals.
One clear trend over a period of 7 to 8 years is that you would see graduate students, as a rule, flock to Center City but more and more we’re seeing a major trend of those students living in University City and within walking distance of their campuses.

There’s a lot of construction going on. Has it peaked?

What’s interesting is we’ve traditionally thought of University City being landlocked but I think there are significant opportunities for future expansion and scale around 30th Street Station and that’s where a lot of Drexel’s expansion is taking place. There’s 8 million square feet to be built on what is now surface parking lots in and around there. We look at an entirely new mixed-use neighborhood rising out of the ground there at 30th Street.

And in terms of other parts of the district, there is a spilling over of some of the real economic drivers across the Schuylkill River. Penn’s acquisition of Marshall Labs, CHOP expanding over the South Street Bridge ... I do see room for continued growth.

In your report, you emphasize a “Global University City.” What does that mean?

Our premise is we think what happens in our 2.4 square miles can shape a more global Philadelphia. University City, more than any place in the region, is a magnet for people around the globe. It’s a community with anchor institutions with a global reach and influencing leaders for a more global society. I think there has been this thought that cities by themselves need to become bigger players in the global economy. What we have here provides this great portal to interface in the world and that has been born out by the data. We’re thinking more and more about the role of University City. We also think it’s core to our organization. Real authentic places stand out in the world and investing in great public spaces, creating in quality of life and quality workforce, that’s what great cities are doing across the world to attract people. There so many amazing things happening in University City and we want to start to tell that story collectively and how we can make that whole greater than the sum of its parts and use this as a conversation about what we can do to have global impact.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal

UPDATED: The Imperative Divine Lorraine

UPDATED:  After Mayor Nutter announced the city‘s renewed commitment to seeing the Divine Lorraine redeveloped, the Inquirer reports that unnamed local developers have secured an option on the Divine Lorraine. A deal could be made within weeks. The Divine Lorraine's current owners defaulted on a construction loan, and their lender, Amalgamated Bank of New York, is interested in seeing the property developed. Plus, the owners owe the city $702,779.82 in back taxes. So if the deal falls through, Deputy Mayor Alan Greenberger suggested that the city could use eminent domain to condemn the property or offer it at sheriff’s sale.

The Divine Lorraine is one of our city's most photographed ruins, most romanticized relics, and among our most widely visible icons of blight. Now imagine what it would mean to bring this building back from the dead.

On Monday, Mayor Nutter promised renewed action in partnership with City Council President Darrell Clarke to “transform the Divine Lorraine,” in his speech to the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.

Even as North Broad bubbles with hotspots of residential and institutional development, alongside new restaurants and planned public space improvements, the Divine Lorraine lords over the intersection of Fairmount, Broad and Ridge like dead weight, an impediment to all of the positive progress.

On Monday, Mayor Nutter put the problem this way:

North Broad Street has an incredible diversity of people, interests, uses and possibilities. We’re going to do this right, and we need your help. Part of this strategy is to identify where we can work together, and where the government can also spur growth and development. And I have just the place to start: we are actively pursuing opportunities to transform the Divine Lorraine.

It is an historical monument and a keystone to our redevelopment of North Philadelphia. As I speak, there is renewed interest in the Divine Lorraine with my team—and City Council President Clarke—directly involved in the rebirth of this great Philadelphia building.

Back in October, an Inquirer article about revitalization on North Broad Street mentioned that the city is putting pressure on the Divine Lorraine’s owners, who then owed $676,692.04 in real estate taxes. At the time Mayor Nutter said, “We're trying to get the attention of the building owners before we take action ourselves.” And he noted that the Divine Lorraine is the “tipping point for North Broad.”

The Divine Lorraine has been officially vacant since 2000 and its owners, a conglomerate including a Dutch company with no U.S. office, have shown little initiative. A deal to redevelop the Divine Lorraine (and the large vacant lot behind it) fell through last year despite promises of state tax credits and Community Development Block Grant funding from the city. Meanwhile the building suffers from neglect and the occasional squatter's fire.

So while it’s not news that Mayor Nutter has the Divine Lorraine on the mind, it’s clear he’s ready to place the Divine Lorraine on the front burner for his term. So is Darrell Clarke, who told the Inquirer, “I think realistically, by the middle of the year, we should have a deal on the table with a developer.”

Source: PlanPhilly.com

Drexel, others anxious for University City High to be made available

Drexel University has its eye on University City High School. The school at 36th and Filbert streets in West Philadelphia was just one of 23 Philadelphia public schools shuttered in June, but it may be the one that’s least likely to sit empty for very long. The Office of Property Assessment put its value at nearly $23 million, and according to a number of sources, Drexel is not the only entity ready to make an offer on the empty property.

But it may be the only entity ready to make an offer that includes opening a new public school. Last year, the Philadelphia School Partnership made a grant to Powel Elementary, a small K-4 school near 38th and Poweltown Ave., to plan for its expansion and possible relocation. The planning involved Drexel University and Science Leadership Academy, a public high school that is itself a partnership between the School District and the Franklin Institute.

“Drexel has been in planning for almost a year now about how to support the Powel school,” said Lucy Kerman, Drexel’s Vice Provost of University and Community Partnerships. “How do we expand that to create more classrooms at Powel and create a middle school? What would a school be like that would address the potential in this neighborhood?”

Kerman said that the university was previously looking at relocating Powel to the nearby site of Drew Elementary School, also closed, but is “very interested” in making an offer on the University City High School property.

Currently there are several possibilities for the disposition of closed public schools in general and for University City High in particular. The Nutter Administration had been working with the School District since spring on a plan to sell and otherwise reuse the surplus school properties. That plan includes categorizing properties according to their “marketability,” and using a combination of tactics to sell them to developers or otherwise put them back to use.

In August, Superintendent William Hite announced that the District needed $50 million to even open the remaining schools on time. City Council responded by suggesting that it would transfer the $50 million to the School District in exchange for its surplus property, which would then be sold by the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development.

Council introduced a bill authorizing the $50 million transfer at its first session, but other than that, neither plan has moved forward. Drexel, Lucy Kerman said, is just “waiting for the school district to release the site” so it can submit a proposal.  

“There’s great need in this city for high quality education options,” Kerman said. “And we have a great partnership that is more than willing to jump in and create a great school environment, and we’d love the chance to do it.”

The potential buyers aren’t the only ones eager for the vacant school property to be formally put on the market.

“The question is this process, what we’re going to do.” said Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, whose 3rd District includes University City High. “Is the School District going to sell them? ... We need to resolve that question immediately, so we can get the School District the money and have our schools operational.”

“I need it done yesterday,” she added.

Blackwell said she didn’t know the amount Drexel would offer for the school. But its proposal, according to Blackwell and Philadelphia School Partnership director Mark Gleason, is likely to involve demolishing the high school, relocating and expanding Powel Elementary, and building a new middle school, along with other, potentially University-related mixed-use development.

Gleason said the expansion of Powel is likely to involve adding a fifth grade as well as one class for each of the lower grades, a total expansion of approximately 200-250 students. The 6th, 7th, and 8th grade middle school, based on the Science Leadership Academy model, would teach between 350 and 400 students, Gleason said.

“It’s silly that we’re debating who should sell the building when there’s a buyer standing ready,” Gleason said.

Deputy Mayor Alan Greenberger, who led the Administration’s plan for reusing closed schools, did not respond to requests for comment for this article. Council President Darrell Clarke’s office noted that Council members unanimously support the $50 million transfer ordinance, and deferred questions about specific buildings to the School District.

“This is an opportunity the city cannot afford to miss,” said Mark Gleason. “You’ve got a willing buyer and partner to help create and expand a great school, you’ve got land that’s owned by taxpayers that’s now vacant, and you’ve got a school district that desperately needs cash. Something should happen quickly here, because it’s a win/win/win.”

Source; PlanPhilly.com