Scoop The Poop organizers say city streets and transportation officials have given them the green light for a year-long pilot program. They are awaiting further details.

The volunteers running a campaign to rid Old City’s streets of dog waste have received the city’s blessing to continue their program as a year-long pilot.

Program co-chair Janet Kalter said that Andrew Stober, chief of staff for the mayor’s office of transportation and utilities, has told her the city wants the program to run for a full year – the pilot would end in November. “They want to see what might occur over that period of time, particularly in the summer,” Kalter said.

Kalter and co-chair Tony Lucente met with Stober and other officials recently to present information about their campaign, which includes Leave No Pile Behind posters, dog waste recepticals and bag dispensers. Volunteers keep the dispensers stocked and change the receptical bags when they become full. Old City District volunteered to pick up the full bags, provided they were left near their regular pick-up spots.

Late last year, the city was enthusiastic about some parts of the campaign, but had concerns about other parts. Stober, who could not be reached for comment at this time, has said in the past that providing dog waste bags might create a dependency among dog owners, who should be bringing their own bags, for example.

Kalter said she is waiting for a document that will more completely outline the components of the pilot.

In related Old City dog news, Scoop The Poop has announced the winner of its search for a local bulldog mascot. The lucky dog’s name is Buk, which rhymes with Duke.

See previous coverage here and here.

The commission will select 12 members through an interview process, and 12 additional members will be selected by the nine counties in Southeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey that are represented on the DVRPC Board.

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission is looking for applicants to fill slots on the newly created Public Participation Task Force.

The commission will select 12 members through an interview process, and 12 additional members will be selected by the nine counties in Southeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey that are represented on the DVRPC Board.

Members will be notified by April 15 and will serve two-year terms.

The task force will replace the Regional Citizens Committee, a volunteer group that had previously provided public input on DVRPC decisions.

That committee was disbanded last year in the midst of a long-running battle between DVRPC staff and Pennsylvania Transit Expansion Coalition, or PA-TEC, a group that has criticized regional transportation spending decisions.

Interested area residents can find more information, as well an application form, here.

The survey is the first part of the civic engagement process on sign-control reform. 

A post on the website of the former Zoning Code Commission this morning invites Philadelphians to complete a survey assessing public preferences for sign controls. 

The survey provides some background information on signs–such as sign types and sign characteristics–and directs the survey taker where to find more information on sign controls and zoning reform if he or she so chooses. 

It gathers information about sign attitudes by showing pictures of different kinds of urban signs–highway billboards, barbershop window-signs, awnings, and so on–and allowing the user to rate his or her overall impression of the sign on a four-point scale from highly negative to highly positive. It also asks for impressions of individual characteristics of each sign, and provides space for comment. 

The survey is the first effort in what former ZCC director Eva Gladstein has said will be a multi-round civic engagement process on sign control reform. 

To take the survey, go here. 

Contact the reporter at jaredbrey@gmail.com

New Kensington CDC staffer says limited hours, a ban on minors, and a limit to how fast money can be lost temper some concerns.

The proprietors of the yet-unopened Jackpot Internet Cafe at 1802 Frankford Ave. have told New Kensington Community Development Corporation that the business will offer games of chance, but also many other computer-based services.

They have also promised to limit store hours, limit patrons to those 21-and-over, and remove frosted window film from the windows, said Henry Pyatt, NKCDC’s Commercial Corridor Manager.

“The fact he’s willing to close at 7 p.m and keep out minors mitigates some of the possible downsides,” Pyatt said. And removing the frosted window covering helps with NKCDC’s “eyes on the street” goals.

But Pyatt still wishes another type of business were opening in the space.

“We still have a fair number of vulnerable people in our community – financially vulnerable,” Pyatt said.

Such cafes have been popping up around the nation and state, including a couple in the Pittsburgh area. They do not violate current state law, but Rep. Randy Vulakovich, R-Allegheny and vice-chairman of the House Gaming Oversight Committee, introduced legislation in October that would make such businesses illegal. It passed the House, and has been in the Senate’s Community Economic and Recreational Development Committee since, said Vulakovich spokeswoman Alyson Horne.

PlanPhilly stopped by the Jackpot late last week. No one was there. A broom or mop handle leaned against the window on the inside. A lot of the window film and decals had been scraped off, and laid in a pile on the sidewalk. PlanPhilly left a business card, with a note seeking an interview. An email sent to an address given for one of the partners – who Pyatt knows only as Ron – bounced back.

Pyatt says the proprietor described the business to him as a “high-end Internet cafe.”

Patrons would get 9 free minutes on the computers every 24 hours. After that, they would spend $1 for each eight minutes. 

The operation will offer top-notch computers, photo scanners, printers and lots of expensive software that the average person might have a keen, occasional use for, but would not pay to have at home, Pyatt said.

Patrons could also chose to play a sweepstakes game, he said. They would not pay to play the game, but pay for the time on the computer.  The sweepstakes games “look like a slot machine or a poker game,” Pyatt said. 

Winners accrue points that can be traded in for prizes, like at an arcade, Pyatt said. But they can also be traded in for cash.

The good news, from Pyatt’s perspective: Those who lose don’t lose anything except the money they spent on computer time.  That means that no patron could lose more than $1 every 8 minutes, he said.

The cafe is expected to generate two full time and two part-time jobs, and the owners want to serve free coffee and donuts, with health department permission, Pyatt said.

Horne, the Vulakovich spokeswoman, said the representative introduced the legislation because the internet cafe operators are “exploiting a loophole” in state gaming law.  “He feels the proceeds and revenue generated by these games hinders the revenues generated by legal, regulated casino gaming,” and that could hurt state tax relief efforts, Horne said.

See previous coverage here.

Judges called it a bold vision that has transformed the city, and praised its ability to reconnect neighborhoods to the river.

The Master Plan for the Central Delaware Waterfront has won a national design award from the American Institute of Architects.

A 2012 Institutional Honor Award for Regional and Urban Design is shared by the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation and their team of designers, led by Cooper, Robertson & Partners and KieranTimberlake.

“It’s a big deal,” DRWC Planning Committee Chairwoman Marilyn Jordan Taylor – who is also dean of the Penn School of Design.   The award shows the recently completed master plan is a “21st Century Vision” that also is realistic enough to be brought to life, Taylor said.

More than 700 award applications were received in the award’s three categories, said AIA spokesman Matt Tinder.  Architecture and Interior Architecture are the other two categories. Tinder could not say how many applications were received in the Regional and Urban Design category, but the Master Plan was one of eight winners.

Penn Design Dean Taylor announces the award at the DRWC board meeting

“This is a very bold, long term vision,” said one comment from the jury. “The project demonstrates great connectivity back into the neighborhood fabric, integrating both existing buildings, developed open spaces, and the esplanade walk,” said another.  “A good range of density has been represented, particularly along the river, and this plan has transformed the city in a substantial way,” reads a third.

“DRWC is thrilled that the master plan won this prestigious award,” said Planning Director Sarah Thorp. She said the award speaks to the work done by not only by the master plan team, but community members who participated in the process. “We congratulate all members of the consulting team as well as the numerous stakeholders who were involved in the creation of the plan,” she said.

The award will be presented at AIA’s spring conference in Washington, DC. Read more from AIA here. Click on the blue Master Plan link on the first page to read jury highlights.

The Master Plan will be presented to the Planning Commission for approval at a special March 6. meeting.

The SEPTA Board approved Thursday a series of three contracts worth $7.5 million to carry out its so-called “early action” plan for the City Hall subway station.

The SEPTA Board on Thursday approved a series of three contracts worth $7.5 million to carry out its so-called “early action” plan for the City Hall subway station.

The construction of four elevators and two new fare lines is being done in conjunction with the Center City District’s remake of Dilworth Plaza overhead and will result  in the Market-Frankord El and trolley stops at the station becoming handicapped accessible ― something required by a consent decree signed to end a longstanding civil rights suit concerning the station.

SEPTA had originally hoped to remake the entire station, at a cost of $100 million, but that project has been shelved because of state funding cuts.

Thomas P. Carney Inc. was awarded general contractor status. Mulhern Electric Co. was awarded the electrical construction contract, and Dolan Mechanical Inc. was awarded a mechanical construction contract.

SEPTA and the CCD have also signed a reimbursement agreement covering work done on the elevators at Dilworth, which will be owned by SEPTA but built by CCD at a cost of $4.3 million. The district also agreed to reimburse SEPTA for nearly $1 million in costs related to relocating stairwells and utilities.

The agreement clears the way for the CCD project, which won federal transportation dollars, to move forward.

The board also approved a nearly $7.5 million contract to Gannett Fleming Inc. for design of a new Paoli regional rail station. Long a priority of Tredyffirn Township, the Chester County municipality where the station is located, the current plan would involve building a new station 80 feet west of the current location that better connects with SEPTA and private buses and involves a reworking of a nearby Amtrak interlocking, as well as the installation of high-level platforms.

Local, state, U.S. officials to attend Jan. 30 event

WHO:  U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood; members of the Philadelphia Congressional Delegation; representative of Governor Corbett; Mayor Michael A. Nutter; City Council President Darrell Clarke; representative of SEPTA; Paul R. Levy, President of Center City District

WHAT:  Official groundbreaking for the $50 million transformation of Dilworth Plaza, west of City Hall, a project that will create more than 900 construction jobs with $22 million in wages over the 27 months of the project, which will be completed in early 2014. The new Plaza will have a large lawn, tree groves, seating for 400, a programmable fountain and a café. During winter, a portable ice rink will cover the fountain area. The concourse beneath Dilworth Plaza will be dramatically improved as a new transit gateway, providing entrances to Broad Street and Market Street subways and the trolley lines. New elevators will make the transit platforms accessible for the first time and a unique work of public art will highlight the movement of trains below the Plaza.

WHERE:  1515 Market Street, 9^th Floor

WHEN:   Monday, January 30, 2012 at 9:30 a.m.

PHOTO OPS:

• Speakers and dignitaries will participate in a ceremonial signing of granite.
• Panoramic view of Dilworth Plaza and City Hall from the 9^th Floor of 1515 Market Street.
• ALSO, opportunities at the edge of the construction site.

For more details about the project:

www.centercityphila.org/life/dilworth_plaza.php

www.centercityphila.org/docs/CCRDilworthPlaza2011.pdf.

Miraculously no one was hurt, but on January 13th, New Yorkers learned that 50 tons of steel towering over a Brooklyn neighborhood was a disaster waiting to happen. Watch this clip.

Dear SCRUB Members and Friends,

Miraculously no one was hurt, but on January 13th, New Yorkers learned that 50 tons of steel towering over a Brooklyn neighborhood was a disaster waiting to happen.Watch this clip.

Meanwhile,last week, here in Philadelphia, the ZBA granted a variance to Clear Channel Outdoor allowing them to rebuild a non-conforming billboard located next to a row of townhouses and to increase the height to 9 stories. Actions prohibited under the Philadelphia zoning law.

  The 1530 S. Front Street billboard existed before stricter sign control laws were enacted in 1991 and is allowed  to remain as it is but cannot be altered because:   

• It is within 500 feet of another billboard
• It is within 300 feet of a residences 
• It already exceeds the 25 ft height requirement

 SCRUB will recruit volunteer attorneys to represent the neighbors in appealing this decision as we have done over the past 20 years. The Commonweath Court of Pennsylvania has published many of our court victories  dismissing the ZBA ‘s variances allowing billboards in protected areas. 

Safety-FYI

  Billboard owners are not required to perform safety checks on structures located in  Philadelphia. Legislation that would have required engineering reports every 5 years were dismantled through a settlement agreement between the Law Department and three billboard companies.  

  A Fox Chase property owner whose building was damaged by a fallen billboard 18 months ago has filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of this agreement. That case is before the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.  

 Placing adjacent neighbors living in townhouses in harms way, the ZBA ignored the law and approved a variance allowing this Clear Channel billboard to be rebuilt and raised another 3 stories  

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Sincerely,

Mary Tracy  

To make a Donation Click here

or send a check to:
SCRUB 1315 Walnut Street 
Suite 1605 
Philadelphia, PA 19107

The site, developed by Jarvus Innovations, contains dozens of collaborative partners and is now seeking event organizers and sponsors.

• RSVP to one of our 23 launch events like Startup Weekend, The Philly Robitics Expo or the Unity Videogame Showcase.
• Sponsor the week. Packages range from $50 and up.
• Organize an event of your own

And, if you are interested in learning about the week, feel free to flip through our media kit.

We look forward to seeing you in April and thanks for your continued support,
Sean, Brian and Chris
Philly Tech Week organizers

The Community Design Collaborative has been named a finalist for support from ArtPlace, an unprecedented private-public collaboration of nine of the nation’s top foundations, eight federal agencies including the National Endowment for the Arts, and six of the nation’s largest banks. 

The Community Design Collaborative has been named a finalist for support from ArtPlace, an unprecedented private-public collaboration of nine of the nation’s top foundations, eight federal agencies including the National Endowment for the Arts, and six of the nation’s largest banks. ArtPlace supports creative placemaking with grants and loans, research and advocacy.

The Community Design Collaborative joins 128 other organizations in 68 cities working to transform their communities by driving vibrancy through investments in the arts.

The selected projects represent the best of the more than 2,000 applications from across the country. Finalists were chosen for their potential to have a transformative impact on community vibrancy. Proposed projects run the gamut from temporary art spaces to permanent performance venues, from music festivals to art walks and from streetscaping to artist residencies.

“This new round of applications shows that there is serious momentum building for creative placemaking in the U.S.,” says Carol Coletta, president of ArtPlace. “These artists and designers are an undervalued asset for kick-starting momentum in our communities. And in this economy, it’s hard to imagine why any community wouldn’t deploy every asset it has for success.”

ArtPlace expects to distribute $15 million in 2012.  This year’s grant recipients will be announced in May.  Last year, 34 organizations received a total of $11.5 million.   The full list of finalists can be found at http://www.artplaceamerica.org/articles/2012finalists/   Participating foundations include Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Ford Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, The McKnight Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Rasmuson Foundation, The Robina Foundation and an anonymous donor. In addition to the NEA, federal partners are the departments of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Agriculture, Education and Transportation, along with leadership from the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Domestic Policy Council. ArtPlace is also supported by a $12 million loan fund capitalized by six major financial institutions and managed by the Nonprofit Finance Fund. Participating institutions are Bank of America, Citi, Deutsche Bank, Chase, MetLife and Morgan Stanley.

The Community Design Collaborative is a community design center that provides pro bono preliminary design services to nonprofit organizations, offers unique volunteer opportunities for design professionals, and raises awareness about the importance of design in community revitalization. Founded in 1991 as a program of AIA Philadelphia, the Collaborative is an independent 501(c) (3) with a network of more than 1,000 volunteers. Linda Dottor, Program Manager Community Design Collaborative 1216 Arch Street, First Floor Philadelphia, PA 19107 215.587.9290 linda@cdesignc.org