https://vimeo.com/18641494]
Very often when new government programs are implemented, it can take years for them to take effect. For example, Philadelphia launched a 10-year abatement program to boost a long decline in population in 1997.
The program holds the tax assessment value at a property’s pre-development level for a decade. Initially this tax abatement only applied to residential conversions. But in 2000 the abatement was extended to new construction, according to the Board of Tax Revisions website.
Since then, 12,121 units of housing have been constructed in downtown Center City. Yet some areas seemed to be bypassed by abatement spurred construction until now. North Philadelphia had been experiencing a decline in residential properties, with 17,506 in 2000, and 16,801 in 2007, according to the Philadelphia Neighborhood Information System.
Recently however, there has been a boom in new construction and renovations in North Philadelphia, particularly around Temple University’s main campus. In 2010 alone, construction started on 14 new buildings all within the radius between Berks and Fontain streets and 16th and 19th streets, a few blocks from TU’s campus.
Zigg Panek, 46, is the owner and architect of two of the new buildings being constructed, and actually lives in New Jersey. Attracted by the low tax rate and the growth of Temple University’s student population, he decided to build two row houses on 18th and monument streets. One of them is designated for his son Chris, a Temple University sophomore.
“It’s stimulation of the economy right here,” Panek said. “With the tax abatement I’ll be saving money, and I’ll get a lot more back if I decide to sell. It’s affordable student housing, and it helps clean up the neighborhood.”
Dennis Wang, 22 and a recent Temple University graduate, feels that the new construction is a good thing, and that it will bring more safety into the neighborhood.
“Before hardly any police used to come by here, but because of all the new construction there’s always a Philadelphia or Temple cop that sits at the corner.” Wang said.
Wang moved into a house at 19th and Berks street with his roommates three years ago, and although they are moving out at the end of July, he has thought about staying in the area.
Although this spur in development is good for college students, some long time residents feel that it is pushing them out. Willie Brown, 66, has been living in the neighborhood for all of his life. He now lives on Bouvier Street, where the construction of two new buildings started in February and March of 2010.
“All these buildings coming up right now, its all for the students,” Brown said. “It doesn’t benefit the neighborhood whatsoever.”
Gail Pinkney, 55, has lived on Fontain Street for all of her life and many of her family members live on the same street. While she supports the construction in some ways, she feels that it has a negative impact on the community.
“In a way it’s positive, because it’s building up the neighborhood. But it’s not for the community. The housing is not for us.” She said.
This sentiment was echoed by Pickney’s neighbor and Block Captain Leslie Thomas. She feels that in certain aspects it is good and bad as well, but Thomas does not like the neighbors that these new houses are designated for, namely rowdy college students.
“They don’t put out their trash, they play loud music, parties, spray paint abandoned houses,” Thomas said. “And they have too many parties. They do more drinking than anything else.”
While Thomas admitted that some of the students were very respectful of their neighbors, she did not like the fact that the construction equipment damages the sidewalk and the pavement.
“They say they’ll come back and fix it, but they never do.” She said. “Even if they do come back, it takes them weeks, sometimes months.”
There are three lots on Norris Street near 17th Street, which are designated for public housing by the Philadelphia Housing Authority, using funds from the American Recovery Act of 2009. But that housing, when constructed, is a small number among the dozens of houses exclusively for students.
Other organizations such as The Habitat for Humanity located on 19th Street between Berks and Montgomery Streets also has tried to obtain some of the lots in the North Central area. Habitat’s first project in North Central is across the street from their office. They have helped renovate or build houses for families in need there since 1985. Unfortunately, many of the properties going up now are privately owned, and it was hard for Habitat to track the owners down, according to Jon Musselman, Director of Project Planning at the Philadelphia branch.
“It’s also a lot of money, well for us. For someone who’s going to invest for student apartments, it makes sense,” Musselman said. “We don’t have that kind of money to put into one or two lots.”
Despite the fact that the new housing may make the neighborhood look nicer, some residents believe that it is slowly erasing the history of the area. Taajuldiin Mutassim, 52, grew up in North Central and attended Temple University. He remembers when North Central was home to two of the biggest gangs in Philadelphia, the Montgomery Street Gang, and the Norris Street gang.
“If you lived on one side of Berks you couldn’t cross it without getting shot,” Mutassim said. “You would never guess the history of this place looking around now.”
Although the history isn’t exactly a pleasant one, it’s still a part of that area’s culture and identity, and helps to explain in part why the neighborhood is the way it is. Mutassim believes that the construction is good in some ways for building up the image of the area but that ultimately it is erasing the community and it’s rich history.
“When you wipe out a community, you wipe away the memories, good or bad,” Mutassim said. “I survived drugs, guns, gangs, violence, I mean everything. But I can’t survive gentrification.”
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