June 25: Broad Street Armory demo nigh | Demolition resuming at 22nd and Market | Nutter admin limiting transparency | Taxes and crisis | Chalfont Playground refreshed
Happy Tuesday, Streeters! Today should be another warm, humid day and the city is under an air quality alert, so don’t overdo it out there. Here’s what’s making news this morning:
After another partial roof collapse the Broad Street Armory could be demolished in the coming days, Passyunk Post reports. The armory at Broad and Tasker was already slated for demolition, to be replaced by a new building with 50 apartments, but its condition has accelerated that schedule even though the plans for the new building have not been approved. The demolition will be subject to the city’s new demo rules put in place after the fatal building collapse at 22nd and Market on June 5.
Now, three weeks after that collapse, demolition crews will return to finish clearing the site at 22nd and Market streets, the Inquirer reports. Geppert Brothers, a firm that has done large projects in the city like the Convention Center, will be demolition contractor. Property owner Richard Basciano and Geppert are negotiating a contract and still need permits, but demolition could resume as early as Wednesday.
In the aftermath of the collapse, the city has remained tight-lipped in response to reporters’ requests for information relating to demolition site inspections, among other factual requests. And while the Nutter administration wins good-government points for releasing lots of city data sets, it has also created new hurdles that threaten to limit access to public records, reports the Inquirer. A decision by City Solicitor Shelly Smith promises to limit public access to legal correspondence relating to the city’s legal settlements. These records have been construed as public for decades.
The Daily News takes a look at why Philly’s taxes rise every year. “Crisis. And in Philadelphia, crisis is unending.”
Tiny Chalfont Playground got $700,000 facelift, reports NEast Philly. The half-acre playground now has new play equipment, a push-button activated sprayground, as well as improved furniture and lighting.
From the Department of Ouch: Vogue doesn’t know jack about Philly, but tries. Philebrity does the honors skewering the “map” by “locals”.
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