Opinion Eyes on the Street

June 5: Council to hear affordable housing proposal | Bike share hearing | Roosevelt Boulevard crash | New fire commissioner | Weinstein’s Germantown plans | SOSNA maps vacant commercial spaces

Eyes on the Street

June 5, 2014

Good morning, Streeters! Here is what’s buzzing today.

Council President Darrell Clarke’s “Affordable Housing Units Initiative” passed through a City Council committee yesterday and is slated to go before full Council today. When the plan was announced in March, PlanPhilly’s Jared Brey analyzed the plan’s intent to create 1,000 new affordable rental units and 500 units available for ownership. This week, the Daily News caught up with people on both sides of the controversial initiative.

A City Council committee will hold a bike share hearing this Friday at 1pm. This is the only public hearing Council plans to hold, and if the bill at hand – to approve agreements with the bike share vendor and operator – passes out of committee, it will go before full City Council for a vote later this month. The Bicycle Coalition has more.

Roosevelt Boulevard is up and running again after a crush shut down all lanes of the Boulevard near Bucks County line this morning, Philly.com reports.

Mayor Nutter appointed a new fire commissioner yesterday. Newsworks reports that Deputy Commissioner Derrick Sawyer will take over from Commissioner Lloyd Ayers, who has served for 40 years.

Developer Ken Weinstein asked Germantown residents for suggestions on how the five buildings he owns at 4811 Germantown Ave. should be used. In the short-term, Weinstein plans to make exterior improvements – like new lampposts and plantings, a resurfaced parking lot, repaired roofs, new signage and exterior paint. According to Weinstein, his Philly Office Retail is making a $10 million investment in Germantown this year. PlanPhilly’s Alan Jaffe has more.

The South of South Neighborhood Association launched a new website section targeted at attracting new businesses to the neighborhood, Passyunk Post tells us. The site includes a new web tool that maps out available commercial spaces and is searchable by address, square footage, zoning code and recent use.

The Buzz is Eyes on the Street’s morning news digest. Have a tip? Send it along.
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