Streetviews: Q&A with LISC’s Andy Frishkoff

For our last installment in our Agenda2015 Streetviews Q&A series, we sat down with Andy Fishkoff from Philadelphia LISC, a nonprofit that provides assistance to community development corporations citywide. We talked about the need to get neighborhood newcomers and old-timers in dialogue about change, why a healthy city requires a holistic approach to community and economic development, and how Philly has a hard time imagining itself as a better city.

• Andy Frishkoff: Executive Director of Philadelphia LISC
• Home Neighborhood: West Philadelphia, Cedar Park, University City… take your pick.
• Local Landmark: City Hall. “It’s representative of Philadelphia because on the one hand, it’s old, it’s interesting. It still dirty even though we’ve cleaned it up a lot. It’s not a fancy new building. It really takes us back to our roots.”
• Civic Hero: Mayor’s Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity’s Eva Gladstein for her ability to tackle complex problems “collaboratively and patiently… whether it’s revamping the Philadelphia Empowerment Zone when I first started working with her, or tackling the zoning code, or now with Shared Prosperity.”
• Philly in Three(ish) Words: Gritty. Over-Achieving. Low Expectations.

Interviewed spring 2015.