ONCE UPON A TIME

As someone who grew up in South Philadelphia in the late 1980s, I attended the High School for Creative & Performing Arts when it was located at 11th and Catherine Streets. My friends and I would often frequent South Street after school. I remember a time when the corridor felt vibrant, welcoming and safe. 

From bizarre boutiques, vintage fashion, record and book stores, galleries and a wide variety of eateries, there are still so many wonderful businesses along South Street. However, there are fewer of them now than ever before, suffocated by a decaying corridor, while the South Street Head House District buries its head in the sand, desperately clinging to nostalgia as a way to avoid the present-day reality. Not only do the businesses deserve better but so do the residents of Bella Vista, Washington Square West, Queen Village and Society Hill, all of which share borders along the South Street commercial corridor.

THE CORE ISSUE

The South Street Head House District has failed. Its board members, (many of whom have been on this board for well over a decade), have failed. Their committees have failed. Their Executive Director has failed. Their policies to create real change are nonexistent. To look at their website, one might be impressed. It reads like a politician delivering a perfectly tailored speech. However, one only needs to look at the state of the corridor to see the truth. 

Aside from their inability or unwillingness to put in the real work to create the changes needed on South Street, you have to first understand that it’s a “quantity over quality” approach for the SSHD. They don’t care what types of businesses come in, or if the business caters to the surrounding neighborhoods or if they are a nuisance business breaking laws or violating City codes. You see, for every business that opens they receive mandatory fees paid by those businesses operating within the district. To SSHD, any business means money in their pocket. Get the conflict? 

Over the years, gun violence, retail crime, pawn shop schemes, civil unrest due to inadequate crowd control, nightlife disturbances from nuisance businesses, rising costs, Covid and slum landlords, have all taken their toll on this iconic corridor. 

On South Street, between 9th & Front Streets alone, there are currently 46 empty storefronts, 12 smoke shops selling toxic and unregulated products, 10 jewelry stores, 9 sex shops, 4 “by-the-minute” massage parlors, a methadone clinic and a check cashing store. This once thriving, hip corridor has been reduced to something that resembles more of a red-light district than a business district that borders four of the most desirable neighborhoods in the City.

But one must ask, how did other business corridors in East Passyunk, Germantown, Rittenhouse, Fishtown and Midtown Village, (faced with similar issues), thrive, while South Street slowly decayed?

The answer is staring us in the face!

WHAT CAN WE DO?

It’s time for this Board to be disbanded  and for the South Street corridor to be reimagined by a new board, one willing to roll up their sleeves, make difficult decisions, and pursue meaningful reform. This will require a board to be bold, be loud, and think outside the box in order to rejuvenate this important and historic district. Does every board member need to step down? Maybe not, but a full review of all board members and the entire day-to-day requires an audit with a fine-tooth comb.  

This will be a long game. Some of the current board will not go quietly into the night. There will be resistance to change. They will make excuses. They will blame residents, law enforcement, the Streets Department, surrounding RCOs and will even claim, “their hands are tied”. They will make false promises they will never deliver on. They just did the excuse dance after a Cinco de mayo festival they approved wreaked havoc,  causing a massive response by law enforcement in order to disperse the unruly crowd. It was so bad, it made the news. However, with your voice, we can force change. There are more of us than of them but the only way to make this a reality is for you to sign this petition so that the City Council, specifically CM Squilla, can no longer ignore the glaring issue before him. 

IS CHANGE POSSIBLE?

In short, yes. Until very recently, SSHD managed the historic Head House Square located at 400 S. 2nd Street. They held the lease for over 20 years, milking it for every penny they could squeeze from events such as private parties, weddings, the farmers market and antique shows. All the while allowing it to fall into disrepair. After multiple organizations and residents began to complain, HHS was eventually transferred from SSHD management and now resides in the hands of the New Market & Head House Square Conservancy and is currently undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation. I am sharing this so you know that change is possible with your voice!

Below outlines the bigger picture of what we could accomplish with the right Board at the helm. The possibilities are endless, but we must ensure that meaningful change is imminent.  PLEASE REVIEW. PLEASE SIGN. PLEASE SHARE. IT’S TIME FOR CHANGE!

1) FORMAL DEMANDS TO PHILADELPHIA CITY COUNCIL:

• Introduce a City Council resolution to disband and reform the existing SSHD board.
• Establish a temporary, non-partisan committee to manage daily corridor operations.
• Rewrite the bylaws to expand the board to meet the goals required to rejuvenate South Street.
• Implement an open, transparent election process for the successor board.

2) APPOINT A DIVERSE BOARD OF STAKEHOLDERS COMPRISED OF BUT NOT LIMITED TO:

• New local business owners.
• Employees of those local businesses.
• Landlords of rental properties along the corridor.
• Renters living along the corridor, above storefronts.
• Homeowners and renters within 2 to 3 blocks on either side of South Street between Front & 9th with diverse backgrounds in urban planning and architecture, real estate and zoning law, historic preservation, financial management, legal and regulatory compliance, public relations and event facilitation, and local artists.
• Include at least one representative from each surrounding RCO, including Queen Village Neighbors Association, Society Hill Civic Association, Washington Square West Civic Association and Bella Vista Neighbors Association.

3) CREATE COMMITTEES WITH FOCUSED OBJECTIVES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO:

• Events and Open Streets Committee.
• Traffic Control, Crowd Safety and Law Enforcement Committee.
• Permit, Zoning and Overlay Committee.
• Landlord Outreach Committee.
• New Business Outreach and Development Committee.
• Vacant Storefront Revitalization Committee.
• Street Cleaning and Beautification Committee.

With the right board, all of the above, and more, can actually be accomplished. From cleaner streets lined with trees, to aggressive graffiti, sticker and trash removal, to more family-friendly events, to a safer, promenade-like street closed off to ATVs and dirt bikes, to businesses being required to comply with applicable laws and codes or face enforcement action and to new businesses being courted and benefiting from strong landlord relations, and City programs such as the Catalyst Fund, In-Store Forgivable Loan Program and the Store Front Improvement Program, and so much more.  It will take time and commitment but if we do nothing, nothing will change!

EVERY SIGNATURE HELPS MOVE SOUTH STREET TOWARD A SAFER, STRONGER, AND MORE VIBRANT FUTURE!

This petition is sponsored by the Delancey Square Town Watch. Officially Certified by Town Watch Integrated Services, City of Philadelphia on May 10th, 2023. Certification may be verified by contacting Executive Director of TWIS, Anthony Murphy at Anthony.Murphy@phila.gov 

You may contact us at: DSTownWatch@gmail.com