PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread II

[SEFTA]

This was on Instagram;

"Maura McCarthy has gotten the boot as director of the Fairmount Park Conservancy. McCarthy officially announced her resignation yesterday after an audit conducted by the FPC Board uncovered mismanagement, financial woes, and a disillusioned public.

The audit report was damning!
What we've heard:
- Not enough new funding is coming in.
- Donors are turned off by the way FPC has drifted away from its mission.
- Numerous FPC projects across the city are stalled.

For those of us paying attention, this isn't a surprise. The FDR Master Plan is toxic. First, the Parks & Rec director left, and now the FPC Executive Director has been pushed out—the people, from parents to athletes to community members, don't want this unsafe project.

It's time for a change!

Maura McCarthy's leadership steered the Fairmount Park Conservancy off course — especially with her blind commitment to the environmental and public health disaster that has destroyed almost half of the FDR Meadows so far.

The Conservancy should fund and maintain our neighborhood sports fields and parks. It should follow the science and stop destroying FDR Park, especially to put in artificial turf. It must not continue Maura's revenue-generation model in privatizing our public spaces."

[TempleGuy1000]

I won't comment on the Parks department being mismanaged. It's obvious every dept is and has been for decades. However, I do want to address the FDR remodel.

Originally Posted by SEFTA

For those of us paying attention, this isn't a surprise. The FDR Master Plan is toxic.

What is actually toxic is the "Save the meadows" white supremacist movement. It's made up of the exact same organizations as the anti-76 place movement.

Originally Posted by SEFTA

the people, from parents to athletes to community members, don't want this unsafe project.

when they say "no one in the community wants it", they just mean that the white people who enjoyed letting their dogs shit all over the abandoned golf course. I know this because I was a part of the Friends of FDR and let my dog poop all over the abandoned woods.

There's literally dozens and dozens of turf facilities at high schools all across the suburbs. Most of high schools have them now. But the toxic white supremacy says that the poor black kids in Philadelphia do not deserve to have facilities to play at all year round. If it was such a health concern, why haven't these people been advocating for the removal of fields all across the region and country? Why do the kids in south Philly have to go outside the city to find somewhere to play?

The teams of south philly have been clear about their desire to have the fields.



Not the weirdo freaks cosplaying as Farmers from the University of Pennsylvania

[brenster]

Originally Posted by TempleGuy1000

I won't comment on the Parks department being mismanaged. It's obvious every dept is and has been for decades. However, I do want to address the FDR remodel.



What is actually toxic is the "Save the meadows" white supremacist movement. It's made up of the exact same organizations as the anti-76 place movement.



when they say "no one in the community wants it", they just mean that the white people who enjoyed letting their dogs shit all over the abandoned golf course. I know this because I was a part of the Friends of FDR and let my dog poop all over the abandoned woods.

There's literally dozens and dozens of turf facilities at high schools all across the suburbs. Most of high schools have them now. But the toxic white supremacy says that the poor black kids in Philadelphia do not deserve to have facilities to play at all year round. If it was such a health concern, why haven't these people been advocating for the removal of fields all across the region and country? Why do the kids in south Philly have to go outside the city to find somewhere to play?

The teams of south philly have been clear about their desire to have the fields.



Not the weirdo freaks cosplaying as Farmers from the University of Pennsylvania

Moderators, are we going to allow this racist bullshit?

[TempleGuy1000]

Originally Posted by brenster

Moderators, are we going to allow this racist bullshit?

Lol. So calling out the actual racist BS going on at FDR is making me a racist?

I'm sharing my personal experience of the highly racist 'Save the Meadows' progressive wing once again ignoring all voices but their own (very white) voices. The teams of kids who play there are in clear support of the remodel.

South Philly residents sue city, demand injunction on FDR Park makeover

Who are these "residents" with so much time and money on their hand repeatedly suing the city over the remodel of the park?

“We’re taking a legal route because it’s our last resort,” said plaintiff and member of the organizing group Save the Meadows Anisa George, who described feeling ignored in public hearings regarding the plan in the past year.

Who is Anisa George? Oh yeah, an aspiring 'Farmer' in South Philadelphia



Make no mistake, the actual racism is once again coming from the "progressives" in Philly pretending their voices are the only ones who matter. Sorry, robbing kids of playing fields to fuel some urban ghetto farming fantasy is something I'm not okay with

[brenster]

Originally Posted by TempleGuy1000

Lol. So calling out the actual racist BS going on at FDR is making me a racist?

I'm sharing my personal experience of the highly racist 'Save the Meadows' progressive wing once again ignoring all voices but their own (very white) voices. The teams of kids who play there are in clear support of the remodel.

South Philly residents sue city, demand injunction on FDR Park makeover

Who are these "residents" with so much time and money on their hand repeatedly suing the city over the remodel of the park?

.

Who is Anisa George? Oh yeah, an aspiring 'Farmer' in South Philadelphia



Make no mistake, the actual racism is once again coming from the "progressives" in Philly pretending their voices are the only ones who matter. Sorry, robbing kids of playing fields to fuel some urban ghetto farming fantasy is something I'm not okay with

If something is very white, that doesn’t make it racist. Thats your opinion, and its a racist one. This is a development website. Go on Twitter if you want to spew this garbage

[Justin7]

Replacing nature with plastic "grass" is fucking stupid, and yes, toxic.

Take this ad hominem, race-baiting bullshit out of here.

[PHLtoNYC]

Good news.

Share this article next time you see someone on FB yell, "why do they keep building when all these new buildings are empty!?!"

Apartment construction boomed in Philadelphia. How quickly are those 15,000 units leasing up?
https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...a-leasing.html

Class A apartments in Philadelphia with at least 50 units completed between 2020 and the second quarter of 2024 are 77.4% occupied, according to brokerage firm Cushman & Wakefield.

Keith Braccia, a director for Cushman & Wakefield’s capital markets team, said it’s “definitely eye opening” how well new apartments in Philadelphia have been leased.

[TK2001]

If there's anything FDR Park needs it's an observation tower for everyone

[Nanyika]

The remarks of TempleGuy1000 are shameful; he should apologize to people on this board and to the neighborhood groups and individuals that he slandered. It should be apparent to anyone with the least knowledge of this issue that the people who volunteer their time to protect the environment and the health of our kids are not white supremacists, or even exclusively white.

Save the Meadows has been a key part of the campaign to eliminate artificial turf from playing fields around the city, as well as in FDR Park. Studies have shown that all plastic "grass" contains PFAS and other highly toxic chemicals that are associated with higher incidents of cancer. It also heats up to much higher temperatures than natural grass, making the athletes who are forced to play on it much more prone to injury. That’s one reason that the NFL Players Association and FIFA are against its use.

Save the Meadows has always called for MORE (natural grass) recreation fields in Philadelphia neighborhoods, and keeping those fields open, accessible, and in good repair. This would be far more useful and healthier for young people in this city than destroying natural space in far South Philadelphia for the construction of a giant $100 million complex of athletic facilities, roads, and parking lots.

[TempleGuy1000]

Originally Posted by Nanyika

The remarks of TempleGuy1000 are shameful; he should apologize to people on this board and to the neighborhood groups and individuals that he slandered. It should be apparent to anyone with the least knowledge of this issue that the people who volunteer their time to protect the environment and the health of our kids are not white supremacists, or even exclusively white.

I picked up trash there for years as a part of the organization that took care of the park. I donated my own money and time as I went through chemo.

Save the Meadows has been a key part of the campaign to eliminate artificial turf from playing fields around the city, as well as in FDR Park. Studies have shown that all plastic "grass" contains PFAS and other highly toxic chemicals that are associated with higher incidents of cancer. It also heats up to much higher temperatures than natural grass, making the athletes who are forced to play on it much more prone to injury. That’s one reason that the NFL Players Association and FIFA are against its use.

In reality, "Save the meadows" emerged at in the 11th hour of the plan when the community meetings had already taken place and the designs made. Only after the park got popular with Millennial dog owners during Covid did young people care. the science is still out and being studied in terms of the PFAS and the type of turf materials matters greatly. Why haven't the hundreds of suburb schools and parks been protested over the turf? I need you to explain this to me. Why aren't the professional activists out protesting the hundreds of football and soccer games going on every day?

Save the Meadows has always called for MORE (natural grass) recreation fields in Philadelphia neighborhoods, and keeping those fields open, accessible, and in good repair. This would be far more useful and healthier for young people in this city than destroying natural space in far South Philadelphia for the construction of a giant $100 million complex of athletic facilities, roads, and parking lots.

That's nice. Again, in reality, they've costed the parks department and city millions of dollars over a few trees, the fields, and redesign. Essentially robbing the city from creating better nature spaces. NIMBY Rich lawyers and privileged individuals set on pushing their personal wants and needs over any body in their path. The idea that they're helping anyone but themselves is comical and speaks to how they view themselves as the 'saviors' of the community.

Nanyika, you should go deliver the news to the Sigma Sharks and the rest of the point breeze and grays ferry community about why they won't have fields to play on outside of summer time and early fall. That's what happens to grass fields in use, they turn into mud pits after the first weeks of the school year.

[TempleGuy1000]

As a continuation:

I think a major driving factor of my feelings on this situation revolve around how the activist community has gone about the "disruption" of the remodel of the park oppose to the actual concerns. From disrupting community meetings, to suing over trees, fields, etc.That's not the way to go about getting change and making your voice heard. The PFAS in artifical turf is a concern, hence why PA is the process of formulating laws around how things like artificial turf are manufactured besides their parts per trillion count. Unfortunately, it's basically impossible to avoid PFAS in every day life across all the different products we use and interact with. The turf claims to be PFAS-free, but like the independent companies have said, that is not really true in terms of how they're manufactured. Does that cause cancer? The science is out. Whatever turf is eventually installed will be the best there is to be installed.

I obviously was looking to generate an emotional response with my first comment, and I do apologize for that. I will not apologize for my belief that the disruptive nature of the Save the Meadows organization has not resulted in anything positive and has just further hindered efforts to make Philly's green spaces more useful, productive, and cared for.

[nemesisinphilly]

Bougie Seger Park in Washington Sq West recently installed artificial turf on a playground for children 5-12.

https://segerpark.org/facilities

Why won't the ecocide warriors think of the children? Why aren't they protesting toxic Seger Park? Take a break from saving Chinatown and save our children.

[ok-ez]

Originally Posted by nemesisinphilly

Bougie Seger Park in Washington Sq West recently installed artificial turf on a playground for children 5-12.

https://segerpark.org/facilities

Why won't the ecocide warriors think of the children? Why aren't they protesting toxic Seger Park? Take a break from saving Chinatown and save our children.

lol Whataboutism and calling obviously not racist people racist is it Maga day on the development board?

[Justin7]

Originally Posted by nemesisinphilly

Bougie Seger Park in Washington Sq West recently installed artificial turf on a playground for children 5-12.

https://segerpark.org/facilities

Why won't the ecocide warriors think of the children? Why aren't they protesting toxic Seger Park? Take a break from saving Chinatown and save our children.

Anyone want to defend the athletic fields made of petrochemicals without getting weird?

[nemesisinphilly]

LOL, just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean they're MAGA. I already voted for the Dem ticket by the way.

I also never said anything about the opponents of the FDR revamp being racist. I don't think they're racist. I think some of them are selfish people who like having a wild field to themselves and others will latch onto any cause.

Unlike some other posters I live in South Philly. This is my neighborhood park. People my age( early 40's) my friends and neighbors are all in favor of the FDR revamp. People with children are more in favor than anyone. South Philly is a very diverse area so the fields will be used by people of all races. I don't get the racism argument at all.

It's very disingenuous to argue that this is about turf. Do you all honestly believe that if tomorrow they came out and said the plan is moving forward 100% as planned but we will put in grass instead of turf the protesters will go away?

I don't know if modern turf is dangerous or not. What I do know is that there is no group louder and more litigious than wealthy parents. I bring up Seger Park because if the wealthy parents of children that play here don't have a problem with their kids crawling all over a turf playground why do you have a problem with a turf soccer field?

Additionally modern turf continues to be installed all over the area. Here are some recent openings of turf fields in the last year:

Eagles Practice Fields - https://sportsfieldmanagementonline....acility/16670/

Drexel - https://drexeldragons.com/news/2024/...letics-complex

Temple - https://owlsports.com/news/2024/4/15/fieldturf

Mastery Charter School - https://www.inquirer.com/high-school...-20240903.html

Union Sportsplex - https://www.philadelphiaunion.com/ws...groundbreaking

These are all just this year! And we haven't heard a peep from the protesters about any of these. So how can one honestly say that this is about turf fields.

[mja]

This has been overheated, but it's illustrative of the limits of progressivism, i.e. when progressive policy concerns don't align with the actual wishes of the communities that progressives avow they are fighting for.

[3rd&Brown]

I'm with TempleGuy on this one (and I'm a white dude). Yes, sometimes even progressives have blind spots on racism. And yes, there is a lot of white saviorism in progressive circles.

Progressives overcorrect in lots of areas and it has a tendency to backfire.

Anyways. I'm all for the FDR revamp. Can't wait for it to get going.

Good news on apartment absorption as well. Maybe it is the case that if you build it, they will come. Seems particularly true when suburbs are built out and NIMBYism is more rampant than ever. I'm also of the mind that this plethora of amenity laden new buildings are an attraction in and of themselves. Until the recent past, this sort of product was sorely lacking in Philadelphia. There's a certain (not insignificant) portion of the population who only wants new. While the old buildings in Philadelphia undoubtedly have charm, they're not for everybody.

[summersm343]

wtf guys… this conversation ends now until McGrath, myself and any other moderators have a chance to clean this thread. Please end this conversation now so we don’t have to lock the thread and dole out punishments and suspensions.