Gee whiz, you decide to finally give in and join the 10,000 losses party, and the Phillies bumrush the (not playing like) World Series champion Cardinals for 13
and 10 and they're still stuck on 9,999. I'll gladly trade a sweep of the Cards for the opportunity that dedicated Fightin' fans have to stay up
late and watch the Dubeeous dubious milestone next week. LET'S GO PHILS!
Meanwhile, about three minutes outside of Philadelphia city limits is one of the most unique and even natural views of our Philly Skyline. Neshaminy State Park
is right off of the first exit on 95 past the city, Street Road. (Street Road has always been one of my favorite street names.) Instead of hanging a left and
heading toward the home of the greatest horse Philadelphia has known, Smarty Jones and Philadelphia Park, bust a right just across State Road and take a
hike down to the Delaware River. Though there is a large swimming pool on site at Neshaminy, many find themselves taking a dip . . . wait for it . . . in the
Delaware.
So when we talk about plunging one's body right smack into that River 'tween Penn's Woods and Jersey, we're not talking about some sparkling stream up in Port
Jervis or strapping on hip waders up by Washington Crossing. With a little calculation and guidance, we ought to be able to do it right here in the city. Imagine
a beach at Penn Treaty Park; it's possible, and we all want to see Governor Rendell there with his shirt off waiting to jump in with the rest of us.
It could happen, but before it does, it really is possible (and technically against the rules, but hey) at Neshaminy State Park, the subject of yr
half-under-water Philly Skyline Philly Skyline.
–B Love
13 July 07: Lovable Losers
Phillies Phillies Phillies. We're about ready to break out of the second half gates, The Team To Beat stuck on .500. 44 wins, 44 losses. This is the
team with the best offense in the league. They lead the league in runs scored and are third in homeruns and batting average. And they're dead last in
ERA and homeruns allowed.
Chicks dig the long ball, no doubt, but the old adage Defense Wins the Game lives at Citizens Bank Park, especially this year. Your Philly Skyline
has called for Charlie Manuel's job almost as long as he's had it. Watching Jim Leyland in the World Series last season only solidified this. He's
made some bone headed decisions this year (like pitching Brett Myers with a 4 run lead in Florida or playing Rod Barajas at all), but we've kind of
stepped back from our Fire Charlie Manuel stance.
It's not Cholly's fault Pat Gillick didn't get him any bullpen support in the offseason. It's not
his fault that his cache of six qualified starting pitchers dwindled to three, and it's not his (or even Gillick's) fault that Freddy Garcia was an
injury bust. Everyone (including yours truly) was happy when Garcia was obtained. That was in fact a large part of the reason I picked up the season
ticket package I did.
But Freddy got injured. And Jon Lieber got injured. Neither of them will ever throw another pitch for the Phillies. Brett Myers was injured (thanks,
Rod!). Tom Gordon was injured. The pitching situation is so bad that Jose Mesa, the guy fans rode out of town on a rail the final season at The Vet,
was the answer to an understaffed bullpen (appropriately coached by the guy who enjoys serving up
HR balls during the Derby).
Cole Hamels, despite accompanying his excellent strikeout total with a scary homeruns-allowed total, has been excellent and deserving of his All Star
appearance. Jamie Moyer and Adam Eaton have done almost exactly what you'd expect. Kyle Kendrick has been a pleasant surprise, as has surprise
call-up Mike Zagurski out in the bullpen. Geoff Geary, Jose Mesa, Clay Condrey, Francisco Rosario, Yoel Hernandez, JD Durbin? Teh suck. What does it
say when Ryan Madson is not only the best option out of the bullpen, but he also leads the entire staff in ERA?
On the hitting side, Chase Utley is about as ideal a ballplayer as you'd want. He's the best second baseman in the game, he's among the smartest
hitters in the game, he's a hustler, he's a leader, and he's so good looking!
Ryan Howard has struggled, but he didn't really turn it on till late last year, so let's hope for a repeat performance. Aaron Rowand, who I
was certain the Phillies would trade in the offseason, has made me eat every "overrated" I muttered last year. At the same time, it seems unlikely
that his stock will rise any higher than it is, and if the Phils have any chance at getting a good starting pitcher, they'll get a hell of a lot more
out of Rowand than Carlos Ruiz, who they shouldn't trade anyway, or Pat Burrell, who no one will take. Poor Pat . . . as much as you want the guy to
do well and turn it around, it just doesn't seem like he ever will, or that he even cares to.
Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino and Carlos Ruiz have been solid. Michael Bourn is way better than I'd thought -- I pictured him being of the Marlon
Byrd / Endy Chavez / Chris Roberson / Tomas Perez slap-and-suck mold, but he's a capable hitter and is faster than anyone on the team (13-for-13 in
steals). Jayson Werth kinda just takes up space. Greg Dobbs has been a huge plus. Wes Helms is a disappointment but seems to finally be improving.
Chris Coste has produced in the limited time he's seen, he's a fan favorite, and he makes less than one-sixth the salary of Rod Barajas, who isn't
really good at anything.
The Phillies' first half has been nothing short of frustrating and disappointing. It's had its moments -- sweeping the Mets in Shea, Moyer's two
almost-no-nos, the "we are fam-i-ly" moments of the almost-brawl in Florida and the Tarp Incident in Colorado -- but .500 ball is, as .500 would
indicate, just mediocre. In the games I've personally attended, they are 3-8.
As the season progresses, they obviously need Brett Myers to come back healthy. I'd say Tom Gordon, but as his age and after all these injuries,
does anyone really think he'll be a safe bet for late innings? Pat Gillick has GOT to get a good starter and hopefully a middle reliever who
isn't 40+. If those things add up to playoffs and it means trading Rowand, I can live with that. I just hope we don't end up with zero
in return, as with the trades of (all star) Placido Polanco, Vicente Padilla and Bobby Abreu.
And it all starts tonight, with the Phillies a loss away from that roundest of round numbers, 10,000 losses. Here's hoping the Phils sprint out of
the gates and rip through the west coast like they did last year. The Mets are certainly beatable, the Braves appear to be overachievers and will
sooner or later come back down to reality, and the Marlins and Nationals can forget about it. The division title is clearly within the Phillies'
reach.
But the 10,000th loss is in their lap, so it might as well happen at the subject of this latest retroactive Skinny Phase-In, Citizens Bank
Park.
Citizens Bank Park was a long time coming for the Philadelphia Phillies Major League Baseball franchise. A really long time. In spite of a really
short life span -- 33 years, just like Jesus Christ -- and holding a dear place in the heart of many a Phillies and Eagles fan, The Vet grew obsolete
very quickly. It was hard, cold and ugly. Just about every other team in baseball had built a new ballpark in the past decade, and the ones that
didn't played on diamonds called Fenway Park, Wrigley Field and Yankee Stadium. (It could be worse, the Mets still have Shea Stadium, but only for
two more seasons.)
Seeing the success other teams (Indians, Rockies and of course Orioles) had with downtown parks, the Phillies wanted a downtown park and had the
funding to do it, thanks largely in part to lobbying efforts by cross state teams the Pittsburgh Pirates and Penguins, and the signature of then
governor Tom Ridge. Except, well . . . it was not to be.
While the Pirates and Steelers opened their stadiums in 2001 and the Eagles were building The Linc next to the FU Center, the Phillies still didn't
know what they were going to do. Locations at Broad & Callowhill, Delaware & Spring Garden, and 30th & Walnut -- which directly above an exit to 76
and two blocks from 30th Street Station, where Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, and every single Septa regional rail, trolley and el line, was the perfect
location, with an amazing northeast-facing skyline view to boot -- were all weighed, but none of these won.
Instead, thanks to the leadership of the Phillies organization and Mayor John Street, a new ballpark was awarded to a site at 13th & Vine . . . which
was subsequently killed, thanks to sensible residents of Chinatown who had just a decade earlier seen their neigborhood split by the Vine Street
Expressway. After what seemed like very little discussion and consideration for the other locations, it was announced in summer 2001 that the new
Phillies ballpark would be . . . right next to The Vet.
Philadelphia's Ewing Cole Cherry Brott and Kansas City's HOK, who've made a name for themselves with their sports venues, collaborated on a somewhat
throwback, neighborhood style ballpark which sits in the middle of a parking lot in South Philly. When you're inside the ballpark, it's a beautiful
place: excellent sightlines, proximity to the field (and bullpen), the best concession stands in all baseball. The Schmitter and Bull's BBQ have fast
lines, Tony Luke's and Rick's serve up the real deal cheesesteak, Planet Hoagie is called Planet Hoagie(!), and the bountiful beer stands serve
Yards, Flying Fish, Tröegs, and other local brews. There isn't a bad seat in the house.
But. (This is the Phillies, of course there is a But.) You have to wonder what, if any, benefit the dead area of Pattison Avenue will gain from a
baseball park that's open at minimum 81 days a year, much more exciting when it's open more than that. Now in its fourth season, the answer is next
to none. McFaddens Pub is the only thing consistently open in the area, and it's in the ballpark. If they sacrificed only a quarter of
what used to be The Vet, one could picture a row of shops, bars, stores, something. Better, it would mean that those of us riding the Subway
wouldn't have to stop twice to let cars pulling into 'The Vet parking lot' cross our sidewalk. (An aside: as the Citizens Bank Park was
opening, Marty Moss-Coane hosted an author who'd written a book about all 30 ballparks on her Radio Times show, and people called in to talk about
what the ballpark would be like. I called in and brought up this very idea -- subway pedestrians having to cross parking traffic IF the Phillies
didn't relegate the entrances to just Broad & Hartranft and Packer Ave, as they should have -- and the idiotic author snapped "the Phillies are a
smart organization, I'm sure they'll think of something." Yeaaaah, no. They're not, and they didn't.)
At least it's got a killer view of the skyline,
right? Well yeah, not bad for three miles away (as opposed to directly across the river) and being impeded by a giant Phillies sign the organization likes to call Theme Tower.
And the neighborhood? It's not a neighborhood. It's a giant parking lot and a Holiday Inn. Yeah yeah, like 70 people walk to every Phillies game from
their homes in Packer Park. The brick paneled exterior is essentially meaningless but for the trite "traditional Philly red brick" aspect to it. If
they had to build the ballpark here, they could have built something boldy and extraordinary, like Chicago's Soldier Field.
But well, we got Citizens Bank Park. It's a fine ballpark, it really is. It's just . . . in the wrong location and . . . it could be so much better.
Two things the Phillies could do RIGHT NOW to make it better?
1. Tear down the Stupid Ass Phillies Sign "Theme Tower." The Phillies PR woman I spoke with said
that people have proposed on it. Let me get this straight. The three-sided sign, only one of which faced The Vet and two of which face the southern
end of the Schuylkill Expressway / approach to the Walt Whitman Bridge, was the most romantic way some guy could think up to ask his girlfriend for
her hand in marriage. If he was with her at an Eagles or Phillies game, he would have had to wait for a break in the game to go out to the walkways
since, you know, The Vet was bowl-shaped and you couldn't see OUT of the stadium. If he was driving with her on 76, he would have had to time it so
that the "will you marry me?" segment was displayed instead of "E-A-G-L-E-S" or "Grateful Dead tickets on sale this Saturday" or "Tastykake makes
really good cupcakes." The sign is an eyesore, and its perfectly in the way of the skyline view the Phillies claim is breathtaking.
2. Turn. Off. The. Siren.
This is SO UNNECESSARY. The golf cart you see here is the siren you hear when you're at the ballpark, when you're listening on the radio, and
when you're watching on the tv. No, there was not a murder in Killadelphia that happened during the broadcast. Well okay, there might have been but
it wasn't in the ballpark's neighborhood, because the ballpark's neighborhood is not a neighborhood. But that siren you hear that sounds like
Killadelphia is not a passing ambulance or police rushing to the scene of a crime; it is a freaking golf cart. There is no question that
emergencies will happen and that EMT-driven golf cart will need to help someone out. That's what they make horns for. A simple "beep beep" would go a
long way, and it wouldn't make its way onto the airwaves. It's flat out embarrassing that you can hear a siren during a radio/tv broadcast.
Will either of these things happen? Of course not. As long as the Philadelphia Phillies are owned by . . . well, whoever they're owned by,
this won't happen. Just like as long as the management includes names like Montgomery, Arbuckle and Amaro, the Phillies will not win a championship.
Pat Gillick gets a pass because he's a proven winner and, more importantly, he can only operate within the (financial) boundaries given by those
other men.
We're stuck with Citizens Bank Park, the home of the losingest franchise in professional sports history. Might as well enjoy it. Might as well also
enjoy reliving the ballpark under construction, which you can do by clicking the graphic below.
Ladies and gentlemen, The Skinny on Citizens Bank Park.
Weeeeeeellllllllllll I don't know but I been told
Comcast Center pics don't get old
Click it right there and ya make it real big
Put it on your desktop and squeal like a pig!
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
(harmonica solo)
Weeeeeeellllllllllll like I said there 'bout the Comcast Center
You click it over here and ya feel like a winner
Or you click it there where Murano is alive
Come on everybody like the bees in the hive!
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
–Bee Love
12 July 07: River more
Click, enlarge, wave hello to RyHo
Continuing along with our Delaware River theme, we direct our attention to Waterfront Square, where two of its five towers are -- at least for now -- the only
buildings to have risen along a riverfront of many many proposals. (Go back a couple years and you can add Dockside, a good two miles downstream, to this short
list.) Plenty is planned though, and like it or not, Sugar House Casino Slots Mall could be the catalyst to really get it all going.
All of the Riverfront projects, including Skyline fave Bridgeman's View Tower, are in the process of being profiled for The Skinny Phase-In (for which we'll
have a few new entries by week's end, promise). Until that happens, Matt Blanchard's latest contribution at PlanPhilly.com is on par with all his other great
work: The low-down on high-rise development.
–B Love
11 July 07: Umpdate: The River(s) and Other Casual Observations
Clicking enlarges this Delaware River Skyline Skyline sans Slurpee Stensland
Dawn Stensland must really like the taste of her own feet, cos she keeps putting them in her mouth. The Fox 29 anchor who called herself a retard during a
newscast (and then apologized) and repeatedly confused Mike Nutter for Dwight Evans and vice versa (yo Patricio) last night immediately followed a segment
on river swimming, in which Philadelphia Water Department rep Chris Crockett said that bacteria levels were well low enough to safely go swimming in the
Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers, with the throwaway comment: "I wouldn't let my dog swim in the Schuylkill." Her husband Larry Mendte's got a few more years of
on air experience than she does, so perhaps he can offer some tips on what's okay to think out loud and what's not.
Given our own experiences and memories of our polluted rivers (the Wissahickon has been tainted at least three times during Philly Skyline's existence, for
example), it's understandable that people would be hesitant to entertain the idea of swimming in Philadelphia's natural waters. But - is that really a news
anchor's call?
The Philadelphia Water Department is, all things considered, probably the most well run City organization. It's been around for almost two centuries and our
drinking water is still safe. There is no Air Department, so comparably speaking, you breathe dirtier air than you drink dirty water.
Swimming in the Delaware and Schuylkill isn't exactly a foreign idea. They hold a triathlon every year and it's not like the thousands of scullers who famously
row in the Schuylkill don't get a little splashback. There were pools all along the Delaware in which the Lenni Lenapes swam before the white man drove them
all away.
And of course, swimming is one of the many many considerations in Penn Praxis' Delaware Riverfront study (which we linked to not too long ago). Kellie Patrick
has a great in depth story covering the feasibility of swimming in the Delaware, the
environmental reality of it, and the human drive to do so. Look, they swim in the Hudson in New York (and Kramer in the East River) -- why can't we do it here?
It's HOT man, let's get some options!
But before you go submerging yourself in a Delaware Douse, let's hear the thoughts of one Nathaniel Popkin, who did just that:
Ten feet off the shore, stepping gingerly across the
glazed but not slippery rocks I plunge joyfully below the surface, extending across the dry spring's easy current and into the legendary shad grounds. The
river holds me in its firm heavy arms so that for a brilliant moment I float, simply and unmistakably content.
Of course you can check it out from boat side too. The Urban Land Institute tonight offers a three hour tour (a three hour
tour) of the Delaware, departing from the Riverlink Ferry terminal at Penn's Landing. Pre-registration is over, but you might be able to secure one of the $75
tickets by hopping over HERE. Seventy-five beans for three hours by boat, from the Betsy Ross Bridge all the way down to the Navy Yard. Dig.
Now then, your Other Casual Observations comprising this Hump Day Umpdate.
LIFELINES ON LIFE SUPPORT? On 11 February 2006 (please note: the "news" section will soon
be replaced altogether with The Skinny, since "news" consumes the homepage and The Skinny is being made even better so PRETTY PLEASE BE PATIENT as that
happens), Da Skyline got a sneak peak at Barbara Grygutis' sculpture Lifelines, installed one story underground in public space at 16th & JFK. You know, the
courtyard underneath the Falafel King.
Then on January 9 of this year, Septa officially dedicated the excellent renovation
of Suburban
Station designed by BLT Architects and Inga Saffron wrote a nice
review of it. Septa's press release sez:
One of the highlights of the project is "Lifelines", a permanent art installation by artist Barbara
Grygutis. It features internally lit aluminum, mesh, and glass block leaf towers surrounded by glass block and granite bench seating. It's located in the
courtyard at 16th and JFK.
But as anyone who's passed through Suburban Station in the past six months can tell you, that seating is not being used for seating, as you can't
even get out to
that courtyard. All three doors to it are locked, and at least one of them is blocked by a permanent(?) homeless person's home. Pillows, blankets, shoes
and everything.
Septa PR head Richard Maloney says that that area is technically part of the adjacent property, which is yet to be rented out (by another Dunkin Donuts or
otherwise). Once it is rented, the courtyard will be open and available to the public . . .
MURANO is now 33 stories high in concrete construction, 19 stories high in glass installation, and 11 July photos deep
in our Murano photo section.
RESIDENCES AT THE RITZ-CARLTON is now 5 stories high in concrete construction, 3 stories high in steel construction, and
11 July photos deep in our Residences at the Ritz-Carlton photo section.
COMCAST CENTER is now finished with concrete construction (duh), the steel is topped off (duh), 49 stories high in glass
installation (installation has begun on the outside of the south side's "keyhole" cutout), and 49 July photos deep in our Comcast Center photo section.
EVEN IF HE HAS JUST CAUSE, ALBERT PUJOLS IS STILL A WHINY LITTLE BITCH: Just like he said Tom Glavine wasn't very good
in the NLCS, just like he said Detroit pitching wasn't all that in the World Series, and just like he implied Ryan Howard was undeserving of the NL MVP, Albert
Pujols is a bitch . . . this time because of the All-Star Game. After the game last night, he complained to reporters about his own manager Tony LaRussa not playing
him in the game.
He has a point though. That self-righteous pious MF is one of the best players in all of baseball and he didn't play at all, especially confounding
considering that, presumably, LaRussa wanted the National League to win and they were within one run, with two guys on and two outs, with Orlando Hudson
at bat with the game on the line. Why in the world would you let him hit instead of one of the game's fiercest hitters? Hudson walks and up steps our own
Aaron Rowand, with the
bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the 9th in a one run game. No pressure. Well, Rowand flies out to right to end the game and Pujols doesn't even see
the field. Makes you wonder what's really going on between the DUI coach and his lip-lickin' slugger.
Whatever. The Cardinals are the first team out the gate against our Fightin' Phils, who are sitting on 9,999 all-time losses. The next loss will make sports
history (no other franchise in ANY sport has 10,000 losses),
and given the Phils' season long .500 play and inability to sweep series, it's going to happen at home. Get your tickets now and come BOOOO Poo-holes like
you never BOOOOed anyone before.
It's 7-eleven, yo -- go get your free Slurpee, and we'll see you real soon.
–B Love
10 July 07: Holy mother of GOD
This excessive heat warning is no joke. You sweat just even thinking. (Let alone walking to Dunkin Donuts for an extra large iced coffee because Canvas is on
vacation this week.) But then you could be the so-called fifth-largest city in the country. The 10 day forecast for Phoenix right now? 105°, 107°, 110°, 110°, 111°, 112°, 113°, 111°, 112°, 109°.
But Bee Love it's a dry heat! More like dry heaves. Honestly: who is comfortable in 100 degree shade???
Wherever you are, stay cool -- dress lightly but if you're wearing a
tanktop, use the clear deodorant. You don't wanna LL Cool J it in front of people you don't know. Anyhoo we're gonna head out into this nonsense
and look for some answers. Some Skinny Phase-Ins are on the agenda, yes they are, they really really are. Plus a Phillies midseason report. Plus a new West
Philly neighborhood through the eyes of the Swinenator. Plus . . .
–B Love
9 July 07: Fare game
by Steve Ives
July 9, 2007
There are many things about living in this fair city of ours that can be described as both barely tolerable and strangely loveable.
That homeless dude with the ball cap who hangs out under The Clothespin.
Hurricane Schwartz's bow tie.
Loose granite tiles at LOVE Park.
Pat Burrell.
But among all things cosmically imperfect and uniquely Philadelphian, nothing so universally stirs the grits of the average Philadelphian like
SEPTA and like so much that we have come to grudgingly accept about living here, few of us realizes how far reaching its influence is on people who
have never ridden a bus or train and how truly integrated it is with the fabric of our city and just how much the problems it now faces impact the
city and region as a whole.
For many, both individuals and businesses alike, SEPTA is as vital a part of their economic well being as the tools they use and the relationships
they establish. Transportation has always been an essential component of commerce and in the decentralized world we have crafted for ourselves,
efficiency and reliability are the most indispensable qualities of any means of transport.
Unfortunately for those of us who, by choice or by chance, have made SEPTA an integral part of our lives, the dedication we give to the system --
our time, our money, our concern -- is often poorly reciprocated and the result of this one-sided relationship has been a riding public that is
fiercely critical of the system itself and intensely mistrustful of the people charged with seeing that it runs efficiently and reliably. The
latest example of this perceived lack of respect comes in the form of the 16th edition of SEPTA vs. Harrisburg: The Money War.
On any random train or bus during any random afternoon commute, eliciting the opinions of merely a handful of people could result in enough horror
stories and justified complaints to fill tomes. And virtually every one of the complaints would find its origin in the system's funding -- or the
lack thereof. We use a system that is perpetually underfunded, that is perpetually unable to fully execute its charge because the resources that it
needs to do so are never fully supplied and that which it does receive has to do more for more with every passing year and this is not a new
problem.
1991 saw the ratification of Act 26 in Pennsylvania's General Assembly, an act establishing a dedicated revenue source for mass transit in The
Commonwealth. Although looking good technically when written, the execution of the measure failed to collect all the funds originally promised.
1997's Act 3 failed to fill the gap because it failed to keep pace with inflation. Even capital projects such as system expansion and modernization
have fallen by the wayside in many regards because of SEPTA's inability to match federal funds, a situation caused by Harrisburg's continued
clenching of the purse strings. The portion of SEPTA's operating expenses that comes directly from the farebox -- what you and I pay for tokens,
tickets and passes -- is far greater than the national average. Combine that with SEPTA taking in considerably less from state subsidies than most
large transit systems and you have the perfect storm to sink a public transit authority. All of this despite the fact that ripple effect public
transit has in the commonwealth financially can be measured with the word billion.
This situation has led to the annual Capital circus and it's only gotten worse with each passing year and despite the obvious approach of solving a
problem outright as opposed to continually placing a band-aid on a shark bite, we've all been -- year after year -- watching the whole mess emerge,
grow to crescendo and end, anti-climactically, with an eleventh-hour reprieve and nothing more but the promise that the exact same show would repeat
itself within a year's time. This scenario has played out every year for the better part of a decade now and though it has hardened the senses of
many Philadelphians and the wills of many who have added hundreds, maybe thousands, of vehicles to our roads because SEPTA simply became an
unviable option to them, it has not became a situation of crying wolf. It has not lost the attention of people with the power to affect to the
problem. But it is important for those of us who do not have access to the halls of government that all we see and malign has its origins in
comprehensible, though outrageous, circumstances.
New routes, new vehicles, renovated stations, modernized fare collection and equipment (and possibly, just for my sake, the end of that curiously
Medieval term 'fare instrument') all come about from combinations of will, money and cooperation. For far too long, SEPTA did without money and
cooperation. It cannot be said that the will to make big projects happen is not alive at 1234 Market Street but such will is tempered by the hard
reality that the system simply doesn't have the money, honey. SEPTA, and indeed, all mass transit providers in Pennsylvania, make their annual plea
to a legislature that seems to show them a great deal of ambivalence at best. Sometimes, what occurs can be interpreted as thinly veiled hostility
towards large communities and big cities which are seen as being voids which suck money away from other 'worthwhile endeavors' (all the while
forgetting that the largest city of them all by itself contributes ¼ of the bounty of state coffers) and leaving these places and these
people largely relying on their 'altruism' as if they're providing a favor as opposed to upholding their responsibilities.
When SEPTA says that they've trimmed down operational excess, that they've leaned down to fighting weight and have met the requirements handed down
to them to receive what they need to work with, I believe them. And believe me when I tell you I have no reason to just 'believe' SEPTA. The
Authority has earned the benefit of the doubt from absolutely no one among the general public but the figures and common sense do all the talking.
The simple facts are these: Fares go up, ridership goes down. Fares go up to maintain service levels, which causes ridership to go down, which
causes fares to go up and service to be cut, which causes ridership to go down . . . and so on. It's slow fiscal suicide and even SEPTA
isn't that nihilistic. And this doesn't even include the physical condition and personnel problems of the system which can repel potential and
current riders alike. We all know the problems, we know the solutions but when you look at just how bad the situation is one can't help but wonder
sometimes 'Is it worth it?'
The answer is, of course, yes. And the reasons are simple.
Our transit network, as wanting as it may be, is a planning marvel. Only a handful of U.S. cities operate systems of the same depth and scope. It
is not possible to take transit from one end of a city to another or from one end of a region to another in many places. But it's possible here,
despite what the devil on your shoulder says. Center City's splendid resurgence, the burgeoning growth of University City, the relevance of
neighborhoods that in some cases wouldn't be more than lifeless blocks of brick boxes and the connection of suburban hubs of commerce with the
center of the region would not be as we know them without a viable system to get people around and to them. Customers would have a harder time
patronizing businesses, people who have no choice but to get that job 15 miles from their home, the people who often make up the support structure
of the industries that make this region, have harder times finding or getting to it, quaint and "funky" neighborhood streets become de facto
traffic arteries -- all the same bad things you've heard in the past. So to simplify it -- by killing a transportation network you effectively
sentence a city to death. By not supporting it or never building it you effectively strangle a city's potential for growth and endanger its
sustained well being. Don't believe me? I could point you to a few examples in Michigan.
SEPTA is the X-factor that makes the city I've lived in and loved my entire life and which has enchanted many a newcomer work. Without it, we gain
gridlock and lose ease of circulation. We lose our loveable gruffness and gain frayed ends. We lose both that lively core of ours and neighborhoods
largely devoid of off-ramps, overpasses and sound barriers and gain . . . Robert Moses' opus. These things may sound like points on a worst-case
scenario list but one need only look at cities trying to build the type of network we take for granted daily to see exactly how real and how bad it
gets, particularly cities of the same physical size and scale.
We can needle, we can push, we can prod and we can hope and ultimately that is all that we as citizens can do. We can't sign our names and we can't
enter debate on this most crucial of issues, this issue that, if left unresolved, could see its impact felt in all corners of economic life in this
commonwealth. The people that we have charged to do the right thing know exactly what that is and know exactly how to do it. All that stands
between resolution and impending doom is political will, something we all know can become amazingly malleable when the right people talk loud
enough and long enough. We have allies right where we need them to get this madness to end. Let's hope they don't leave us a dollar short for bus
fare. If they do, we can remind them who pays for their ride to work.
* * *
Steve Ives is Philly Skyline's Senior VP of Transit Affairs and West Philly Warrior #1. Please check out his other waxings and musings.
Is it a fancy, not worth thinking of? Or is it at long . . . at long last love?
I'll tell you what, if you find yourself inside Sarcone's Deli at 9th & Fitzwater in the early afternoon on a Sunday . . . it is LOVE. It's hard to
believe the legendary Italian Market bakery's walk-in deli has only been open a decade, but it waltzed into our lives with Radiohead's OK Computer
in 1997, a whole ten years ago.
A little further back, about fifty years or so the story goes, a good fella by the name of Sid Mark was a fill-in DJ at WHAT-FM (Philadelphia) and
a listener called and requested an hour's worth of Frank Sinatra. By the 50s, Ol' Blue Eyes had already accumulated a catalog larger than just
about anyone save Bob Dylan -- himself a Sinatra fan -- could even approach. The radio station said yes and Fridays With Frank was born, and that
evolved into both Saturdays With Sinatra and Sundays With Sinatra, all three of which are the longest tenured radio shows with the same host.
They're all excellent shows, but none is as good as Sundays With Sinatra, on air for 45 years now, the last eight of which on WPHT 1210 AM, 8am-1pm.
It's the only music played on
The Big Talker, otherwise filled by the Calls of Kalas (Phillies games) and lectures by loudmouths Smerconish, Hannity, Beck and the like. A sunny
Sunday morning drive to pick-a-diner-any-diner with the dial set to Sundays With Sinatra is . . . well, it's moving. Summer Wind. The Lady Is A
Tramp. That's Life. (That's Liiiiife.) Sid Mark has the largest collection of Frank Sinatra tunes outside of the Sinatra estate, as well as tapes
of conversations and interviews of the two friends.
You know who's a fan of Sundays With Sinatra? Sarcone's Deli. That hoagie you see above? That's nine inches of love, my friend. That . . . is The
Sinatra. Ridiculously thinly sliced prosciutto. Fresh mozzarella. Sauteed spinach. Roasted garlic. Oil, vinegar and oregano. Sarcone's seeded rolls
you'd punch your best friend in the face for. It is LOVE.
It's with this notion that I'd like to Yank on YouTube AND dedicate a Sunday With Sinatra edition Philly Skyline Philly Skyline to my friends
Michelle and Ben, who exchanged their nuptials to the tune of Bartram's birds on the Schuylkill River yesterday.
"It's just Jersey." "Have you ever seen Florida's beaches? Cape Cod?" Piffle. A lot of yous don't know how good you've got it.
We didn't have Senior Week at Tyrone Area High School in 1994, and it seemed like the only real beach destinations my friends' families had were Ocean City,
Maryland or Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I never heard of "the Wildwoods" or Avalon, and Atlantic City was little more than Miss America and that Trump guy who
thinks I should care who he is.
Few were the families that made these trips, too. After all, right in our back yard we had Raystown Lake for swimming and boating, and Prince Gallitzin State Park for picnicking and camping. They're both beautiful parks that really
represent the best of Pennsylvania's scenery.
But you just can't beat the ocean, can you? I was 18 years old the first time I saw a place where the water met the sky. Three freshmen from Naugle Hall packed
into a sophomore's two-door hooptie and hit the PA Turnpike bound for some place called Sea Isle City, where two other freshmen were working for the summer. The
scent of the Great Egg Harbor Bay and the sight of the power station on the right were unforgettable, even approaching midnight. I get a quick flashback to that
every year we go downtheshore.
That's a whole other thing, you guys and your downtheshore. It's endearing, like your "are you done that plate?" (Are you done with that plate?)
Wooder ice. Thursdee.
But yeah, the Jersey Shore. It's very regional. Atlantic City has its share of tourists, what with its thirteen casinos, but south of there, all the way to Cape
May, it's very Greater-Philadelphia-South-Jersey. It really is greater.
Atlantic City, though . . . it's hard to call AC great. My first experience there was great, I guess. Warren Kaos and I spent a picture perfect day in summer '96
under the sun below the now extinct Trump World Fair and the influence of enhanced beach shack hoagies, contemplating our existence, watching the waves on and
over the beach, and . . . bumping into Weird Al Yankovic?! Al and I shared an unexpected moment on a small space of Pacific Avenue sidewalk, which at that time
was a little hard to handle. A block later, I caught that week's AC Weekly Whoot with Weird Al on the cover announcing that "South Jersey Gets
Weirded Out." No doubt.
The Weird one was that weekend performing at Wildwood's Convention Center, where he'll be making another stop one month from today. He swings through Philly for a
night at Glenside's Keswick Theatre a little later, Wednesday August 15. Seriously: Weird Al.
For now: photo essays downtheshore.
–B Love
5 July 07: Still taking it
by Nathaniel Popkin
July 5, 2007
While the Governor and a handful of state legislators are finally flexing some muscle on behalf of Septa, the mayor and our delegation in Washington
are still lying down and taking it. Another July Fourth has passed here in the Cradle of Liberty and still our national shrines are shrouded in
barricades, security apparatuses, and hired men with guns. Park Service employees (or are they, too, just private contractors?) were forced this
week, as every July Fourth since 9/11, to pull the bunting out of the closet to cover the ugly, inappropriate, and wholly undignifying barricades --
this despite the January 23rd decision to remove them. Isn't six and a half months long enough to pull a pick-up truck around to Fifth and Chestnut?
If you think so then you've missed the whole point of the Bush administration. Whether or not Bush and Cheney last another two years, their lasting
legacy is the securitized state with the mouths of Defense and Security men firmly suckling the public teat. It will take years -- not months -- to
pry open those glad and infantile lips (they're biting too, aren't they?).
But we on the side of reversing policies that have landed the United States number 96 on a
list of most peaceful countries in the world (just one
above Iran) are still afraid to fight for what we believe in. And so last week, as the bunting was being tied on to protect -- thinly deceive
-- the eyes of the tourists, the U.S. Census Bureau announced that Philadelphia had net-lost 8,000 residents in 2005 and therefore had fallen
decisively into sixth place among the nation's largest cities. Phoenix, with its thoroughly suburban density of 2,782 people per square mile
(Delaware County's is 2,990), has moved into fifth place.
There was no official reaction from Mayor Street, nor from Congressmen Brady or Fattah; nary a word from Arlen Specter. And yet there is no way
Philadelphia loses -- net -- 8,000 people a year. The building permit, immigration, schools, yes even Septa, hospital, social service, and home
sales data say just the opposite: the city has turned the tide on population loss. (Remember every city loses people -- New York as quickly as
Philadelphia -- so the key variable is rate of newcomers, i.e., immigrants and that rate is on the rise, pushed for example by the anti-immigrant
laws of Riverside, NJ.) Eight thousand a year is 80,000 a decade, a rate higher than the 1990s. In short: unbelievable.
Shouldn't we at least say something?
No, we ought to fight. A city that believes in itself so much that it will defend its honor to the rest of the nation would. Guess what? A whole
handful of cities do. Boston, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Washington, DC have all challenged the Census Bureau's arithmetic and won -- tens of
thousands of residents -- in some cases reversing long-standing population declines.
If we wish to alter the contemporary narrative of Philadelphia -- languishing, suffocated by poor leadership, intractable social problems -- then
we'll have to start convincing ourselves otherwise first. It's clear Mayor Street and the others aren't convinced. Nor do they understand the power
of symbolic politic gestures. Leaders, tell us you believe! Make the case -- intervene, Christ, we're bigger and stronger than we think -- tear
down the bunting for our sake: Nutter, you get this, don't you?
–Nathaniel Popkin
nrpopkin@gmail.com
For Nathaniel Popkin archives, please see HERE, or visit his web site HERE.
5 July 07: Big Bam Boom: Yes? Uhh, no. Wait no, yes!
OH, PHILADELPHIA. Will we ever get it right?
Daryl Hall and John Oates? Now they got it right. A killer hour long set that included an opener of Maneater, wicked renditions of Sara Smile,
She's Gone, Say It Isn't So and I Can't Go For That, and an encore of Rich Girl / Kiss On My List(!), all while having to wipe off their instruments
because of the driving rain and wet stage at the Art Museum? Excellent. At 60 years young in a hoodie and Chucks, Pottstown native Daryl Hall is not
afraid to hit his high notes, unlike most geriatric rock & rollers. (Elton John, for example, did not reach up for the high notes that made him
famous.)
When the tornado warnings finally delivered a heavy, steady rainfall, it was uncertain whether Hall & Oates would even be able to perform. But they
went on. So too would the fireworks, right? Well, no. City Managing Director Loree Jones told Cecily, Dave and the Channel 6 viewing audience that
the fireworks were canceled on account of the weather. A bummer, yes, but understandable. Except that . . . well, they weren't canceled at all, they
were just waiting for the rain to pass so they could set them off 45 minutes later, after everyone had gone home.
DURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.
I mean, if you're going to tell the people who have waited all day, jockeyed for optimum viewing position and sat through a rainstorm that they have
to go home, could you at least have the decency to postpone the fireworks to a rain date -- Saturday? Sunday? How bad must it suck for those people
who did wait, only to go home and find out they missed the fireworks because they set them off anyway?
Pure Philadelphia, man.
UPDATE: Oh ho ho, whattaya know? Loree Jones is now telling KYW 1060 that the fireworks show was never
canceled. This after I watched her with my own two eyes tell Cecily Tynan and Dave Roberts that people were to go home "for their own safety" and
Cecily followed her up with "so the fireworks are canceled?" Loree never looked too sure of herself, but as 6ABC was the official telecast of the
events, they cut back to the studio where Rob Jennings took it away for Action News, only later having to say "uhhh, okaaay, they actually are
going to do the fireworks."
So, Pennsylvania party people, just so you have all your facts straight: 1. Loree Jones, speaking on behalf of the City of Philadelphia, wanted you
to go home for your own safety. 2. Even though she never explicitly said the fireworks were canceled, she agreed with Cecily and Dave that the
fireworks were canceled. 3. After the patient people started home, it was decided by the City that the fireworks would go forward -- for the benefit
of people watching at home. Yes, what better way to behold the majesty of fireworks than through a 27 inch screen!
Philly on the 4th: It's like Bud Selig's All-Star Game but without the All-Stars! WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
4 July 07: Cos I live and breathe this Philadelphia freedom
From the day that I was born I've waved the flag. Philadelphia freedom took me knee-high to a man. Yeah. Gave me peace of mind my daddy never had. Philadelphia
freedom. Shine on me. I love ya. Shine a light. Through the eyes of the ones left behind. Shine a light. Shine a light. Shine a light, won't you shine a
li-ight. Philadelphia freedom. I lo-o-ove you. Yes I do.
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!
–B Love
3 July 07: And the livin' is easy
Hey, how's it goin'?
Tell you how it's goin' downtheshore: REAL NICE. Clear, sunny, 80 degrees and the little puffy clouds like on the opening of The Simpsons that make
everything just perfect. A cool Atlantic breeze, Buckwheat Zydeco on the Music Pier in OC, wind turbines blowin' in the wind behind the expansion of Harrah's
and the Borgata in AC, some putt-putt golf and a slice at Mack & Manco's . . . are you shittin' me?
God I hope you're not reading this from work. As the de facto 4th of July weekend, this past one was pure perfection at the south Jersey Shore. Right here are
half a dozen Philly Skyline Philly Skylines, downtheshore edition, to get us in the Independence spirit. Click 'em all for desktop consideration. The one above
is the view of the Atlantic City skyline about nine miles south (as the seagull flies) at the top of the Ocean City boardwalk.
And to think all these people need tags just to be on the beach in Ocean City.
That's right America, one of the leaders in environmentally friendly energy is none other than Atlantic City, New Jersey. The 7.5 megawatt wind farm is the
first coastal wind farm in the United States, and the first at all in New Jersey. (PECO has three -- two in southwestern PA and one in the Poconos.) There are
five turbines (windmills) in the marsh between the AC Marina and Route 30, each one 397' tall (10' taller than Symphony House) and each one generating 1.5MW of
power. In this picture, we see four of the five turbines, the main Borgata tower (center, 40 stories, 480', the tallest in AC), the Water Club (left, Borgata's
$325M expansion, 39 stories, 457', opens next year), the Flagship (ugly condo tower in the distance on the right), about eight million billboards along Route
30, and a black skimmer that's just passin' through.
Perhaps it's being in Fishtown without easy access to Lazaro's or Gianfranco's and never having had Tacconelli's (yeah yeah, I know), but these slices of shore
staple Mack & Manco's pizza were perhaps the greatest slices of pizza that ever did enter my belly. Seriously: call it predictable, but man, the lines at this
place don't lie. Mack & Manco's is legit.
Naturally, you must finish an M&M slice with a twist cone at Kohr Bros. I'm usually an orange-and-vanilla twist kinda guy, but following that peerless piece o'
pizza, a minty aftertaste was a must, so a mint-chocolate custard twist was the move.
Finally, a gripe. King of Prussia has an Apple store. Atlantic friggin City has an Apple store (in the former Ocean One Pier, now The Pier Shops at
Caesars). Center City Philadelphia does not have an Apple store. Does not compute. That means Mayor Street has to sit in an alley outside the AT&T store for his
iphone! Hype hype hype for sure, but man, just check out that pocket-sized Philly Skyline. Let's let Apple go a generation's worth of ironing out kinks, then
check back with us to see if we don't have one of them there iphones.
DID YOU KNOW: the song "Summertime" by George Gershwin has been covered by over 4,000 artists and recorded in at least 25 languages. Whose is your
favorite? Sam Cooke? Ella Fitzgerald? Ray Charles? Frank Zappa? REM? How 'bout this one by North Philly's Jill Scott and Pittsburgh's George Benson?
–B Love
30 June 07: I can go for that
All righty then, Hall & Oates fans, Philly Skyline is gonna go celebrate some American Independence with Kohr Bros custard and the breeze of the Jersey
Shore. Fret not, we'll be back in plenty o' time to head out to the Parkway and see the most successful duo in the history of rock & soul, our homegrown
swoonin' crooners Daryl Hall & John Oates.
Between now and then, get in that Fourth of July spirit by turning off the embarrassing Phillies performance
against those hideous New York Mets and instead checking out the Sunoco Welcome America schedule of events. (Yes, the official schedule for a multi-million dollar annual event sponsored by one of the world's largest oil
corporations is not only not on its own blog/site/database, it's a super-low-res jpg on Webshots.)
To set the tone, we'll take a quick peak around town to sample the buildings who've gone red, white and blue for the Fourth.
Philadelphia Inquirer Building
Glaxo Smith Kline Building
And finally, your Philly Skyline Philly Skyline: Mellon Bank Center and the east side of City Hall tower, where it's always 7:15.
For many, both individuals and businesses alike, SEPTA is as vital a part of their economic well being as the tools they use and the relationships
they establish. Transportation has always been an essential component of commerce and in the decentralized world we have crafted for ourselves,
efficiency and reliability are the most indispensable qualities of any means of transport.
