From Kellie Patrick Gates:
As the event opened, PennPraxis' Harris Steinberg, clearly pleased with turnout, said, "Please go next door [to the overflow room] if you can so the fire marshal doesn't shut us down."
Next up was City Councilman Frank DiCicco, who helped spearhead the planning effort. He said, "Tonight and the past 12 to 13 months that brought us to tonight are really the highlight of my political career."
Then, just as an introductory video concluded and the audience burst into applause, Mayor John Street entered the room and took the stage. Steinberg said, "The mayor has impeccable timing."
Street, who will soon be leaving office, reflected back to the beginning of his time as mayor. "The thing people said to me more than anything else was 'Get rid of the abandoned cars off the streets of Philadelphia.'' He continued, "It's hard to believe eight years later that the city has come to the point where it's thinking optimistically about the future."
In his 28 years as an elected official, he says, he's seen development after development and plan after plan that failed for the 13 acre stretch of the Central Delaware. He says he has faith that this plan is different, and he challenged the audience to make it so.
"The thing that should distinguish this report from the many other reports that have been done and the many other studies is you," he said. "We've not ever in my memory had this kind of community and public engagement."
He asked the audience, "Are you going to let some future adminstration say 'We're not going to worry about that PennPraxis study?" "No," they responded.
Before launching into one last story, he said: "I'm almost finished now. I can tell by the look on your faces. But, really, I can take as long as I want. What are you going to do, not vote for me?"
He wrapped up by saying, "This report has the potential to impact the lives of several million people. This could have an enormous impact on the quality of life for our children and grandchildren in generations to come."
Comments (2)
Matt Golas reports Mayor Street's remark "It's hard to believe eight years later that the city has come to the point where it's thinking optimistically about the future."
This was just one of the powerfully positive statements he made.
Let's get others, like Rina Cutler, like Dwight Evans, like the Chamber of Commerce, et al to understand that we have been moving the center of gravity - once again. We - all of us - Council, Mayor, newspapers, bloggers, agencies like PWD, developers, residents, associations, institutions - are rapidly steering this burg toward a liveable future. Such visible life feeds economic vitality, healthier social fabric and eventually more trust.
I suggest Ms. Cutler et al to change their thinking - from what we can't do (because they're hard, or we have not been able to in the past) to what we can imagine.
Posted by Bill Marston | November 15, 2007 3:40 PM
Posted on November 15, 2007 15:40
Oops. Not Matt Golas, but Jodie Chester. Sorry.
Posted by bill Marston | November 15, 2007 3:41 PM
Posted on November 15, 2007 15:41