Future of E. Mount Airy? (Philadelphia, Springfield: sales, home, buy)

[BR Valentine]

Originally Posted by KansastoSouthphilly

Yes the lack of the support for public schools in Mt Airy and Chestnut Hill is disappointing. Having solid public schools would really take the neighborhoods to the next level. The values of most of the residents favor public schools but there seems to be a collective action problem. I have not seen much real action to fix the problem aside from people creating and joining the friends of (Houston/Henry/Jenks) groups.


Sometimes I wonder if the private options are too plentiful. My block has many children and the parents are middle class; still many of the children end up attending schools like OMC in chestnut hill or the Waldorf School in Germantown.

The problem is the race and income of the families who send their kids to the neighborhood public schools in Mt. Airy. First the white families abandoned the neighborhood schools in the 1960s when black families could no longer be subject to de facto segregation. Then more affluent black families began drifting away from them in the 1970s as more private schools desegregated.

The parents in the neighborhood may be social liberals, but the white ones don’t want their kids to be a racial minority at school and the black ones don’t want their kids to be in schools with an unacceptable number of lower income children. Add in the district’s chronic financial problems, two decades of parents being sold the message that charters are better and the ability of more affluent parents to sort their children into schools that have the demographics they desire and you get “neighborhood” schools filled with kids from outside the neighborhood. You also get super white Green Woods Charter as well. The demographics of the neighborhood schools don’t change because someone has to initiate the change and no one wants to go first. To be fair, I completely understand why parents choose not to have their children be the guinea pigs in this hypothetical desegregation experiment.

[AJNEOA]

It seems safe, but does anyone have experience walking from Germantown Ave to Sedgwick station at midnight? Are the streets lit? Any foot traffic or is it too quiet?

[KansastoSouthphilly]

I have done it many times with no issues. I can't even think of an uncomfortable situation. I usually walk up East Mt. Airy Ave. It is pretty quiet. It is mostly walking through attractive residential blocks. Like anywhere it is best to be aware of your surroundings.

[AJNEOA]

Originally Posted by KansastoSouthphilly

I have done it many times with no issues. I can't even think of an uncomfortable situation. I usually walk up East Mt. Airy Ave. It is pretty quiet. It is mostly walking through attractive residential blocks. Like anywhere it is best to be aware of your surroundings.

Thanks K2SP! It's remarkable how close our living pattern in Philly is. I was reading a post from you the other day about where you've lived in Philly. I feel the same way you did. I love the walkability down here, but I also miss trees. Trading some walkability for more trees and less trash is where I'm at right now.

Btw, I went to Weaver's the other day after we did the inspection on the new house, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much is in there. Some things are a bit more expensive than I'd like, but most stuff was reasonable and it has most of what we need. I also haven't checked out Acme's offerings. I'm hopeful that they'll have better stuff than the dump on Passyunk/10th/Reed.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by AJNEOA

Btw, I went to Weaver's the other day after we did the inspection on the new house, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much is in there. Some things are a bit more expensive than I'd like, but most stuff was reasonable and it has most of what we need. I also haven't checked out Acme's offerings. I'm hopeful that they'll have better stuff than the dump on Passyunk/10th/Reed.

I guess you know by now that Weaver's Way has been around since 1973. It's a local institution as far as the concept of food co-ops goes. They had a very messy period for a while. If I remember it correctly their money manager/treasurer was embezzling money. It came close to closing because of it.

[KansastoSouthphilly]

Originally Posted by AJNEOA

Thanks K2SP! It's remarkable how close our living pattern in Philly is. I was reading a post from you the other day about where you've lived in Philly. I feel the same way you did. I love the walkability down here, but I also miss trees. Trading some walkability for more trees and less trash is where I'm at right now.

There is a decent number of people here that have migrated up from South Philly. I know of at least two couples on my block. I think the extreme lack of trees/nature in south philly make you crave it after a while. Once spring finally arrives you will love Mt Airy.

Btw, I went to Weaver's the other day after we did the inspection on the new house, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much is in there. Some things are a bit more expensive than I'd like, but most stuff was reasonable and it has most of what we need. I also haven't checked out Acme's offerings. I'm hopeful that they'll have better stuff than the dump on Passyunk/10th/Reed.

Glad you liked Weavers Way. For a lot of people it is as much about the social aspect of going there as it is about the groceries.


The Germantown Ave ACME isn't that great IMO. It is better than the Passyunk ACME but that is a low bar. I like the ACME in Chestnut Hill more. The aisles are wider and it seems less chaotic. I also really like the Fresh Market in chestnut hill (especially for meat). It is small but spacious and I feel like I can get my grocery shopping done much faster than at traditional grocery stores.

[AJNEOA]

Originally Posted by kyb01

I guess you know by now that Weaver's Way has been around since 1973. It's a local institution as far as the concept of food co-ops goes. They had a very messy period for a while. If I remember it correctly their money manager/treasurer was embezzling money. It came close to closing because of it.

I haven't had time to do my normal research, but thanks for the history. So many coops are a disaster (including South Philly Coop). It's nice to see one up, running, and surviving!

[AJNEOA]

Originally Posted by KansastoSouthphilly

There is a decent number of people here that have migrated up from South Philly. I know of at least two couples on my block. I think the extreme lack of trees/nature in south philly make you crave it after a while. Once spring finally arrives you will love Mt Airy.



Glad you liked Weavers Way. For a lot of people it is as much about the social aspect of going there as it is about the groceries.


The Germantown Ave ACME isn't that great IMO. It is better than the Passyunk ACME but that is a low bar. I like the ACME in Chestnut Hill more. The aisles are wider and it seems less chaotic. I also really like the Fresh Market in chestnut hill (especially for meat). It is small but spacious and I feel like I can get my grocery shopping done much faster than at traditional grocery stores.

I despise the corporate conglomerates that own these stores like Acme, Giant, etc. They are all just dumps (expensive and lousy). I'd love to see some better stores come in, but these corporations have a monopoly on communities unfortunately.

Yes, I will likely do the working membership with Weaver's to meet people. That's such a lovely area too!

Famousblueraincoat also mentioned Fresh Market. At first I was thinking it was Fresh Grocer, which is decidedly not fresh, but I realize this is a much better market chain. I will have to check it out! Thank you!

[FamousBlueRaincoat]

Originally Posted by AJNEOA

It seems safe, but does anyone have experience walking from Germantown Ave to Sedgwick station at midnight? Are the streets lit? Any foot traffic or is it too quiet?

I occasionally am out late without ever having a problem - although I don't walk down Sedgwick but Mount Pleasant, Mount Airy, Boyer, Chew, Germantown. No problems.

Much more often I am out extremely early, before sunrise and before other people are awake. The only thing I can recall happening in my four years up here is seeing an old drunk crazy guy peeing once.

Occasional racoons and foxes are more common!

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by BR Valentine

The problem is the race and income of the families who send their kids to the neighborhood public schools in Mt. Airy. First the white families abandoned the neighborhood schools in the 1960s when black families could no longer be subject to de facto segregation. Then more affluent black families began drifting away from them in the 1970s as more private schools desegregated.

The parents in the neighborhood may be social liberals, but the white ones don’t want their kids to be a racial minority at school and the black ones don’t want their kids to be in schools with an unacceptable number of lower income children. Add in the district’s chronic financial problems, two decades of parents being sold the message that charters are better and the ability of more affluent parents to sort their children into schools that have the demographics they desire and you get “neighborhood” schools filled with kids from outside the neighborhood. You also get super white Green Woods Charter as well. The demographics of the neighborhood schools don’t change because someone has to initiate the change and no one wants to go first. To be fair, I completely understand why parents choose not to have their children be the guinea pigs in this hypothetical desegregation experiment.

Their loss:

The Evidence That White Children Benefit From Integrated Schools | NPR

When White Parents Won't Integrate Public Schools | CityLab

You should also drill down to the site of IntegratedSchools.org, a network founded by an affluent liberal white woman in Los Angeles whose aim is to get (white) parents (in particular) to choose integration. She's interviewed in the CityLab article. She admits that it was hard for her to "choose integration" at the outset as well, for the reasons those who don't usually give, but her children have done just fine in their mostly less-affluent-black school. And, she says, they also benefit in ways the test scores don't measure.

I "grew up integrated," at least educationally speaking, and it's become quite clear to me that this makes me different from not only most whites but also most African-Americans. I strongly suspect that, for all that we see encouraging changes in attitude among younger Americans regarding race, we really won't overcome our challenges until we ALL "grow up integrated."