Philadelphia Turnaround, how can we further it? (Elim, Republic: crimes, cinema)

[Shizzles]

Originally Posted by Deep77

Spare me with the Limbaughesque BS. We can abolish all the taxes in the city, allowing business a free ride so long as they set up shop in the city, and they still won't come as long as only 17% of the population has a BA degree. There are no taxes in Florida, but you don't hear about Silicon Valley firms leaving Cali for Florida. Lowering taxes is not a panacea. We should lower taxes, but it will not make everything better overnight.

As for Philly schools, it is getting better. The city is graduating more students than it did a decade ago. The graduation gap between the suburbs and the city is shrinking and smaller than a lot of other cities, including NYC. We are at the forefront in charter schools. We schools like Masterman, Girls, and Central that actually out performs most suburban school districts. More investing in schools needs to be done.

Parks increase property value, it is the best investment the city can make. It is in the interest of residents and the city to make sure that parks are safe at night. Even Hunting Park in the badlands of North Philly has seens some revitalization. Also surveys show that people WANT parks in their neighborhoods. They are the ones paying the city wage tax, so why shouldn't they get a park.

The drug havens that you speak of are the abandon buildings and vacant lots. As long as they sit idlely, criminals are going to congregate there. Especially when residents have to hide in their homes. Nothing halts crime better than having more eyes on the street. This can be done by giving people reasons to come out of their house.

The region is already interconnected. No town in the region is isolated from the rest of the region. If we don't start acting like we are interconnected, then don't be surprised to see King of Prussia fall apart in the next few decades.

You make good points, but alot of those issues are problems that are intractable. Increasing educated people in the area has alot to do with economic stagnation which is due to in part to taxes and in part to beaurocracy. NY and SF have an already-in-place infastructure for the growth they're seeing, while philly has to start from scratch, so it's not a valid comparasion. Philly does not have the world-class finanical, culutral and public institutions already on hand to exploit.

Crime is due to a bleeding heart court system which is overflowing with judges who think 6 months for smoking a J is good but giving life to a murderer is "cruel". So in effect, we have tons of stoners in cells, but the gangbangers get to walk.

[pman]

Originally Posted by Deep77

Spare me with the Limbaughesque BS. We can abolish all the taxes in the city, allowing business a free ride so long as they set up shop in the city, and they still won't come as long as only 17% of the population has a BA degree. There are no taxes in Florida, but you don't hear about Silicon Valley firms leaving Cali for Florida. Lowering taxes is not a panacea. We should lower taxes, but it will not make everything better overnight.

silicon valley isn't in san francisco either. Reality is, both of you are right to a certain extent. taxes ultimately do play a factor. why pay the city's taxes when you can locate in the suburbs and pay a lot less. It will be extremely difficult for Philly to become a regional draw like san fran or chicago when you're so close to nyc. I moved to Philadelphia and I have a graduate degree. wy do educated people leave or not come here? crime taxes, schools, and the fact you're job is probably in the suburbs anyway.

who is going ot pay for building these parks? Street's NTI plan did very litty and cost a lot. Regional government is meaningles if it's poor government.

Originally Posted by Deep77

theParks increase property value, it is the best investment the city can make. It is in the interest of residents and the city to make sure that parks are safe at night. Even Hunting Park in the badlands of North Philly has seens some revitalization. Also surveys show that people WANT parks in their neighborhoods. They are the ones paying the city wage tax, so why shouldn't they get a park.

parks are indeed an asset, but converting al land ot parks might be unnecessary and expensive. nonetheless, the park system here has been underfunded for decades in favor of generous municipal union contracts.

Originally Posted by Deep77

The drug havens that you speak of are the abandon buildings and vacant lots. As long as they sit idlely, criminals are going to congregate there.

true, but parks like Franklin square have long acted that way as well (though Franklin Square has cleaned up).

[gfspeople]

it would be helpful if the city would try more to lower crime but I think that the amount of crime there is is overrated. Also we can help by picking up trash and getting involved in charity work

[phlydude]

Originally Posted by JHG722

Filled? There is sprawl, but it's absolutely NOTHING compared to the south and the southwest. That's such a completely ridiculous statement and a completely unfounded complaint.

And for the safety BS, I'm a former BU student and current Temple student--I dont feel any more scared at Temple. My point was that crime occurs everywhere. Dont think just because Boston seems more cosmopolitan that you're free from crime.

And stop with the Boston comparisons.

The sprawl that this city experienced was occurring from post WWII and continues now, albeit on a slower pace - It may not be the same as the south's housing boom down but it happened and it is considered sprawl nonetheless.

As for the Boston comparisons, read the original post - the OP mentioned Boston and I am familiar enough with both cities to respond.

Now granted, I haven't spent as much time in Boston as I have in Philly but I can get around alright and I know where to go and where to stay away from...

[MCNPA]

I don't love the guy, but why you need is Rudy Giuliani to clean it up. He did a great job cleaning up NYC in many ways. I never thought it could be done, but he turned Time Square into Las Vegas. Some people love it, and some people hate the fact that it has lost it's "originality". Anyway you cut it, NYC is a better place since he cleaned it up.

[reztrop]

Philadelphia's one party politics needs to change. One party rule breeds complacency and ineptitude. This is especially true in Philly. The city needs a Republican mayor for a change.

The number of violent crimes per capita in Philly is much higher than NYC even though NYC has far more people. Philly has a problem with how its police enforce the law. Enforcement is inconsistent and lax. It doesn't matter how many gun laws you pass. If the police don't enforce the law consistently, offenders will keep on committing crimes.

Philly is a dirty city. The nice areas are really nice, and the bad areas are really bad. Take a walk in Chinatown and you will see how dirty it is. The same goes for North Philly and parts of Center City. Recently I've seen a lot of those BigBelly recycling bins on sidewalks throughout the city for plastic bottles and papers. That's a good improvement in Philly's recycling efforts.

Eliminate the business privilege tax on gross income. Businesses simply do not find Philly an attractive place to do business. Not only does Philly lack a well educated workforce to attract businesses, the city taxes companies who do business here with a gross income tax and a net income tax.

Also we need to curb the spread of casinos in the city. Casinos cheapen the city. Can you imagine a world class city like Chicago or NYC building slot parlors near Michigan Avenue or Fifth Avenue? Building a slots parlor close to Independence Hall and its historic center doesn't sound appealing to me. Instead of trying to revitalize the Galleria with a slots parlor, the Galleria should be torn down and be replaced with a mixed-use complex. A large cinema complex adjoined by upscale restaurants and retail would be better than creating a slots parlor. LA's The Grove is a good example. The tourists who visit Philly's historic center will then have an incentive to shop and dine in close proximity.

Philly's waterfront would have a lot of potential if we can tear down the section of I-95 that runs through it.

[john_starks]

The city needs a Republican mayor for a change.

i just don't see that happening in our lifetiime

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by reztrop

Philadelphia's one party politics needs to change. One party rule breeds complacency and ineptitude. This is especially true in Philly. The city needs a Republican mayor for a change.

You make some good points, but frankly -- I don't think any Republican mayor would somehow produce a more conducive effort in cleaning up the city.

More than any politician or the strictest of police forces, it will take Philadelphia's own residents at taking back their neighborhoods. This falls in line with the philosophy that police can only do so much to prevent crime as opposed to focusing on catching those who commit it. For instance, crime and poverty are HIGHLY correlated, but police do not have the capacity to end poverty in one of the poorest cities in the country.

Yet, I do see a positive trajectory for the city. Contrary to media sensationalism, violent crime is actually on the decline, population loss is leveling out, and those overall educational attainment rates for the city have been increasing -- albeit slowly. There are signs of progress in Philadelphia, and it will take good, coherent, and visionary leadership (possibly an Independent like Bloomberg) not steeped in political cronyism and bureaucracy to continue to foster these trends in order to encourage educational attainment, entrepreneurship and attract highly-skilled and highly-educated residents from around the world.

[pman]

Originally Posted by john_starks

i just don't see that happening in our lifetiime

To be fair, Katz was VERY close. I think he lost by 1.5%.
I also disagree about the cops. sure there's room for improvement but they aren't the problem. It's the justice system that doesn't put away violent offenders or take illegal guns seriously until someone is killed. the police have to chase down the same people over and over again. and yes, I can imagine Chicago building a casino near Fifth Ave. Lastly, it's worth noting that bloomberg didn't turn NYC around, he took over a city on the rise. guliani, for all his faults, did cut taxes substantially and had one of the best police chiefs around (Bratton, who is now lowering crime in LA). Lastly, if you eliminate the gross receipts tax you still have a 6.5% net income tax you can avoid by locating in the burbs.

[MCNPA]

Originally Posted by pman

To be fair, Katz was VERY close. I think he lost by 1.5%.
I also disagree about the cops. sure there's room for improvement but they aren't the problem. It's the justice system that doesn't put away violent offenders or take illegal guns seriously until someone is killed. the police have to chase down the same people over and over again. and yes, I can imagine Chicago building a casino near Fifth Ave. Lastly, it's worth noting that bloomberg didn't turn NYC around, he took over a city on the rise. guliani, for all his faults, did cut taxes substantially and had one of the best police chiefs around (Bratton, who is now lowering crime in LA). Lastly, if you eliminate the gross receipts tax you still have a 6.5% net income tax you can avoid by locating in the burbs.

Like I said, Giuliani ran the city like a military operation. He was no nonsense. He cleaned it up for certain. I never liked him as a Presidential candidate, Republican and what not, but as a mayor, he was a force. There just aren't guys out there like Rudy Giuliani to do the job. NYC is still a much different place long after Rudy is gone.