July 24, 2008

The Unisys Sign Dilemma

A hearing about the proposed Unisys sign on Liberty Two last night was so full of Philadelphians acting like the world would end if the sign was/was not put up it isn't even over yet. The Zoning Board held a two-hour hearing and then called it quits, for now.

Unisys has essentially said the company will not move downtown without a sign, for some reason, and some historian even testified in favor of it.

The head of SCRUB also chimed in: "Do we prostitute our visual space in order to lure them here?" The residents of the new condos at Liberty Two have filed a federal lawsuit against Unisys in an attempt to block the sign. All of this should be settled in time for the tricentennial.

June 6: Unisys Wants Sign On Liberty Two

Posted by D-Mac at 11:39 AM | Comments (2)

June 24, 2008

Fake Tallest US Building Too Tall For CC

A bunch of news stations covered the zoning proposal for the super tall American Commerce Center (slightly edited rendering, above), which would soar to a height of 1500 feet. Brad Maule notes that -- in a shocker! -- the news stations actually got it wrong, since there are towers in New York and Chicago currently being built that would be taller.

Anyway: Let's get to the big quote from everyone's favorite state senator, Vince Fumo.

State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo, the Philadelphia Democrat in whose district the tower would be built, called yesterday for an "end to spot zoning."

"This is totally out of scale with the rest of Center City," he said.

An end to spot zoning, indeed. Skyscrapers aren't meant for Center City, silly! (Don't worry, Comcast, there is no tenant lined up yet. Your tower is probably safe.)

Zoning proposal introduced for "tallest building" [Inquirer]

Posted by D-Mac at 02:08 PM | Comments (0)

May 27, 2008

OMG Did You Hear That Just Now?

Center City offices are on alert right now after that loud fighter jet noise that went overhead just a few minutes ago. Seriously, what the hell was that?

A breaking report from Philadelphia Will Do breaking news correspondent RJ White (whoop whoop sirens must credit Philadelphia Will Do whoop whoop!):

RJ: You hear that just now?

D-Mac: I did!
RJ: Like some kind of fighter jet
D-Mac: Yeah.
RJ: The place is abuzz!
D-Mac: WHAT COULD IT BE???
RJ: Man, seriously -- it was creepy.
D-Mac: PWD will get to the bottom of this!
D-Mac: "Perhaps a UFO," I'll write.
RJ: MUST CREDIT PHILADELPHIA WILL DO
RJ: ...DEVELOPING...
D-Mac: Or maybe knocking down some of those buildings for the Convention Center expansion?
RJ: Nah -- it was overhead and moved from east to west
D-Mac: definitely a UFO then
RJ: IT WAS THE FLASH, RUNNING TO JLA HEADQUARTERS

Turns out Air Force Week in Philadelphia began yesterday, and it's probably just the annual Scare the Hell out of the Office Workers on Their Day Back to Work Flyover. (Air Force Day at Independence Hall started at 11 a.m., so there's your culprit.)

Posted by D-Mac at 11:13 AM | Comments (1)

May 14, 2008

Exciting Center City Activity!

Yes, Center City is abuzz today with tons of activity. At Broad and Walnut, you have Marley & Me filming at one corner and, uh, a McDonald's-sponsored "Chicken Dance Down South" at the other corner. Apparently, McDonald's thinks you're going to stop what you're doing and dance with corporate tools and, uhm, some Mummers, of course. Or maybe this is the part of Marley & Me where the dog mauls Ronald McDonald to death.

Posted by D-Mac at 11:19 AM | Comments (4)

March 26, 2008

Man Beaten To Death In Concourse

PHILADELPHIA -- Police said a man was beaten to death during a fight on a SEPTA concourse in Center City Philadelphia.

The fight occurred Wednesday afternoon on the concourse, before the turnstiles, at 13th and Market streets, police said. One adult male was taken to Jefferson University Hospital but has been pronounced dead.

Police said homicide investigators have been summoned to the scene.

Cue the outcry and anger and people saying things need to change. I'll be over here.

Police: Man Dies After Fight On SEPTA Concourse [NBC 10]

Posted by D-Mac at 04:55 PM | Comments (12)

November 27, 2007

Knocking At Death's Door (In Center City, At Least)

Today's Inquirer has a story about empty nester couples moving back to Center City, because they're sick of living in suburbia and have enough money to afford to live in Center City, unlike you.

And, as such, the Inquirer profiles a couple who has moved from Elkins Park to an unnamed ritzy Center City condo. Oh, and the paper predicts the date of their deaths.

But three of their four children are in Center City. So is the theater. Ballet. Opera. Restaurants. So in the spring of 2005, they moved to Center City. One of the glam condos that are shooting up in Philadelphia like gold-leafed sunflowers. Just the right perch for a couple with another good 10 or 15 years left to get their urban groove on.

Well, at least the paper gave them a range. "You're going to die by the time you're 90, but you will live until at least 85!"

Second life as urban hipsters [Inquirer]

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October 24, 2007

Actually Eating Good In The Neighborhood

The Illadelph points to a Philadelphia Business Journal story last week that should let all Philadelphians breathe a sigh of relief: Chain restaurants are largely avoiding Center City.

While Center City does have some chain restaurants, particularly steak houses, most of the big casual dining chains have swarmed to the suburbs. To the point, the nation's two largest owners of casual dining restaurants -- Darden Restaurants Inc. of Orlando and OSI Restaurant Partners LLC of Tampa, Fla. -- have a combined 48 restaurants in the eight-county Philadelphia market, but only three are in Center City.

Yeah, there are some chains, but there is a difference between, say, Morton's and the Olive Garden. Even Fado and Fox & Hound are on a different level than the Big Four (Applebee's, the Olive Garden, T.G.I. Friday's and Chili's -- did I miss anything?).

Anyway, apparently we have old people (who have enough money to eat at nice places or are grizzled enough to hate chain restaurants) and young people (who would rather drink at McGlinchey's on the cheap) but not enough suburbanites. Imagine that, not enough suburbanites in the city! (But who's living in all these condos?)

"Center City has a strong residential population," some consulting firm president told the PBJ. "It's mostly young and old, but not the middle, which is the market for casual dining."

Somebody remind me when I'm 40 if I want to go to Applebee's all the time that I'm a big sellout or whatever.

Tastes of Center City denizens prove, thankfully, to be far too refined for the likes of artless national chain restaurants [The Illadelph]
Chain restaurants expand in the suburbs, not in city [PBJ]

Posted by D-Mac at 11:54 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

August 09, 2007

Businesses Want You To Pay More To Park

Those of you with cars know the perils of parking in Center City. In short: It's impossible! Either you drive around for 45 minutes looking for a spot or you end up parking at like 21st and Christian and walking to Rittenhouse or wherever.

Well, it's about to get a little ... uh, more annoying to park, since soon you'll have to feed the meter 'til 10 p.m. across all of Center City. The reason for this change is not the complaints of economists that on-street parking is too cheap -- economists will complain about anything being too inexpensive, including sunshine and rainbows and butterflies -- but because businesses want you to pay more to park:

“Because they’re finding that as their hours are extending, and people are staying out longer, they (the businesses) want to have a way (for customers) to park. And if your regulations end at a certain time, that turnover is not taking place.”

Uh, yeahhhh... okay. Fortunately for us, once they install new parking kiosks nobody will have any idea how to use them and the city won't get any money.

New Rules For On-Street Parking in Center City [KYW 1060]
June 27: How Many Philadelphians Does It Take To Use A Parking Meter?

Posted by D-Mac at 10:07 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

May 24, 2007

Apparently There Is Only One Person In Philadelphia Who Knows How To Remove Bees

The bees won't go away! Yesterday, another swarm showed up at 17th and Chestnut, looking for a place to build a hive.

Although swarms of bees are now daily commuters to Center City, they're not dangerous, according to Jim Bobb of the Pennsylvania State Beekeepers Association. "You could probably put your hand in the swarm, and they wouldn't hurt you," he said. Yeah, I'll let you do that, Jim Bobb.

The city, however, couldn't get the bees removed by the same person from the day before. So the city turned to another beekeeper. Er, wait, it didn't.

But [the woman who removed the bees Tuesday, Nancy] Schnarr was already booked, so she called in a pinch-hitter, her 70-year-old mother, Dawn Potts. Her mother is not a beekeeper, so she had to follow instructions given by cell phone.

The bees, the Inquirer notes, that slack-jawed gawkers "said they had heard that the bees may have come from North Philly," as the section is known for its vast beehive fields.

Center City abuzz over bees seeking place to call home [Inquirer]
Yesterday: So That's Where All The Bees Went!

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November 27, 2006

Foot Fetishist Loose In Center City

CBS 3 reports today of a serial attacker in Center City who is robbing and sexually assaulting women in Center City.

The first assault took place near Franklin Field before the assailant moved east to Center City. But here's the kicker:

Sources say the common denominator in the attacks, aside from the description, is a foot fetish. The suspect, sources say, touches the victim's feet in some manner during the attack.

Put those sandals away, ladies. You hear me, Penn sorority girls? I'm talking to you!

Police Seek City Serial Fondler With Foot Fetish [CBS 3]

Posted by D-Mac at 03:09 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

September 21, 2006

Leftovers: All Explosions, All The Time

• The upside to the Great Center City Explosion of 2006: "Thousands of workers from several nearby buildings, including 1500 Market Street, were evacuated. At that point, [Fire Commissioner] Ayers says, many employers gave their workers the rest of the day off." [KYW 1060]

• And, in case you really, really need to know about a ruptured power line downtown, here are all the relevant news and forum links: CBS 3, 6 ABC, NBC 10, Inquirer, Philly Future, Phillyblog, Craigslist Rants & Raves.

• The Action News morning team took a trip down the Brandywine Creek this morning. Tamala Edwards writes, "But that may not have been such a good thing, since David and Karen ended up in more banks than the earlier team of Tam and Karen. Tam and Matt sashayed down the river, talking politics and wedding planning (Tam was very anxious to get to the end of the trip; her wedding dress was waiting in South Philadelphia, with a shop owner who was about to leave on an international trip. The pressure!)." The Brandywine Creek makes you talk in the third person, apparently. [6 ABC]

• In New Jersey, you now have more rights in your car than in your home. Look for a burgeoning meth lab operation out of peoples' trunks sometime soon. [Camden Courier Post]

Posted by D-Mac at 04:42 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

June 07, 2006

Leftovers: Cheap Booze!

• Tonight in Center City, a whole bunch o' restaurants are offering $4 cocktails, $3 wine and $2 booze. And this happens every Wednesday until Aug. 30! Sadly, the Center City District's plan to drop 400 beach balls at 16th and Market was cancelled due to inclement weather; if you're in the market for a beach ball, try and contact the CCD and see if they'll give you one. [Center City District via The 14th Windiest State]

• Three more Knight Ridder papers have been sold, which leaves three to go, according to my calculations. [Akron Beacon Journal]

• In case you haven't been up on Barbaro news, the president of Penn visited him last week. Give it a few weeks before Bush comes down to see everyone's favorite horse. [Daily Pennsylvanian]

• The moral of the story: Don't trust online mail order pharmacies to keep your info private. [Romenesko]

• See, it's not just good players who take illegal supplements; it'sshitty ex-Phillies, too. [The Clog]

• The Phillies game is starting, like, now. Go Ryan Madson! Pitch like Jason Grimley on HGH! Er, wait, pitch better than that. [Yahoo! Sports]

Posted by D-Mac at 04:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)