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The Empowerment Zone |
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By Natalie Lavelle, Raquel Machado and Rachel Solomon It was not always like this - abandoned buildings, vacant lots. It was not long ago that this Philadelphia community was a thriving business district. In an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, Vinent Dougherty, the assistant director of Philadelphia 's Department of Commere, said Hunting Park is "one of the poorest and most deteriorated areas." But not for long, if millions of dollars from the federal government are well invested in plans to improve the community. In 1994, Philadelphia was designated one of six empowerment zones across the United States. The federally funded program was designed to revitalize three neighborhoods within the city: West Philadelphia, North Central and American Street. The American Street zone ranges east and west from Front Street in Kensington to Sixth Street in North Philadelphia, and north and south from Lehigh to Girard avenues. The goal is to "clean up the streets of the community by making some changes in the infrasturcture of streets, putting up public art and new signage and creating new landscapign to dress up the area," said Eva Goldstein, executive director of the Philadelpha Empowerment Zone. The American Street plan includes new lighting and storefront signage for Giarard Avenue and Front Street and expanded sidewalks and medians for improved pedestrian crossing on Lehigh Avenue and American Street. One key player in the American Street Empowerment Zone (ASEZ) is Philadelphia Green, an organization that has transformed over a dozen areas of vacant land into open, green spaces. According to the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society's Web site, Philadelphia Green "has helped improve the sense of safety, involved the existing business community and enhanced the appearance of this area to potential new visitors." Bob Grossman, the program manager for Philadelphia Green, said, "Nearly everywhere you go now, you see a green space instead of a trashed lot." But not all these green spaces will remain open green areas for long. Redevelopment of the community is uncertain. Bringing new businesses into the area is a top priority, organizers said. Organizers believe this is a promising opportunity. But some local residents and business owners are reluctant about the possibility of the neighborhood becoming the next "hot spot," said Mark Keener, of Brown and Keener Urban Design, the firm hired to develop the plans in the ASEZ. Some residnets feel threatened by the possibility of gentrification, a common consequence of community redevelopment. Residents like Brendi Lopez do not want to be pushed out of their homes and forced to relocate because of rising property values. "If you bring more are going to rise, new people will start coming into the area and the residents there now will all be kicked out because they won't be able to afford it," Lopez said. "It happened before to us and it will happen again. We've been pushed out of Center City; we've been pushed out of Norris Square . Pretty soon we'll be pushed up to the Northeast and we can't afford to live up there now." Local resident and business owner Aura Pimentel said she has not seen many families displaced. However, the house in which she grew up, on Lawrence Street , is no longer standing. Some residents are also concerned that when new businesses move into the area, owners will hire their employees from outside the neighborhood. Only one-third of the community members are currently employed by local businesses in that area. But the residents are a vital part of the plan, insisted Bill Salas, president of the Hispanic Association of Contractors and Enterprises (HACE), an organization that attempts to stop community deterioration with commercial revitalization. "Displacement is unfortunate but unavoidable," Salas said. "But [organizers] could do a better job in administering it." Maria Gonzalez, vice president of HACE, said residents might even benefit from increased property values, adding that the increase will not make the properties unaffordable. Relocation, she added, may give someone an opportunity to move onto a healthier block. Gonzalez, who has lived in the community for 25 years herself, said she understands that people develop an attachment to their home. Her job, she said, is to negotiate on residents' behalf. HACE provides a home ownership program as well as counseling services and assistance for housing transitions. Residents should start their own businesses in the area, Salas said. HACE has established loan programs and other initiatives, and has partnerships with businesses and banks to help them do so, Salas said. Small business loan programs are also in place. Pimentel's family has owned its own business in the community for 30 years. Her family's wedding shop is located on the 2900 block of N. Fifth Street . "I haven't heard of any programs," Pimentel said when asked what she knew about the ASEZ. "Most of the money went into American Street ." Contractors were changing the facades of the stores on her block, but Pimentel said her storefront already looks similar to the new design. Also, she disagrees with the idea that all the storefronts in the area should be identical. "The contractors stopped coming about six or seven months ago," Pimentel said. Pimentel said her store had to pay $10,000 to participate in the program. The contractors then took the existing signs down, but "took forever to put new ones up," Pimentel said. Now, her sign is lower than nearby stoes and she wants it raised because the neighborhood kids can write graffiti on it. Salas said complaints like these are not always brought to his attention. The store owners are involved in every aspect of the program, he said, including approving the plans for physical changes to the storefront and providing matching funds. Local barber Alcedez Fransicini has also put out his own money to improve his business."A few months ago, a contractor came out and said he would do whatever we wanted and the American Street Empowerment Zone would pay them. I wouldn't have to do anything." Fransicini said he doubts the program will be that freen of difficulties. "I am tired of jumping through hoops," Fransicini said. "If we want anything, we have to give a dollar for dollar match, and some of us [business owners] can't afford that." Fransicini said that whether businesses get financial support depends on what side of the street your business is located. He ended up putting in a new window and sign for his store without any help, he said. "It's a good idea, but they are going about it the wrong way," Pimentel said. She added that she would rather see community programs targeted at getting neighborhood kids off the street. "We have a tremendous drug problem, so we need community programs, not business programs." Improvements have already begun in the community, yet other projects may go unfinished or never get off the ground due to inadequate funding, said American Street business organizer Dennis Murphy. "Only certain parts of the plan have gotten complete funding, such as the Girard Avenue and American Street plans," Murphy said. "All of the organizers are pulling together to try and get city, state and federal funding for the rest of the project plans." State Rep. Angel Cruz said HACE has already received money. He helped obtain $2 million of state money, but does not see anything happening as a result. "Where did the money go?" he asked. "Everything looks exactly the same way." The only new busiensses Cruz said he sees are franchises like the Wendy's fast food chain, which is built with its own corporate money. ASEZ organizers have hosted informational community meetings to provide an opportunity for residents and business owners to share their thoughts and concerns. Since some residents said they know little about the plans, Salas said informational kiosks may be installed at key locations in the community. "These are good suggestions, but we need the money to execute them," Salas said. "Most good plans sit on shelves because of funding." Compliance has been a big issue. "There has been a huge amount of advertisement," Salas said. "You need to be an active part of this process," he added, encouraging residents to "pick up the phone and call us to get involved." But it is a two-way relationship, he said. "Government needs to make it user-friendly, and users need to comply." Salas of HACE said that the conflict arises not from residents and business owners possessing "a lack of knowledge, but maybe a lack of desire." Salas said he thinks ASEZ is going to bring major changes to the community. "Change can be good," Gonzalez said. "This will not affect them negatively." It will take a while to implement these changes. "Things don't happen overnight," Salas said. "Everything is a process. [Residnets and business owners] need to understand that." As part of the empowerment zone, the Hunting Park community will also have access to increased educational programs, job training and a greater availability of child care services. Community policing will increase with new town watch programs. Improvements to housing units are also planned, along with programs to help people transition from renting to owning homes. Residents are grateful that the government is taking an active role in the community to try to improve the area. Some residents though, like Lopez, said they would rather do it themselves. They are not getting what they really need from the government, she said, and the community has been doing good enough on its own. "The residents together have made their community clean and a better place to live and they don't need others to help," she said. |
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