Neighborhood Preservation Alliance

04/06/2016

http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/apr/06/great-city-buildings-demolished-destroyed-les-halles

With the revamp of Les Halles this week, Paris hopes to close a chapter on the embarrassing destruction of the original building – just one of many gorgeous urban structures, from Penn Station to the West Pier, hit by the wrecking ballWhat have we missed? Tell us in the comments below

04/04/2016

Winning landmark protection for historic buildings in Philadelphia is no easy thing. But keeping them protected has become even more of an ordeal.

03/31/2016

Good article by Melissa Komar on the efforts of NPA..

Col­lab­or­a­tion between de­veloper and loc­al com­munity act­iv­ist group en­sures fu­ture of former Fishtown church.

03/29/2016

Neighborhood Preservation Alliance celebrates victory for E. Montgomery Ave. M.E. Church

03/23/2016

Through the efforts of a neighborhood organization, the East Montgomery Ave. Methodist Episcopal Church has been saved from a proposed demolition. On Tuesday, March 22nd, the Neighborhood Preservation Alliance (NPA) issued a press release stating that the property at 1775 Frankford Ave. has been sol…

03/22/2016

We are delighted to announce we have succeeded in preserving the East Montgomery Ave M.E. church building!

On March 19th we learned the property was officially sold to an unknown buyer who is interested in preserving the structure. We have been assured a clause has been written into the agreement of sale indicating the church is to remain intact and not to be demolished.

This is a significant victory in our urgent and continuous fight to preserve the historic built structures and cultural integrity of the neighborhoods of Philadelphia. This is also a model of how developers and neighbors can work together to achieve a common goal. Both the actions of our group and the developer’s broker, Ori Feibush, remained committed, civil, respectful and diplomatic throughout the entirety of the challenging process of negotiating not only the sale of the church but also to adjustments of the existing designs of the adjacent new-construction projects at 1775 Frankford Ave.

It should be noted that the NPA’s mission is two-fold: we aim to preserve the architectural heritage of Philadelphia neighborhoods whenever possible; additionally we support smart, progressive development that is both contextual to the existing neighborhood’s architectural language and respectful to the neighbors who live there. We aim to encourage our city’s leaders to continue to reexamine and improve our municipal development process. It is our hope that developers seek to engage neighbors with consideration and deference, and that neighbors respond with civility and impassioned diplomacy.

We are immensely grateful to those who have supported our efforts, and we ask for your continued support. Please stay tuned for more projects in the near future.

03/07/2016

"...Since the 1950s, courts have ruled that governments can also exercise eminent domain to raze “blighted structures.” All of the above caveats have historically been open to different legal interpretations, often controversially.

For its Sharswood project, PHA has argued that taking private land is justifiable because the land is “blighted” and the affordable housing it will create on that land will constitute a public benefit. In Philadelphia, the local legislature must approve eminent domain actions and, in June of last year, City Council voted to authorize PHA’s condemnation of 1,330 properties in the project area. PHA selected the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, a state agency with local eminent domain powers, to legally acquire the properties on its behalf."

Click on the link for maps of publicly owned land in Sharswood before and after eminent domain.

WHAT IS EMINENT DOMAIN? Eminent domain is a legal term that refers to the ability of certain public agencies to seize privately-held property under…

02/24/2016

Latest cover story from the Star. For those interested in preservation, note that the price has recently been reduced to $749,000
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1775-Frankford-Ave_Philadelphia_PA_19125_M48428-22568

Loc­al res­id­ents meet with real es­tate agent and mo­bil­ize to pre­vent de­moli­tion of former church on Mont­gomery Av­en­ue in Fishtown.

02/17/2016

"Historic preservation districts also help Americans to tell the story of their nation, in all its complexity and diversity. No one would argue that certain historic districts feature grand historic homes and affluent residents. But for every Georgetown or Beacon Hill, there are places like Eatonville, Florida, or Detroit’s Corktown, modest communities that have been home to generations of working class families. The history embedded in these communities is just as important, and just as worthy of our full preservation efforts."

Historic neighborhoods provide benefits to everyone, not just homeowners.

02/11/2016

You can read more about the current situation over at Hidden City

Can the former East Montgomery Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church, for years a hub for artists and the community, be saved? Ryan Briggs reports.

02/10/2016

Please sign and share the petition.

Dear Citizens, This 19th century former Montgomery Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church has been CLEARED FOR DEMOLITION by L & I as proposed by developer, Ori Feibush. As residents of Fishtown and the city as a whole, we are concerned that the integrity of our built environment is being compromised…