March 02, 2006 Issue                                               

©2005 The Chestnut Hill Local

From our readers....

Glad they’re gone

In response to an article by Kristin Pazulski on the idea of returning the electric trolley onto Germantown Avenue, it is not appealing to those of us who remember and used them.

In fact we are happy to see their demise, especially we who experienced driving behind them.

Today’s rush hour on the Avenue is something to avoid. The parking on both sides leaves only one lane north and one south.

Now imagine driving behind and being blinded by a huge block of metal that stops frequently not only at regular stops, but other times, to allow for trucks to unload and cars to park. There is no way to pass around a trolley unless you can maneuver around it at a traffic light, and after you have avoided passengers boarding or leaving the experience counteracts any romantic feeling or affection to historical and/or picturesque travel.

It has been a boon eliminating these monsters. The noise they make that shatter the silence in the early morning hours were akin to giant roller coasters racing from the top of the Hill to Cresheim Valley Road.

The buses are quieter and are more maneuverable. However, diesel exhaust is the price we pay for their use. Improve what we have.

C. Edward Smith
Chestnut Hill

A new scapegoat

Upon reading Pamela Waters’ malicious indictment of (director’s name), I finally felt compelled to voice my opinion in the Local’s pages. I have remained silent during the CHCA leadership’s attacks on my husband, allowing his admirable professional reputation and body of public work to speak for themselves. Despite repeated attempts to slander, blame and demoralize Jim, we, as a family, felt confident that the Chestnut Hill community need only review previous editions of the Local under Jim’s leadership to illustrate the ridiculousness of his detractors’ claims. Yet, (director’s name) has no such public body of work to defend him. Rather, he must rely on his friends and colleagues to come to his aid.

I cannot comprehend how Ms. Waters can even begin to support her claims that (director’s name) is guilty of “sexual harassment, verbal abuse and physical threats.” All of these assertions are absurd. It seems to me that (director’s name) sole crimes were to support my husband and dare to stand up to the CHCA president and her followers. As for her assertion that (director’s name) advised Mike Mishak to resign, this lie is refuted by the very “letters from associates” Ms. Waters refers to in her opinion piece. Mike Mishak has stated in no uncertain terms, verbally and in print, that (director’s name) had nothing to do with his resignation. There is no need to review how a few key single-minded CHCA leaders created the insufferable working conditions, wholly unprofessional atmosphere, and culture of innuendo and mistrust that led to the resignations of Jim and Mike and the ultimate demise of the Local. (director’s name) did not contribute to any of this in any way.

The CHCA leadership is looking for a new scapegoat, since they’ve tired of using my husband as one. In their attempts to “mop up” their mess and create favorable propaganda, the CHCA leadership is only making themselves look more foolish and culpable. When your neighbors see fit to personally attack you in an attempt to bolster their already faltering public image, whole families are affected. I cannot sit silently while Pam Waters and other misguided and misinformed tools do the same thing to (director’s name) family as they did to mine.

Stephanie S. Sturdivant
Chestnut Hill
(Editor’s Note: the name of the director in question has not been printed by the Local for legal considerations.)

Blog second source

Dear blog, thank you for providing another information source on the Hill. Even as a resident who has never been involved in the politics here, I have felt that one of the many benefits of living here has been the give and take of the letters section of the Local, the news stories of the Local and the all around excellence of the Local. To change the Lentz policy, to not publish all the coherent letters submitted, is inexcusable. The pabulum currently offered up as news stories has often been a waste of time. (Freezing bananas? Tips on the dangers of cold weather and snow? Editorials on cats. Stories naming each merchant on the hill and assuring us that they are very nice. Pleeez.)

The Hill is mostly made up of college educated professionals pressed for time. We want a newspaper worth reading, not a tale told by an babbling homemaker. We want to know about local events and what others think about local events. We want to know what is going on. Why do we want to know? Because it’s relevant to a half-rented Hill and perhaps the CHCA’s current head’s leadership style.

This is the 21st century. Dinner party gossip, which, might I add, is far more cruel and even more truthful than what I have said here, — has two places to go for facts: a hard-hitting, news-reporting Local or a blog like that at http://chnotebook.blogspot.com. If you don’t like the freedom of blogs — make them unnecessary. News can no longer be restricted; there are too many venues for it. Wealthy individuals nor cheerleaders can control information. Only a newspaper that abides by real journalistic ethics can make sure that gossip doesn’t stick. And only if it does its job. Meaning no hands-off policy on the Association or landowners.

I love the Hill. Up till recently I loved the Local. Whether it makes money or not, it is part of what makes the Hill worthwhile. It’s one of the reasons to live here, to shop here, to play here. It is one of the things that ups the quality of life here.

So Local, please get back in the saddle and do what you’re supposed to do. And thank you blog for making it obvious what needs to be done. Good night and good luck to both of you, and especially, all of us.

Kay Wisniewski
Chestnut Hill

Undue burden

Thank you for last week’s editorial. I fear, however, that it places an undue burden on a next generation to have to depose the current CHCA. Perhaps the entire CHCA should be gracious and just resign.

Raymond Tumarkin
Philadelphia

One of our proudest moments

We have all been aggrieved to see the blue tarps last so long on the corner of Evergreen and Germantown Avenues. I can gladly say the Historical Society had no part! Though I’m not unhappy with the result. Does all of this sound very convoluted? It is.

I am a preservationist and love history. I like to see things reused for many reasons; first, we don’t seem to know how to build anything of quality any more; second, it is a waste of the world’s resources to tear down a structurally good building; and third, there is a piece of history, a story, that once it is gone you don’t get back. Not every building should be saved though. There are certainly many reasons why, for a community or an individual, a building should be demolished. I personally never loved the “Gap” building. I was sorry to see it go only because I watched the dumpster fill up with glass, and wiring, and lighting that had in no way exceeded their useful lifespan.

New construction can actually be very exciting, and it helps to tell an ongoing part of history that we are all creating. All too often though, that construction does not meet the potential that the vacant lot once held. Too many people are interested in their signature look, or the ability to build cheap, rather than focusing on what architecture should be about, design. A well-constructed and well-designed building does not necessarily have to be more expensive, but it probably takes a little more time. Someone has to look at the context for the building and see how it will fit into the needs of the community too. That doesn’t happen often enough, and we, as the community, cannot rely on the Commerce Banks of this world to take it upon themselves to do it. So we have enacted laws to give us a chance to be a part of the process.

This time it worked. Almost didn’t, but it did. The process worked! Who of us could walk by the handful of steel beams supported by scaffolding and draped with blue tarps and not see that it was a demolition. Someone in the community brought it to the attention of the Department of Licenses and Inspections and the work was halted. The owner of the property could still have sped the process along and applied for a variance right away, but instead stretched the process out by many months trying to prove it was not demolition. No one bought it though. L&I denied the application and called it demolition, requiring a variance. Now the community has a chance to be involved. That is how it is supposed to happen.

So, in the end, I’m glad that we had to put up with six months of tarps. Many see this as a black eye on the community, but I see it as one of our proudest moments. We stood up and said we won’t be bullied, we won’t have our rights thrown away, and we won’t have our community haphazardly torn down. That doesn’t mean new construction can’t happen in Chestnut Hill, it just means it will happen with a care toward the whole community. In a time when so many are more concerned with themselves and their profits than the benefits to the community, I think we owe a thanks to the stalwart guardians who stood up and said, “No.”

George Lyons
Executive Director
Chestnut Hill
Historical Society