Today’s headline reads, ‘69th Street: Economic renaissance is proof of dreams do come true’.
It wasn’t too long ago that folks were talking about a Chester renaissance. For some reason, nobody is fixin’ their mouth to say that word any more. This may be why our recent survey found 60% of folks finding Chester more trifling than Upper Darby.
Here are some of the great lines in this story along with my quirky retorts:
The struggles that any mayor has in this economy is that you have to make sure the businesses will come...As the great lyricist James Brown exclaims, “Saying it and doing it are just two different things. There just as much difference in it as night and day.”
The amount of construction jobs ... plus the amount of permanent retail jobs is going to have a huge impact...Build it and they will work.
...what is so attractive about the area is its density, adding that it is one of the densest areas in the country in a two to three-mile radius.
Chester is fast becoming a home on the range. Open space is taking over the city. It’s nice to see blight removed but along with it goes our attractive density.
There are so many diverging cultures in there... Chester has no diversity of culture. We’re 75% black, 15% white, and 10% hispanic.
...there is a renewed interest in the older town centers like 69th Street, Lansdowne and Media. Wow. Chester’s downtown isn’t even considered a town center anymore.
People are kind of getting back to that hometown feel,” Charlton said. “It’s great. People want to be in a town center. They want to be in a community. By their human nature, they want to be close to other people. They don’t want to be alone.” He said these communities allow people to literally walk out of their door and visit nearby restaurants and theaters. The only people who live close to each other live in public housing and unless there is a Chinese take-out or hoagie shop nearby, that’s as close to a restaurant you’ll find. Netflix is our nearest theater.
There's another important point mentioned in the article which explains why people are talking about a renaissance in Upper Darby and not Chester anymore....the Senior Vice President of the company investing in UD gives credit to government officials willingness to work with their company. With all the craziness at city hall over the last year, does anyone think businesses will trust Chester officials when they are busy suing and back stabbing each other and talking of raising taxes on businesses that are already here? Whether you want to admit this reality or not, it's private companies and investors that revitalize a city in partnership with local government and that's been missing in Chester under this administration. As long as the private sector thinks they can't trust or work with city hall, they'll take their dollars to places like Upper Darby and Chester will fall into further decay.
ReplyDeleteThat goes without saying, but I'm glad you said it. Only our local 'Dems for Life' crowd accepts that system.
DeleteIt's sad that so much good work in rebuilding Chester is going to waste. I pray the people of this city wake up and see it is not about political party, it is about qualified people with vision and a heart for the city, not their personal gain. Wake up Chester, you are not the only game in town. Upper Darby, Marcus Hook, Reading, Allentown, Harrisburg and more are all competing for the same help. Here's the secret, they are working with everyone, business, community and Harrisburg to get it done.
ReplyDelete