Philadelphia City Council Enters Gentrification Controversy In Point Breeze
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – City Council has waded into a gentrification controversy that has divided neighbors in the Point Breeze section of South Philadelphia.
It's a proposed bill that would impose a one-year moratorium on construction of buildings, additions or roof decks higher than two-stories.
Tiffany Green (photo, center) is with the group, Concerned Citizens of Point Breeze, "we're not saying we're against new development. What we're saying is respect our communities."
She says low-income neighbors are stressed out, when upscale builders want to put up three story homes on two-story blocks. "It seems like the only area being targeted are low income and distressed communities to keep it uniform."
The Nutter administration and some neighborhood leaders feel the moratorium would stifle development, depress property values, and interfere with public investment in the neighborhood.
The President of the Point Breeze Community Development Coalition, Claudia Sherrod, says disputes in the Breeze are best dealt with by the individuals affected. "Let the community - block by block - deal with the three-story issue, as they deem necessary."
Councilmen Jim Kenney recalls Queen Village neighbors went through similar gentrification issues in the 1970's.
Reported By Steve Tawa, KYW Newsradio.
