Save Point Breeze Campaign Fighting Gentrification in South Philly
The Save Point Breeze Campaign, a part of the community organization Concerned Citizens of Point Breeze, is an anti-gentrification movement in South Philadelphia fighting to stop market rate housing from pushing out poor and working-class families.
Three neighborhoods in Philadelphia, including Point Breeze, have been designated to receive federal stimulus money through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. This stimulus money comes at a time when concerns about gentrification in the neighborhood have intensified. At both 1741 Federal St. and 23rd and Alter St. there are houses/condos on the market for $300,000. At 1737 Manton St. a penthouse is being built that will be in the high $300,000s. "We can go on and on, those are just some examples. How in the world can people stay in Point Breeze with those houses coming up all around them?" said Betty Beaufort, activist and longtime Point Breeze resident. In one year, from 2008 to 2009, the median home sale price in Point Breeze has gone up 45.7% or $29,500.
The Save Point Breeze Campaign has held two community meetings to discuss the stimulus money and revitalization plan that Philadelphia's Planning Commission has put together for the Point Breeze area. The first meeting was held on October 22nd to the let the community know about the plan and to brainstorm what the community wanted from the city. Over 100 people came together and created a list of community demands. The demands were focused on using the stimulus money to help meet the need for housing that is affordable for low-income and working-class families in the neighborhood rather than using it to subsidize the construction of market rate homes. Then on October 28th, the Save Point Breeze Campaign held a second meeting and requested that city officials attend. Two members from the Planning Commission came. The community members presented the 15 demands that they had come up with at the first meeting.
The demands included:
- to keep Point Breeze as the name for the neighborhood
- not to allow zoning changes that would result in more condo construction
- the city demonstrating a commitment to housing equality by providing money for housing for poor and working-class people
- money for home improvements and repairs for existing residents
- tax amnesty for longtime residents at risk of losing their homes
- improved facilities for all of the neighborhood's recreation buildings
- funding for job training programs
- local residents prioritized in hiring for the new Philly Live entertainment complex
- stimulus money used to encourage the construction of a grocery store and pharmacy in the neighborhood
The Planning Commission claimed to not have the authority to grant most of these demands and did not offer community members any information about who would have that authority.
On November 10th the Planning Commission held their own meeting in Point Breeze about the revitalization plan. Residents were expecting a presentation and the chance to ask questions but were left disappointed and unsatisfied. According to Ms. Beaufort, "as you walked in they had seven easels and each had a poster on it stating what they were representing. It was like an art gallery spectacle. You would walk around like you were looking at art. Our community is more than seven poster boards. There was no community participation."
After attending the Planning Commission meeting one frustrated Point Breeze resident wrote a letter outlining her concerns about gentrification to David Knapton, a planner in the Planning Commission who has focused on Point Breeze. In his letter in response, Mr. Knapton wrote " the Neighborhood Stabilization Program money which can can be used in Point Breeze can only be spent on housing for low to middle-income residents."
But residents' attempts to get clear answers from city officials about how exactly this stimulus money will be used to help low-income residents stay in their homes or find affordable housing have been unsuccessful.
On December 16th, members of Concerned Citizens of Point Breeze met with City Council President Anna Verna and Terri Gillen, the Executive Director of the Redevelopment Authority, to discuss the stimulus money and the revitalization plan. The community members came up with a list of questions including: How much money will be allotted to Point Breeze? How many houses will be built? Where will they be built? What will be the income qualifications to live in the housing? What percentage of the construction will involved minority participation i.e. contractors, developers, workers? What are the vacancy and foreclosure rates for the recent market rate housing built in Point Breeze? "We had basic questions but we didn't get answers to any of them really," said Ms. Beaufort.
The Save Point Breeze Campaign is looking for people throughout the city who have had the experience of being pushed out by developers and can offer some advice about how to fight gentrification. They are also interested in getting more Point Breeze residents involved in the campaign. To get in touch with the Save Point Breeze Campaign you can e-mail ccpointbreeze@gmail.com
They are starting to plan a third community meeting to strategize the Save Point Breeze Campaign's next move. Ms. Beaufort explained that she is hoping more residents will become involved in the campaign "so they can wake up and help fight for the cause. The city is going to try and push us out by raising taxes or using eminent domain. We're going to fight it because we have nowhere else to go."
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