By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

Deputy Managing Director Tom Conway recalls the way the city used to address quality-of-life issues like high weeds and trash on properties.
The Department of Licenses and Inspections would send a violation notice to the property owner.
“Basically what happened was nothing,” Conway said.
Now, Conway told last week’s meeting of the Burholme Community Town Watch and Civic Association, the city is much more aggressive toward neighborhood nuisances.
Conway said that Mayor John Street’s Neighborhood Transformation Initiative isn’t just about demolishing buildings in North Philadelphia.
One aspect of NTI is the pilot Community Life Improvement Program, which Conway describes as a rapid response unit.
CLIP is operating in the 6th Councilmanic District, but the city likes the results it’s seen and plans to expand it. It is expected to come to Burholme, most of which is in the 10th Councilmanic District.
Conway cited statistics to show how the city’s anti-blight effort is working.
So far in 2002, about 80,000 properties have been cleaned. The figure was just 3,000 as recently as 1996.
Though a neighborhood like Burholme might not notice a difference, the city has removed about 140,000 cars in the last couple of years.
“It looked like Beirut a lot of times,” Conway said of neighborhoods with burned-out, abandoned cars.
CLIP has issued 4,000 violations, and the Department of Streets has written 2,000 tickets. Among the offenders are people who walk their dogs and don’t pick up after them.
Typically, an inspector will respond to a complaint within 48 hours. The property owner has 10 days to clean his or her property. After that, the city will clean the site and bill the homeowner. A lien will be placed on the property of those who don’t pay their bill.
It seems to be working. In the last six months, the rate of compliance has increased from 34 percent to 67 percent.
Conway believes CLIP is successful, in part, because the employees are Northeast residents who are able to act on problems they see for themselves.
No matter where they live, residents can report graffiti. Conway encouraged anyone who sees graffiti to call 215-686-0000.
“For zero tolerance,” he said of the four zeros in the phone number.
In other news from the Sept. 19 meeting:
• Joanne Rosenthal is seeking to open Storybook Children’s Center at 7722 Dungan Road, in the site of a former label manufacturer.
At present, Rosenthal operates a child-care facility for 20 kids out of her home in Huntingdon Valley.
The proposed facility would consist of about 15 employees and up to 100 children, depending on what the Zoning Board of Adjustment would allow.
It would include a pre-school class and after-school activities for elementary school kids. A nurse would be on site, and there would be security cameras inside and outside the center.
Tutoring would be offered, and the kids would be able to take part in a variety of creative arts classes. The kids would also have indoor and outdoor play areas.
Hours of operation would be from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Rosenthal would like to form a relationship with the Gloria Dei Estates retirement community. She envisions her students performing shows at the senior center and joining the residents in arts and crafts. She’d also like to have the seniors visit the child-care center to read stories.
Burholme Civic Association president Al Taubenberger asked Rosenthal to meet with the Burholme zoning committee again before the group decides whether to back her plan.
• Jim Curran appeared at Burholme’s June meeting, saying he wanted to open a beer distributorship on Cottman Ave.
Curran was back at last week’s meeting, telling neighbors he wanted to open Liberty General Contracting Services at 1316-18 Cottman Ave.
For now, Curran operates his contracting business out of 7330 Whitaker Ave. He wants a bigger site.
Curran said he’d store all of his roofing, window, door and other home-repair materials inside. The businessman needs a variance to open because the property is zoned residential.
There was no apparent opposition to Curran’s bid.
• Taubenberger predicted that the Purple Orchid II, a go-go bar at 7271 Rising Sun Ave., would remain closed.
“It is my personal belief it won’t open again,” he said.
The bar was shut down in August after police raided it and found cocaine, marijuana, steroids and Xanax. A dancer and a manager were arrested.
The Department of Licenses and Inspections posted a cease operations order, and an L&I review board declined to open the bar after an emergency hearing.
Now, bar management has appealed to the Court of Common Pleas. A hearing is scheduled for next month.
Neighbors have gathered about 600 signatures calling for the courts to keep the gentleman’s club closed.
“I don’t see anything gentlemanly about it,” Taubenberger said.
The Purple Orchid II originally faced closing in November 2000 after the Zoning Board of Adjustment denied the bar’s request for a five-year renewal of its variance permit.
Before Common Pleas Court could hear an appeal, the civic association allowed the Purple Orchid II to remain open after the bar agreed to a set of provisos, including closing on Sundays.
The civic group made the decision because it feared losing in court. Taubenberger credited attorney Tom O’Malley and zoning committee chairman Mike Hartey with forcing the bar to agree to a tough set of provisos.
• Taubenberger serves as president and general chairman of the German-American Steuben Parade, which will be held on Saturday at noon on Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
On Friday, there will be a banquet at Cannstatter’s, 9130 Academy Road. An Octoberfest will be held the next day at the United German Hungarian Club in Oakford, Bucks County.
German military band members are in need of housing during their stay in Philadelphia.
For information on the weekend celebration, visit www.steubenparade.com
• The next meeting of the Burholme Community Town Watch and Civic Association will be on Thursday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. at United Methodist Church of the Redeemer, at Cottman and Lawndale avenues.
State Rep. George Kenney (R-170th dist.), who attended last week’s meeting, will be the guest speaker.

Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com