A new face in the neighborhood

By Jeannie O’Sullivan
Times Staff Writer

Coming from the New York City borough of Queens, Eva Gladstein is no stranger to the neighborhood enclaves nestled within big cities.
"I grew up in a city and in a family which encouraged me to think about the world around me," said Gladstein, the newly appointed director of Philadelphia’s Neighborhood Transformation Initiative (NTI). "It’s always been a passion — helping cities work better."
From Queens she went to the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor before her city-bred roots drew her back east, this time to Philadelphia. Not surprisingly, she majored in urban studies at Temple University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1973.
Since then, her role as a community warrior manifested itself through her work as co-founder of the Tenants’ Action Group (TAG), director of the Pennsylvania Low-Income Housing Coalition (now the Housing Alliance) and her work with Community Builders, a nonprofit developer, manager, and service provider for affordable and mixed income housing.
Still going strong in her fourth year as executive director of the Philadelphia Empowerment Zone — which orchestrates community and economic development projects such as commercial corridor improvements and incentive plans to woo commerce to low-income neighborhoods — Gladstein is ready to get down to business, literally.
Armed with nearly $2 million in the city budget for its approximately 300 commercial corridors, Gladstein said the first step is to examine the city’s business corridors and determine the best type of investments.
"Our goal is to align the resources the city already has in place, and we’re adding new resources," said Gladstein. "We’re in a better position to do it now because the housing investment has strengthened the residential core. It’s more possible to attract a service business to a corridor if we know that there will be people to buy those services."
To backtrack a bit, it might be helpful to note that Gladstein’s new digs are in pretty good shape.
Unveiled in April of 2001, NTI has supported Mayor Street’s original campaign platform of neighborhood revitalization through development, land assembly, demolition, blight eradication and home buyer/owner programs. The initiative relies on $295 million in bond funds and another leveraged $1.3 billion in other resources, including local, state, federal and private foundation funds.
Under former NTI director Patricia Smith, who recently resigned to join the Reinvestment Fund, a national economic development financing firm, NTI has begun demolition of more than 6,000 dangerous buildings; removed more than 224,000 abandoned cars from its streets and cleared 44,000 tons of debris from 31,000 vacant lots; cut down 23,000 dead trees; constructed 3,500 units of affordable rental housing and started another 9,000 units of affordable and market-rate housing.
NTI has also garnered City Council approval for the acquisition of 5,300 parcels of land, Philadelphia’s largest single-year acquisition total to date; orchestrated $13 million worth of greening initiatives and land management activities; and launched several home-buying initiatives, including anti-predatory lending counseling programs, two home-improvement loan products and an employer-supported grant program for Philadelphia home buyers.
The NTI also oversees eight major neighborhood development projects throughout the city.
With Gladstein in place, the Empowerment Zone and NTI will merge forces and share office space. But logistics aside, the fusion is intended to integrate residents, non-profits, business and government into thriving communities, said Gladstein.
After focusing on the Empowerment Zones — the West, American Street and North Central portions of Philadelphia — Gladstein is looking forward to getting to know Northeast Philadelphia, where she said the bulk of NTI efforts have been concentrated in greening, neighborhood parks and some commercial corridor enhancements.
"Those are examples of how, in a residential community, you can improve the quality of life in the neighborhood," said Gladstein. "The NTI strategy is to strengthen and support the assets that neighborhoods already have."
One example is the community planning process in which Philadelphia City Planning Commission (PCPC) officials meet with private developers and community development corporations to discuss how to maximize the community’s resources to materialize the community’s vision, meet its needs, and, ultimately, implement a development plan.
Eight of the 34 target neighborhoods are in Northeast Philadelphia: Parkwood, Fox Chase, Burholme, Upper Holmesburg, Upper Northwood, Lawndale/Crescentville; Frankford and Wissinoming.
Another NTI initiative is Philadelphia’s Community Life Improvement Program (CLIP), established in 2002 through Councilwoman Joan Krajewski (D-6th dist.). It targets quality-of-life violations such as graffiti, litter, vandalism and neglected yard maintenance. Residents who spot blight are urged to contact CLIP at 215-683-2547.
Locally, CLIP has generated results.
"In the Northeast, we’re achieving a very high compliance rate," said Gladstein.
Services to the city’s residents are also expanding through information technology, another NTI investment, said Gladstein.
One project in the works is the integration of data from various city agencies into a single database that would provide, through online access, detailed information about a property.
Currently, the city’s Web site — www.phila.gov — allows users to access a property’s taxation and deed history. When the new system is in place, users can learn if a specific property belongs to a builder or a city agency and if it is listed in the historic registry.
Gladstein notes that NTI is not an agency in itself but a program that foments agency interaction and forges corporate and non-profit partnerships in support of neighborhoods.
To achieve those ideals, the community-minded leader plans to use a specific protocol that involves plenty of communication.
"The first step is making sure we’re all heading toward the same goal," she said. ••
Reporter Jeannie O’Sullivan can be reached at 215-354-3038 or osullivanj@phillynews.com