CLIP’s importance noted
at Burholme meeting

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

Deputy Managing Director Tom Conway said the Community Life Improvement Program does a lot of good work, especially in the area of graffiti abatement.
Last year, about 110,000 incidents of graffiti on public and private buildings were cleaned.
On the downside, there were just 10 arrests for all of those crimes.
"Obviously, that’s a major problem," said Conway, citing a lack of manpower to catch vandals in the act.
Conway, who spoke at Burholme Community Town Watch and Civic Association’s October meeting, encourages residents to report graffiti crimes by calling 215-686-0000. The four zeroes represent the city’s zero-tolerance policy toward graffiti. For graffiti on mailboxes, call the U.S. Postal Service at 215-895-8610.
Neighbors who want free paint and supplies to remove the graffiti themselves can call 215-685-9556.
CLIP addresses other quality-of-life issues such as high weeds, trash, dog dirt and unshoveled snow. Inspectors will also issue tickets to residents who put out their trash too early. Trash should be placed at the curb no sooner than 7 p.m. on the night before collection.
Typically, CLIP will cite violators and give them 10 days to comply. If they don’t comply, CLIP will clean up the mess and bill the homeowner. If the bill is not paid, a lien will be placed on the property.
To report an untidy property, call 215-683-CLIP. City Councilman Brian O’Neill, who was at the meeting, praised the program.
"It has been very, very effective," he said.
Neighbors asked Conway to check out a couple of abandoned properties. There were complaints about trash outside the former Purple Orchid II go-go bar and decay on the exterior of the former Ruhling’s restaurant.
Ruhling’s, at 7210-22 Rising Sun Ave., has been sold to New Foundations Inc., an agency that handles the placement of foster children.
Some neighbors also expressed concern about the condition of the former Five Points Pub, located across from the Purple Orchid. The bar looks like it could reopen soon, judging by the lighted Coors Light and Heineken signs in the window.
In other news from the Oct. 11 meeting:
• O’Neill (R-10th dist.) said he believes City Council should focus more on crime than issues such as whether supermarkets should carry plastic bags, bakeries should use trans-fats and restaurants should list nutritional data on menus. He favors the hiring of more police officers.
The councilman also backs the so-called "stop-and-frisk" policy outlined by Democratic mayoral candidate Michael Nutter and supports a bill in the state legislature that would require prisoners to sign a waiver as a condition of release agreeing to be searched by police, with or without a warrant or probable cause.
Those types of aggressive measures, in his opinion, are better than gun buyback programs, a noble idea with limited success.
"A lot of the guns turned in don’t work," he said.
When Ed Rendell took over as mayor in 1992, O’Neill said, his mandate was to fix the city’s bleak financial outlook. Now, he said, crime is the overriding issue.
"The next mayor better get it right," he said.
O’Neill said he and Al Taubenberger, the Republican candidate for mayor and president of the Town Watch and civic association, are part of the 31-member Zoning Code Commission that will look at overhauling the code.
The councilman told the crowd that hearings will begin in November for property owners who appealed their tax reassessments.
Mike Hartey, a proud Roman Catholic High School graduate and head of the civic group’s zoning committee, made a friendly wager with O’Neill, a St. Joseph’s Prep grad, on the outcome of their alma maters’ upcoming football showdown.
• Sean McAleer, O’Neill’s Democratic opponent, promised to be a more aggressive councilman.
"I am much more hands on," he said.
McAleer, a Holme Circle resident and married father of three, is director of development and planning at Franklin Towne Charter High School. He’s a former aide to Councilman Jim Kenney.
If elected, he will have a district office that will be open Monday through Friday, along with some nights and weekends. He also promised not to use a car provided to Council members.
The challenger also wants to enhance services at the mini-City Hall at 9239 Roosevelt Blvd. He thinks residents should be able to pay all utility bills at the center.
When asked how he would proceed on the proposed expansion by Fox Chase Cancer Center into Burholme Park, he said, "Whatever you guys want."
• Tom Garvey, a vice president at Fox Chase Cancer Center, said that work has begun on the ground where a care pavilion and multi-level parking garage will be built. The construction is unrelated to the center’s plans to expand into Burholme Park.
As for that more controversial proposal, the hospital is working with officials from Philadelphia, Cheltenham and PennDOT to find ways to coordinate a smoother traffic flow to accommodate all of the new employees and patients.
• United Methodist Church of the Redeemer offers discounted meals through Angel Food Ministries. For $25 a month, families can purchase meat, vegetables, dessert and other items from a menu. Call the church at 215-745-5963 for more information.
• Mark Mroz, community relations officer in the 2nd Police District, announced that the city will open a curfew center at Max Myers Playground in the next couple of weeks.
The playground, at Oakland Street and Magee Avenue, will accommodate minors who are picked up by police in the 2nd, 7th and 8th police districts for violating curfew Thursdays through Sundays.
• Burholme Community Town Watch and Civic Association will meet on Thursday, Nov. 8, at 7 p.m. at United Methodist Church of the Redeemer, at Cottman and Lawndale avenues. That date is two days after Election Day.
Paul Andris, vice president of the group, ran last week’s meeting in place of Taubenberger, who was on the campaign trail for mayor. Andris said no guest speaker has been lined up for November but hopes to get a commitment from Mayor-elect Taubenberger. ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com