Northwood is ready
to make some changes

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

City Councilman Bill Green was happy to hear that one of his aides, Scott Mulvey, had helped the Northwood Civic Association solve a neighborhood problem.
Mulvey, who worked for former Councilman Dan Savage before joining Green’s staff in January, made arrangements to stop sewer water from overflowing and going into the garage of an Adams Avenue resident.
The civic group had tried to work with the office of Councilman Darrell Clarke for two years to no avail.
While Green (D-at large) is glad to provide constituent service, he prefers to tackle larger issues.
"I’m focused on the very big picture," he said.
Green spoke at last week’s meeting of the Northwood Civic Association. Before he arrived, he drove past his boyhood home at 1204 Wakeling St. The son of the former mayor of the same name, he and his family moved to Chestnut Hill when he was 12.
The councilman, elected last year, said he ran as a reform candidate.
The three biggest issues he is addressing are poverty, school funding and economic development. He acknowledges the slow pace of progress, adding that the state and federal governments should provide more resources.
In fact, he is willing to sue the state for proper funding for the School District of Philadelphia.
The state and federal governments, he believes, will assist Philadelphia because Mayor Michael Nutter, his administration and Council are all acting responsibly. For instance, he describes city Managing Director Camille Cates Barnett as "tremendous."
Some of the other issues he’s worked on so far include urging the state to fund the city’s court system, increasing fines for false burglar alarms and pushing a measure to have police officers, not victims, deliver all protection-from-abuse orders.
He and Council’s other new members, Maria Quinones-Sanchez and Curtis Jones, have been attending all of the budget hearings.
According to Green, the city could save $200 million to $300 million a year by eliminating paper documents in various departments. He is also disturbed by the high cost of new construction for public housing. He’d prefer the Philadelphia Housing Authority rehabilitate homes before knocking them down.
The councilman is not worried that a more efficient government could cause some employees to lose their jobs. He explained that Philadelphia has 23,000 employees for a population of 1.4 million. The city of San Jose, Calif., has 1 million residents, but only 7,000 employees.
Green wants a better, smarter, faster government. The savings could be put to good use in many areas, he said, including bolstering the city’s pension fund.
"Philadelphia has to reinvent itself," he said.
In other news from the May 20 meeting:
• Sgt. Kevin McDevitt, of the 15th Police District, welcomed the community to make reports of illegal drug use by calling 215-686-3152.
McDevitt said that Capt. Frank Bachmayer, commander of the district, is focusing on picking up truant students, among other initiatives.
The sergeant said he would look into complaints by residents of a homeless man who urinates in Northwood Park and a Section 8 family on the 1100 block of Herbert St. that, according to neighbors, smokes pot, plays loud music, uses foul language and fights.
• Barry Howell, the civic association president, told members that he wants to actively defend the neighborhood deed restriction that permits only single family houses in most of the community.
"The deed restriction is the backbone of Northwood," he said. "Without the deed restriction, you can kiss Northwood good-bye."
Howell is concerned about homes being converted into duplexes and some of the neighborhood’s largest houses being turned into boarding homes.
The first step is to make sure any illegal property is reported to the city for violations.
If that fails to stop any illegal activity, the group will sue property owners in Common Pleas Court. Its lawyer, former city elections commissioner Alex Talmadge, attended last week’s meeting.
Howell said the association has to raise money and work with elected officials and other civic groups to prevent illegal housing. He blames real estate agents for not telling prospective homeowners that they are buying in an area that includes a deed allowing only single family dwellings.
Green said he has two lawyers on his Council staff who could provide the association with advice.
Howell was also angered by a New York Realtor’s planned bus tour of Philadelphia on Saturday. The tour welcomes investors to visit "one of the best cash-flow producing markets in the country." It promises to provide answers about Section 8 and teach investors how to "profit from Philadelphia’s low-cost housing stock."
• Northwood Civic Association will meet again on Tuesday, June 17, at 7 p.m. at St. James Lutheran Church, at Castor Avenue and Pratt Street. ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com