is isiah thompson the worst journalist philly has ever seen?

[John Goodman]

Anyone read the new citypaper?

This guy is as dumb as rocks

[daveydoo]

You're referring to this?:

The Land Grab | Philadelphia City Paper | 06/28/2012

[darthsinatra]

Anyone read the new citypaper?

This guy is as dumb as rocks

You should let him know.

isaiah.thompson@citypaper.net @isaiahthompson

[Jayfar]

Anyone read the new citypaper?

This guy is as dumb as rocks

I've read it now and have no idea why you say that.

[John Goodman]

You're referring to this?:

The Land Grab | Philadelphia City Paper | 06/28/2012

Yes

Thank god we have another piece demonizing the people responsible for turning around one of America's worst neighborhoods and adding much needed tax dollars to the city coffers

Thompson is the epitome of the white guilt ridden liberal moron that has no idea how the world works

[John Goodman]

Of all the blatant corruption and injustices going on in this city... This is what pushes his buttons enough to write about?

Do your job, city council is a bunch of corrupt scumbags, write about that. Is private developers building apartments on private land worth getting up in arms about? In a neighborhood that was largely abandoned and crime ridden? In a city where for decades no one would build anything?


Bashing gentrification is such a tired story and so intellectually lazy

[John Goodman]

When Thompson isn't bashing gentrification he's either adulating the occupy douchebags or pushing for the homeless to be fed in front of a tourist attraction

He always takes the easy "liberal" side of the issue, typical airhead journalist/ surface intellectual

[Hospitalitygirl]

Of all the blatant corruption and injustices going on in this city... This is what pushes his buttons enough to write about?

Do your job, city council is a bunch of corrupt scumbags, write about that. Is private developers building apartments on private land worth getting up in arms about? In a neighborhood that was largely abandoned and crime ridden? In a city where for decades no one would build anything?


Bashing gentrification is such a tired story and so intellectually lazy

I was reading that tripe over this evening. I couldn't believe anyone actually believed the ish he wrote. I can't say that I disagree with you.

[OffenseTaken]

Bashing gentrification is such a tired story and so intellectually lazy

I agree, but it's not nearly as bad as the Karen Heller piece the Inky ran last month on the same subject.

[RashadZak]

Given we work for the same paper and he's a pretty down to earth, friendly guy, why not e-mail or call him? I'm sure he'd be willing to hear you out. While I don't agree with everything he says , I certainly disagree with people being pushed from their homes, bribing L&I or getting away with shoddy construction, illegal dumping of materials by contractors, and the whole "urban pioneering" sentiment in general... As well, "dumb as rocks" is pretty harsh coming from your quite emotional response there and I would say he's a pretty sharp fellow from my interactions. I like the investigative journalists from both alt-weeklies (granted I prefer one over the other, but I guess I would be biased) and wished journalism on a whole in this city was not the hollow shell of what it once was.

[OffenseTaken]

Given we work for the same paper and he's a pretty down to earth, friendly guy, why not e-mail or call him? I'm sure he'd be willing to hear you out. While I don't agree with everything he says , I certainly disagree with people being pushed from their homes, bribing L&I or getting away with shoddy construction, illegal dumping of materials by contractors, and the whole "urban pioneering" sentiment in general...

How many people have been "pushed from their homes" to make way for Temple student housing? I'll tell you what: all of them can stay at my place, indefinitely.

[John Goodman]

Given we work for the same paper and he's a pretty down to earth, friendly guy, why not e-mail or call him? I'm sure he'd be willing to hear you out. While I don't agree with everything he says , I certainly disagree with people being pushed from their homes, bribing L&I or getting away with shoddy construction, illegal dumping of materials by contractors, and the whole "urban pioneering" sentiment in general... As well, "dumb as rocks" is pretty harsh coming from your quite emotional response there and I would say he's a pretty sharp fellow from my interactions. I like the investigative journalists from both alt-weeklies (granted I prefer one over the other, but I guess I would be biased) and wished journalism on a whole in this city was not the hollow shell of what it once was.

When a journalist writes a terrible article after terrible article they deserve to be trashed in public. I dont care if he is willing hear me out, i just want him to do his job. As an investigative journalist for the only really independent newspaper in the city (pw is owned by Comcast), he has a responsibility to go after the stories that other media doesn't have the balls to do. He is not beholden to the business elite, politicans or the unions, he has no excuse for not finding the truth and printing it. By continuously taking the easy way out and printing this schlock he is harming this city. You say you wish investigative journalism was what it used to be in this city, well guess what? He is a big part of the problem by not doing his job.

If he hasn't already read it, forward this thread to him.

[seand]

How many people have been "pushed from their homes" to make way for Temple student housing? I'll tell you what: all of them can stay at my place, indefinitely.

An offer as unlikely to have any takers as it sounds generous.

And thats the point. A lot of the people writing this stuff about development in North Central Philadelphia also wrote glowingly about how we "needed" to do NTI, to go billions of dollars into debt trying to demolish and consolidate abandonned properties in places of rampant abandonment like north central Philadelphia. And so when, low and behold, developers start to build housing (open to whoever wants to live there, including but not limited to students) what do they do? Freak out about what NTI was supposed to accomplish, kinda, sorta happening at a fraction of the rate it was supposed to.

How shocking.

[annie]

As an investigative journalist for the only really independent newspaper in the city (pw is owned by Comcast), he has a responsibility to go after the stories that other media doesn't have the balls to do.

PW is not owned by Comcast. It is owned by the husband of the daughter of the founding CEO of Comcast. If that makes any difference.

[palvar]

I was especially frustrated with his paragraph discussing the zoning of the parcels:

The majority of new projects around Temple, developers say, are houses bought on the (relative) cheap by wealthy investors and then renovated or razed and replaced with minimal permitting and “over-the-counter” zoning: Most of the houses west of Broad are zoned R9, or “multifamily.” Conversion to rental apartments can often be done without facing the Zoning Board of Adjustments. Clarke has not attempted to remap the area with tighter zoning controls, which would require variances for large developments.

The whole point of zoning is for a municipality to set forth the type of development that is desired in a certain area. These developers are doing exactly what the municipality wanted: they are building in a manner desired by the city and expressed through the zoning code.

It's a shame because so often, when a developer requests a variance for height or something else, the response from the community is that they should abide by the zoning code and are otherwise ignoring what the municipality desires.

Here are developers doing just that and we have Mr. Thompson complaining that the zoning code hasn't been tightened-up solely to force the developers to request variances. That complaint doesn't really make any sense to me. Does he not understand zoning?

[Sharkfood]

I was especially frustrated with his paragraph discussing the zoning of the parcels:

The majority of new projects around Temple, developers say, are houses bought on the (relative) cheap by wealthy investors and then renovated or razed and replaced with minimal permitting and “over-the-counter” zoning: Most of the houses west of Broad are zoned R9, or “multifamily.” Conversion to rental apartments can often be done without facing the Zoning Board of Adjustments. Clarke has not attempted to remap the area with tighter zoning controls, which would require variances for large developments.

The whole point of zoning is for a municipality to set forth the type of development that is desired in a certain area. These developers are doing exactly what the municipality wanted: they are building in a manner desired by the city and expressed through the zoning code.

It's a shame because so often, when a developer requests a variance for height or something else, the response from the community is that they should abide by the zoning code and are otherwise ignoring what the municipality desires.

Here are developers doing just that and we have Mr. Thompson complaining that the zoning code hasn't been tightened-up solely to force the developers to request variances. That complaint doesn't really make any sense to me. Does he not understand zoning?

Yeah, seriously. I have no idea what "minimal permitting" is. Believe me, the inspectors in the North District do not hesitate to shut you down if you lack proper permits. "Over the counter zoning": Well, shiit, aren't people supposed to build within the confines of what the Code allows rather than ask for special treatment? "Remap with tighter zoning controls": Meaning what, change the zoning to single family? The entire area has been multi-family since at least the 1920's if not earlier. I don't think it's ever been single family since Philadelphia adopted its first zoning code in 1934. To change it now would just be pure vindictiveness.

[BarryG]

I was especially frustrated with his paragraph discussing the zoning of the parcels:

The majority of new projects around Temple, developers say, are houses bought on the (relative) cheap by wealthy investors and then renovated or razed and replaced with minimal permitting and “over-the-counter” zoning: Most of the houses west of Broad are zoned R9, or “multifamily.” Conversion to rental apartments can often be done without facing the Zoning Board of Adjustments. Clarke has not attempted to remap the area with tighter zoning controls, which would require variances for large developments.

The whole point of zoning is for a municipality to set forth the type of development that is desired in a certain area. These developers are doing exactly what the municipality wanted: they are building in a manner desired by the city and expressed through the zoning code.

It's a shame because so often, when a developer requests a variance for height or something else, the response from the community is that they should abide by the zoning code and are otherwise ignoring what the municipality desires.

Here are developers doing just that and we have Mr. Thompson complaining that the zoning code hasn't been tightened-up solely to force the developers to request variances. That complaint doesn't really make any sense to me. Does he not understand zoning?

Did you miss the part where the developers are financed by wealthy individuals? We can't have these people building what they want willy nilly in OUR neighborhoods.

[Sharkfood]

I just heard that, in response to this article, L&I is conducting a big sweep of the Temple area
Saturday morning looking for illegal construction, dumping, etc. You have been warned.

[raider.adam]

Yeah, seriously. I have no idea what "minimal permitting" is. Believe me, the inspectors in the North District do not hesitate to shut you down if you lack proper permits. "Over the counter zoning": Well, shiit, aren't people supposed to build within the confines of what the Code allows rather than ask for special treatment? "Remap with tighter zoning controls": Meaning what, change the zoning to single family? The entire area has been multi-family since at least the 1920's if not earlier. I don't think it's ever been single family since Philadelphia adopted its first zoning code in 1934. To change it now would just be pure vindictiveness.

It's the problem city council and the broken zonign code created. IT gave the impression that every single development has to be approved by a handful of local residents.

[Hal]

It's the problem city council and the broken zoning code created.
IT gave the impression that every single development has to be approved by a handful of local residents.

Eh, it's been a point of conflict for decades, what is comical is that the author assumes that this is brand new...

Site Fight Looms In Temple Area Neighbors Oppose Student Housing October 20, 1989
But community residents have ideas of their own, none of which include being hospitable to university students who were described as rude, racist and rowdy Republicans.


Shirley Kitchen, Democratic leader of the 20th Ward, said: "I think it's a disgrace what I see going on. They're so busy getting high, I guess their education is secondary."
Kitchen also voiced disapproval of students' registering as Republicans in the historically Democratic district...

Not exactly new news.

Hal