Mayfair is a force to be reckoned with

[clam]

Broad Street Media LLC - Letters to the Editor: May 2, 2012

Mayfair is a force to be reckoned with
This letter is to invite you to a stockholder’s meeting. What’s that you say? You don’t own any stock? I beg to differ. You live in Mayfair, correct? Work here? You own or rent a home? Your children go to school here? They play sports here? Then you own stock in the neighborhood of Mayfair.
Granted, it’s not as fancy as Apple stock or Berkshire Hathaway shares, but it’s yours. You decided to invest in a community neighborhood the minute you set down roots here.
Like many Wall Street companies, investors in this neighborhood have seen volatility and change in recent years. Many opted to leave. But I’m here to tell you there is a core group of individuals working to make sure that our shares remain solid. Perhaps you heard us at some point yelling about something? We have a tendency to be a little vocal and repetitive, but that’s because we are hoping that you are listening and would like to help.
We don’t live here to be in the “trendy” neighborhoods. We live here because many of our families are here — our parents, and in some cases, our grandparents. We live here because most of us want a small yard and a parking space to call our own. We live here because the houses are nice and roomy enough for several kids (if that is our choice) and if not, those extra rooms come in handy for visitors, hobbies and home offices. We live here because we are not defined by our ZIP code.
We are, some say, 20 minutes from Center City. I say it’s more like 10 (I can get to the airport in 20 minutes with no traffic, slowpokes!). Mayfair is so close to nationally renowned restaurants, entertainment, culture and world-class art, but far enough removed that if you want to get away from the hustle and bustle for a while, you can.
Some of you have left for whatever reasons, and that’s fine with us. You made the best decision for you and your family. However, you don’t need to continue to vent your far-removed frustrations by telling us that we are trapped, stupid for not leaving, and that the neighborhood is going down. That may be your perception; it isn’t necessarily ours. You made your choices. We make ours.
We at the Mayfair CDC, the Mayfair Civic Association, the Mayfair Business Association and the Mayfair Town Watch are committed to this neighborhood and the surrounding neighborhoods of Tacony, Holmesburg and Wissinoming. We are organized and constantly on the move with new ideas. We are a force to be reckoned with, we are prepared to fight for this neighborhood, and we are LOUD. There are GREAT things going on. You just have to WANT to see them.
Mia Hylan
Assistant secretary
Mayfair Civic Association

[save19115]

Excellent!!!!!

[caL]

So well written and so true.

[NE19149]

Definitely well-written!
I assume the "invite" is to the usual meetings held by the CDC, etc.

I for one, ain't movin' - for nothin'.
And give the already messed-up City a chunk of my property sale?
No way! - they take enough.

Running away is just that - running to a new set of issues.
As long as the CDC, MCA and residents feel as strongly as I do, and continue to keep Mayfair "a great place to live & work", then this is my home.

[ArcticSplash]

In Mayfair's case, bloodthirsty-civic activism coupled with help from some civic-minde attorneys to help with strategic zoning can produce good outcomes for the neighborhood.

Suffice to say, Bobby Henon so far in just 5 months on the job is starting a track record of standing up for Mayfair.



I'm still helping Mayfair out; two properties filled with squatters are soon going to Sheriff's Sale in the fall on Levick Street, and hopefully no other landlord in 19149 will be stupid enough to take either of them in.

[lemko]

Absolutely true! That's why I go out of my way to address quality-of-life issues in my neighborhood! I'm protecting my investment! I bought a house here and I'm not paying a mortgage to live in a filthy ghetto! Every day some scumbag does something to degrade your neighborhood, be it graffiti, bandit signs, trash, neglecting his property, being and absentee landlord, letting his kids run around like hooligans, or just being a general slimeball, he's robbing you!

There is no more "running away to the suburbs!" Heck, the inner ring suburbs are already being infiltrated with trash and scum - witness Upper Darby. It's time to take a stand, people, and take back what is rightfully yours!

[save19115]

I moved from a perfectly nice (nice? Oh how I miss all those big closets...) house because I couldn't stand the drug-dealing, firecracker-throwing, neanderthals 2 dorrs down and made up my mind I wasn't moving for "them" any more, "they" were going to have to look out for me....

And 25 years later, I'm still not about to move again. My son calls it "surveying" when I get into civic mode, perhaps because of all the three-trips around the block so I could see something he was forced to participate in, but you better watch out if you are being "surveyed" because your life of annoying others may just be getting a touch harder!

Get involved and pay attention! Then, make a ruckus!

[NE19149]

I helped to rid the street near me of an abandoned (stolen) car the other week.
The messy clunker sat there for going on 3 weeks with tickets on it.
So I call 311 on it.
Gone.

Yepperz, ya gotta get involved.

[lemko]

I helped to rid the street near me of an abandoned (stolen) car the other week.
The messy clunker sat there for going on 3 weeks with tickets on it.
So I call 311 on it.
Gone.

Yepperz, ya gotta get involved.

Way to go! I was having problems with losers leaving their junker cars with no registration/outdated inspection stickers on my street until I made a fuss. Haven't seen one in a few years now!