Kenny Gamble is not building his house on 15th St any time soon - giant hole and closed sidewalk to remain

[mac]

"As of last week, Hart said, the Gambles were still soliciting bids for the construction project. There’s no date certain as to when construction will resume."

The sidewalk on the west side of 15th st just north of Christian has been closed for a year already. According to this article there is no hope of construction starting soon let alone the sidewalk opening.

Kenny Gamble’s big project on hole-d | Philadelphia Real Estate Blog

[John Goodman]

What an *******

[carloss]

He should be forced to camp out in a pup tent on that lot until construction begins.

[torts]

duuuudddeee, nooo wayyyy

kenny. universal. grays ferry. the royal. his house. yucky, yucky, yucky.

[lbphilly]

On the bright side, the lack of construction affords stunning views of the mural on Catharine Street from the Christian Street side. The one with all the famous African American heroes: MLK, Cecil B. Moore, Kenny Gamble...

[Citigirl]

maybe he's afraid of living by ligers, and strollers, and dogs...oh my!

[Giavella Water]

"As of last week, Hart said, the Gambles were still soliciting bids for the construction project. There’s no date certain as to when construction will resume."

The sidewalk on the west side of 15th st just north of Christian has been closed for a year already. According to this article there is no hope of construction starting soon let alone the sidewalk opening.

Kenny Gamble’s big project on hole-d | Philadelphia Real Estate Blog

Say what you want about the guy, his design sense especially around 13th and Cath and Fitz is really very, very, good compared to the horrible Jefferson Square homes at 5th and Wharton.

[Gladys]

when there was a similar problem on 21st st i called 311 and the streets dept came out and ticketed. it's illegal to block the sidewalk like that.

[dr_gingivitis]

Say what you want about the guy, his design sense especially around 13th and Cath and Fitz is really very, very, good compared to the horrible Jefferson Square homes at 5th and Wharton.

He had nothing to do with the design of 13th and Catharine, it was PHA, Universal just provided some of the social services for residents. They try to claim they built that development, but PHA contracted UniPenn but they did not perform and in the end PHA basically managed the whole job.

[Citigirl]

Say what you want about the guy, his design sense especially around 13th and Cath and Fitz is really very, very, good compared to the horrible Jefferson Square homes at 5th and Wharton.

If Inga is correct, neither Universal nor Gamble were involved with 13th/Cath/Fitz:

Changing Skyline: Thriving Philadelphia neighborhood rises from high-rise rubble

[ArcticSplash]

maybe he's afraid of living by ligers, and strollers, and dogs...oh my!

Or maybe he's seriously low on cash to build what him and his wife want.

[mixiboi]

That reminds me of the documentary out now about the biggest home in America....not finish because they family ran into money issues....

[BrianL]

Or maybe he's seriously low on cash to build what him and his wife want.

He is waiting for his government subsidy to arrive.

[MariusPontmercy]

He is waiting for his government subsidy to arrive.

He's trying to find a way to include his mansion as part of a new charter school so the state will pay for it.

[torts]

Right after he builds his house and the royal, he's going to save point breeze.

[MarketStEl]

On the bright side, the lack of construction affords stunning views of the mural on Catharine Street from the Christian Street side. The one with all the famous African American heroes: MLK, Cecil B. Moore, Kenny Gamble...

I had a conversation with an African-American mid-career journalist friend of mine in another city last night.

After she filled me in on some Issues concerning one of the larger minority journalist associations (not the one we both belong to) and its spending habits, I lamented that there seems to be this leitmotif running through a lot of stories (and rumors) that I categorized as "African-American leaders lining their pockets with OPM." (Edited to add: However, given the nature of some of the rumors, a more accurate characterization might be "...living large off OPM." The two concepts overlap but are not the same.)

The difference here is, Kenny Gamble made a decent pile of money for himself as a record producer and songwriter. So what's his Issue?

[BarryG]

I had a conversation with an African-American mid-career journalist friend of mine in another city last night.

After she filled me in on some Issues concerning one of the larger minority journalist associations (not the one we both belong to) and its spending habits, I lamented that there seems to be this leitmotif running through a lot of stories (and rumors) that I categorized as "African-American leaders lining their pockets with OPM." (Edited to add: However, given the nature of some of the rumors, a more accurate characterization might be "...living large off OPM." The two concepts overlap but are not the same.)

The difference here is, Kenny Gamble made a decent pile of money for himself as a record producer and songwriter. So what's his Issue?

There's a scene in The Wire where new Baltimore mayor Tom Carcetti, a white man taking over from a black incumbent, is talking with a former (white) mayor from the early '80s or so. The former mayor is complaining that Baltimore politicians always took a little off the top, but the current crop of black politicians take 2-3x more. Not sure if this is supposed to be an insight into racism or the reality of politics in Baltimore (and by extension, perhaps, other sizable cities with an established black political class).

[MarketStEl]

There's a scene in The Wire where new Baltimore mayor Tom Carcetti, a white man taking over from a black incumbent, is talking with a former (white) mayor from the early '80s or so. The former mayor is complaining that Baltimore politicians always took a little off the top, but the current crop of black politicians take 2-3x more. Not sure if this is supposed to be an insight into racism or the reality of politics in Baltimore (and by extension, perhaps, other sizable cities with an established black political class).

I'm probably gonna be sorry I stirred this, ultimately.

This in turn reminds me of a New York Times foreign dispatch from sometime in the mid-2000s about why so many African countries remained underdeveloped.

The article included a narrative joke involving an Asian autocrat and an African one. The African ruler visited the Asian ruler's home and marveled at its large swimming pool, its gleaming kitchen, its brass and granite bathroom fittings and its lush lawn.

He asked the Asian ruler how he could afford all this. The ruler took him over to a window, pulled back a curtain, and pointed to a freeway running just beyond the grounds. "See that?" he asked. Then, poking his own chest, he said, "Ten percent."

A couple of years later, the Asian ruler had a chance to visit the African one. His jaw dropped at the marble floors and counters, the gold-plated plumbing fittings, the crystal chandeliers, and the sculptures and fountains on the lawn.

He asked the African ruler how he could afford all this. The African took him over to a window, pulled back a curtain, and pointed to a rubble-strewn strip of land just beyond the grounds. "See that?" he asked. He then poked his chest and said, "One hundred percent."

One reason we see increased emigration from Africa to the United States is no doubt because the Africans who really want to develop their own economies through their hard work are fed up with this.

[thoth]

I had a conversation with an African-American mid-career journalist friend of mine in another city last night.

After she filled me in on some Issues concerning one of the larger minority journalist associations (not the one we both belong to) and its spending habits, I lamented that there seems to be this leitmotif running through a lot of stories (and rumors) that I categorized as "African-American leaders lining their pockets with OPM." (Edited to add: However, given the nature of some of the rumors, a more accurate characterization might be "...living large off OPM." The two concepts overlap but are not the same.)

The difference here is, Kenny Gamble made a decent pile of money for himself as a record producer and songwriter. So what's his Issue?

Why did Bernie Madoff scam people when he was already rich?

[Litter Box]

Why did Bernie Madoff scam people when he was already rich?

....... because he could.