Tag Archives: Hamilton Health Center

Don’t Dump Here: Harrisburg concludes city codes meetings.

October 20, 2017 | by Lizzy Hardison

A Harrisburg resident asks a question during last night’s meeting about city codes and codes enforcement.

Who do you call when a neighbor is dumping trash illegally? And how do you find out if the apartment next door is an unlicensed flop house?

City officials answered these questions and others in a meeting at Hamilton Health Center last night, where residents were invited to ask about the city’s code enforcement process. A similar event was held one night earlier at Camp Curtin YMCA.

Councilman Cornelius Johnson said the purpose of the meetings was to correct public misconceptions about the codes process and gather ideas for amending Harrisburg’s code handbook. Here’s what emerged as common questions throughout the evening:

Illegal dumping
Dumping trash on city streets and vacant lots is a criminal act that requires response from the Harrisburg Police Bureau. But since Harrisburg’s non-emergency police line routes to the Dauphin County dispatch, some residents said they’ve been referred to the codes office instead.

If you see illegal dumping in your neighborhood, Johnson recommends calling Harrisburg’s 311 number during normal business hours. Ask the switchboard officer to direct you to Harrisburg police and log your complaint there.

Blighted properties
Harrisburg has more blighted properties than it can manage. City codes officials can board up properties that are unfit for human habitation, but residents report that squatters break into the sealed homes and establish residence there.

City Codes Administrator David Patton said that his department is fighting blight with a limited budget. The city maintains a list of condemned properties slated for demolition, which currently has more than 250 properties on it, Johnson said. He estimated that the city’s $120,000 demolition budget only allows it to tackle between 17 and 25 properties a year.

Mayor Eric Papenfuse said that the city hopes to significantly increase the demolition budget for the 2018 fiscal year. Raising it to $250,000 from its current $120,000 would allow the city to demolish closer to 30 or 40 properties, he said.

Patton asked residents to remain vigilant in reporting blighted properties. The codes office triages its demolition list and acts first on the properties that pose the greatest public safety risk. If squatters have broken into blighted properties, file a complaint with the codes office so they can seal it again.

Filing a codes complaint
Johnson said that the city clearly needs an electronic system for submitting codes complaints. Right now, residents can download the paperwork to file a complaint online, but must submit the form in hard copy to city hall. Johnson said that creating an electronic submission system is a long-term goal. He also hopes the city can implement a way for citizens to track the status of the complaints they’ve filed.

Finding property owners and rental licenses
If you want to know who owns a property, you can search its address on www.dauphinpropertyinfo.com. Sometimes, however, the owner listed on the deed is a company that no longer exists or an investor who has changed his contact information. If the property is a rental unit, you can try to search the owner’s rental license through the city’s Mercantile Office.

There is more information about codes enforcement on the city’s website.

September News Digest

September 29, 2017 | by Lawrance Binda and Lizzy Hardison

Madsen Named to Council

Dave Madsen is Harrisburg’s newest council member, as City Council last month appointed the Midtown resident to a four-month term.

Madsen takes the seat vacated by former Councilman Jeffrey Baltimore, who resigned in August.

Six city residents applied for the position, and City Council named four finalists: Madsen, Brian Ostella, Jennie Jenkins and Joshua Burkholder. In the end, Madsen, Ostella and Jenkins received nominations from council, which selected Madsen, a technician with the state Department of Revenue, by a 4-2 vote.

Also last month, the Democratic Committee of Dauphin County selected Madsen to appear on the November ballot as its nominee for a two-year council seat to fill the remainder of Baltimore’s term.

In that committee contest, Madsen narrowly bested city official Devan Drabik after Jenkins withdrew her name from contention and threw her support behind Madsen.

Civil War Museum Accord Reached

Harrisburg’s mayor and a city museum have put aside their contentious past in a deal that would give the museum ownership of its permanent collection.

Mayor Eric Papenfuse and board members of the National Civil War Museum last month outlined an agreement in which the city would sell the collection to the museum for $5.25 million and begin to charge the museum rent.

“My goal has always been to reach an agreement in the city’s best interest, and I believe this is in everyone’s best interest,” Papenfuse said.

After becoming mayor in 2014, Papenfuse strongly objected to deals reached under former Mayor Steve Reed that allowed the museum to display the city-owned artifacts at no cost and that charged the museum just $1 a year in rent for the city-owned building. The new agreement, which must be approved by City Council, addresses both those issues.

First, the city would sell the artifacts to the museum for $5.25 million. In turn, the city would put $1 million into a reserve fund to pay for capital improvements to the building, which the city would continue to own. The other $4 million would pay for improvements to Reservoir Park, where the museum is located.

Under the deal, the museum has five years to raise the $5.25 million to purchase about 25,000 artifacts. If it fails to raise the money within that time, the city would be allowed to sell 20 percent of the museum’s collection.

The agreement also outlines a graduated schedule for the payment of rent.

For the first five years, the museum would pay the city $45,000 per year in rent. However, no money would change hands, as the cumulative amount over that period almost equals the amount of money that the museum is owed by the city for unreimbursed building repair costs dating back to 2009.

“It took us a long time to be here, but I think we realize that this made a heck of a lot of sense for both (parties),” said Gene Barr, a museum board member.”

Harrisburg Finances Praised

State officials last month offered an optimistic forecast for Harrisburg’s 2017 finances, but the city’s ability to maintain a balanced budget through the end of the year remains uncertain.

Members of the city’s Act 47 team appeared before City Council to give a mid-year assessment of the current budget.

Praising the “exemplary” leadership of Mayor Eric Papenfuse and City Council, the team summarized the city’s 2017 finances through June and offered recommendations for the second half of the year.

While the team commended the city’s financial vigilance, Harrisburg will see some challenges looking into the second half of the year.

For example, the city doesn’t yet know if it can count on its annual payment from the state. In past years, the state has made a single, lump-sum payment to Harrisburg to cover the costs of supporting the state Capitol complex.

“Not getting $5 million from the state is a little concerning,” said Bruce Weber, city finance director. “Even though we may be in good financial position now, it’s tenuous.

Term Limits Proposed

Former Harrisburg Mayor Steve Reed served seven full terms, leaving financial devastation in his wake when he left office after 28 years.

City Council President Wanda Williams says she now wants to prevent a future mayor from staying in office too long, thus endangering the welfare of the city. So, she has introduced an ordinance that would limit future Harrisburg mayors to two terms.

“I don’t want that to happen again,” she said.

Mayor Eric Papenfuse said that, in general, he supports term limits for officeholders and might even consider them as part of a new Home Rule charter. However, he does not support this proposal because, he said, one branch of government cannot use term limits “to control” another.

In contrast, he said he might support a proposal that subjects all municipally elected officials to term limits. Williams said that she might go for that.

“If he wants to consider council members, that’s fine with me, too,” said Williams, who, with 12 years on council, is the longest-serving elected official in the city government.

Hamilton Health to Expand

A planned expansion at Hamilton Health Center in Allison Hill will increase pre-K access for children in that neighborhood, while also providing additional parking for the facility’s patients and employees.

Last month, Harrisburg City Council approved Hamilton Health’s application to add a new parking lot and a 25,000-squre-foot building to its facility on S. 17th Street. The building will house classrooms for Capital Area Head Start and another childcare facility.

Jo Pepper, executive director of Capital Area Head Start, said that the Hamilton Health expansion will allow her organization to direct more resources to its highest-need area, adding 80 slots starting next year.

“Every year, one of our biggest problems is finding safe, age-appropriate facility space in our areas of need,” Pepper said. “We’ve been looking for additional space in Allison Hill for five years now.”

Capital Area Head Start will occupy five classrooms in the new Hamilton Health building.

“We are a one-stop shop for families to access what they need,” said Jeanine Peterson, CEO of Hamilton Health. “Co-locating with Head Start eliminates a lot of the barriers that a lot of families have in ensuring that their kids get quality health care.”

New Office Building Planned

Downtown Harrisburg may soon get its first new office building in several years, as Harristown plans to clear and develop a narrow space off of Market Square.

Asbestos remediation work began last month on 21 S. 2nd Street, a small, three-story, dilapidated brick building that once housed the Coronet restaurant on the ground floor. Demolition will follow, said Brad Jones, president and CEO of Harristown Enterprises.

“This building was beyond repair,” Jones said. “Rehabilitation is always our preference when working on an old building, but, unfortunately, this former restaurant had severe water damage and asbestos and couldn’t be saved.”

Harristown hopes to construct a new, six-story office building next year, with retail or restaurant space on the first floor, once demolition is completed in February 2018. It expects to combine the space with a renovation of the historic SkarlotosZonarich building next door.

Home Sales Continue Rise

Area home sales resumed their upward trend in August, rising 4.4 percent year over year.

Sales totaled 989 units versus 947 in August 2016, while the median price rose to $184,900 against 169,900 the year earlier, according to the Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors.

In Dauphin County, 325 homes sold compared to 311 homes in the year-ago period, and the median price was $169,900 versus $157,500, GHAR said. In Cumberland County, sales increased by 10 to 346 units, and the median price rose to $204,950 compared to $178,450 in August 2016.

Perry County had sales of 36 homes, down by two units, while the median price decreased to $159,450 versus $162,250 a year ago.

GHAR covers all of Dauphin, Cumberland and Perry counties and parts of York, Lebanon and Juniata counties.

So Noted

Amanda Arbour last month was named the new executive director of the LGBT Center of Central PA. Arbour replaces Louie Marven, who served for more than five years in the post.

Beau MacGinnes, gallery curator for Zeroday Brewing Co., captured the first-place prize for “Windows of Perception,” his entry into Wildwood Park’s annual “Art in the Wild” competition. Eve Gurbacki and Adrianne Zimmerman took second place with “When Trees Dream,” and Sean Rafferty and Katlyn Goodyear won third for “Equus Cabullus.”

Boo-Boo’s Barbecue held its grand opening last month at 912 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg. The new eatery, which features barbecued meats and homestyle sides, is owned by Litho “Boo Boo” Ware, a former city police officer.

Harrisburg Bike Share plans to launch this month with 10 city locations downtown, Midtown and on City Island. For a $25 annual fee, users will be able to use the bike-sharing service. For details, visit www.bike.zagster.com.

Meeka Fine Jewelry last month held a ribbon cutting at its location at 2135 Market St., Camp Hill. Owner Monika Kroll co-locates her studio in the renovated space, which features products from eight independent artisans.

Rep. Lou Barletta (R-11) last month announced that he would run for the U.S. Senate in 2018. Barletta, who is in his fourth term in the U.S. House of Representatives, would vie for the seat currently held by Sen. Robert Casey Jr.

Sam Jordan has been promoted to vice president, commercial banking, for S&T Bank. He previously served as assistant vice president, commercial banking.

Timothy Reardon last month announced his retirement as executive director of Tri-County Regional Planning Commission following a seven-year tenure in the position. The commission provides planning services and expertise for the greater Harrisburg area.

Zeroday Brewing Co. last month celebrated the grand opening of the Zeroday Outpost inside the stone building of the Broad Street Market in Harrisburg. To mark the occasion, a “community ribbon cutting” was held, with patrons cutting small pieces of ribbon.

Changing Hands

Adrian St., 2249: N. Townsend to T. Bui, $48,000

Berryhill St., 2338: M. Ortiz to PA Deals LLC, $30,000

Berryhill St., 2432: PA Deals LLC to E. Shelly, $63,500

Boas St., 421: B. Andreozzi to M. Berlin, $115,000

Boas St., 433: D. & D. Dreher to S. Rives, $120,000

Brookwood St., 2619: B. Sweger to J. Torres, $65,200

Buckthorn St., 223 & 225; 1208 Walnut St.; 1468 Zarker St.; 2144 N. 4^th St.; 1835 North St.: LMK Properties LLC to RT Propertiez LLC, $86,867

Calder St., 102: K. Goodling & K. Shepherd to C. Hommel, $164,900

Derry St., 2435: PA Deals LLC to J. Tucker, $64,000

Fulton St., 1408: J. Bancroft to K. Black, $109,900

Fulton St., 1413: A. Beasy to C. Wilson, $118,000

Herr St., 214: Leonard J. Dobson Family Limited Partnership to P. Dee, $58,000

Green St., 800: J. & S. Wesley to D. & C. Seltzer, $219,900

Green St., 922: M. Roan to S. Winkeljohn & D. Black, $184,900

Green St., 1201: Equity Trust Co. Gordon Trump IRA to D. & L. Butcher, $189,900

Green St., 1417: B. Williams to L. Santos & O. Labinjo, $173,000

Green St., 1926: W. O’Brien to M. Stier & D. Gottlieb, $210,000

Green St., 2014: H. & S. Johnson to R. & J. Tilley, $135,000

Green St., 2137: N. Morrison to T. Sangrey, $51,000

Green St., 2138: C. Ly to Round Rock Investments LLC, $87,000

Green St., 2340: E. & K. Woolever to J. Clmens, $184,000

Green St., 3240: J. Mueller to M. Sangrey, $115,000

Hamilton St., 232: T. Gagnolet & M. Barth to A. & M. Fretz, $165,000

Harris St., 238: D. Leaman to W. Davis & T. Helwig, $194,824

Harris Terr., 2483: H. Nguyen to HT Properties LLC, $35,000

Lenox St., 1910: M. & J. Bryant to RTD Properties and Management, $40,000

Lexington St., 2600: M. Sink to Harrisburg Properties LLC, $38,500

Logan St., 2000 & 2001 N. 3^rd St.: Otterbein Evangelical & Z. Haverstock to New Day Way of the Cross Church in Christ, $85,000

Logan St., 2246: Dobson Family Partnership to S. Powell, $42,294

Maclay St., 219: Kusic Capital Group LLC to Good Management LLC, $105,000

Mercer St., 2424: L. Barber to R. Murphy III, $50,000

Mercer St., 2455: MidFirst Bank to D. Pham, $32,500

Moore St., 2122 & 2122A: 3 Anvi LLC to Harrisburg Homes Investment LLC, $50,000

Nagle St., 120: J. Piglacampo to J. & D. Griffin, $168,500

Naudain St., 1522 & 1524: H. & C. Myers to ERD Small Property LLC, $40,000

N. 2^nd St., 1105: K. Brett to Hamr Second Street LLC, $112,000

N. 2^nd St., 1331: E. Benion to S. Mimm, $70,120

N. 2^nd St., 1714: R. & N. Walborn to Harrisburg Redevelopment Group LLC, $325,000

N. 2^nd St., 1909: PA Deals LLC to S. Jusufovic, $35,000

N. 2^nd St., 2527: S. & A. Andrus to GRSW Stewart Real Estate Trust, $193,500

N. 2^nd St., 3031: J. Ritchie to D. & M. Main, $96,000

N. 3^rd St., 1620: K. Reimer to J. Reimer, $90,000

N. 3^rd St., 2010: R. Blumenstein to N&R Group LLC, $31,000

N. 3^rd St., 2204: R. & M. Zeigler to P. Ford, $146,000

N. 4^th St., 1701: R. Steinmetz to S. Biray, $129,000

N. 4^th St., 1703: D. Hopkins to S. Bradley & R. Daman, $123,900

N. 5^th St., C. & M. Enoch and S. Pollard to S. Jawhar, $35,000

N. 6^th St., 1316: A. Kraft & B. Kephart to T. Jones, $92,000

N. 7^th St., 2612: Great Foods Inc. to V. Galasso, $50,000

N. 18^th St., 112: Bigfoot Properties to Amiracle4sure Inc., $52,500

N. Front St., 1525, Unit 208: I. Valeo to S. & L. Weitzman, $115,000

N. Front St., 1525, Unit 511: A. & C. Yastishock to S. Sulecki, $200,000

N. Front St., 1525, Unit 601: A. Prashar to J. Devine, $174,900

Penn St., 1706: W. & M. Fontana to C. Harris, $132,000

Race St., 612: C. Pinto to D. Amaguayo, $180,000

Rudy Rd., 2492: My Neighbor LLC to HT Properties LLC, $33,600

S. 2^nd St., 21: D. Bratic to South Second Associates LLC, $150,000

S. 17^th St., 209: K. Lawson to M. Khan, $60,000

S. 17^th St., 447: O. & Y. Han to C&P Property Management, Inc., $60,000

S. 28^th St., 726: R. McClure to P. & L. Brown, $35,000

S. 29^th St., 712: C. Kiscadden to M. Gill, $92,900

State St., 234: G. & L. Martin to Harrisburg Buildings & Grounds Co., $163,000

State St., 1508: 1508 State Street LLC to Harrisburg Homes Investment LLC, $40,000

Woodlawn St., 2511: T. Hoa to PA Double Deals LLC, $130,000

Harrisburg property sales for August 2017, greater than $30,000. Source: Dauphin County. Data is assumed to be accurate.

Pre-K program in Allison Hill slated to grow with Hamilton Health expansion

September 14, 2017 | by Lizzy Hardison

Hamilton Health Center will expand its current campus, above, by adding a parking lot and 25,000-square foot building by next fall.

On Tuesday, Harrisburg City Council approved Hamilton Health’s application to add a new parking lot and a 25,000-squre-foot building to its facility on S. 17th Street. The building will house classrooms for Capital Area Head Start and another child care facility.

Jo Pepper, executive director of Capital Area Head Start, said that the Hamilton Health expansion will allow her organization to direct more resources to its highest-need area. They will increase Head Start enrollment in Allison Hill by 80 slots starting next year.

Capital Area Head Start will occupy five classrooms in the new Hamilton Health building, where 80 children will attend pre-K for six hours a day, five days a week.

Pepper said that the 17104 zip code, which encompasses Allison Hill, currently has a list of 224 children waiting for a spot in pre-K – the highest of any area served by Capital Area Head Start. Within that zip code, 391 children are currently enrolled in Head Start pre-K programs operating in public schools.

Capital Area Head Start obtained federal funding earlier this year to increase facility space and classroom hours across their programs, which serve Dauphin, Perry and Cumberland counties. They subsequently moved some enrollment slots from their low-need areas to high-need ones like Allison Hill.

Pepper said that the Hamilton Health project, which administrators hope to complete by fall 2018, was a major factor in deciding where to distribute future enrollment.

“It’s our highest-need area, and now we have great facility space,” Pepper said. “It can be difficult to apply for more funding if I don’t have appropriate facility space.”

Federal funding will also allow Capital Area Head Start to pay rent for the Hamilton Health space, which Pepper said meets fair market value. Their rental space will also house early Head Start programs and offices for home visit counselors.

Jeanine Peterson, CEO of Hamilton Health, said that her staff decided to pursue a building permit when Capital Area Head Start approached them in 2015 about renting space on their campus. At that time, the Hamilton Health facility was at full capacity, but Peterson believed a partnership would help parents access Hamilton Health’s services for children.

A third of Hamilton Health patients are children receiving health and dental care and school immunizations, said Peterson. Hamilton Health also houses a federally-sponsored Women Infants and Children (WIC) program that offers nutritional supplements for pregnant women and young children.

“We are a one-stop shop for families to access what they need,” Peterson said. “Co-locating with Head Start eliminates a lot of the barriers that a lot of families have in ensuring that their kids get quality health care.”

Pepper agrees that the new space will benefit programming at Head Start and Hamilton Health.

“I can’t wait to break ground,” she said. “We’re very excited about the opportunities and the initiatives that we’ll be able to develop by providing educational services on the campus of an important community health care provider.”

Peterson also said that the 30,000 patients who get treatment at Hamilton Health make the neighborhood a ripe spot for other business opportunities. She wishes that more investors would look past downtown development areas when choosing the sites for future projects.

“I think that a lot of attention is paid to the downtown and midtown areas, and we forget that there’s tremendous opportunity in the city in areas like Allison Hill,” Peterson said. “Getting other businesses to take a look at this corridor would be a major asset to entire city.”

HBG Council Recap: Madsen sworn in, Hamilton expansion OK’d.

September 12, 2017 | by Lizzy Hardison

Dave Madsen was sworn in as a Harrisburg councilman just as tonight’s meeting started.

Harrisburg City Council swore in a new member and approved a major building project during a legislative session this evening.

Dave Madsen, a technician in the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, took the oath of office from Dauphin County Judge Lori Serratelli, officially assuming the seat formerly held by Jeffrey Baltimore.

Madsen was appointed to a four-month term on council last week, and, just two days later, nabbed the Democratic nomination to run for his seat in the November election. Since Madsen currently has no Republican challenger in that race, he will likely serve the remaining two years of Baltimore’s term. His seat has been empty since Baltimore’s resignation on Aug. 11.

After Madsen was sworn in, council voted on a number of resolutions awaiting final approval. Most significant among them was a building permit application by Hamilton Health Providers, which now has the green light to expand its facility on S. 17th Street to include additional parking spots, patient visiting rooms and classrooms for the Head Start pre-K program.

Council also brought to the floor two new resolutions, including one calling for the creation of a task force to explore community policing policies, law enforcement and training initiatives, and the creation of a civilian review board for the police bureau. Council agreed to consider such legislation as a condition of allocating $65,000 to the bureau for the purchase of new protective gear.

A resolution approving the city’s agreement with the National Civil War Museum was also brought to the floor tonight and moved to the Economic Development Committee. Mayor Eric Papenfuse announced the plan to resolve disputes with the museum in a press conference at city hall yesterday. The agreement, reached jointly by city officials and museum directors, will allow the museum to buy its collection of artifacts from the city for $5.25 million. In turn, the city will begin to charge the museum rent and will pay for some capital repairs to the museum building in Reservoir Park.

Council will discuss both of the new resolutions at its Sept. 19 work session.

Black, Beautiful, Healthy: Black Girl Health strives to educate minority women about their bodies.

June 30, 2017 | by Yaasmeen Piper

Porcha Johnson

With their yoga pants, water bottles and natural hair tied tight, more than 300 women filed into the Hilton Harrisburg last month to see the Black Girl Health national online movement in action.

While holding meditation poses, announcing their fears into a smoky blue room and following the workout moves of an Olympic silver medalist, these women learned about personal health at BGH’s “Kickstart Your Health Women’s Wellness Expo.”

BGH, a Harrisburg-based digital publication, promotes health and wellness for women of color. Experts on beauty, fitness and medical health weigh in on their website and social media platforms.

“Black Girl Health is a woman who is in control of her life and her health,” said founder Porcha Johnson, who also is a reporter for WGAL News 8. “It’s a woman who feels good about where she is and where she’s going.”

Johnson created BGH as a platform to discuss the specific issues that affect African-American women.

“It’s very cultural,” Johnson said. “In our community, many of us have grown up on processed foods and ‘soul foods.’ We’re not educated on healthier food options. We need to increase our education and awareness.”

African-American women are prone to higher rates of health problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For example, high blood pressure (hypertension) affects more than 45 percent of black women compared to 42 percent of black men, according to WebMD.

“Black women are living in disparities of disease,” said LaToya Burden, Black Girl Health’s project coordinator.

This became clear to Johnson when dealing with the health struggles that pushed her to create BGH.

Johnson’s mother suffered from three miscarriages before discovering she had fibroids, non-cancerous tumors. This condition prevented her from expanding their family.

“She probably had them years before, but they were out of control at that point [in her 30s],” Johnson said.

A few years later, when Johnson was in her early 20s, she found out she had the same condition. Seeing her mother struggle with fibroids encouraged Johnson to take preventative measures and early examinations, she said.

“But that’s just my own battle,” she said. “Everyone has their own.”

As she researched this condition, she discovered her experience is similar to many women of color.

“When I started to see other women my age getting hysterectomies, I thought, ‘There needs to be more awareness,’” Johnson said. “I wanted to create a platform for women, not just with fibroids, but for women who have heart disease, obesity or diabetes.”

Starting as a blog in May 2014, BGH now reaches more than 2,000 Facebook followers and hundreds more in-person with the annual “Kickstart Expo” event.

Sessions at this year’s event at the Hilton included local leaders and national champs.

Charisse Grayer and Sandra Johnson of “Zoombalicious,” a Harrisburg-based exercise group, excited the crowd with their hip-hop style workout moves. Olympic silver medalist Hyleas Fountain taught a strength class. Food and nutrition experts educated guests on healthful diets. Candice Johnson, a certified reiki practitioner, flew in from San Diego to teach meditation techniques to reduce stress. Other sessions covered sexual health, spiritual well-being and self-defense

“My favorite session was the pound class,” said guest LaShon Mcintosh. “You exercise with two drumsticks, and together they weigh about a pound. It was so much fun. I’m going to try to find more classes like that around me.”

Along with treats from vendors and sponsors, Kickstart ran free health screenings from Hamilton Health Center and Alder Health Services.

“We want them to be aware of their physical health and what’s inside,” Burden said. “Just because you look good doesn’t mean those numbers are good.”

And, she said, they chose to have their event in Harrisburg for a specific reason.

“Not Philadelphia, not D.C.,” Burden said. “Right here in Harrisburg, so people can see that there’s a population, there’s a demand here that matters.”

The event attracted women of many races, including those who live outside of the Harrisburg region. Even men participated.

“You show me a person not of color that does not have connection, care or concerns for some woman of color somewhere,” Burden said. “[We’re] inclusive in the sense that we want people to care about our health as much as they care about everyone else’s.”

For the finale, the Hilton’s ballroom transformed into a talk show studio for “BGH Live.” Johnson channeled her reporter skills and chatted with Women’s Health Magazine’s “The Next Fitness Star” Selena Watkins; the oldest competitive female bodybuilder, Ernestine Shepherd; 2016’s Miss USA Deshauna Barber; and social media star and natural hair guru, Temitope Adesina.

“[The Kickstart Expo] turnout and our followers speak volumes,” Johnson said. “People want to live a healthier lifestyle.”

For more information about Black Girl Health, visit blackgirlhealth.com.

Author: Yaasmeen Piper

Service Call: HBG Rotary members come for the networking, stay for the giving.

May 31, 2017 | by Jen Fertenbaugh

The more we give of ourselves, the more fulfilling our lives are.

Two Notre Dame sociologists refer to that as “The Generosity Paradox”—the fact that giving makes you feel better.

But you don’t need to tell that to members of the Rotary Club of Harrisburg.

“One of the greatest things about this place is you always leave with something,” said Rich Curl, CEO of the Harrisburg-area YMCA and proud Rotarian after the club’s weekly lunch meeting at the Hilton Harrisburg.

Curl wasn’t referring to a full belly or a business card—though he left with those, too.

He meant the good works of the club’s active members, who often share with fellow Rotarians what they’ve been up to over the past month.

“Research shows that people come for the networking, but they stay for the engagement and the service,” member Virginia Roth said. “You come to realize that we are all beneficiaries of something greater than we could ever give.”

Una Martone, the club’s governor-elect, noted the large number of needs within the local and global communities.

“Rotary maximizes and leverages our individual capacity, giving us the power to make a huge difference in the world,” she said.

The organization’s century-old, grassroots approach is not specific to Harrisburg. According to Rotary International, more than 35,000 clubs operate at the local level to serve their communities. Members leverage relationships locally to eradicate disease, promote healthy and safe living conditions, and support education.

What makes the Rotary Club of Harrisburg unique, however, is its focus. The largest recipient of the members’ time and philanthropy is the Harrisburg School District, Martone said.

Martone, who also is CEO of Leadership Harrisburg Area, chairs the Rotary’s committee for Youth Community Development Team, a group that spearheads a yearlong mentoring program for high school juniors and seniors.

“We help students identify the greatest community need and fundraise for that need,” she said.

Martone’s work with youth is only one example in which Rotary’s mission engages others to serve the local community.

The club also sets up a temporary vision clinic at Foose Elementary School, partnering with eye care professionals, who perform free screenings and provide glasses for children who need them. The program screened about 300 children this year, supplying almost two-thirds of them with eyeglasses.

Martone said the committee is currently working on developing a permanent screening location inside Hamilton Health Center.

“It’s all about the people,” said Andy Rebuck, the club’s vice president.

Rebuck has been an active member of Rotary for 25 years, and he sees great value in the relationships he’s formed working alongside fellow members. Rebuck is involved in another service project to benefit the school district—the annual pancake breakfast held at John Harris campus over Homecoming weekend. He, along with other volunteers including fellow board member Joyce Libby, prepare and serve pancakes in the school’s cafeteria for upwards of 1,000 guests.

To Libby, it’s the service work—not the meetings—that offer her the greatest benefits of membership.

“You have to roll up your sleeves and do the work,” she said. “When you do it next to somebody, you get to know them on a deeper level.”

Rotary members roll up their sleeves in the classroom, too. Each fall, Libby and other club members travel to the John Harris and SciTech campuses to recruit students for the “Four Way Speech Contest.” Students choose topics that pique their interest, form an argument, and evaluate it against Rotary’s four ethical questions, which focus on truth, fairness and value. Students compete for cash prizes as they advance through the competition’s three levels. Rotary committee members work directly with the teachers to personally coach and mentor the students along the way.

Committee member Joan Prescott said that witnessing the student’s growth is the greatest reward.

“They learn how to research a subject, open up their thoughts, and express how they feel,” she said. “I’m very proud of them and what they’ve done.”

Libby shared that the Harrisburg High senior who won wrote a thank-you letter to all those who supported her. In it, she credited the contest—as well as the combined coaching and support from the Rotary volunteers and her teachers—for helping her find the confidence to speak her mind effectively.

The district’s educators see the community involvement as a unique learning opportunity for the students.

“There was a neat camaraderie between the Rotary and the kids,” said Maureen Dunbar, instructional coach at Harrisburg High School.

She described the relationship between the students and the Rotary volunteers as one of mutual respect. Dunbar also mentioned that the education was a two-way street.

“The professionals were able to see these kids putting in the work,” she said.

Dunbar added that the more the community gets inside the school, the better.

“The kids see that the community really cares, and they can see there are a lot of good things going on—and a lot of great kids,” she said.

Libby added that, every year, she looks forward to going into the classroom to support the teachers and the students.

“It fills me with pride to see all the students gain confidence and discover more opportunity can be available to them if they do the work,” she said, “And it’s uplifting to think that Rotary had some small part in that.”

Learn more about Rotary Club of Harrisburg by visiting www.hbgrotary.org.

Author: Jen Fertenbaugh

Burg’s Eye View: Photos of the Allison Hill community

February 28, 2017 | by Lawrance Binda

The Harrisburg area has many great communities. So, we’re sending photographer Ali Waxman out to capture scenes from these places, which we’ll share in our pages from time to time.

We first sent Ali to the Allison Hill neighborhood. Allison Hill was built as Harrisburg’s first suburb, mostly middle and working class, on a bluff overlooking the city’s original neighborhoods along the Susquehanna River.

Today, the term “Allison Hill” usually includes once-separate areas such as Mount Pleasant, Sylvan Heights and North and South Allison Hill. The city’s most densely populated area, it is largely residential, with some strips of small shops and an industrial area along S. 17th Street that has been slowly reviving following the relocation of Hamilton Health Center.

Although often presented in the press as a troubled community, Allison Hill is actually a diverse and vibrant place, with a rapidly growing Latino population. In these photos, Ali shows us some of the people of Allison Hill, those who live, work and play there.

Author: Lawrance Binda

December News Digest

December 30, 2014 | by Lawrance Binda

No Tax Hikes in Budget

Harrisburg City Council last month weighed a balanced 2015 budget that included a $2 million investment in sanitation, nearly $250,000 in staff raises and the hiring of 14 additional public safety personnel, but no tax increases.

The budget proposed hiring five firefighters and nine police officers. After the hires, the total number of city firefighters will be 81, up from 76 last year and 62 in 2013.

According to Mayor Eric Papenfuse, the $59.4 million budget contained “no gimmicks,” a reference to a multimillion-dollar “plug” that was used to balance the 2014 budget without cutting certain unfunded, though vacant, positions.

The budget also committed the city to greater transparency, he said, by replacing hundreds of thousands of dollars in off-book discretionary accounts with dedicated funds subject to oversight by City Council.

Council held two hearings on the budget last month and indicated it might make small changes to the spending plan before passage.

DeHart Land Sale Proposed

Capital Region Water, the city’s water and sewer authority, last month agreed to examine a proposal for a $1 million sale of land above the DeHart Reservoir, the lake that supplies Harrisburg’s drinking water.

The sale would occur under a conservation partnership that would generate revenue while keeping the property in public hands, said Capital Region Water CEO Shannon Williams.

The sale, to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, would be federally funded through the Department of Defense’s Army Compatible Use Buffer program, or ACUB, which seeks to maintain undeveloped spaces around military installations.

The program would partner Fort Indiantown Gap, a National Guard training facility near the reservoir, with the Conservation Fund, a national environmental charity. Under the sale, the Conservation Fund would purchase the 384-acre parcel with ACUB funding and then transfer the property to the Game Commission.

The parcel, at the furthest upstream edge of Capital Region Water’s 8,200 acres in Clarks Valley, would form a bridge between two existing tracts of state gaming lands on either side of the reservoir.

After examining the proposal, Capital Region Water will vote in February whether to proceed with the deal.

Study Detects “Fragile” Ground

A second engineering report of sinkhole potential in south Harrisburg shows additional areas of concern, in a region that a city official described as “fragile, but not unstable.”

The report, prepared by Camp Hill-based engineering firm Gannett Fleming, is based on an expanded survey of the surrounding neighborhood, as opposed to the single city block that was studied in a prior report.

The previous report, released in August, showed evidence of five fractures in the limestone bedrock and several potential voids beneath the 1400-block of S. 14^th Street, where a series of sinkholes opened in March.

For the latest report, engineers surveyed an expanded area bounded by S. 12^th Street to the west, Scott Street to the east, Hanover Street to the north and Cloverly Terrace and S. 13^th Street to the south, a neighborhood encompassing some 200 buildings, most of them single-family homes.

The report shows evidence that previously detected fractures extend across the larger area and also introduces evidence of possible additional fractures and voids throughout the neighborhood.

City Engineer Wayne Martin said that the report showed the area was “fragile, but not unstable,” adding that the city had determined it was safe to keep roads in the neighborhood open.

New Parking Zones

Park Harrisburg last month unveiled four different parking zones in downtown and Midtown Harrisburg, each with its own pricing.

Central Business District covers much of downtown, and street parking costs $3 per hour.
South of Central Business and Old Midtown districts include street parking south of Chestnut Street and from Forster to Verbeke streets, respectively. These districts cost $1.50 per hour.
New Midtown District, which covers Midtown from Verbeke to Harris streets, on and around N. 3^rd Street. These spots cost $1.50 per hour, with the first 15 minutes of parking free.

Separately, a company called Pango USA introduced an application last month that will allow motorists in Harrisburg to buy street parking via their mobile devices.

The app, which is free to download, requires customers to establish an account and register a method of payment. Once the account is established, a customer can purchase parking with a few taps of the thumb.

For each transaction, Pango will charge customers an additional 14 cents on top of the regular cost of parking. Visit www.mypango.com for details of the app.

Water/Sewer Rates Increase

Harrisburg water and sewer customers will see higher bills in 2015, following a unanimous vote to increase water rates by Capital Region Water.

Under the hike, the current water consumption charge of $6.61 per 1,000 gallons will increase by 57 cents to $7.18 while an additional “ready to serve” fee will increase by 45 cents to $5.67.

The effect on the average customer’s monthly bill will be an increase of $3.29 based on an average consumption rate of 5,000 gallons per month.

Harrisburg sewer rates, meanwhile, will remain at $6.05 per 1,000 gallons.

The hikes will help fund a $48 million budget that sets aside $10 million for capital improvements, $13 million for debt service and $20 million for operations and maintenance. It also provides for the hiring of 21 new employees.

In addition, Capital Region Water announced an agreement with federal and state regulators that provides a timeline for reaching compliance with laws governing pollution of local streams.

The agreement begins to address a number of violations that the Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Environmental Protection discovered during inspections in 2010 and 2012.

The agreement, known as a partial consent decree, sets forth some initial steps for bringing the system into compliance, and is primarily focused on gathering information, Williams said.

A future agreement will set out tangible steps the authority can take to comply fully with regulations, a process that Williams said could take upwards of 20 years.

County Taxes Unchanged

Dauphin County taxes will not increase under a $246 million 2015 budget passed last month by the county commissioners.

For a 10^th straight year, county taxes will be unchanged at 6.87 mills.

The budget represents a small hike from the 2014 spending plan. Commissioners, though, attributed the increase to about $8 million in pass-through state and federal funds, which then were forwarded to municipalities in the county.

Shimmel School Project OK’d

A split City Council has approved the re-use of the empty Shimmel School as a mental health and addiction treatment center.

By a 4-3 vote, the council approved the land use plan by the for-profit, Lebanon-based Pennsylvania Counseling Services to renovate the facility at 548 S. 17^th St. for a new treatment center.

Several council members voiced objections, saying that this area of South Allison Hill already has a plethora of similar rehabilitation facilities and halfway houses. In addition, Councilwoman Susan Brown-Wilson said she was stunned that the school district would sell the school for just $680,000, as it underwent a nearly $20 million renovation under former Mayor Stephen Reed.

The sale will put the school onto the tax rolls. Harrisburg expects the facility to generate property tax revenue of nearly $14,000 in 2015.

New Shopping Center

A new shopping center is coming to Allison Hill, as Harrisburg City Council has approved a plan to open an eight-unit retail center.

Harrisburg-based D&F Distributors will build the center at 137 S. 17^th St. that will consist of seven 950-square-foot shops and one 1,925-square-foot shop. The estimated $500,000 project will include a convenience store and a sandwich shop, according to owner David Peffley Sr.

The property has long been an eyesore along the S. 17^th Street corridor, recently serving as a vehicle storage lot. It sits across the street from the new Hamilton Health Center, which has helped spur developer interest in the corridor.

Parking for Pinnacle

PinnacleHealth soon will have another place for employee parking, as the Harrisburg City Council approved its plan to turn a plot of land into a surface parking lot.

Council gave its unanimous consent for Pinnacle to demolish a dilapidated building at 157 Paxton St. and resurface the blighted site for 78 parking spaces. The building, which once housed a daycare center, has been empty for years and has been repeatedly flooded.

Pinnacle has vowed to enhance the property with landscaping and incorporate stormwater management techniques to reduce the flow of polluted surface water into Paxton Creek and the Susquehanna River.

Firehouse for Sale

Harrisburg is putting the art deco Paxton Fire Co. station on the market, months after it shut down the firehouse.

Council unanimously agreed to hire RE/MAX realtor Wendell Hoover to market the structure at 336 S. 2^nd St. The city is asking $200,000 for the property. The building dates to 1937, though a firehouse has occupied the site for 150 years.

Several years ago, former Mayor Linda Thompson tried to shut down the station as part of a move to cut escalating Fire Bureau expenses. She abandoned the plan, but Mayor Eric Papenfuse revived it in March.

Changing Hands

Adrian St., 2455: P. Okane to L. Mahoney, $45,000

Berryhill St., 2316: W. & J. Collins to D. & Y. Jiang, $46,500

Bigelow Ct., 3: D. Schultz & Schultz Properties to G. Neff & M. Murphy, $34,000

Boas St., 1812: PA Deals LLC to Mid-Atlantic IRA et al, $41,400

Grand St., 927: G. & T. Morcol to J. Gustitus, $88,000

Green St., 1517: R. Lewis to J. Bowser, $71,500

Harris St., 210: J. Provins Jr. & C. Good to B. Stefek, $139,900

Kensington St., 2105: PA Deals LLC to Mid-Atlantic IRA et al, $61,700

Lenox St., 1912: E. Clark to C. Saterstad, $31,000

Linden St., 145: P. Scott to E. & M. Kinchloe, $73,000

Mulberry St., 1217: A. & P. Sena to Ministerio Casa de Oracion, $45,000

North St., 1619: H. Halilovic to K. Sol, $33,000

North St., 1724: PA Deals LLC to B. & C. George, $62,900

N. 2^nd St., 603: Mercy Home to D. & C. Peltier, $240,000

N. 2^nd St., 1110: W. Moyer to MC Investment Properties LLC, $117,000

N. 2^nd St., 1701: Colorado Federal Savings Bank to C. Troutman & B. Jackson, $76,000

N. 2^nd St., 3005: Wells Fargo Bank NA to H. Sharifi, $36,000

N. 3^rd St., 510: R. & S. Schreckengaust to 510 North Third LLC, $243,115

N. 3^rd St., 1225: S. & D. Donofrio to I. Rosario, $116,000

N. 3^rd St., 3117: N. Mastrippolito & L. Oechler to M. Means, $140,000

N. 7^th St., 1303: 1303 North 7^th Corp. to Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, $2,750,000

Penn St., 2242: J. McDonel to W. Hoover, $60,000

S. Front St., 707: K. Scofield to D. & G. Dowen, $140,000

Susquehanna St., 1338: B. Smith to J. Grubbs, $108,000

Zarker St., 1941: Habitat for Humanity to T. Reid, $82,800

Harrisburg property sales for November 2014, greater than $30,000. Source: Dauphin County. Data is assumed to be accurate.

A Sign of Hope: Anchored by Hamilton Health Center, S. 17th Street struggles to come back.

October 30, 2014 | by Reggie Sheffield

If you drive through the heart of Allison Hill, near 13^th and Derry, you’ll see a varying collection of small businesses, bodegas, eateries.

Some are busy, interesting and well kept; others, not so much.

But those highly visible convenience stores, bars and ethnic food joints are not the totality of commerce on Allison Hill. A few blocks up, there’s another commercial district, primarily industrial, that once was a job center of the community.

Along S. 17^th Street, there are the remnants of a formerly vibrant local economy—empty and under-utilized buildings where factory workers once toiled all day and night. In some spots, parking lots take the place of where buildings once stood.

Over the decades, there have been attempts to re-energize S. 17^th Street. New efforts are being made today, and, in fact, some people see signs of hope for the revitalization of the corridor.

The Catalyst

A newly constructed building occupies one of the key blocks along S. 17^th, not too far from Market Street.

The major health care provider to the community, Hamilton Health Center, opened its new building two years ago to centralize its satellite locations. The facility now has become the focal point of a flurry of efforts aimed at revitalizing that part of Allison Hill.

CEO Jeannine Peterson said that access to good health care is key to a healthy and vibrant community and sees the health center’s expansion as leading the way in the neighborhood’s rejuvenation.

“I believe Hamilton Health Center is an economic catalyst for the S. 17^th Street Allison Hill corridor, attracting other businesses to locate to this area,” she said.

Hamilton Health invested $16.2 million in the first phase of its development, completed in 2012. It’s now proceeding with phase two of the project.

“Our development has allowed us to increase the number of jobs from approximately 100 when we moved into our new location to our current staffing level of 180 people,” said Peterson.

Neighborhood residents hold many of those jobs. It’s been vital, she said, to have the facility integrated into the community because workers often don’t have cars. So, they’re able to walk to work or take public transportation.

Nearby, Philadelphia Macaroni Company, one of the nation’s oldest and largest industrial pasta manufacturers, acquired the former Unilever pasta plant earlier this year. Philadelphia Macaroni’s S. 17^th Street plant employs about 50 people and produces Knorr Pasta Sides and Lipton Soup Secrets products.

“We have made a substantial investment in the community, and it is operating 24/7,” said company spokeswoman Linda Schalles. “We expect to be there for quite some time.”

The Opportunities

Despite the anchor of Hamilton Health, the location remains a hard sell for those trying to attract businesses to the area, say developers and realtors.

Fairly or not, too many people equate that part of Allison Hill with typical inner-city problems like crime and drugs. And the gritty nature of the area doesn’t offer a lot of visual appeal.

That’s why much of the 17^th Street corridor falls into the Keystone Opportunity Zone (KOZ), a largely tax-free zone designed to encourage investment and make the area more attractive to businesses.

Shaun Donovan is the economic development specialist with the Harrisburg Regional Chamber of Commerce and its economic development arm, the Capital Region Economic Development Corp., known as CREDC. In that capacity, he helps administer Keystone Opportunity Zones in Harrisburg.

Recently, properties along the S. 17^th Street corridor were selected for KOZ.

“The reason we kind of picked them is because of their proximity to the Hamilton Health Center,” Donovan explained.

He added that neighborhood input was elicited before they proceeded. The KOZ expansion followed discussions with local residents, businesses and community leaders.

“In this particular case, they really highlighted the 17^th Street corridor, and they also said that they were really looking for commercial and industrial redevelopment in their neighborhood, more than residential development,” he said.

KOZ parcels on S. 17^th now include the former Coca-Cola building at 227 S. 17^th St., the Shimmel School at 548 S. 17^th St. and the Hajoca Building at 101 S. 17^th St.

In April, the for-profit Lebanon-based Pennsylvania Counseling Services offered the Harrisburg School District, which owns the Shimmel School, $550,000 for the 58,750-square-foot property.

Recently, representatives of the group were scheduled to appear before the city’s Zoning Hearing Board seeking a variance for their drug and alcohol recovery, mental health treatment and truancy programs. Because it is school district-owned, the building currently produces no tax revenue.

“A lot of people support it,” said Bill Gladstone of the Gladstone Group, a realtor involved with the sale. “We have to get through the system.”

CREDC’s Donovan explained that, by offering abatements on taxes on things like building supplies, earned income, net profits and real estate, the KOZ can entice potential buyers to look at vacant properties in neighborhoods they’d otherwise pass on.

“A lot of those buildings have minor issues that need to be resolved, but again, the KOZ program makes it more attractive for the new owners to come in,” Donovan said.

Gladstone also represents the Chicago-based owners of the Hajoca Building at 101 S. 17^th St., across the street from the Hamilton Health Center. Gladstone said his clients like the KOZ concept, but they are still lacking a tenant or buyer for the 1.6-acre site, which is listed at $625,000.

“Unfortunately we still haven’t located a tenant, but I don’t think that has anything to do with it being in a KOZ; I think it has to do with locating someone willing to be in that location,” said Gladstone, referring to South Allison Hill’s less-than-stellar reputation. “We have other challenges besides the KOZ.”

When City Council’s Community and Economic Development Committee met to vote on the establishment of city KOZs late last year, some residents objected because they felt that, given the city’s slowly improving financial picture, the more tax revenue, the better. Others supported the plan, saying that anything that would spur renovations on crumbing community eyesores, create and sustain local jobs and, in time, generate property tax revenue would benefit the city.

Donovan pointed to the Shimmel School property as an example of how a KOZ can take a non-tax revenue producing property and, over time, transform it into a revenue-producing property.

“It’s kind of wrong to say you’ve lost that revenue because, without the program, you’d have no revenue,” he said.

KOZ or not, the 17^th Street corridor appears to be making incremental progress after years of heading in the opposite direction. Having completed its new building, the neighborhood anchor, Hamilton Health Center, is investing another $6 million in its project.

“We expect [our employment] number to climb to over 200 when we complete our phase two renovations in December 2014,” said CEO Peterson.

To other area businesses, more employees mean more people buying local goods and investing in their properties and improving their quality of life. Ultimately, that’s what brings a neighborhood back.

Reggie Sheffield is a Harrisburg-based freelancer and is reachable at [email protected].

Tough Fix: Harrisburg wants to re-invigorate its fight against entrenched blight, but it faces a complex problem.

March 31, 2014 | by Tara Leo Auchey

When my husband and I moved to Harrisburg in 2006, my father’s friend told us he admired our adventurous spirit.

“Where you’re moving, it’s like a frontier. You’re on the line. You know, what I mean? Wow, I admire you,” he said sincerely as he looked me square in the eye.

But I didn’t know what he meant.

Call me naive, but I didn’t know that soon our capital city investment and rehabilitation of a condemned house would be a battle of architecture, quality of life and principle.

When we first met the house—as we like to say—it was debased and had a bad reputation.

It was a house where illicit things happened as it rotted away neglected and unmanaged.

When we met it, it had been divided into five apartments, one even in the damp, 100-year-old basement.

The woodwork was gouged and chipped. The dining room floor had a large hole where rare hemlock floorboards were stripped. There were deadbolts on all of its bedroom doors, and plaster crumbled from the high ceilings.

Much of what was left behind was old and had to be repaired or replaced for safety and efficiency.

For its last lonely years, it had sat empty as other houses around it slowly began to wither away, too.

Drive around Harrisburg, through any of its neighborhoods in any district of the city from Midtown to South Allison Hill to Uptown to Southside, and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

Even though my house and neighborhood was once that bad, it improved with transformation and new investment. However, that’s not true of other places in the city.

There are once-handsome and grand buildings, let go, passed along, taken apart and uncared for. They’ve been like that for decades.

Too many sit and rot then become unsavory, attracting vagrants and drug deals. There are those that become unsafe havens for the homeless or playgrounds for curious children.

Some are owned by good-willed and well-intended entrepreneurs who feel they’re waiting for “the right time.”

Some others are owned by the aged, deceased or unknown, who—for varying obvious reasons—don’t take care of these residences, businesses and factories.

There are more than 600 properties owned by the Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority and the city. Too many of those are uninhabitable and trashed.

Then there are those owned by slumlords, inside which some people still live.

Some are bought condemned en masse by investors whose plan is to turn them over on the cheap. When that can’t or doesn’t happen, they sell them to the next hopeful buyer, en masse just as they bought them.

Drive around Harrisburg, and you’ll see the worst of the worst all over the place, no matter what the reason.

Yes, there are success stories where longtime patches of blight have been turned around, such as the Glass Factory, Hamilton Health Center and Habitat for Humanity’s homes on Jefferson Street.

And there are several other projects said to be on the horizon. Yet, until the time comes, buildings wait either to be torn down or redeemed.

Like so many urban cores across the state of Pennsylvania, this is the plight of cities.

Harrisburg has a grave problem, and it’s based in legalities, funds, political will, socioeconomics and culture. While it may not be alone in its problem, this capital city is an awful example of how bad the problem is.

We’ll never get rid of blight completely. That’s just a fact of the matter, but we can manage it better.

The Papenfuse administration has promised to make the fight against blight a priority, and there are developers who have plans to help the cause in some areas.

Yet, as we move from blight to renaissance, there is something to keep in mind even as we applaud the construction of new urban residences—there are people who have long lived next to the rotting buildings. Day in and day out, they’ve dealt with the dangerous, degenerate and dismal conditions. In the most pathetic cases, people have lived not just next to it, but within it.

It’s not enough to applaud the pockets of success because the dank still persists for too many of us who live in Harrisburg. Just because it’s not here anymore doesn’t mean it’s not there, even if we can’t see it.

A simple drive around our small city will prove that it’s still there.

So the question then becomes, what should we do about it? Not just for the newbies like me who moved in with a dream, but for those who have been here for a very long time, wondering when the nightmare will end.

Tara Leo Auchey is creator and editor of todays the day Harrisburg.

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