Greater Harrisburg's Community Magazine
A relatively low-key weekend awaits me. Tonight, I’m headed over to Tröegs for the opening reception of the Art of Tröegs and Wild Elf preview. Tomorrow, post-meetings, I’m thinking massage and a night in with the pup.
Saturday, Andy and I are doing one of our favorite things — attending a Chef’s Table Beer Pairing Dinner at The Garlic Poet. This one features Collusion Tap Works.
Sunday = Pool Day? Hopefully!
Soon, this storefront will house Provisions, a new grocery store.
If you’ve been hungering for an urban-style grocery store in Harrisburg, here’s some very good news—your wait is almost over.
In a few months, Provisions will open in Strawberry Square, emphasizing natural, organic and locally produced goods, mostly sold in bulk.
Provisions will occupy 2,350 square feet of space next to Fresa Bistro with a storefront entrance on N. 3rd Street, said Brad Jones, CEO of Harristown Enterprises, which owns Strawberry Square.
“You’re going to be able to get fresh food that you can shop daily for,” said Jones, who described the market as a “locally grown Trader Joe’s.”
Jones expects the build-out of the space to begin immediately, with the store opening in mid-October.
Provisions is the brainchild of Shaun Donovan, the owner of the online grocery store Appalachian Organics, and Adam Porter, co-owner of the co-working space Startup Harrisburg.
Porter said that the pair met several years ago through mutual friend and fellow Harrisburg entrepreneur, Adam Brackbill.
“I said to [Donovan] one day, ‘I need a car just to feed myself,’ and down this path, we went,” Porter said, explaining how the idea began.
After searching for potential sites, the pair decided on N. 3rd between Market and Walnut streets due to the rapid development of downtown apartments in recent years, as well as an influx of state workers into Strawberry Square.
“We chose to locate our new store in Strawberry Square to be a part of the growing community that has been developing here,” Donovan said. “The strategic location, within a short walking distance of transit centers and the developing residential sector, make the store very accessible.”
The future Provisions, from inside Strawberry Square.
Provisions will make the most of its relatively snug space by selling most items in bulk, thereby eliminating bulky, wasteful packaging. This strategy also will keep costs down, so that items should sell at an affordable price, Porter said. In addition, customers can measure out exactly how much of an item they need, reducing waste.
“We can put items on the shelf in a concise way,” Porter said. “So, we don’t need as much square footage in the store.”
Some items, like meats, cheeses and dairy products, will be sold in more conventional packaging. The store also will carry items like cleaning supplies, locally roasted coffee, fresh-made baked goods and locally sourced produce.
“We’re going to use as many local vendors as we can,” Porter said. “We may not have quite as wide a variety as a supermarket, but it will still be a robust selection.”
He added that Provisions is intended for a local shopper—a resident or worker—who wants fresh items and, therefore, will patronize the store more often than one might visit a supermarket, perhaps several times a week.
“Our primary customer is someone within a 10-minute walk,” Porter said.
He said that he wouldn’t be surprised to get some suburban shoppers, who might be attracted to the unique items and shopping experience. To that end, he and Donovan plan to promote Park Harrisburg’s reduced-rate street parking, which includes free parking on Sundays, four hours of free parking on Saturdays using an online code and reduced prices weekdays between 5 and 7 p.m.
If the concept is successful, Porter envisions Provisions expanding, with smaller-format stores in more neighborhoods in Harrisburg. That would contrast sharply with the current model of downscale corner stores in the city and sprawling supermarkets in the suburbs.
“People always ask me, ‘What about a grocery store?’ when you talk about a downtown renaissance,” Jones said. “Now, you’re going to be able to get fresh food you can shop daily for.”
ProvisionsHBG will be located at 15-17 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg, also accessible from inside Strawberry Square. Social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) is ProvisionsHBG. A website will be located at www.provisionshbg.com.
Author: Lawrance Binda
Under an expansion plan, State Street would become part of the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District.
What a difference a couple of years can make.
The last time the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District (HDID) was up for renewal, the city government put the nonprofit through the wringer—and on a short leash.
This year? Smooth sailing.
“I’m impressed with what you’ve done,” City Council President Wanda Williams told Executive Director Todd Vander Woude during a hearing last week. “You’ve done good work.”
The HDID is seeking a five-year reauthorization of the district, which expires at year-end. In 2015, council refused to grant a full, five-year term, offering only two years with instructions to become more visible and active. Back then, some council members—along with several business owners—said that HDID wasn’t doing enough to attract people downtown and make it more of a destination.
Given the positive reaction of council, it appears—mission accomplished.
During the hearing, Vander Woude outlined a few recent highlights: last year’s “Dino-Mite Summer” public art project, this year’s “Discover the Ducks Downtown,” the St. Patrick’s Day parade and run, several new murals, more bike racks, brightly painted planters, a new safety substation.
“Our focus is making downtown clean, safe and beautiful,” he said.
Getting firm council support is particularly important this year, as the HDID is seeking to expand its northern boundary from Pine Street to State Street, bringing 58 more properties into the district and upping the organization’s annual budget by $40,000 to $820,000. Each commercial property is assessed a 1.75 mil surcharge on its city property taxes to cover the cost of HDID services, which also include cleaning, safety and beautification measures.
Property owners within the proposed district have 45 days from last week’s council hearing to vote against the district. Forty percent of properties within the boundary must vote against it for reauthorization to be defeated.
This summer’s “Discover the Ducks Downtown” is one of many recent projects spearheaded by the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District.
With three properties on State Street, WCI Partners will have to kick in an extra $10,000 in annual tax, representing one-quarter of the total revenue for new properties in the expanded territory, said company President Dave Butcher. Nonetheless, he supports the proposal, as State Street, he said, is one of the most visited and photographed streets in the city.
“It’s helpful because we’ll have long-term institutional support for the (State Street) median in maintaining it and keeping it beautiful,” said Butcher, a member of the HDID board.
Currently, Butcher passes the hat among his fellow State Street property owners to help maintain the two-block long, landscaped median that runs from Riverfront Park to the state Capitol building. If its boundaries are extended, HDID will maintain the median, while also offering street cleanup, planters, flowers and other benefits.
Despite the proposed expansion, at last week’s meeting, no property owners told council that they object to the plan. Council President Williams made the only critical remark, pleading with the HDID to do what it can to bring retail back to downtown Harrisburg.
Vander Woude was optimistic. Over the past few years, several developers have converted worn-out office buildings into high-end residential space, and there’s now a waiting list for those apartments.
“I’m hopeful that, with the residential growth downtown, retail will follow,” he said.
To learn more about the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District, visit www.harrisburgdid.com.
Author: Lawrance Binda
Harrisburg City Council tonight approved numerous resolutions tonight before going on summer hiatus.
Harrisburg City Council doled out some $1.9 million in federal housing funds tonight, but not before making tweaks to the administration’s proposals.
Council provided $25,000 to the Heinz-Menaker Senior Center from the city’s portion of annual Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, a program of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“It is the only senior center in the city of Harrisburg,” council President Wanda Williams said after the meeting. “The services they provide are outstanding.”
The city administration had denied funding for the center, saying its application scored too low to merit a grant.
Williams said she agreed to fund the center on the condition that the money pay for critical infrastructure needs, not the salary of center Director Les Ford. In turn, Ford said he’d use the money to refurbish bathrooms and replace faulty fire doors, in addition to several smaller projects.
To make room for the Heinz-Menaker grant, $15,000 was taken from a proposed allocation for the city’s Police Bureau, which still will receive $90,000 to help pay for a new community policing van and a police cadet program.
Another $10,000 was taken from the city’s Department of Community and Economic Development, which still will receive about $43,000 to cover unreimbursed costs related to the sinkhole project on S. 14th Street, including money for fencing.
City Council wanted to fund a small nonprofit called Breaking the Chains, which works with at-risk youth in Harrisburg. However, before the meeting began, council members determined that the organization’s application did not meet the requirements of the CDBG program.
Like last year, the greatest single amount of money, $562,248, went to repay federal loans the city backed during the Reed administration for several development projects, including the disastrous Capitol View Commerce Center project, which went bankrupt before being completed years later by a new owner.
Other CDBG recipients included:
While the city undertook the annual process of distributing CDBG money, funding is not assured as the Trump administration has threatened to end the program.
Also at tonight’s meeting, City Council:
Originally, council had planned to vote tonight on whether to transfer $65,000 to permit police to purchase new protective, or riot, gear. That vote has been delayed until after council members return from summer break on Aug. 29.
In the interim, Councilman Ben Allatt asked the administration to schedule two meetings between community members, especially those who oppose the purchase of the gear, and police to discuss differences between them and to help heal divisions.
“I’m very concerned about a growing disconnect I see between law enforcement and the community,” Allatt said.
Author: Lawrance Binda
Harrisburg Police Chief Thomas Carter and Capt. Derric Moody showed City Council the protective gear they wish to buy, on the right, with an old shield on the left. People who objected to the proposal sit on the far right.
Vocal opponents of a proposed police spending measure packed Harrisburg’s government center tonight, as City Council chewed over whether to allow the department to purchase new riot gear.
More than two dozen activists attended a council work session, some decrying a Police Bureau plan to purchase 30 “top to toe” protective suits.
“Simply possessing more militarized gear . . . escalates the situation further,” said Amanda Arbour of Harrisburg. “We have seen it’s not the police getting hurt at these types of situations.”
Police are asking council to approve the transfer of $65,000 in unspent personnel funds to buy the equipment. The bureau’s current gear is old—about 25 years old—and inadequate, according to Capt. Derric Moody.
Chief Thomas Carter stated that the Harrisburg police need the equipment as the rate of protests in the state capital—and their volatile nature—is making the force more vulnerable.
“Protective gear is used to de-escalate the situation,” he said. “Protective gear is used (by police) to protect themselves. Without the proper gear, a situation would be escalated more.”
Moody emphasized that the purpose of the gear is protection.
“How can we protect others if we can’t protect ourselves?” he said.
Carter said that the bureau has deployed its existing gear several times recently, including two visits by now-President Donald Trump and a June protest that attracted both “anti-Sharia” activists and masked, black-clad members of a group called Antifa, which stands for “anti-Fascist.” During that event, several fights broke out between the opposing groups, and one woman was arrested for allegedly injuring a state police horse.
“Anytime there’s a potential for harm, potential injury to persons, you would see this gear come into play,” Moody said, who added that the gear wouldn’t be deployed for protests where there is no apparent threat of violence.
Police brought along samples of the suits to show council. Currently, city police riot gear consists mostly of aging helmets, shields and gas masks, Moody said. The requested money would buy full protective suits, which Moody has described as “scalable,” meaning that parts—individual pieces for shoulders, hands, legs, chests, shins, etc.—could be deployed as needed. The suits also come with helmets, shields and riot sticks, which are longer than standard police sticks, Moody said.
Several residents urged council to divert the money to other community needs, perhaps even asking residents what they believe will make the city safer.
“I don’t know that we need to be spending that money on this at this very time,” said Patricia Stringer, a former city councilwoman.
Council members appeared alternatively supportive and skeptical of the bureau’s request.
“There have been protests at the Capitol for a very long time,” said Councilman Cornelius Johnson. “The message got to the masses of people that, because of the increase in the amount of protests, we need to update our gear.”
Moody said that, in fact, protests have become more frequent and virulent.
A vote on the measure was expected tomorrow during council’s final legislative session before its six-week summer hiatus. However, council delayed a vote on the issue until after the recess as police rushed out of the meeting during their presentation to attend to protests at Sen. Pat Toomey’s town hall at ABC27 News studio on N. 6th Street.
Author: Lawrance Binda
Where state and city meet.
Bruce Weber isn’t typically known for his serenity.
By his own admission, he’s a worrier, which is probably the correct disposition when you’re Harrisburg’s budget and finance director.
However, even by a calmer standard, the recent struggle over the state’s annual payment to Harrisburg was a nail-biter.
When asked recently what would happen without the state payment, which, in recent years, has represented about 8 percent of the city’s general fund, Weber thrust his hands into the air, making a “who knows” gesture. Without it, Harrisburg’s budget would have a massive hole in it.
How would it be filled? Who knows?
Back in February, Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposed 2017-18 budget contained $5 million to Harrisburg for services in lieu of taxes. Then it was stripped out, in its entirety, by the state Senate. At the last minute (i.e. this week), the money suddenly reappeared, thanks to the Herculean efforts of state Rep. Patty Kim and Sen. John DiSanto. This is no way to run a city—or a state.
I’m not going to address the issue of exactly how much the payment should be. Is $5 million a year a fair figure for an entity that owns 42 percent of Harrisburg’s land yet pays no taxes, but still needs 50 buildings and 30,000-plus workers and visitors served and protected each day?
It’s probably in the ballpark, although city Councilman Ben Allatt, citing New York’s greater payment to its capital of Albany, argues it should be much more.
Whatever the figure, it’s time for the state to own up to the fact that it depends upon Harrisburg for fire protection and other services—and that those services cost money to provide. Moreover, Harrisburg, still financially fragile, cannot afford to wait until halfway into its own fiscal year to learn whether or not it’s going to receive a state payment—and, if so, how much.
Therefore, we call upon the state to enter into a long-term agreement with the city to provide a knowable, mutually agreed-upon annual payment, which would not be subject to the vagaries of partisan politics and the whims of politicians.
Doing so would allow the city to budget responsibly, while fostering a more respectful and beneficial bond between city and state. It also might help calm Weber’s nerves—and ours.
Author: Lawrance Binda
With just nine minutes remaining before his 5 p.m. shift, Chris* peddled his aluminum bike from his Midtown apartment toward the downtown restaurant where he worked as a server. No helmet, headphones playing underground rap music, he glided down the sidewalk along Front Street to pause at the sidewalk’s mouth as it opened to the six-lane behemoth of Forster Street.
Chris said he watched the traffic light controlling Forster Street’s rush-hour traffic turn red, started pedaling, and collided with the front bumper of a silver sedan.
The next thing he remembers was lying on the pavement, thinking, “I got to get up.” With a dented bike, broken leg and blooded face, he could not move.
Chris, who has since recovered, represents one of many Harrisburg residents and visitors who navigate the city without a car, either by need or by preference. Over the years, TheBurg reporters have heard of many other accidents involving pedestrians—and nearly been victims a few times themselves. So, we paired with Steve Cline, owner of map-making project Urban 3D Modeling, to find out how the city interacts with its walking population.
Cline mapped the car crashes that involved pedestrians in Harrisburg by using PennDOT Open Data from 2012 to 2016.
The top four areas of accidents probably won’t surprise those who don’t use cars, and neighborhoods prone to foot traffic showed more incidents.
Cameron and Market streets topped the list with seven crashes involving pedestrians at a single intersection.
A whopping 58 crashes took place along Derry Street. The map shows a concentration along 13th and 17th streets, plus the intersection of Derry and Mulberry streets.
Forster Street, where Chris’ accident took place, clocked in at nine crashes along the downtown portion. Four crashes took place at the 3rd and Forster intersection.
The downtown corridor bordered by Front, Chestnut, 4th and Walnut streets saw 20 crashes with pedestrians. Many took place along Front Street, and three pedestrian crashes (of 25 crashes of all types) took place at Front and Market streets near the Market Street Bridge.
A cross-shaped region around N. 6th and Maclay streets showed 12 crashes with pedestrians out of a total 508 crashes.
“At some point in every journey, everybody’s a pedestrian, even if you park in a lot and you’ve got to cross a street to go to an office,” said Geoffrey Knight, the city’s director of planning. “Pedestrian infrastructure is important for everybody, not just people who rely on walking to get around most of the time.”
A Change
Knight’s office dreams up the “pie in the sky” ideas to design the city for pedestrians—larger sidewalk “bump outs” that trick drivers to slow down, trees placed for shade and safety and well-designed crosswalks.
“From a conceptual standpoint, we are always trying to make the city as accommodating to pedestrians and all road users as possible,” he said.
This perspective on city planning marks a change from past generations.
“A lot of last centuries’ engineering as far as streets … in many cities, was designed to get people in and out the city as fast as possible,” Knight said. “So, now communities are having to correct that.”
Roads such as Forster and Front were widened to accommodate more cars, which benefited commuters, but gave pedestrians dauntingly wide streets to cross.
A few projects are in the works to make the city more appealing for those who don’t drive cars.
A $3 million state grant-funded project is in the works with the goal of transforming the streetscape near the intersection of Mulberry and Derry streets. This Allison Hill intersection, known as Mount Pleasant or MulDer Square, saw nine total crashes, with five incidents involving pedestrians, according to the PennDOT data.
“The purpose of this project is green infrastructure and pedestrian activity because that is what is going to increase property value and safety,” said City Engineer Wayne Martin.
Project leaders also plan to develop a safe path to Cameron Street (following the “goat paths” that walkers already have worn into the dirt) and to transform Nectarine Alley—an alley so rife with potholes that cars cannot pass; I tried it and failed—into a green space.
Martin called this Y-shaped intersection a “sea of asphalt.” A small mini-mart sits at the crux of the Y. The expanse of asphalt makes it difficult for a pedestrian to pop between parked cars to see when a car will whir pass and in which direction.
“What if we made it plaza space, green space,” Martin said about underutilized space. “Give it back to the pedestrian, because it’s not really needed for roadways for traveling vehicles.”
Pinch Points
Though Derry Street, combined with stretches of S. 13th and S. 17th streets, saw the greatest number of pedestrian-related crashes, the intersection of Cameron and Market streets clocked in as the most dangerous intersection for pedestrians.
Cycling community advocate and founder of the bike repair nonprofit, Recycle Bicycle, Ross Willard called this area a “death wish” to cross.
“We have an island that starts from downtown to Midtown to Uptown,” he said. “[This means the city] has pinch points. All the pinch points are deadly because we have high speeds, lots of walkers and lots of traffic.”
Already this year, on a Monday evening in late January, a taxi driver hit a 25-year-old city resident attempting to cross the four-lane, industrial-zoned behemoth. The pedestrian was taken to Hershey Medical Center because of multiple injuries, according to the Harrisburg Bureau of Police.
Last month, a drunk driver killed a woman walking on State Street, another “pinch point,” on an early Saturday morning.
For many residents and workers, crossing these “death wishes” is a day-to-day necessity. Residents staying at a halfway house on Cameron Street can only bike or walk, Willard said. Knight pointed out that the PA CareerLink Center attracts walkers crossing Cameron Street.
To get to jobs downtown, this intersection presents the most convenient route. Over at Front and Forster, that’s what Chris was doing when he got hit. He was just following his normal daily routine.
Now, about a year after the crash, he’s mostly recovered. He continues to bike (on a new one he called “a beauty”). He said he wears his headphones about half as much.
Most importantly, he’s altered his route. He still needs to bike downtown and cross Forster at Front street. But now he opts for the more controlled crossing at Riverfront Park.
*Chris is a pseudonym for the real biker, who asked not to be named.
Author: Danielle Roth and Steve Cline
Illustration by Rich Hauck
Ginger and Matt Coleman are the happy parents of a 3-year-old boxer rescue named Apollo.
“He’s very, very active,” said Ginger, who lives on N. 3rd Street in Midtown Harrisburg. “So, he really needs a dog park.”
I walked with Ginger recently to a very green, very empty plot of ground at the corner of N. 7th and Granite streets, a dogleg-shaped parcel (natch!) that, if Friends of Midtown has its way, will be Harrisburg’s first dedicated, off-leash dog park.
“We’ve gone to the one on Union Deposit Road,” said Ginger, referring to Kohl Memorial Park in Lower Paxton Township. “But it would be nice to have one closer to home.”
After searching for several years, Friends of Midtown decided upon this three-quarter-acre patch of grass as the best option for pooches to get their run and sniff on. It even comes with some of Fido’s favorite playthings already in place: squirrels, groundhogs and rabbits, which, at least for now, run around unimpeded, blissfully ignorant of what may be in their future.
Ginger and I visited on a cool evening, a little before dusk, along with several other dog-lovers. The group reviewed the details—the timeframe (early 2018), how much money Friends of Midtown needs to raise ($18,000) and the design (separate areas for large and small dogs). Vartan Group, which owns the land, is letting them have it for the next two years.
A few people chose to walk the grounds, picturing, I’m certain, their own dogs jumping and frolicking and playing in the grass. As a student of this city, I saw things a little differently. I perceived emptiness and eerie quiet, and I began to wonder what had happened to this long-abandoned city block so that a dog park now constituted, to put this in economic terms, a higher and better use.
The story of the 1700-block of N. 7th Street actually tells a story shared by other parts of once-industrial Harrisburg. By the mid-19th century, one large family, Dr. Luther Reily and his children, owned the entire area—what would become 96 city blocks. Over the decades, pieces were sold off and subdivided so that, by 1889, there were eight landowners on this block and, by 1901, 14, with the Reily heirs still claiming several parcels, according to city maps.
The 1932 Polk city directory showed the block to be fully developed with dozens of small, attached houses, many likely occupied by the working-class, railroading families that populated the area. By the 1958 directory, the block had become almost completely industrial, home to small warehouses, paint shops and junkyards, with some houses remaining, mostly up Kelker Street.
The ensuing years were not kind to this now-gritty block of scrap-metal salvagers and junk dealers. As the city de-industrialized, businesses closed, owners died and properties sold for taxes. Investors and speculators moved in, renting out increasingly dilapidated houses to poor families. In some cases, the city became an owner of last resort. The Vartan Group has been buying up land there for some 20 years, knocking down whatever structures remained, so that it now owns nearly the entire city block.
On that cool, cloudy early evening, as I stood scanning the grassy field, I felt a bit like the character of the time traveler from H.G. Wells’ “The Time Machine,” a man who, from his machine, witnesses a block of London rise and fall and rise again, ever changing, over the course of many years.
I suspect that Vartan eventually will find a use for the land and develop it. It may be many years away, but the seeds of the neighborhood’s redevelopment—the pending state Archives and U.S. courthouse buildings—are being planted right now nearby on 6th Street. Some day, new construction will overrun this block, too, putting the fallow property back into productive use, returning it to the city’s built environment, a contributing part of its urban density.
Until then, at least for a few years, the block seems destined to have happy hounds and terriers, spaniels and shepherds, romp and yelp, scamper and play. This will be the first, small step back for a forsaken, forgotten piece of Harrisburg at 7th and Granite streets.
Lawrance Binda is editor-in-chief of TheBurg.
Friends of Midtown continues to collect money for the creation of a dog park at N. 7th and Granite streets. If you would like to contribute, please donate by visiting www.friendsofmidtown.org or mail a check, indicating “dog park” in the memo line, to Friends of Midtown, P.O. Box 5291, Harrisburg, Pa., 17110.
Author: Lawrance Binda
Dog Park Proposed
Terriers and hounds soon may displace groundhogs and squirrels from a block of long-empty land in Midtown, as plans are afoot for Harrisburg’s first public dog park.
The community group Friends of Midtown is raising about $18,000 to cover two years of expenses for the off-leash park, which would be created on a grassy, three-quarter-acre expanse at N. 7th and Granite streets.
“We have the enthusiastic support of the city, the planning bureau,” said Annie Hughes, who is spearheading the effort for Friends of Midtown with her husband Andy. “Everybody’s all in, essentially.”
The Vartan Group owns the lot and has agreed to a two-year commitment, Hughes said. Friends of Midtown should hear soon on the fate of a grant application from PPL Electric and also is soliciting funds from individuals. It hopes to have the park, which would be free and open to the public, ready by spring 2018.
Plans call for a fence to ring the lot, which would be divided into two areas—one for large dogs and the other for small dogs. Dog waste bags would be available on site, and signs would be posted with the rules of the park.
The desire for a dog park in Harrisburg has come up repeatedly in recent years. Two years ago, it was the fifth most-popular suggestion among 1,200 ideas for inclusion in the city’s comprehensive plan, Hughes said.
She added that the dog park would be temporary, serving as a pilot for the city, which may use data collected from this effort to build a permanent park.
Jackson Hotel Mural
A new mural will celebrate Harrisburg’s African-American history, adorning the side of a building that once hosted such luminaries as Louis Armstrong and Pearl Bailey.
Sprocket Mural Works announced the project last month for the former Jackson Hotel and Rooming House on the 1000-block of N. 6th Street, a building that, decades ago, catered primarily to a black clientele refused service in the city’s major, segregated hotels.
“It will be an African-American historic mural, playing off the history itself,” said Sprocket co-founder Jeff Copus.
The Jackson Hotel painting is one of 10 murals that will be created during the Harrisburg Mural Festival, which Sprocket is organizing for the first 10 days of September.
Copus last month told the Harrisburg Architectural Review Board (HARB) that the mural will feature people who stayed at the hotel, possibly including entertainers like Armstrong, Bailey, Cab Callaway and Ella Fitzgerald. It may also incorporate images of important Harrisburg figures such as Ephraim Slaughter, an escaped slave who fought in the Civil War and later settled in the city.
In August, Sprocket will seek public input for the mural design, Copus said.
Sprocket is commissioning artist Cesar Viveros to paint the mural. Locally, Viveros is best known as the artist-in-residence who helped design and lead the creation of the Mulberry Street Bridge murals.
Stop the Drop
A small change to trashcan lids may cut the amount of litter on Harrisburg streets.
That’s the idea behind “Stop the Drop,” a campaign to turn home trashcans into, essentially, public trashcans.
The new lids are bright orange with a hole in the center that residents can attach to their trashcans, replacing their existing, solid lids. Pedestrians then can put litter into the can through the hole, rather than toss it in the street, said Julie Walter, neighborhood revitalization manager at Tri County Community Action, a part of the grassroots coalition Clean and Green Harrisburg.
A successful, three-month pilot run on 6th and Market streets convinced the coalition to roll out the lids citywide, Walter said.
“[We were] excited that people were actually using the lids,” she said about the trial run. “When we would go check them out, there would be coffee cups and chip bags in the cans. You can tell that there was actually a need.”
Later this month, residents citywide will be able to volunteer to swap their lids out with the new lids. These new lids work well with rowhome residents who place their trashcans at the front of their houses, she said.
King Mansion Sells
Harrisburg’s iconic Horace King Mansion sold last month, purchased by an engineering firm that plans to relocate there.
K & W Engineers, under the holding company name 2201 NFS LLC, purchased the building at 2201 N. Front St., along with several adjacent parcels, for $1.8 million from a group called 2201 Partnership, which had owned it since 2003.
The 10-person engineering and consulting firm expects to leave its current offices in Swatara Township and move into the building once renovations are completed this fall. To that end, CREDC provided a $325,000 Enterprise Zone Loan for improvements to the second floor.
The building also houses the marketing firm Sacunas, which moved into the first floor late last year.
Home Sales Up Again
Area home sales continued a years-long climb, as unit sales rose 4.4 percent in May, according to the Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors.
GHAR said that May sales totaled 948 units versus 908 houses in the year-ago period. The median price dipped to $170,000 compared to $174,900 in May 2016.
Dauphin County sales were strong, with 355 units sold versus 297 in the year prior, with the median price unchanged at $155,000. In Cumberland County, 310 houses sold compared to 326 in May 2016, with the median price falling to $190,125 versus $193,950, said GHAR.
In Perry County, 43 houses sold versus 30 in the year prior, and the median price fell to $127,000 against $151,500 in May 2016, said GHAR.
GHAR covers Dauphin, Cumberland and Perry counties and parts of York, Lebanon and Juniata counties.
So Noted
Andrew Guth of Harrisburg took first place in the category of “Work on Paper” at the 2017 “Art of the State,” a juried exhibit held each year at the State Museum of PA to honor the commonwealth’s best artwork. Guth is a Millworks and Burg artist, contributing the cover art for our May issue. You can see his winning entry, “Where We Used to Go When Everything Was Wrong (I Watched the Lilies Grow Until They Got Old),” with the rest of the exhibit, which runs through Sept. 10 at the State Museum.
Anna Rose Bakery & Coffee Shop opened last month at Walnut and N. 2nd streets in Harrisburg, featuring doughnuts, cupcakes, cookies and espresso drinks. The business, owned by Ron Kamionka, is located in the rear portion of the former Molly Brannigans Irish Pub, which closed almost three years ago.
Excelon Corp. is making plans to shutter Three Mile Island in 2019 absent policy reforms by the state legislature to make nuclear power more competitive. TMI employs 675 workers, most of whom would lose their jobs if the facility closed.
Freshido, a fast-casual restaurant specializing in Asian cuisine, is expected to land this fall in Strawberry Square, at the corner of N. 3rd and Market streets. The 50-seat eatery will occupy the 2,200-square-foot storefront long vacated by Plum Sport.
Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District launched “Discover the Ducks Downtown,” an outdoor art and beautification exhibit for the summer. Along with HDID, Harrisburg-based Sprocket Mural Works commissioned artists to paint 15 fiberglass ducks, which now can be seen throughout the downtown.
Harrisburg Hoopla, a field day of track-and-field activities, raised $5,500 last month for local nonprofits. Fourteen groups with 101 participants competed for select organizations in this first-ever charitable event, sponsored by Emerging Philanthropists Program, a partnership of TFEC and HYP.
Hershey Harrisburg Regional Visitor’s Bureau last month received a Bronze Anvil Award of Commendation from the Public Relations Society of America. The award was for “Tourism in Your Town,” a series of advertorials that appeared in TheBurg throughout 2016.
PFM Asset Management signed a lease last month for 63,133 square feet of space in an office building at 213 Market St. in Harrisburg. By year-end, the firm plans to relocate its 150 employees from 100 Market St., where it has been for the past 20 years, according to commercial real estate firm CBRE Group, which represented the company.
Rite Aid has opened in Strawberry Square in downtown Harrisburg. The new, 14,000-square-foot store moved from cramped quarters across Market Street after a yearlong build-out.
Changing Hands
Adrian St., 2418: G. Brown to R. Ivey, $30,000
Balm St., 60: Kusic Financial Services LLC to OJK Enterprises, $32,000
Bellevue Rd., 1921: CNC Realty Group LLC to J. Romelfanger, $55,000
Berryhill St., 2202: PA Deals LLC to R. Narinesingh, $62,500
Berryhill St., 2316: D. & Y. Jiang to D. & L. Nguyen, $30,000
Boas St., 1925: P. Long to Resistance Properties LLC, $38,000
Camp St., 521: G. & S. Gallagher to K. Moralez, $30,000
Conoy St., 123: Secretary of Housing & Urban Development & Information Systems Network Corp. to E. Fultz, $73,000
Elliot St., 1080, Lot 2: R. & C. Berger to A. Gerges, $250,000
Fox Ridge Ct., 307: B. Miler to C. Hoover, $121,500
Green St., 1007: R. Nicoli to J. & C. Nunley, $110,000
Green St., 1915: J. & K. Johnston to S. Williams, $207,900
Green St., 1930: A. Miller to I. Bailey, $205,000
Green St., 2013: L. Binda to M. Didone, $214,000
Green St., 2137: Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. Trustee to N. Morrison, $32,694
Green St., 2321: J. Yoder to Willowscott Investment LLC, $37,500
Hale Ave., 447: K. & L. Torres to D. Norris, $62,000
Hamilton St., 242: J. & J. Collins to P. Christensen, $150,309
Harris St., 207: MTGLQ Investors LP & Selene Finance LP to K. Clark, $117,900
Harris St., 344: MidAtlantic IRA LLC Phillip Sachs IRA to M. & A. Gilbert, $108,500
Herr St., 269: G. Thall to M. Berlin, $115,000
Hoffman St., 3221: W. Wood to N. Consagra & L. Umberger, $109,900
Holly St., 2006: W. Thompson III to SCC Ward Inc., 32,000
Kelker St., 427: Secretary of Housing & Urban Development & Information Systems & Networks Corp. to I. Jordan, $32,500
Kensington St., 2110 & 2116: Donald L. Pong Trust to M. & A. Robinson, $59,000
Lewis St., 237: J. Toro to M. Horgan & Innovative Devices Inc.., $43,500
Locust St., 202: AMTO LLC to Sturges Property Management LLC, $300,000
Luce St., 2320: EAD Associates LLC to S. Ginder, $38,000
Muench St., 278: Secretary of Housing & Urban Development & Information Systems & Network Corp. to H. & C. Foley, $44,06
N. 2nd St., 1522: J. Cantarell & A. Meck to K. Reiter, $164,000
N. 2nd St., 2323: LSFP Master Participation Trust to M. Horgan & CR Services Inc., 63,900
N. 2nd St., 2528: A. & C. Broadus to E. Pine & S. Ransome, $145,000
N. 4th St., 3119: R. & C. Steele to T. Gottshall, $123,500
N. 4th St., 3213: A. Semancik to G. Erdman & S. Ukodie, $120,000
N. 4th St., 3227: Central Penn Properties to T. Barnes, $142,000
N. 5th St., 2515: 2013 M&M Real Estate Fund LLC to T. & V. Williams, $129,900
N. 5th St., 2600: PA Deals LLC to S. & S. Aiken, $69,900
N. 7th St., 2714: M. Owens to L. Owens, $45,158
N. 14th St., 1206, 1314 N. 15th St. & 603 Benton St.: Kirsch & Burns LLC to Equity Trust Co. Custodian John Spencer IRA, $165,000
N. 15th St., 1340: MidAtlantic IRA LLC James Yeager IRA to Z. Yap, $39,000
N. 16th St., 1216: R. Urrutia to W. Jones, $110,000
N. 17th St., 1102: C. & N. Finnell to J. Martinez & T. Kobayashi, $33,500
N. Front St., 1525, Unit 605: A. Lenda to C. Carter, $173,500
Peffer St., 219: N. Braun to D. Wendt & S. Shultz, $122,000
Peffer St., 317: 1515 Associates to D. Berhe, $75,000
Penn St., 1605: R. Daniels to L, D. & R. Olenowski, $87,500
Reel St., 2416 & 2418: 24 Reel Street LLC to American Rental Home LLC, $52,000
Rudy Rd., 2454: J. & S. Merlina to J. Howard, $57,500
Sassafras St., 269 & 1112 Susquehanna St.: R. & J. Ruth to Major League Properties LLC, $60,000
Showers St., 605: H. Madsen to J. Moore, $163,900
South St., 122: Tang Liu Realty LLC to FA Realty LLC, $126,000
S. 2nd St., 316: WK Rentals to Diamond Real Estate Solutions LLC, $32,000
S. 13th St., 1456, 1460 & 1466: Davden Property Investments Inc. to 4880 East Prospect LLC, $66,000.
S. 16th St., 947: R. Splawn to L. Jackson, $30,000
S. 24th St., 623: K. & D. Brown to S. Jordan, $72,200
Swatara St., 2055: G. Barlow to S. Thomas, $34,500
Swatara St., 2413: J. Garisto to PI Capital LLC, $85,801
Verbeke St., 300: Kidder Wilkes LP to Silverstone Enterprises LLC, $215,000
Watson St., 2815: R. & A. Gates & C. Windham to LJ Realty Trust, $59,800
Harrisburg property sales for May 2017, greater than $30,000. Source: Dauphin County. Data is assumed to be accurate.
Author: Lawrance Binda
In representative democracies, voters are supposed to choose their elected officials. But, in Pennsylvania, it’s often the other way around.
The violation of this core principle explains much of the dysfunction in state and national government. It also explains why Harrisburg was sliced into two congressional districts and is represented, in the House of Representatives, by conservative Republicans from faraway Hazleton and York.
If you’re outraged by this state of affairs, you can blame gerrymandering—the long-standing practice of politicians drawing district boundaries to favor their own political party and their electoral survival.
“Pennsylvania ranks fifth from the bottom in gerrymandering, and it’s especially bad with congressional redistricting,” said state Sen. Lisa Boscola (D-Lehigh County), who is co-sponsoring a bill that would transfer the power of redistricting from self-interested party leaders to a nonpartisan citizen’s commission.
The need for reform is evident by examining a map of Pennsylvania’s congressional districts. Many meander geographically. Some blatantly violate the state constitution by their lack of compactness or because they divide counties, cities and municipalities. The 7th congressional district, outside Philadelphia, is so grotesquely contorted that it’s referred to as “Goofy kicking Donald Duck.”
Republican leaders in the General Assembly deliberately drew these district boundaries after the 2010 national census to favor their party. This practice is outlawed in almost all democratic nations except the United States. Maryland, for example, is gerrymandered to favor Democrats. As Karl Rove, advisor to former President George W. Bush, famously stated, “He who controls redistricting can control Congress.”
Bizarre Construct
Gerrymandering particularly harms Harrisburg’s 50,000 residents. Republican Party leaders divided its mostly Democratic voters into two Congressional districts to dilute their influence—a practice known as cracking.
Most of Harrisburg belongs to Rep. Scott Perry’s district, which includes the eastern part of Cumberland County and all of York and Adams counties. Harrisburg’s far southern neighborhoods were placed in Rep. Lou Barletta’s district, a bizarre construct that includes parts of nine counties and extends from Shippensburg all the way to Wyoming County near the New York border.
Perry and Barletta don’t need Harrisburg’s support to win re-election, giving them minimal incentive to represent the city’s interests in Congress. For instance, Perry and Barletta both supported “Trumpcare,” which would take away affordable health insurance for thousands of their Harrisburg constituents.
Gerrymandering also deprives Harrisburg of a Democratic voice in the state Senate. Harrisburg lies in the 15th district, which includes most of Dauphin County. Democrat Rob Teplitz won this seat in 2012, but he narrowly lost to Republican John DiSanto in 2016, partially because Republican leaders removed the Democratic bastions of Steelton, Highspire and Paxtang from the district and replaced them with heavily Republican Perry County. DiSanto won Perry County by about 8,500 votes, offsetting Teplitz’s 5,100-vote margin in Dauphin County.
Gerrymandering is a problem for everyone, not just Harrisburg. It makes citizens frustrated that their votes don’t matter. It contributes to corruption, gridlock and hyper-partisanship in the federal and state governments, where elected officials often seem more devoted to party loyalty than the nation’s welfare.
“Because of gerrymandering, legislators don’t really listen to the public anymore,” said Boscola. “They just listen to their party base. This is not good lawmaking. We need more compromise. Harrisburg is much more partisan now than it was 20 years ago.”
Many districts are created to be safe for one party or the other, which deprives voters of choice in competitive elections. In the 2016 general election, 13 of Pennsylvania’s 25 state senators and 97 out of 203 representatives did not have to face a major-party challenger.
Gerrymandering also gives party bosses the ability to enforce strict party-line discipline by taking away the district of any member who dares to cross the aisle on key legislation. Or a party leader can arrange for a more ideologically pure candidate to run against an out-of-favor incumbent in the next primary. Gerrymandering thus contributes to the nation’s deepening partisan chasm.
Boscola has seen these nefarious tactics used on friends and on herself.
“You can be popular with your voters back home, but if you’re not beholden to your party leader, you can be X’d out,” she said.
Sense of Urgency
Gerrymandering has been around since the 1700s, but it has become more egregious recently because party leaders now have access to detailed mapping data and voter profiles. This trove of information allows politicians to fine-tune district boundaries and predict election outcomes with greater surgical precision than ever before.
Because the redistricting process is written into Pennsylvania’s constitution, changing the system requires an amendment. Several proposed amendments are circulating within the General Assembly, but they’re currently stuck in committees.
Amending the constitution is exceedingly difficult. The House and Senate will have to pass the exact same bill in two consecutive legislative sessions (2017-18 and 2019-20). If the bill clears that high hurdle, it then will have to win a majority of votes in a 2020 statewide referendum.
Timing is critical. Pennsylvania will lose one or two congressional seats after the 2020 census, automatically triggering the redistricting process. Boundaries drawn after that census will shape the commonwealth’s House delegation for the next decade, so reformers feel a sense of urgency.
Fair Districts PA, a nonpartisan statewide organization of volunteers, is leading the charge. FDPA is promoting the most comprehensive legislation: Senate Bill 22 and House Bill 722. These virtually identical bills would give the power of redistricting to an independent committee of 11 Pennsylvania citizens who would operate in a transparent fashion.
Committee members would include four Democrats, four Republicans and three independents and would be selected by a random computer algorithm from a list of qualified voters, preventing party leaders from rigging the outcome. Seven committee members would be required to finalize district lines, and at least one member of each pool would have to approve the map. Each pool must reflect the commonwealth’s racial, geographic and gender diversity.
SB22 and HB722 enjoy bipartisan sponsorship in both chambers of the General Assembly. Harrisburg’s state representative, Democrat Patty Kim, is co-sponsoring HB722. Sen. DiSanto also supports redistricting reform in principle, but he has not signed up as a co-sponsor of SB22.
Both bills face daunting odds.
“We’re taking power from the leaders of the two major parties,” said James Allen of FDPA’s Dauphin County branch, who notes that the bosses can employ a variety of tactics to stall or kill the bills. “They control the process, so those who have power will fight very hard against changes.”
Boscola thinks lawmakers are starting to feel public pressure, but much more will be needed before party leaders conclude that it’s in their interest to go along with an independent redistricting commission.
“Keep the pressure up,” Boscola said. “Bombard legislators with calls. Keep hammering away, and they will start to listen. But it has to be relentless.”
Allen said that it will take “a massive commitment” to get redistricting reform done.
“Is it going to be easy?” No,” he said. “But if you believe change is possible, it can be done.”
For more information on gerrymandering and the campaign for redistricting reform, visit www.fairdistrictspa.com.
Author: Robert Naeye