October 9-15, 2003

city beat

Baltimore Avenue Freeze Out

Swept up: Baltimore Avenue business owners wonder whether they've been targeted. Photo By: Michael T. Regan

Is L&I being used to gentrify a University City corridor?

by Daryl Gale

Two years ago, long-established business owners on Baltimore Avenue in the University City section of West Philly welcomed the University City District (UCD) with open arms. The nonprofit community group had been instrumental in helping establish a historic district, assisting in restoring Clark Park to its former glory and, quite literally, cleaning up the neighborhood. But today, some of those same business owners are leery of what they see as UCD’s manipulation of the business climate, and fear being pushed out of business altogether.

That fear is based on the presumption that UCD would prefer to upgrade Baltimore Avenue by attracting more upscale businesses and clientele, and don’t mind one bit if small, older businesses get plowed under in the name of progress. It’s a belief that echoes throughout the neighborhood, according to resident and community activist Chris White, but one that UCD officials vehemently deny. Worst of all, White and others claim, UCD is using the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) to do its dirty work.

"People need neighborhood development that helps them," says White, an unemployed union organizer. "Squeezing out the mom-and-pop businesses helps no one. Talk to Eli Massar of UCD. He’s their point man here, although I don’t trust anything he says. They’re siccing L&I on these people in order to speed the gentrification process."

Eric Gervasi, who works at the Mariposa Food Co-op at 4726 Baltimore Ave., is more reluctant to blame UCD outright, but wonders aloud why Mariposa has been visited by L&I so many times lately.

"We just had another surprise re-inspection, and L&I found new violations that they apparently missed the other times," Gervasi says, making no attempt to hide his sarcasm. "We’re spending deficit money now on upgrades they neglected to mention in the 20 years we’ve been in business here. It’s happening all up and down the avenue and people are getting pissed. UCD offered some type of partial payment to help, but people who have spent a lifetime building a business here are feeling like they’re being pushed out, and UCD sure doesn’t seem upset about it."

Ahmed Abdoulazzi has owned Abby’s Desert Lounge for five years. The small taproom near the corner of 47th and Baltimore is a typical Philadelphia neighborhood bar, with lots of regulars and barmaids who remember what you were drinking last time, and start pouring as soon as you walk in. Abby’s hosts holiday dinners and birthday parties, and one hell of a Super Bowl party. Now Abdoulazzi fears it may all be coming to an end, and quietly agrees with the assertion that UCD is using L&I to put the squeeze on him and his fellow merchants.

"The first L&I inspector showed up two months ago and told me to fix my fire system," Abdoulazzi says, "and I spent $1,300 to fix it right away. Then [last month] another inspector comes and tells me I have other problems with electricity, so I spent another $1,600. " They can just keep coming back and coming back and there’s no end in sight."

For Abdoulazzi, it’s not just a matter of inconvenience, it’s a matter of survival. While not denying the validity of the violations themselves, Abdoulazzi says the timing of the inspections and their sudden frequency are driving him to the poorhouse.

"I bought this place five years ago for $125,000," he laments, "and since then I’ve spent another $200,000 that I don’t have. I’m down to zero profit. I work hard to run a business, but I have no profit at all anymore. If it doesn’t change, I’m going to have to sell, and then what happens to my employees -- my customers? I don’t want to sell, but the system is geared against the little guy."

Asked whether he thinks there’s some sort of plot by UCD to see him do just that, Abdoulazzi shrugs.

"I can’t say who is behind it, I just know it all came down all of a sudden," he says.

Eli Massar, UCD’s Baltimore Avenue corridor manager, denies the claims and says UCD’s motives are tragically misunderstood.

"We understand that is the opinion of some of the neighbors, but it simply isn’t true," Massar says. "We do not sic L&I on anyone, and we never have. The city code should be applied fairly, and we support L&I enforcing the city code. At UCD, we’re celebrating Baltimore Avenue. It’s a vibrant, diverse neighborhood with thriving established businesses, and we’d like to expand that, not tear it down."

Massar says that he’s heard the charges against UCD in community meetings, but passes it off as the unwarranted fears of a paranoid few. He says UCD conducted surveys of residents and business owners, the majority of whom indicated they’d like to see a better variety of goods and services available on Baltimore Avenue. To drive home his point, Massar happily provides the names and phone numbers of several business people who praise UCD’s efforts on the avenue, including a brand-new business owner who says that without UCD’s assistance, the road to entrepreneurship would have been much rougher.

Kameelah Mumin, a 25-year-old University of Pennsylvania graduate, says UCD’s support was a key component in getting her business, The Sugar Hill Bakery, off the ground. Renovations have been completed and Mumin says the bakery, located at 49th and Baltimore, is scheduled to open next month.

"I came to UCD in January with nothing but a proposal," says Mumin, "and their response was overwhelming. They helped with the plans, got me an architect and saved me thousands of dollars on renovations. It’s not easy to open your own business, and it’s all new to me, but they provided ideas and encouragement as well as financial assistance. They’ve really been great."

L&I spokesperson Gayle Johns also took Massar's side, angrily denying that the agency does, or ever would, act as an enforcer for anyone.

That's just not something we would do. When we get a complaint, we send an inspector out, Johns says. And if we get repeated calls from one person, we red-flag it. If the complaints are legitimate, that's one thing. But people have tried to use L&I to target someone they don't like, and we're very aware of that. We track complaints so that kind of thing can't happen.

Part of the problem, Johns speculates, is the layers of bureaucracy in city government. L&I sends different inspectors out for fire code, building code, electrical, plumbing and structural inspections. She says that could explain why Abdoulazzi, Gervasi and the other merchants get increasingly frustrating multiple visits outlining different violations. She also guesses, and Massar concurs, that what we have here is a failure to communicate.

I would welcome better communication with these merchants, certainly, Massar says. I meet with people every day, and I look forward to working closely with all the merchants. Baltimore Avenue is not a gentrification project, by any means. We really are on their side.