A Million Stories

[ a million stories ]

Susan Weinman decided enough was enough when she saw the possum.

"I see this face," she says. "I don't know what the heck it is, but I see this face."

The "face" was the latest resident of the vacant lot on the 2100 block of Webster Street in Southwest Center City, which, for some time, had been home to a giant heap of trash. 

Construction workers from nearby lots, says Weinman, a Juilliard-trained member of the Philadelphia Singers, had thrown over piles of detritus, mountains of dirt and leftover lunches. "It had been grown over like giant Aztec temple mounds," she says. "It was exactly what civilization was going to look like when we're done with it."

Weinman saw the possum in February, and called 311, but got no help. She wrote her neighborhood organization, and they couldn't do anything. She called 311 again. No progress.

Finally, after seeing a May 13 story on Channel 6 touting the city's new Vacant Lot Program, she called a news producer. She's not sure exactly what happened, but 10 minutes later she was on the phone with a deputy managing director from the city.

By May 21, dump trucks were hauling out the lot's contents. Weinman brought cold drinks to the workers. "I said to one of them, 'I almost expect to find a dead body.' He said, 'Well, we've found a bunch of those. Just not here.'"

- Tom Dreisbach

On April 4, the day of the Philly Spring Cleanup, Mayor Nutter showed up at the newly christened Triangle Park in Bella Vista to plant an apple tree and throw some support behind the plan to turn this oddly shaped speck of land at Passyunk and Christian into a flowery green space. These days, however, there's a sign some 5 feet from the tree: "Prime Investment Opportunity." Although the owner of the property has put the site — a former gas station with soil contaminated by a leaky tank — up for sale, he's still working with the Friends of Triangle Park, hoping to make a deal with the city. Get involved at friendsoftrianglepark.org.

- Patrick Rapa

On Sunday morning at approximately 12:40 a.m., a tourist from L.A. asked my friends Adam Hostler, 20, and Danielle Lovier, 19, the way to Logan Square. They told him how to get there from Broad and Walnut, where they were waiting for a taxi. But before a cab came, a large crowd of males "pointed to us and ran" in their direction, says Adam. At least three of the males circled Adam and the tourist and punched them in their stomachs, arms and faces, while a few others recorded the proceedings on camera (Danielle was left alone). The mob moved on after chipping the tourist's tooth, stealing Adam's cell phone and leaving them both bruised.

The police on the scene told the victims that the attackers, most of whom were black, were out looking to mob white males and post videos of the attacks on YouTube. On Tuesday morning the Police Department confirmed receiving calls about incidents on Broad Street, and said one juvenile was arrested, but that it had no idea if the attacks were racially motivated, or if YouTube was somehow involved. We couldn't find any videos of the beatings. If you do, let us know: editorial@citypaper.net.