Staff Blog
Ask a Man-About-Town: Southwest block captain answers your questions
 |
| David Adams, your friendly block captain |
The Clog would like to introduce a new feature, "Ask a Man-About-Town." The idea is that we'll tell you a little about said man (or woman), and then you can submit questions you'd like to ask them, which they'll answer. For instance, we give you a window washer; you ask, "How far up buildings do birds nest?" or "Ever see anyone jump?" or even "How did you get rid of those damn streaks?!" Please submit your questions in the comments or e-mail them to holly.otterbein@citypaper.net.
David Adams, 72, is not in the business of wasting time. Since becoming the block captain of the 900 block of South 49th Street in April, he's fought for his block's right to hold a block party, gotten to know city officials like Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell and 12th District community relations officer Joseph Young, and held the Streets Department accountable for replacing stoplights with stop signs on the intersection of 49th and Springfield.
He even signs his emails, "your friendly neighborhood block captain." His next project is organizing a town watch for the holiday season, which he feels can be a more dangerous time of year. Adams, who's lived in the neighborhood "practically all his life," is retired.
He's held a number of diverse positions throughout his career: art director for an advertising agency, audio actor, political cartoonist and columnist, art teacher to prisoners. He says that everything he's learned from those jobs helps him be the block captain that he is. But the most important quality of a block captain, he says, is a love of people: meeting them, interacting with them, helping them. And Adams, who can tell stories for hours about the special people he's met, has no shortage of that. "I like people," he says. "I can't help that."
As a longtime Southwest Philadelphia resident, what do you feel is the biggest misconception people have about the area?
I know not all blocks have block captains. So why do they matter?
I don’t even know if I have a block captain, and I heard there’s no list available from the city. Is that true, and if so, how does one go about finding his block captain?
Philadelphia More Beautiful (Streets Dept) has the list, maintains it.
How does a block captain get things done? I know it’s tough to get people on my block to agree on much of anything.
Why do you think the holidays are more dangerous?
How do you become a block captain? Are you nominated by your neighbors? Do you ever have opposition? Wow, that’s three questions in one. Sorry!
Why is the sky blue on clear days and gray on cloudy days?
If you’re a block captain, have you ever experienced a mutiny?
are block captains officially recognized by the city of philadelphia? do they play a role in the political body of the city or is their role solely restricted to the community?
And “Belb”, Mr. Adams sounds to me as way too wise and devoted a person to ever have “experienced mutiny”.
how can i get involved on my block? what’s the kind of help you need/want from block members?
[...] Friday, we told you about David Adams, a 72-year-old block captain from Southwest Philly who'll be responding to readers' questions about [...]
[...] to the third installment of the Clog's new feature, Ask a Man-About-Town. This week, we're interviewing David Adams, a block captain from Southwest Philly, about his work [...]
[...] the 72-year-old Southwest Philly block captain, until now. (If you're new to Ask a Man-About-Town, get the lowdown here.) We'll be returning next week with a brand new Philadelphian to answer your [...]