All in To The Editor
My grandfather built the Celia Building in the early 1920s. He had even imported marble from Italy for the foyer. After a long struggle with the town, he was finally able to build this apartment building with two businesses, one of which was his shoe store. Please remember what the town represents. Please remember what Swarthmore is. A condo building is not part of that representation.
If this project goes forward, we will regret all that we have lost, and how we have been changed for a long time to come. I urge the development team to re-envision this project so that it is in keeping with the aspirations that we share for ourselves and our community.
It was interesting to read Guy Smith’s anecdote about the origin of the borough’s streets, specifically Swarthmore and Haverford avenues, in the article “New Community Center,” December 3 issue. The story posits that the town was originally laid out by Swarthmore College students. Because of the students’ hatred of Haverford, that street is one of the shortest in town and Swarthmore Avenue is one of the longest. Amusing, but surely apocryphal, as research of historic maps of Swarthmore will show.
I appreciate W.S. Cumby “going back to the drawing board” on their proposed condos. I now ask them to go back not to the drawing board but to the map. As others have pointed out, a project of this outlandish size seems better suited outside town center.
We would like to express our opposition to PECO’s plans to place high voltage lines along a number of streets in Swarthmore.
I strongly urge Swarthmore Borough Council to keep the values and physical beauty that makes Swarthmore what it is. I look forward to a fair, and positive decision—without Swarthmore becoming the Main Line of Delco. And I believe this is possible.
Could you please consider making a small donation to support this year’s Holiday Basket Drive? Any contribution would be appreciated.
The approval rating for Vice President Kamala Harris, which shows that barely one in four (28%) approve of her performance, is abysmally low. This spells trouble for Ms. Harris and for the overall Democratic party. It is incumbent upon President Biden to give Ms. Harris more opportunities to break through the sexist and racist stereotypes some associate with being a woman of color.
As residents of Hillborn Avenue (a street which straddles Springfield Township and Swarthmore Borough), we learned only this morning that PECO is planning to install new equipment on a route that includes our street. We have requested that PECO place this project on hold so that a full assessment of the project’s environmental impact can be completed and communicated to local residents.
PECO has announced—through a letter sent to some Swarthmore neighbors—that plans are in place to run high voltage lines across our town. The proposed lines may stand directly above garages with gas-filled cars or sheds holding gasoline storage for lawn equipment or, in some cases, above homes within the 20-foot clearance span. I think we need to ask PECO to hit pause and consider alternatives.
This is a thank you note, or maybe more accurately a love letter, to all the folks in Swarthmore who care for the trees—folks who plant and trim, and notice where we need more; those who select trees for perfect loveliness, and trees so tall they arch over the street; and those who safely take them away when their work is done.
I have always felt an antipathy to technology, and was clearly born in the wrong century. Seldom a day goes by when I do not feel the violence of the technical world, an almost visceral terrifying darkness.
Like many of our neighbors, we are shocked and deeply concerned about the extreme removal of trees, as well as our health and the financial hazards that will be caused by PECO’s high voltage lines set to go through our yards and residential streets this month.
The response by the Condo Development Team published in the October 29 issue failed to say how they will obtain a demolition permit for the historic properties located at 102-104 Park Ave and 110-112 Park Ave that is required to clear the site to make way for the proposed 110 Park Ave building. Demolition of these properties is in violation of the Swarthmore zoning code because they were determined to have historic value.
More praises sung for Charlie and Swarthmore Hardware, this time from Hugh MacMullan.
We are writing to express our deep concern with the window display at the new shop, Brooklyn Smokes & Exotics on South Chester Road in Swarthmore.
It’s an exciting time to be a Swarthmore resident and it is an honor to be on the ballot next Tuesday, November 2, for Swarthmore Borough Council.
A letter last week stated that a voter’s mail-in ballot took 20 days to arrive. I’m guessing that the writer based the calculation on the date given in the PA State Ballot Tracking system that allows voters to find out the status of their mail-in request.
The United Nations report on the failure of advanced nations to enact meaningful reforms to “ameliorate” (forget about “arrest”—it’s too late for that) climate change, comes amidst news of catastrophic flooding in Germany, the Netherlands, and Sicily. These foreign events are generally ignored in our parochial U.S. news outlets. It’s bad out there! There are few things that individuals can do that make much impact. I will list what I think is do-able without one having to become a Greta Thunberg. Maybe you’ll adopt one of them.
I just wanted to share with the community a very sweet, considerate, kind, and touching gesture that I just witnessed. My neighbor Bill Titus recently passed away. He was a lifelong member of our fire department. The other night, I heard trucks and saw lights, so I walked four houses down to see what was happening.
